Bible Difficulties (73 page)

The second possible fulfillment would have been the powerful descent of the Holy Spirit on the church at Pentecost (Acts 2:2-4). Jesus had promised His disciples, during His discourse in the Upper Room, "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you"

(John 14:18, NASB). This He said right after He had spoken to them of the imminent bestowal of the Holy Spirit ("another paraclete...the Spirit of truth"). Evidently, then, Jesus meant that He would come again to them in and by the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. In v.23 Jesus added this further confirmation: "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will
come
to him, and make Our abode with him" (NASB). Since it was at Pentecost that the Holy Spirit came with miraculous power on the 120 disciples who had been praying together, and manifested Himself by tongues of fire on their heads and the ability to proclaim the gospel in foreign languages, it is quite evident that Christ returned to His followers at Pentecost through the Holy Spirit. Thus He did not leave His disciples "orphans" but actually came to them.

This understanding is reinforced by Revelation 3:20: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will
come
in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me" (NASB). This could not refer to a bodily appearance of Christ but rather to the invasion and capture of the heart of a truly converted believer by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. So it can only mean that when the Holy Spirit enters the heart of a regenerate sinner, it is Christ himself who comes to him as indwelling Savior and Lord. Numbers of the people who heard Christ's promise of Matthew 16:28 were privileged to enter into that experience, and in that preliminary sense Jesus came again to them within their lifetime.

A third possibility of fulfillment might be the events of A.D. 70, when the no-longer-needed temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans under Titus, and the no-longer-holy city itself--the city that had rejected Christ in A.D. 30 and had called for His death 332

by crucifixion--was totally demolished. In the sense that Christ's prophecy of Jerusalem's destruction was fulfilled (Matt. 24:2; Mark 13:2; Luke 19:43-44), Jesus may be said to have come in judgment on the city that had witnessed His judicial murder. But this could hardly be said to display Christ's regal splendor or the glory of His mighty angels (which was indirectly manifested by the marvelous outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost); so it is a less likely fulfillment than the preceding.

How can we resolve the discrepancies in Synoptic accounts of the rich-young-ruler
episode?

The three reports of the encounter between Christ and the rich young ruler are found in Matthew 19:16-30, Mark 10:17-31, and Luke 18:18-30. These contain special details, some of which are found only in one of the three accounts, others in only two out of the three. But when we synthesize the information contributed by all three Synoptics, we obtain a fuller picture of all that transpired than would be the case with any single account. Therefore we may be grateful for their occasional diversity.

Stonehouse (
Synoptic Gospels
, pp. 95-96) furnished the following statistics. The Marcan account is considerably longer than the others, employing 279 Greek words, as against Matthew with 270 (of which 38 occupy the unique 19:28) and Luke with only 202. This ratio is of unusual interest inasmuch as most New Testament scholars regard Mark as the earliest of the four Evangelists. If so, his longer and fuller account cannot be regarded as a "later" embellishment of a more primitive "tradition"- as liberal critics usually assume when one synoptic account is longer than the others.

Stonehouse devotes much discussion to the interesting question of the principles followed by each of the Synoptists in selecting his material. Quite obviously Matthew's special interest included demonstrating to Jews (1) that Jesus was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, i.e., the authentic Jewish Messiah; (2) that Jesus was the divine Prophet and finally authoritative Teacher of the holy life (brought together in five major blocks of connected instruction); and (3) that Jesus fulfilled the promises to Israel and yet was also the Light of the Gentiles--to whom the kingdom of God would be transferred.

As for Mark, his focus is on Christ's redemptive deeds even more than on His oral teaching; the emphasis is on action more than discussion. Hence the characteristic word is

"straight-way." His concern is to interpret Palestinian customs (with occasional quotations in Aramaic) to a Gentile public--probably Roman, in view of his many Latinisms.

Luke, on the other hand, stressed the personal dynamic of the Lord Jesus and His tender concern for individual people, including women and children. But his guiding principle is to follow a consistently historical methodology and to cover the whole sweep of Jesus'

biography from the very beginning (even to the birth of the forerunner, John the Baptist; the annunciation to Mary and the shepherds; and the visit to the temple at age twelve) to the very end (the Ascension from the Mount of Olives). He includes an extraordinary number of episodes and heart-searching parables not included by the other two. The 333

Perfect Man, incarnating the love and grace of God, opens up the way to a new life for all true believers, whether Jew or Gentile.

It is a profitable exercise to correlate the insertions as well as the omissions that mark each synoptist in his treatment of the episodes in Christ's career from the vantage point of these three areas of interest. All three are to be regarded as trustworthy, helpful witnesses, even though they emphasize slightly different facets of Christ's life and personality. But it is when we have the benefit of all three reports that we can assemble the fullest understanding of each of Jesus' encounters with people and His responses to their needs.

As we compare the testimonies of Matthew, Mark and Luke, we will bring out the particular contributions from each as we combine them all into a full composite.

The Query of the Rich Young Ruler

As he makes his first approach to Jesus on the matter of his own standing before God as a justified believer, the ruler asks, "Good [Mark, Luke] Master, what good [Matt.] thing shall I do, that I may obtain [Matt.] or: inherit [Mark, Luke] eternal life?" Jesus answers him with a question, to probe his understanding of the divine nature of Christ's goodness and of the nature of goodness itself. "Why do you call Me good [Mark, Luke], or: ask Me about what is good [Matt.]? There is just one who is good [Matt.]; in fact, there is no one good but God alone [Mark, Luke]. But if you wish to enter into life [Matt.], you know the commandments [Mark, Luke]; keep them [Matt.]!"

Christ's Challenge to the Ruler's Sincerity

The young man countered with a request for specifics: "Which of them [Matt.]?" he enquired. Jesus pointed him to the most basic of all--the Decalogue. "Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother. And also [Matt.] you shall love your neighbor as yourself."

The young man [Matt.] said to Him, "All these I have kept, from [Mark, Luke] my youth up. What [Matt.] do I still lack? And Jesus looked [Luke] on him loved him, and said, "You do lack one thing [Mark, Luke]; if you wish to be perfect [Matt.], go [Matt., Mark] and sell all the possessions [Matt.] you have, and give them out to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. And come and follow Me."

The Young Man's Refusal and Departure

When he heard this statement, the young ruler became downcast [Luke] and very grieved [Matt., Luke] as he went away--for he had many possessions [Matt., Mark] and was very rich [Luke]. On observing this, Jesus looked around [Mark] on His disciples and said to them, "I tell you truly [Matt.] that it is with difficulty that a rich man will enter the kingdom of heaven [Matt.]. In fact, those who possess wealth will enter God's kingdom only with difficulty [Mark, Luke]." But the disciples were amazed [Mark] at His words.

Again He said, "Children, how hard it is to enter into the kingdom of God [Mark]! It is 334

easier for a camel to go into [Matt., Luke] and pass through [Mark] the eye of a needle than to enter the kingdom of God [so, even Matt.!]."

The Rewards of Dedicated Discipleship

The disciples were astonished [Matt., Mark] at hearing this; and they said [Mark] to one another, "Who then can be saved?" And looking on them [Matt., Mark] Jesus said, "With men this is impossible, but all things [Matt., Mark] are possible with God."

Then answering [Matt.] Peter began [Mark] to say to Him, "Behold, we have left all

[Matt., Mark] that is ours [Luke] and have followed You [Matt.]. What then shall there be for us?" Jesus said to them [Matt., Luke], "Truly I say to you, that you who have followed [Matt.] Me in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you yourselves also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel

[Matt. only]" (Note that on another occasion, in Luke 22:30 b, Christ repeats that same promise about sitting on the twelve thrones.)

Then Jesus continued with a promise for this present world: "there is no one who has left [Mark, Luke--but Matt. phrases it: Ànd everyone who has left'] home [Matt.:

`homes'] or wife [Luke] or brothers or sisters, or father or mother [Matt., Mark] [Luke: òr parents'], or children or lands, for the sake of My name [Matt.] and the gospel [Mark]

and the kingdom of God [Luke], who will not receive many times as much [Matt., Luke; Mark: à hundred times as much'] at this present time [Mark, Luke], homes and brothers and sisters and children and lands [Mark only], along with persecutions; and in the age to come [Mark, Luke] he will inherit [Matt.] eternal life. But many who are first [Matt., Mark; Luke: Ànd behold, there are last who shall be first'] shall be last, and those who are last shall be first [Matt., Mark; Luke: ànd there are first who shall be last'].

As we conclude this synthesis of the three synoptic accounts, we note that there are three verbal variations that convey exactly the same thought but that are technically different in wording: (1) Matthew 19:29: "And everyone who has left," as opposed to Mark 10:29 and Luke 18:29, which read "There is no one who has left"; (2) Mark 10:30

reads "a hundred times," as opposed to Matthew 19:29 and Luke 18:30, which read

"many times as much"; (3) Luke 18:29 reads "parents," as opposed Matthew 19:29 and Mark 10:29, which read "father or mother." Perhaps it should be mentioned also that Matthew 19:29 reads "homes"(
oikias
) while the other two read "home" (
oikian
).

This pericope, then, gives us an instructive example of the range of verbal variation present in the Synoptics, displaying a genuine overlap or alternative rather than related items that may be fitted together as a composite. Apart from possible scribal error (the Peshitta Syriac version of Luke 18:29 does not read a special word for "parents" but employs
'abohe
, "fathers"; so it looks as if Luke had this word in mind he chose the Greek word
goneis
["parents"] and preferred not to break it up into "father and mother,"

as Matt. and Mark decided to do), items 1 and 2 leave us uncertain as to which exact Aramaic term our Lord used in His actual discourse as originally given. But we may be content with the observation that each case can be explained on the basis of the same 335

original statement in Aramaic, which is susceptible of being handled in more than one way when it is cast into Greek (as in the case of "parents" vs. "father and mother" in item 3). In the latter case, perhaps it should be added that to this day is is still customary in literary Arabic to use the dual number (
'abawani
) of the word for "father" (
'abun
) in order to express the idea of "parents." Thus "his parents" would in Arabic be
'abawahu
(lit.,

"his two fathers").

How can Matthew 20:20 be reconciled with Mark 10:35?

Matthew 20:20-21 states that it was the mother of James and John who came to Jesus with the request that they might be appointed as Jesus' foremost officials after He should come into His kingdom. But Mark 10:35 records James and John themselves as presenting this request to our Lord. Which account is correct? In all probability both versions are correct. It would be altogether natural for the mother and her two sons to agree on the petition and the for the mother to pave the way by approaching Christ first concerning this matter. Soon afterwards the two sons came up to second her request on their own behalf.

This is just as understandable as the somewhat similar strategy followed by the prophet Nathan, when he first put Solomon's mother, Bathsheba, up to making the first approach to aged and sickly King David (1 Kings 1:11-21). Then came Nathan himself and verified her tidings that Adonijah was seizing power as David's successor, rather than Solomon himself, whom David had earlier designated as heir of his throne (vv. 22-27). This is a very true-to-life account and furnishes no improbabilities to reconcile.

How many did Christ heal of blindness, and was it when He was entering Jericho or
leaving it ?

In Matthew 20:29 we are told that Jesus and His disciples were coming out of Jericho when they were appealed to by two blind men. Mark 10:46 agrees that it was when Jesus was leaving Jericho that the healing occurred; but at the same time he mentions only one blind man and gives his name quite precisely (Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus). Luke 18:35 states that "a certain blind man" (no companion is mentioned, nor is this man's name actually given) first heard of Jesus when He and His followers were entering into Jericho. Verse 36 adds that it was while the crowd was passing by (
ochlou
diaporeuomenou
) that he started making inquiry as to what was going on. Then he cried out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" (v.38, NASB). Then the leaders of the procession began to rebuke him, in order that he might be quiet. Yet he only cried out all the more, repeating the same petition. In v.40, Jesus hears him calling out and stops in order to help him. Then (as in Matt. and Mark) he brought to Jesus and makes his personal appeal to Christ for the gift of sight.