The Bible is the inspired word of God, written by over 40 authors spanning 1500 years. As the revealed truth of God, we can trust the Bible as authoritative and without error in its original manuscripts. However, as the Bible was copied and translated over thousands of years, some discrepancies arose between different manuscripts and translations. Additionally, our finite human minds struggle at times to fully comprehend God’s infinite truth. This can lead to some perceived contradictions and discrepancies.
When approaching alleged errors or contradictions in the Bible, we must first understand the genre and context of each passage. The Bible contains history, poetry, prophecy, letters, and apocalyptic literature – each with different writing styles. What may seem contradictory in a modern Western context made perfect sense to the original ancient Near Eastern audience. We should not impose our 21st century ideas onto ancient texts.
Many alleged Bible contradictions are just differences in details between accounts of the same event. For example, Matthew 28:1 says Mary Magdalene and the “other Mary” went to the tomb after the Sabbath, while Mark 16:1 says Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went to the tomb after the Sabbath. This is not an error, just a difference in the details included by each author. Their accounts harmonize when taken together.
Differences in the timing of events also lead to allegations of error. For example, John 12:1 says Jesus arrived in Bethany six days before Passover, while the Synoptic Gospels seem to indicate He arrived later (Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-44). However, the Synoptics focus on the Triumphal Entry and may not stress the earlier timing, whereas John specifies the earlier arrival in Bethany. This is not an error, just a difference in emphasis between authors.
Many alleged contradictions are solved when we understand ancient culture and language. For example, the centurion in Matthew 8:5-13 approaches Jesus with a request, while Luke 7:1-10 has the Jewish elders approaching Jesus on the centurion’s behalf. This makes perfect sense in context, as the centurion was acting through the elders as cultural protocol required. Also, ancient writers sometimes paraphrased statements, leading to slight differences in wording between accounts. But the essence and meaning remain the same.
Differing theological perspectives between human writers also lead to perceived discrepancies. For example, Paul emphasizes we are saved by faith while James says we are justified by works. This apparent contradiction is resolved when we understand they are using “works” differently – Paul refers to works of the Law while James refers to acts of obedience that demonstrate true faith.
Various literary techniques in the Bible can also create confusion. For example, the Gospel writers do not always record events chronologically, sometimes organizing material by theme. This can make the timing seem contradictory unless we understand the literary techniques employed. Hyperbole and approximation were also common ancient techniques that appear contradictory if taken literally by modern readers unfamiliar with the culture.
The majority of alleged Bible contradictions can be resolved by studying the language, culture, literary style, and theology of the passages in question. The minority of currently unresolved issues do not undermine the Bible’s clear testimony about salvation and God’s character. We approach these with humility, recognizing our human limitations. As Augustine said, “If we are perplexed by any apparent contradiction in Scripture, it is not allowable to say, ‘The author of this book is mistaken’; but either the manuscript is faulty, or the translation is wrong, or you have not understood.”
In summary, the Bible has an overwhelming witness to being the inspired word of God, even if we cannot yet fully explain a handful of discrepancies due to our finite human perspective. But we can approach alleged contradictions with faith in God’s word, studying the context and original language to better understand the intent of the authors. When properly understood, what may seem to contradict at first can be harmonized and seen as different perspectives on biblical truth.
Here are some examples of alleged Bible contradictions and how they can be reasonably explained:
1. The Death of Judas
Matthew 27:5 says Judas hanged himself, while Acts 1:18 says he fell headlong and burst open in a field. This has been presented as a contradiction, but it can be reasonably reconciled. Judas likely hanged himself over a field, and after decaying, the rope broke and his body burst open when it hit the ground. The two passages simply focus on different details of the same event.
2. Who Carried Jesus’ Cross?
John 19:17 says Jesus carried his cross, while Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21, and Luke 23:26 say Simon of Cyrene carried it. There is no contradiction here – Jesus likely carried his cross at first, and Simon was compelled to carry it later on the way to Golgotha when Jesus was physically spent. The Gospels simply focus on different stages of the event.
3. What Did the sign over Jesus’ cross say?
The Gospels give slightly different versions of the wording on the sign over the cross. However, this can be attributed to translating the sign between different languages (Hebrew, Latin, Greek). The essence of the sign remained the same in all accounts – that Jesus was the King of the Jews.
4. When did the women visit the tomb?
Matthew 28:1 says the women arrived at dawn, while John 20:1 says they arrived while it was still dark. This is easily reconciled through understanding it was early dawn – still dark but light enough to see that the stone was rolled away.
5. How many angels were at the tomb?
Accounts vary on whether there was one angel or two. There is no contradiction here – there could easily have been two angels, with some accounts focusing only on the one who spoke. Just because one account mentions a single angel does not preclude there being two angels present.
6. How did Judas die?
As mentioned earlier, Matthew 27:5 says Judas hung himself while Acts 1:18 says he burst open and his intestines spilled out. This can be reconciled when we understand Judas likely hanged himself, and after time, the rope broke leading his body to fall, burst open, and spill his insides.
7. Who was high priest when David ate the consecrated bread?
1 Samuel 21:1 identifies Ahimelech as the high priest who gave David the consecrated bread, while Mark 2:26 says it was Abiathar. This is resolved through understanding Abiathar was Ahimelech’s son who later became high priest after his father’s death. At the time David ate the bread, Ahimelech was high priest but his son Abiathar was there and later became high priest shortly after. So both were validly identified as high priest – the father at the time it happened, and the son who soon became high priest after.
8. Did Jesus heal one blind man or two?
Matthew 20:30 mentions Jesus healing two blind men, while Mark 10:46 and Luke 18:35 only mention one – Bartimaeus. This is easily reconciled understanding Jesus healed Bartimaeus and the other blind man, with Matthew simply highlighting there were two blind men present while the others focus just on the interaction with Bartimaeus.
9. Who visited Jesus’ tomb?
The Gospels give slightly different lists of the women who visited the tomb. Matthew 28 names Mary Magdalene and the other Mary; Mark 16 adds Salome; Luke 24 names Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them. The key is understanding this is not presented as exhaustive lists – just mentioning the key women. There were likely several women present.
10. Did Paul’s companions hear the voice from heaven or not?
Acts 9 says Paul’s companions heard the voice but saw no one, while Acts 22 says they did not hear the voice. This can be reconciled considering Acts 9 is Luke’s account while Acts 22 is Paul’s own retelling. Details varied between their perspectives, but the crux of the event remained factual – that Paul saw a vision of Christ on the road to Damascus.
In examining alleged Bible contradictions, context and author perspective are key. What may seem contradictory at first can be reasonably harmonized when we dive deeper into the context, culture, languages, and literary techniques of the passages in question. There are reasonable explanations for currently unresolved issues as well when taken in light of God’s infinite truth and our finite human understanding. When studied carefully, the Bible presents a unified, Divine message of truth.