Seemingly Biblical Contradictions: How To Resolve Them.
Luke 23
KJV
46+ And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
Matthew 27
KJV
50+ Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
John 19
KJV
30+ When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
A few weeks ago my attention was drawn to a claim to the effect that the above-cited verses are contradictions!
Some “unfriendly” readers of the Gospels have drawn attention to the writings of Mathew, Luke and John to make the case that all three writers put out different accounts of the same event.
According to them each of the three writers gave accounts which seem to be at variance and this has “ worried “ them!
There is nothing wrong with what each wrote, to know exactly what was said by Jesus one has to piece together what the three wrote.
Here we go.
In Mathew’s account Jesus “ cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.” He did not state what was said ( content) in that “cry”
To Mathew, Jesus cried, saying something which he did not state.
In Luke, he cried with a loud voice, and said, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit”: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.”
Luke told us what was said in that “cry”.
Finally, John also recorded, when he “ had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”
So John reveals another thing that was said by Jesus!
Both Mathew and Luke wrote “ he cried “. John wrote “ he said “ all of them admit that something was said.
To know precisely what Jesus said we have to put all three accounts together; and this is how it reads “ It is finished: Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit”:
Remember, all agreed that He gave up the ghost, but before doing so He said something!
The purpose of this write-up is to throw light on what some termed a contradiction and to show how such thoughts are resolved.
Many see these “missing links” in the account of the three writers as contradictions, when in fact they are not. Scriptures can not contradict themselves it is the untrained reader who sees it like that.
The example has always been given by referring to newspaper reporters A, B and C sent by different news organizations to cover an accident or an event.
Each presented what he saw, and they will all report the same but they may differ in a few areas This is because each reporter may have in addition to what he saw interviewed some bystanders!
In a scenario like this, no one can fault any of the reporters because they published different stories of the same event.
The similarities in their report show what was obvious to everyone. The dissimilarities are a result of the interviews they had with different bystanders.
The rule is, to know what precisely took place one must put together the three reports published by the reporters. Similar to what you’ve just fine with the three Gospels
Dear reader anytime you come across what may look to you as a “ contradiction” here is what is recommended that you do.
First, approach the issue with an open mind. Banish all biases, preconceived thoughts, conclusions or notions from your mind.
Secondly, credit the Author of the Scriptures, in this case, God (Holy Spirit)! Who can not make a mistake He is all-knowing
Thirdly, look for verses, passages etc that contain similar thoughts; assemble all just as we’ve done above. Piece them together
Lastly, seek help from historical documents that have something to do with the subject matter under discussion We call these “extra-biblical “ materials.
Here is how we resolve what may appear to readers as biblical contradictions when in fact they aren’t.
I hope this helps in knowing how to handle the seemingly contradictory verses in the scriptures
John Franklin Tamakloe