Subject: post resurrection accounts |
Bible Note: Dear Tim, thanks for your response, however I’m still baffled. I am not concerned with omissions or varying levels of detail among the gospels….I totally understand that. You stated, “A history is not required to mention every possible detail. It is only required to record the details factually.” This is my sticking point…..the factual details don’t fit. Mt 28:10 Then Y’shua said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."……. 16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. (A) Mt’s factual detail: The eleven went to Galilee (can we assume that this was immediately, on the first day?). Mk 15:7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, "He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you." 8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid. (The most reliable early manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have Mark 16:9-20). (B) Mark’s factual detail: The women did not give the disciples the message to go to Galilee. LK 24: 1 On the first day of the week…….13 Now that same day…….33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven……36 While they were still talking about this, Y’shua himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." (C) Luke’s factual detail: On the first day Y’shua appeared first to the eleven in Jerusalem. JN 20:10 Then the disciples went back to their homes……..19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Y’shua came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord….. 24 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came…….26 A week later his disciples were in the house again. (D) John’s factual detail: On the first day Y’shua appears to ten in a houses. Okay, can A and B be reconciled? Yes, with a little creativity one could say that later they delivered the message and the disciples went to Galilee. Can A and C be reconciled? No. How can they be both in Galilee and in Jerusalem on the same day? Can A and D be reconciled? No. Again they are in Jerusalem, not Galilee, with the further contradiction that there were only ten present instead of the eleven. How can you get all these to fit? You said, “The fact that Luke and John do not mention going to Galilee is not a problem as long as they do not explicitly deny that it took place. Silence is not a contradiction.” The problem is not that they are silent on “Galilee”, but that they place the initial meeting of Y’shua and the disciples in Jerusalem. The logistics are impossible to reconcile. My point is, how can one say that each of the writers were writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit? Wouldn’t the Holy Spirit inspire with consistency? Just the fact that most reliable early manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have Mark 16:9-20, which has a separate post resurrection account, raises questions……did the Holy Spirit add that later? Thanks Tim……..Bub |