Proposed Islamic Bible Contradictions (IslamicEra.com) related to the public life of Jesus Christ. But are they?
41. Did Herod think that Jesus was John the Baptist?
Yes (Matthew 14:2; Mark 6:16).
Yes, his first impression.
No (Luke 9:9).
No, he reconsidered his view.
No Bible Contradiction
42. Did John the Baptist recognize Jesus before his baptism?
Yes (Matthew 3:13-14).
Yes, as his nephew; but he didn’t know by experience that Jesus was the Son of God at that point.
No (John 1:32,33)
Right. John knew Jesus as his nephew, but not as the Son of God at that point.
No Bible Contradiction
43. Did John the Baptist recognize Jesus after his baptism?
Yes (John 1:32, 33).
Right. “And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.” (34)
No (Matthew 11:2).
Wrong. “Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?” If John had rejected Jesus as ”the one that should come”, he would never have sent this question unto Jesus.
No Bible Contradiction
44. According to the Gospel of John, what did Jesus say about bearing his own witness?
If I bear witness to myself, my testimony is not true (John 5:31).
Yes, from the human point of view, two witnesses of different individuals are needed for truth.
Even if I do bear witness to myself, my testimony is true (John 8:14).
Yes, from the divine point of view; as Jesus is the Son of God, his testimony is always perfect.
No Bible Contradiction
45. When Jesus entered Jerusalem did he cleanse the temple that same day?
Yes (Matthew 21:12).
Right.
No. He went into the temple and looked around, but since it was very late he did nothing. Instead, he went to Bethany to spend the night and returned the next morning to cleanse the temple (Mark 11:1- 17).
Wrong. There is no mentioning of it by Mark as he describes the temple cleansing of the next morning. Jesus’ way of acting would be very inconsistent if he did not cleanse the temple the next morning. However, the gospel writers avoided repetitions in their narratives. He did it twice.
See the article: Does Mark give a Temple Cleansing a day later than Matthew?
No Bible Contradiction
46. The Gospels say that Jesus cursed a fig tree. Did the tree wither at once?
Yes (Matthew 21:19).
Right, the withering started immediately.
No, it withered overnight (Mark 11:20).
Wrong, it withered immediately, but later they saw that the process of withering was completed “from the roots up”.
See the article: Did the Fig Tree die the day of the Cursing or a day later?
No Bible Contradiction
47. Did Judas kiss Jesus?
Yes (Matthew 26:48-50).
Right.
No. Judas could not get close enough to Jesus to kiss him (John 18:3-12).
Wrong. John didn’t mention the kiss, as his description of the healing of Malchus – following the kiss – made fully clear who Jesus was to be captured.
No Bible Contradiction
48. What did Jesus say about Peter’s denial?
The cock will not crow till you have denied me three times (John 13:38).
Right. Jesus could speak of ’one crowing’, in the case of two times of crowing that followed immediately after each other. That’s perfectly right.
Before the cock crows twice you will deny me three times (Mark 14:30).
When the cock crowed once, the three denials were not yet complete (see Mark 14:72). Therefore prediction (a) failed.
Wrong. On the contrary, the prediction is very precise. Not infrequently a cock crows two times immediately after each other. And so Jesus’ second prediction about the matter is extraordinarily precise.
No Bible Contradiction
49. Did Jesus bear his own cross?
Yes (John 19:17).
Wrong, “And He bearing his cross went forth into a place …”, the Greek here certainly means that Jesus bore his cross when he left Pilate, and not all the way along.
No (Matthew 27:31-32).
Right, Simon of Cyrene took over.
No Bible Contradiction
50. Did Jesus die before the curtain of the temple was torn?
Yes (Matthew 27:50-51; Mark 15:37-38).
Wrong, it was while the curtain was torn. The conjunction ‘And’ sometimes introduces a simultaneous event. Matthew underlines ‘And’ with ‘behold’; compare 2 Corinthians 5:17 ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.’
No. After the curtain was torn, then Jesus crying with a loud voice, said, Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit! And having said this he breathed his last (Luke 23:45-46).
Wrong, it was while the curtain was torn. Again ‘And’ is used to refer to a simultaneous action.
No Bible Contradiction
No Bible Contradictions