A Discrepancy in the Synoptics?

[CutlerB]

Dear community,

my brother came back from school today, saying they had written an exam in their religion class (Protestant). He said it was about the story of Jesus healing the blind at Jericho. It is found in Matthew 20:30 and following, as well as Luke 18:35-43 and Mark 10:46-52.

As I read it, it occurred to me that there seems to be some difference between them: How many blind people are cured, one or two? And does it happen before getting to Jericho or leaving from there?

On the side: That religion class is not really one of the best. The teacher seems to advocate the Q-Theory (the hypothesis that the synoptic Gospels rely on some “Sayings of Jesus” collection) and that Mark was the first Gospel written.

 

[AnnArbor]

I’m a little confused – why is there a problem with talking about the Q sayings and that Mark was written first?

 

[Mystophilus]

“it is evident that the Word, the Artificer of all, He that sits upon the cherubim, and contains all things, He who was manifested to men, has given us the Gospel under four aspects, but bound together by one Spirit” - Irenaeus of Lyons, Adversus Haereses 3.11.8

“the books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching solidly, faithfully and without error that truth which God wanted put into sacred writings for the sake of salvation
…]
since God speaks in Sacred Scripture through men in human fashion, the interpreter of Sacred Scripture, in order to see clearly what God wanted to communicate to us, should carefully investigate what meaning the sacred writers really intended, and what God wanted to manifest by means of their words.” - Dei Verbum

What is very notably absent from both of these is any claim that the Bible is literally true in all of its details, and a common (especially sola scriptura) misunderstanding is that there is any need to force the text to “reconcile” contradictions in individual details such as how many people were recorded as being in one place at one time. Were all of the Gospels in absolute agreement on every detail, we would not need four of them (as Irenaeus so forcefully proclaims we do), and we would actually have very good grounds for suspecting that a later hand had redacted them to cover up the discrepancies. Instead, we have four different accounts whose synergistic combination provides us with a much more complete picture.

 

[CutlerB]

I’m a little confused – why is there a problem with talking about the Q sayings and that Mark was written first?

As this is not the topic of the thread and I don’t want it to go off-topic, might I refer you to Catholic.com? There is some information on there.

 

[TimothyH]

***the books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching solidly, faithfully and without error that truth which God wanted put into sacred writings for the sake of salvation. **

• DEI VERBUM*

God gave us scripture for the sake of salvation. Scripture was not written for the sake of historical accuracy, scientific accuracy or journalism.

Everything in scripture written for the sake of salvation is without error.

-Tim-

 

[COPLAND_3]

St. Augustine did a whole work (called the Harmony of the Gospels) on the so-called discrepancies, I have put it in the Aquinas Study Bible and have designed it to be user friendly. I highly recommend it for apologetic purposes, here is the link to access it, it is in the category of the Gospels sites.google.com/site/aquinasstudybible/home

Here is St. Augustine’s explanation of the section that you are asking about.

Two Blind Men Healed
(Matt 20:29-34 9:27-31; Mark 10:46-52 Luke 18:35-43)
Matthew continues thus: “And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. And, behold, two blind men sitting by the wayside heard that Jesus passed by, and cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David;” and so on, down to the words, “And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.”(Mt 20:29-34) Mark also records this incident, but mentions only one blind man.(Mark 10:46-52) This difficulty is solved in the way in which a former difficulty was explained which met us in the case of the two persons who were tormented by the legion of devils in the territory of the Gerasenes. For, that in this instance also of the two blind men whom he [Matthew] alone has introduced here, one of them was of pre-eminent note and repute in that city, is a fact made clear enough by the single consideration, that Mc has recorded both his own name and his father’s; a circumstance which scarcely comes across us in all the many cases of healing which had been already performed by the Lord, unless that miracle be an exception, in the recital of which the evangelist has mentioned by name Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, whose daughter Jesus restored to life.(Mark 5:22-43) And in this latter instance this intention becomes the more apparent, from the fact that the said ruler of the synagogue was certainly a man of rank in the place. Consequently there can be little doubt that this Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, had fallen from some position of great prosperity, and was now regarded as an object of the most notorious and the most remarkable wretchedness, because, in addition to being blind, he had also to sit begging. And this is also the reason, then, why Mc has chosen to mention only the one whose restoration to sight acquired for the miracle a fame as widespread as was the notoriety which the man’s misfortune itself had gained.

But Luke, although he mentions an incident altogether of the same tenor, is nevertheless to be understood as really narrating only a similar miracle which was wrought in the case of another blind man, and as putting on record its similarity to the said miracle in the method of performance. For he states that it was performed when He was coming nigh unto Jericho;(Luke 18:35-43) while the others say that it took place when He was departing from Jericho. Now the name of the city, and the resemblance in the deed, favour the supposition that there was but one such occurrence. But still, the idea that the evangelists really contradict each other here, in so far as the one says, “As He was come nigh unto Jericho,” while the others put it thus, “As He came out of Jericho,” is one which no one surely will be prevailed on to accept, unless those who would have it more readily credited that the gospel is unveracious, than that He wrought two miracles of a similar nature and in similar circumstances. But every faithful son of the gospel will most readily perceive which of these two alternatives is the more credible, and which the rather to be accepted as true; and, indeed, every gainsayer too, when he is advised concerning the real state of the case, will answer himself either by thesilence which he will have to observe, or at least by the tenor of his reflections should he decline to be silent. (St. Augustine Harmony of the Gospels 2.65)

 

[patrick457]

Dear community,

my brother came back from school today, saying they had written an exam in their religion class (Protestant). He said it was about the story of Jesus healing the blind at Jericho. It is found in Matthew 20:30 and following, as well as Luke 18:35-43 and Mark 10:46-52.

As I read it, it occurred to me that there seems to be some difference between them: How many blind people are cured, one or two? And does it happen before getting to Jericho or leaving from there?

If we go by Matthew, there were two men. If we go by Mark or Luke, we have one (Mark names him Bartimaeus).

And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.

(Matthew 20:29-34)

And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.

(Mark 10:46-52)

As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

(Luke 18:35-43)

A peculiar quirk Matthew has is that he is very fond of schematic use of numbers: he really likes duplication. We can also see this in the account of the Gerasene/Gadarene demoniac: two men come to Jesus in Matthew (8:28-34) as opposed to one in Mark (5:1-20) and Luke (8:26-39). In another earlier episode (9:27-31; this time proper to Matthew), we also have Jesus healing two blind men. (In one slightly non-related instance, Matthew 21:1-11 has Jesus riding on two donkeys - a donkey and a colt.) There are a lot of theories as to why this is so, but one explanation which makes sense to me is that Matthew is trying to harken back to the OT requirement that “two or three witnesses” are needed for a valid testimony (Numbers 35:30; Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15). Note that in all these instances, the afflicted call out to Jesus as “Son of David” or “Son of God.”

 

[CB_Catholic]

If I witness an event, say an accident or something, I will recount it from what I saw. However, another person at the same scene may have seen something different than what I saw. And a third, standing on the other side of the road may see something neither of us saw.

That is what happens with so called “inconsistencies” in the Bible. Each writer is writing from a different point of view, to a different audience, and those who recount stories to them are recounting what they have perceived. God did not take pen in hand and write the Bible. Instead he chose human beings and had THEM take pen in hand and write down what He INSPIRED, not dictated. But ultimately, He wanted to get certain truths across to us–and these are what is important, and without error. Put all the Gospels together, with all the different points of view, and you get the complete picture.

BTW, it is almost universally accepted that Mark wrote the first Gospel. But wether he did or not really has no bearing on the truth of the Gospel. It is an historical detail that does not affect your salvation one whit. Try not to get caught up in these things.

 

[pablope]

Dear community,

my brother came back from school today, saying they had written an exam in their religion class (Protestant). He said it was about the story of Jesus healing the blind at Jericho. It is found in Matthew 20:30 and following, as well as Luke 18:35-43 and Mark 10:46-52.

As I read it, it occurred to me that there seems to be some difference between them: How many blind people are cured, one or two? And does it happen before getting to Jericho or leaving from there?

On the side: That religion class is not really one of the best. The teacher seems to advocate the Q-Theory (the hypothesis that the synoptic Gospels rely on some “Sayings of Jesus” collection) and that Mark was the first Gospel written.

bringyou.to/apologetics/bible.htm