Bible Contradiction? When was Jesus rejected by the people in his hometown of Nazareth?

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: When was Jesus rejected by the people in his hometown of Nazareth?

Here are the answers which the skeptic believes indicate a Bible contradiction:

Early in his ministry

“And so when the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time. 14 And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding region. 15 And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all. 16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Him. And He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, 19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” 20 And He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all the people in the synagogue were intently directed at Him. 21 Now He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all the people were speaking well of Him, and admiring the [c]gracious words which were coming from His [d]lips; and yet they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” 23 And He said to them, “No doubt you will [e]quote this proverb to Me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! All the miracles that we heard were done in Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” 24 But He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. 25 But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a severe famine came over all the land; 26 and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many with leprosy in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 28 And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; 29 and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and brought Him to the crest of the hill on which their city had been built, so that they could throw Him down from the cliff. 30 But He passed through their midst and went on His way.” ( Luke 4:13-30)

Much later

“53 When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. 54 And He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, with the result that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man acquire this wisdom and these miraculous powers? 55 Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is His mother not called Mary, and His brothers, James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? 56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man acquire all these things?” 57 And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not dishonored except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58 And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.” (Matthew 13:53-58)

“Jesus went out from there and *came into His hometown; and His disciples *followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man learn these things, and what is this wisdom that has been given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? 3 Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are His sisters not here with us?” And they took offense at Him. 4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not dishonored except in his hometown and among his own relatives, and in his own household.” 5 And He could not do any miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.” (Mark 6:1-5)

(All Scriptural quotation comes from the New American Standard Bible)

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Bible Contradiction? What was Jesus’s sixth commandment?

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: What was Jesus’s sixth commandment?

Here are the answers which the skeptic believes indicate a Bible contradiction:

Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

“And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 Then he *said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not give false testimony; 19 Honor your father and mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”” ( Matthew 19:17-19)

Honour thy father and mother.

“You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not give false testimony, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”” (Mark 10:19)

There was no sixth. Jesus listed only five commandments.

“You know the commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not give false testimony, Honor your father and mother.’”“ (Luke 18:20)

(All Scriptural quotation comes from the New American Standard Bible)

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Bible Contradiction? Did Moses fear the king?

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: Did Moses fear the king?

Here are the answers which the skeptic believes indicate a Bible contradiction:

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Moses feared the king.

“But he said, “Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “Surely the matter has become known!” 15 When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.“ (Exodus 2:14-15)

Moses did not fear the king.

“By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he persevered, as though seeing Him who is unseen.” (Hebrews 11:27)

(All Scriptural quotation comes from the New American Standard Bible)

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Bible Contradiction? Who gave the law to Moses?

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: Who gave the law to Moses?

Here are the answers which the skeptic believes indicate a Bible contradiction:

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Moses received the law directly from God.

“Then the Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.” (Exodus 19:20)

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.” (Exodus 20:22)

Angels gave the law to Moses through the hand of a mediator.

“Why the Law then? It was added on account of the violations, having been ordered through angels at the hand of a mediator, until the Seed would come to whom the promise had been made.” (Galatians 3:19)

(All Scriptural quotation comes from the New American Standard Bible)

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Bible Contradiction? Should we think for ourselves?

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: Should we think for ourselves?

Here are the answers which the skeptic believes indicate a Bible contradiction:

Yes

“Make your ear attentive to wisdom; Incline your heart to understanding.” ( Proverbs 2:2)

“I directed my mind to know and to investigate, and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the evil of foolishness and the foolishness of insanity.” (Ecclesiastes 7:25)

“but examine everything; hold firmly to that which is good,” (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

No

Don’t try to understand things: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.”” (Proverbs 3:5)

It’ll only get you killed: “There is a way which seems right to a person, But its end is the way of death.” (Proverbs 14:12)

Make your mind a slave of Christ: “We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5)

(All Scriptural quotation comes from the New American Standard Bible)

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Bible Contradiction? How long was the Egyptian Captivity?

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: How long was the Egyptian Captivity?

Here are the answers which the skeptic believes indicate a Bible contradiction:

400 years

“Then God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.” (Genesis 15:13)

“But God spoke to this effect, that his descendants would be strangers in a land that was not theirs, and they would enslave and mistreat them for four hundred years.” (Acts 7:6)

Four generations

“Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the wrongdoing of the Amorite is not yet complete.”” (Genesis 15:16)

430 years

“Now the time that the sons of Israel had lived in Egypt was 430 years.” (Exodus 12:40)

“What I am saying is this: the Law, which came 430 years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.” (Galatians 3:17)

(All Scriptural quotation comes from the New American Standard Bible)

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Bible Contradiction? How many days is unleavened bread to be eaten during the passover?

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: How many days is unleavened bread to be eaten during the Passover?

Here are the answers which the skeptic believes indicate a Bible contradiction:

For six days

“For six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a festive assembly to the Lord your God; you shall do no work on it.” ( Deuteronomy 16:8)

For seven days

“For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove dough with yeast from your houses; for whoever eats anything with yeast from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.” (Exodus 12:15)

“For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. 7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and nothing with yeast shall [a]be seen among you, nor shall any dough with yeast [b]be seen among you in all your borders.” (Exodus 13:6-7)

“You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in [a]that month you came out of Egypt. And no one is to appear before Me empty-handed.” (Exodus 23:15)

“Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.” (Leviticus 23:6)

“You shall not eat leavened bread with it; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in a hurry), so that you will remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life.” (Deuteronomy 16:3)

(All Scriptural quotation comes from the New American Standard Bible)

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Bible Contradiction? When did Jesus’s temple tantrum occur?

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: When did Jesus’s temple tantrum occur?

Here are the answers which the skeptic believes indicate a Bible contradiction:

At the beginning of his ministry

“This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and revealed His glory; and His disciples believed in Him. 12 After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother, and His brothers and His disciples; and they stayed there a few days. 13 The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And within the temple grounds He found those who were selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 15 And He made a whip of cords, and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; 16 and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away from here; stop making My Father’s house a place of business!”” ( John 2:11-16)

The day of his trimphal entry

“36 Now as He was going, they were spreading their cloaks on the road. 37 And as soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, 38 shouting: “Blessed is the King, the One who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And yet some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!” 40 Jesus replied, “I tell you, if these stop speaking, the stones will cry out!” 41 When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, 42 saying, “If you had known on this day, even you, the conditions for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you when your enemies will put up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, 44 and they will level you to the ground, and throw down your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”  45 And Jesus entered the temple grounds and began to drive out those who were selling,” ( Luke 19:36-45)

The day after his triumphal entry

“When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus then sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with it. Untie them and bring them to Me. 3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them on immediately.” 4 Now this took place so that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled: 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” 6 The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, 7 and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their cloaks on them; and He sat on the cloaks. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road. 9 Now the crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!” 10 When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds were saying, “This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.” 12 And Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all those who were selling and buying on the temple grounds, and He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. 13 And He *said to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a den of robbers.”” (Matthew 21:1-13)

“And as they *approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He *sent two of His disciples, 2 and *said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. 3 And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately he will send it back here.” 4 They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they untied it. 5 And some of the bystanders were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them just as Jesus had said, and they gave them permission. 7 They *brought the colt to Jesus and *put their cloaks on it; and He sat on it. 8 And many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went in front and those who followed were shouting: “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David; Hosanna in the highest!” 11 And Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple area; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late. 12 On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. 13 Seeing from a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 And He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening. 15 Then they *came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple area and began to drive out those who were selling and buying on the temple grounds, and He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; 16 and He would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple grounds. 17 And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”” (Mark 11:1-17)

(All Scriptural quotation comes from the New American Standard Bible)

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Bible Contradiction? When did the Temple curtain tear?

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: When did the Temple curtain tear?

Here are the answers which the skeptic believes indicate a Bible contradiction:

Before Jesus died.

“because the sun stopped shining; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46 And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I entrust My spirit.” And having said this, He died.” ( Luke 23:45-46)

After Jesus died.

“And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and gave up His spirit. 51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.” (Matthew 27:50-51)

“But Jesus let out a loud cry, and died. 38 And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.“ (Mark 15:37-38)

(All Scriptural quotation comes from the New American Standard Bible)

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Series: How Can We Trust the Bible? Lectures by Michael Kruger

This is a series of lectures titled “How Can We Trust the Bible?” delivered by Michael Kruger, president of Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte. If you follow this blog for any amount of time you might recognized the name of this scholar for we have shared other resources from him before.  For instance see Four Lectures on the Canon by Michael J. Kruger (Free MP3s!) and Video: Michael Kruger on What It Means That the Bible Is Self-Authenticating.

This particular lecture series was presented at Christ Community Church Wilmington.

It consists of 3 lectures and 2 Q&A.

Check it out below:

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Review: Women, Slaves, and the Gender Debate

Benjamin Reaoch. Women, Slaves, and the Gender Debate : a Complementarian Response to the Redemptive-Movement Hermeneutic.  Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, August 17th 2012. 193 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

Christian theologian John Frame once said that “The discussion of the man-woman relationship has greatly intensified since the 1970s.”  I think Frame is right.  Much discussion has been ongoing and many books have been written on the topic.  Different movements have also arise over the decades.  One such movement focuses more on the hermeneutics of how we approach the Scriptures and how we interpret passages concerning the relationship of man and woman.  It is called the redemptive-movement with William Webb being the notable leader of the group.  While different people affiliated with this movement may differ in some of their conclusion nevertheless we can safely say that their hermeneutics lead them to the conclusion of egalitarianism.  This is a book length critique of the movement from a Complementarian perspective.

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Review: The Handy Guide to Difficult and Irregular Greek Verbs

Jon C. Laansma and Randall X. Gauthier. The Handy Guide to Difficult and Irregular Greek Verbs: AIDS for Readers of the Greek New Testament.  Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, September 26th 2017. 80 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

In my opinion one of the best thing I got from my education in seminary was picking up the original languages of the Scriptures; other places such as the church might be better to prepare for other skillset for those entering the ministry but for most people the languages is probably the most helpful thing one can get in seminary that isn’t as easy to learn “on the job” or through self-study alone.  However it is a skill that can easily be lost if one doesn’t engage in expository preaching or work with the biblical languages in other ways.  It is with this perspective that I appreciate this new resource from Kregel Academic titled The Handy Guide to Difficult and Irregular Greek Verbs: AIDS for Readers of the Greek New Testament.

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A Tale of Two Men who died in September 2017

A few days an old man died.  An old man who was in his 90s who was born in the 1920s.  The world noticed.  His name was Hugh Hefner; just saying his name most people would know who he was and what he stood for.

This same month another man also died.  He too was a man born in the 1920s.  Most people in the world would not know who he was or what he was about.  His name was Robert Thomas, a New Testament scholar and professor who for decades taught Greek, heremeneutics, exegesis and New Testament theology.

Two men so close in age yet two men who were worlds apart.

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New Testament Reliability: Two Lectures by James White for South Dakota Apologetics

On April 22nd, 2017 Christian apologist Doctor James White presented on the topic of New Testament Reliability for South Dakota Apologetics at Parkview Church in Rapid City, South Dakota.  The reliability of the New Testament is one of Dr. White’s field of study.

Here are the two lectures:

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Dr. Michael Kruger Short Video: “Did Jesus claim to be God?”

I appreciate Reformed Theological Seminary doing these videos for their #WisdomWednesday series which different faculty answers different questions in short video interview formats.

I appreciate Dr. Kruger’s contribution in understanding the Canon and also apologetics.

Here in this video he answers the question: “Did Jesus claim to be God?”

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