C: Matthew c1v6-7 The lineage of Jesus is traced through David’s son, Solomon. Luke c3v23-31 It is traced through David’s son, Nathan. (Note: Some apologists assert that Luke traces the lineage through Mary. That this is untrue is obvious from the context since Luke and Matthew both clearly state that Joseph was Jesus’ father.)
A: No, because Luke says he was the ‘supposed’ son of Joseph (indicating that he wasn’t really), and the word for son can be the same as the word for son-in-law (Heli was thus Joseph’s father-in-law). So Luke’s genealogy refers to Mary’s family history and Matthew’s to Joseph’s.
C : Matthew c1v16 Jacob was Joseph’s father. Luke c3v23 Heli was Joseph’s father.
A: See previous answer.
C: Matthew c1v18-21 The Annunciation occurred after Mary had conceived Jesus. In Luke c1v26-31 it occurred before conception.
A: The two scriptures refer to two different annunciations at different times and to different people. Luke c1 was to Mary where the angel Gabriel spoke before the conception and Matthew c1 was where the angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph.
C: Matthew c1v20 The angel spoke to Joseph. Luke c1v28 The angel spoke to Mary.
A: See previous answer.
C: Matthew c1v20-23 , Luke c1v26-33 An angel announces to Joseph and/or Mary that the child (Jesus) will be “great,” the “son of the Most High,” etc., and …
Matthew c3v13-17, Mark c1v9-11 The baptism of Jesus is accompanied by the most extraordinary happenings, yet …. Mark c3v21 Jesus’ own relatives (or friends) attempt to constrain him, thinking that he might be out of his mind, and …. Mark c6v4-6 Jesus says that a prophet is without honour in his own house (which certainly should not have been the case considering the Annunciation and the Baptism).
A: This sad state of affairs (as stated in Mark) is merely evidence of the corruption of the human heart. Anyway, Jesus’ brothers and sisters never witnessed the annunciation (because He was the firstborn Matthew c1v25 and Luke c2v7) and Matthew c1v19 implies that Mary and Joseph kept it relatively quiet. Also, there is no record that Jesus’ baptism was witnessed by His relations and that was highly unlikely as Matthew c3v13 records: “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him” and John c1v28 records “These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing”. Bethabara is, as the crow flies, about one hundred miles south of Nazareth and so the baptism was not conducted in His own neighbourhood.
C: In Matthew c14v13-23 the feeding of the five thousand men, plus women and children, is really the same miracle as Matthew c15v32-39, where four thousand men, plus women and children, were fed.
A: There are a number of differences between these two miracles as below:
{1} The localities, though both on the eastern side of the lake, were different; For the 5,000 c14v13 “a desert place apart:” and “c15v29 “a mountain, and sat down there.”
{2} The time was different; c14v15 “And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place” and the 4,000 was earlier in the day as the Lord Jesus had the time for c15v39, “And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.”
{3} The preceding and following circumstances were different; Preceding: For the 5,000 c14v12-13 “And his disciples came, and took up the {John’s} body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus. When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart” and the 4,000 c15v23-28 with the woman of Canaan (Syrophenician’s) daughter who was delivered from demon possession.
Following: After the 5,000 c14v22 “And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side,” and there was the storm on the lake. And after the 4,000 c16v1-4 the Pharisees and Sadducees tempt the Lord for a sign from heaven.
{4} The period during which the people continued fasting was different: for the 5,000 not even one entire day, c14v14-15 “And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. And when it was evening, his disciples came …”. For the 4,000 three days, c15v32 “I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat.”
{5} The number fed was different: c14v21 “about five thousand men” and c15v38 “were four thousand men”.
{6} The number of the loaves was different: for the 5,000 “five” {c14v19} and for the 4,000 “seven” {c15v37}.
{7} The number of the fishes for the 5,000 is stated by all the four Gospels: “two” {Matt c14v19, Mark c6v40, Luke c9v16, John c6v9}, and with the 4,000 both references give an undefined amount “a few small fishes” {Matt c15v34, Mark c8v7}.
{8} For the 5,000 the multitude were commanded to sit down “upon the green grass” {c14v19}; and for the 4,000 “on the ground” {c15v35}.
{9} For the 5,000 the number of the baskets taken up filled with the fragments was twelve {c14v20}, and the 4,000 in the other seven {c15v37}.
{10} For the 5,000 the name given to the kind of baskets used is the same in all the four accounts: {Matt c14v20, Mark c6v43, Luke c9v17, John c6v13 2894 kophinos, ‘of uncertain derivation; a (small) basket:-basket. Strongs Concordance}. And with the 4,000 the basket is quite different i.e. a basket that is large enough to hold a man for Paul was let down in one of these from the wall of Damascus {Matt c15v37, Mark c8v8, Acts c9v25 4711 spuris from 4687 (as woven); a hamper or lunch-receptacle:–basket. Strongs Concordance}.
{11} For the 5,000 the people, with great enthusiasm, would have taken Jesus by force to make Him a king {John c6v15 “When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.”}. ; And for the 4,000 no such enthusiasm is recorded {c15v38-39}.
{12} Also the Lord Jesus, Who never had any memory failure, mentioned both these miracles together in Matthew c16v9-10 “Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?” {also Mark c8v19-20}.
In the light of these facts they must be two different miracles.
C: Mark c10v18 “And Jesus said unto him, ‘Why callest thou Me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.”
A: The reply of the Lord is significant. From the human standpoint the Lord cannot accept the title of “Good Master” and so He sought to show him that no one is good, absolutely perfect, but God alone. Therefore the logic is that if He is not God, He could not be good. However if He is good, then He is God. The Lord is saying that you cannot have someone who is essentially good and not God. Yet “Jesus, beholding him, loved him” The Lord’s pure love is mentioned here and out of that pure love He put His finger on the problem in the man’s life that kept him from God and eternal life. Human nature, even in its nicest form, is still fallen away from God and is in sin and consequently the human race needs the Saviour.
C: The Lord Jesus is called “The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” in John c1v18 and yet in John c1v12 sinners can by faith “become children of God”.
A: There is an immense difference between the sense in which the Lord Jesus is the “only begotten Son of God” and we who become “sons of God.” First, He is the “only begotten (Greek monogenes: monos meaning “only” and genos meaning “kind or type”) Son“ of God” meaning that He is unique, but a believer is only a “son of God”. This is emphasized as Christ is the “Son of God” with a capital “S”; believing in the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour from sin means that sinful human beings can become “sons of God” but with only a small “s.” Jesus was the Son of God by eternal right of inheritance (“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn (Greek “prototokos” meaning the “pre-eminence” and not that He was born first) over all creation.” Colossians c1v15); we are only the sons of God by adoption (“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” Romans c8v15). He is the Son of God because He is God by His very nature (“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John c1v1), whereas we are only become children and sons of God at faith in the Lord Jesus (“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! 1 John c3v1: “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” Galatians c3v26). The Lord Jesus is of God by His very nature; we are only of God by faith in the Lord Jesus (“You are of God, little children …” 1John c4v4). He is divine in nature (“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” Colossians c2v9), but we only participate in it by salvation (“By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature.” 2Peter c1v4). And we can participate only in God’s moral attributes (like holiness (“Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” 1Peter c1v16) and love (“For the love of Christ compels us” 2Corinthians c5v14), but not in His non-moral attributes (like infinity and eternality “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honour and glory forever and ever. Amen.” 1Timothy c1v17).
C: John c5v31 “If I bear witness of myself, My witness is not true.” John c8v14 “Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.”
A: In John c5v31 this is a statement about witnessing and did not mean at all that the Lord Jesus could ever say anything that was not true. Instead He was stating a general fact that the witness of one person on their own was not enough to establish truth. God’s Divine law (see Deuteronomy c19v15) required that there must be at least two or three witnesses before a valid judgement could be made. Then the Lord Jesus followed this with, not two or three but, four witnesses as to Who He was. There was the witness of: John the Baptist (v32-35), His works (v36), God the Father (v37-38) and the Old Testament writings (v39).
In John c8v14 the Lord Jesus states that His own witness is true concerning its reality. In His case, His witness was absolutely true because He is God. Jesus is contrasting himself with the Pharisees who were religious people. He knows both his origin and his destination, but they know neither. So the Lord Jesus’ two points are: that He is qualified to bear witness though His enemies are not, and the other, in v16-17, that in any case His testimony is not unsupported. The Father bore witness of Him. They are not in a position to comment on His witness. They were completely unconscious of His great heavenly realities.
C: John c5v37 “And the Father Himself which sent Me beareth witness of Me. Ye have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His shape.” John c14v9 “Jesus saith unto him, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, ‘Show us the Father.’ ”
A: John c5v37 God the Father had sent the Lord Jesus into the world. God the Father does not have a Form or Shape that is visible to the human eye. He is Spirit and therefore invisible. So it was quite true that they had neither physically heard nor seen God. In John c14v9 the thought is that the Fatherhood of God had been manifested in the incarnation, or the bodily presence on the earth of the Lord Jesus. So in the attitudes, works, and the teachings of the Lord Jesus He perfectly represented God the Father. Therefore it could be said that they who had seen and heard Him had seen or had a real view of God. This is absolutely amazing as the Lord Jesus was going to be crucified and died for our sins, be buried and rise again so that those who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their own personal Saviour will receive many spiritual gifts such as God’s forgiveness and the consequential peace, everlasting life and a place in heaven after we die. What an amazing heart God revealed through Christ.
C: In Matthew 26:34, Luke 22v34, and John 13v38 Jesus said, “Verily I say unto you, That this night, before the cock crow, you shalt deny me three times.” In Mark 14v30 the prediction is, “That this day, even in this night, before the cock crows two times, you shall deny me three times.”
A: There could well have been more than one clock crowing, that is one during the night and another at dawn.