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In the gospel of Matthew chapter 26

In verses 48-49, it reads “And he that betrayed him, gave them a sign, saying: Whomever I shall kiss, that is he, hold him fast. And forthwith coming to Jesus, he said: Hail Rabbi. And he kissed him.

BUT

In John 18:3-13 , the story is different. Judas led a group of soldiers and servants to the brook at Cedron. As they approached, Jesus asked “Whom seek ye?”, and they answered “Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith to them: I am he. And Judas also, who betrayed him, stood with them.” Then, “And they led him (Christ) away …” [In this version of the story, Judas did not kiss Christ.]

 

In the gospel of Matthew chapter 27

In verse 5, it reads “And casting down the pieces of silver in the temple, he (Judas) departed: and went and hanged himself with a halter.

BUT

In Acts 1:18-19, it reads With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.” (NIV)

 

In the gospel of Matthew chapter 27 (also in Mark 15:21 and Luke 23:26 )

In verses 31-32, it reads “And after they had mocked him, they took off the cloak from him, and put on him his own garments, and led him away to crucify him. And going out, they found a man of Cyrene, named Simon: him they forced to take up the cross.

BUT

In John 19:16-17 , it reads Then therefore he (Pilate) delivered him (Jesus) to be crucified. And they took Jesus and led him forth. And bearing his own cross, he went forth to that place which is called Calvary, but in Hebrew Golgotha.

 

In the gospel of Matthew chapter 27

In verses 6-10, it reads “The chief priests picked up the coins and said, "It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money." So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me." (NIV) [How did anyone know what was said by the priests?]

BUT

[No such prophesy exists in the book of Jeremiah.]

 

In the gospel of Matthew chapter 27

In verse 34, it reads, “There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink.” (NIV)

BUT

In Mark 15:23 , it reads Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.” (NIV)

In Luke 23:36 , it reads They offered him wine vinegar.” (NIV)

 

In the gospel of Matthew chapter 27

In verse 37, it reads “And they put over his head his cause written: This is Jesus the King of the Jews.

BUT

In Mark 15:26 , it reads And the inscription on his cause was written over: The King of the Jews.

In Luke 23:38 , it readsAnd there was also a superscription written over him in letters of Greek , and Latin and Hebrew: This is the King of the Jews.

In John 19:19 , it reads And Pilate wrote a title also, and he put it on the cross. And the writing was: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.

 

In the gospel of Matthew chapter 27

In verse 44, it reads “In the same way, the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.” (NIV)

BUT

In Luke 23:39 , it reads One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him …” (NIV)

 

In the gospel of Matthew chapter 27

From the prior verses, it was written that Christ had already been crucified. In verse 45, it reads “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over the whole earth, until the ninth hour.

BUT

In John 19:14-16 , it readsAnd … about the sixth hour, he saith to the Jews: Behold your king. But they cried out: Away with him; crucify him. … Then, therefore he delivered him to them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him forth.” [So, in Matthew, Christ was on the cross at the sixth hour, but, in John, he was before Pilate.]

 

In the gospel of Matthew chapter 27

In verse 46, it reads “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice saying: Eli, Eli, lamma sabacthani? That is, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? [A quote from Psalms 22:1] … and yielded up the ghost.

BUT

In Luke 23:46 , it readsAnd Jesus crying with a loud voice said ‘ Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit’. And saying this, he gave up the ghost.

In John 19:30 , it reads Jesus therefore, when he had taken the vinegar said: ‘ It is consummated’. And bowing his head, he gave up the ghost.

How long was Jesus in the tomb?   According to the passage cited above (Matt 27:46), Jesus died "about the ninth hour", which would have been about 2pm on Friday. Then, according to Matthew 28:1, it reads "And in the end of the Sabbath, when it began to dawn towards the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to the sepulcher." [Thus, from Friday about 2pm, through Saturday (the sabbath), until Sunday morning (the first day of the week), a period of no more than 38 hours passed. ]

 

In the gospel of Matthew chapter 27

In verse 54, it reads “When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed ‘ Surely, he was the Son of God.’” (NIV) [Here, the reference to the centurion is vague.]

BUT

In the gospel of Mark 15:39 , it reads And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said ‘ Surely, this man was the Son of God.’” (NIV)

In the gospel of Luke 23:47 , it reads The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said ‘Surely, this was a righteous man.’” (NIV)

 

In the gospel of Matthew chapter 27

In verses 55-56, it reads “Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.” (NIV) [There was no mention of Mary the mother of Christ.]

In Mark 15:40 , it readsSome women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and Joses, and Salome.” (NIV) [Again, no mention of Mary the mother of Jesus.]

In Luke 23:49 , it readsBut all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.” (NIV) [Here, there is no list of persons.]

BUT

In John 19:25 , it readsNear the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.” (NIV) [Near enough so that Jesus was able to speak to them in John 19:26-27 .]

 

In the gospel of Matthew chapter 27

In verse 59, it reads “Joseph (of Arimathea) took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and place it in his own new tomb … . He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb, and went away.” (NIV) [There is no mention of spices.]

THEN

In Mark 16:1 , it reads “When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body.” (NIV) In Luke 23:55-56 , it reads “The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph, and saw the tomb and how the body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes.” (NIV) [So, these passages state that Jesus had NOT been buried in accord with Jewish law.]

BUT

In John 19:39-40 , it reads, “He (Joseph of Arimathea) was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it with the spices in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.” (NIV) [So, the anointing had been done, in contrast to the passages in the other three gospels. The description here is of ‘linen strips’ not ‘a linen cloth’. Again, the stories do not match.]

 

In the gospel of Matthew chapter 28

In verse 1, it reads “After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.” (NIV)

BUT

In Mark 16:2 , it readsVery early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they (from the prior verses, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome) were on their way to the tomb …” (NIV)

In Luke 24:1 , it reads On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women (unidentified persons) took the spices they had prepared, and went to the tomb.” (NIV)

In John 20:1 , it readsEarly on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb …” (NIV) [So, there are four versions of who visited the tomb, and when it happened.]

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