Herod and Yahya

Luke 9:9—”Did Herod think Jesus was John the Baptist (Matthew 14:2; Mark 6:16) or not?”

Luke describes Herod’s initial reaction, while Matthew and Mark describe his later conclusion. In Luke he expresses his confusion, but in Matthew and Mark he concluded that Jesus must be John the Baptist raised from the dead again.…

Luke 14:26 – teaching hate?

Luke 14:26 – “Does Jesus teach hate here?”

This argument shows a simple ignorance of the way ancient authors used language. It’s called hyperbole, and it’s very common rhetorical technique used in ancient writings.
Everyone in Jesus’ day understood that he was not teaching literal hate, but rather “love less than me.”…

Cainan or Arphaxad?

Luke 3:35-36—”Who was the father of Shelah; Cainan (Luke 3:35-36) or Arphaxad (Genesis 11:12)?

There are two ways to look at this. Some argue that Genesis is using the term “begot” and “father” in its wider Hebrew connotation of “grandfather,” and thus Cainan was the generation in-between.…

Jeconiah illegitimate?

Luke 1:32—”This passage indicates Jesus was David’s royal heir, but Jesus’ forefather Jeconiah (Matthew 1:11) was banished from the royal line as the last king (Jeremiah 36:30), so the line is not legitimate.”

Jesus’ biological ancestry was not through Joseph’s line but through his mother Mary (the Luke genealogy), which is also through David but apart from Jeconiah.…

Mark 16 – Falsification test?

Mark 16:14-18—”This is a falsification test—true followers of Jesus should speak all languages and drink poison according to this passage.”

Critics of the Injīl like to misinterpret these words to challenge Jesus’ followers to understand all languages and drink poison based on this passage.…

Matthew 11:15-16 – Clearing Temple

Mark 11:15-16 – “Why the emotional outburst of overturning tables at the temple?”

On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.

Mark 11:24 – All prayer answered?

Mark 11:24 – “Jesus says you’ll get whatever you pray for, but we know that doesn’t happen”

Jesus was not casually telling everybody that all prayers are answered, he was talking to his disciples about what was possible for those completely surrendered to God and his will.…

Mark 11 – Cursing Fig Tree

Mark 11:12-14 – "Why did Jesus have an emotional outburst at the fig tree – couldn’t he just have made figs appear?"

This objection is rather a desperate attempt to find fault with Jesus. As Jesus so often does, he uses everyday objects and images as metaphors to teach his disciples a spiritual point.…

Which day did Jesus cleanse the temple?

Matthew 21:12—”Did Jesus cleanse the temple on the day he entered Jerusalem (Matthew 21:12) or the next day (Mark 11:1-17)? And when was the fig tree cursed (see Mark 11:12)?”

The chronology goes as follows:

Day 1: Jesus enters Jerusalem on a colt, visits the temple briefly, and returns to Bethany for the night.

Colt or colt and donkey?

Matthew 21:7—”Did Jesus ride into Jerusalem on a colt and a donkey or on just one colt as in Mark 11:7 and Luke 19:35?”

The issue is simply that Mark and Luke choose to only mention the colt Jesus actually rode, while Matthew also includes the detail that the mother donkey was brought along as well.…