What Scripture says
Christians hold that Scripture is “breathed out by God” (2 Timothy 3:16, ESV) and that “the Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). God “never lies” (Titus 1:2).
Scripture also shows that God used human authors with their own styles, sources and purposes. Luke researched carefully before writing (Luke 1:1–4). The four Gospels tell the same story from four angles. So the question is whether differences between passages are real contradictions, or the normal variety of independent writers.
What the evidence says
Context
What counts as a contradiction
A true contradiction means two statements can’t both be true at the same time and in the same sense. Many alleged contradictions aren’t, for reasons like these:
| Type of difference | Example | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Different details | One angel at the tomb (Matthew 28:2) or two (Luke 24:4) | If there were two, there was one; Matthew mentions the speaker |
| Different wording | The sign on the cross (Matthew 27:37, Mark 15:26, John 19:19) | Each gives the gist; John says it was in three languages |
| Different order | The temptations (Matthew 4, Luke 4) | Ancient writers arranged material thematically |
| Rounding and summary | Numbers in Kings and Chronicles | Different counting methods and rounding |
| Different perspectives | Who sent the request: the centurion (Matthew 8:5) or his messengers (Luke 7:3) | Acting through agents was normal speech |
| Copying errors | 2 Samuel 10:18 (700 chariots) and 1 Chronicles 19:18 (7,000) | Scribes misread number signs (see 4.1) |
Genre and ancient conventions
Michael Licona compared the Gospels with Plutarch, a Greek biographer who wrote about the same events in several of his Lives. Plutarch sometimes compressed events, moved them, or simplified who said what, techniques taught in ancient writing schools. Licona argues the Gospels use similar techniques. Critics, including Lydia McGrew from a conservative angle, argue this concedes too much and that the Gospels are more literally precise.
Paul and James on faith and works
Paul says we are justified “by faith apart from works of the law” (Romans 3:28). James says “a person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24). But they use the words differently: Paul is answering people who thought works of the law earned salvation, while James is answering people who claimed faith without a changed life. Paul himself speaks of “faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6), and James calls Abraham’s faith “active along with his works” (James 2:22).
Scripture
The hard cases
A few cases take more work.
Judas’ death. Matthew 27:5 says Judas hanged himself, and the priests bought a field with his money. Acts 1:18 says Judas acquired a field and, “falling headlong he burst open in the middle”. Proposed harmonies:
- He hanged himself, and his body later fell and burst, perhaps when the rope or branch broke.
- The priests bought the field with his money, so it was, in effect, his purchase.
Some scholars find these strained, and suggest the two writers used different traditions. Both agree on the basics: Judas died a gruesome death, and a field connected to his money was called the “Field of Blood”.
Jesus’ genealogies. Matthew and Luke give different lists of ancestors (see 6.8).
The resurrection accounts differ on the number of women and angels, and the order of events (see 7.8).
Jairus’s daughter. In Mark 5:23, Jairus says his daughter is dying; in Matthew 9:18, she “has just died”. Matthew often compresses stories, and may have combined Jairus’s first request with the later news of her death (Mark 5:35).
Comparison with other witnesses
Historians expect independent accounts of the same events to differ in details. Identical accounts would suggest copying or collusion. The four Gospels agree on the core (Jesus’ ministry, death and resurrection) while differing in peripheral details, which is what independent testimony usually looks like.
Where they meet
Most alleged contradictions are differences of perspective, emphasis or detail, typical of independent eyewitness accounts. A small number remain hard, and Christians propose different harmonies or approaches.
What’s still open
- How best to understand a few hard cases.
- How much ancient writing conventions explain.
Bottom line
Most alleged contradictions resolve with context, genre or translation. A few, such as the accounts of Judas’ death, take more work, and Christians propose different harmonies. This is rated Debated.