November 4, 2012

• Biblical Contradiction #17 (How Many Thieves Accepted Christ?)

  #9 – One Earth: Two Fates? << Previous | MASTER LIST | Next >> #45 – Judas’ Death: By Hanging or By a Big Splat?

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  Originally posted August 7, 2012.

  HELLO (Again)!
  Welcome! If you have been following along with my series, you won’t find it odd that this is my fifth entry, but the 17th contradiction proposal. Don’t try to make sense of it – just accept it (heh heh). If you are not in-the-know, however, there is a YouTube video out there that seeks to prove there are contradictions in the Bible. A casual reading might seem to confirm just so; however, I have a strong hunch that there is more to the story. And, indeed, there is.

  In fact, the tale I’m going to tell comes from three separate stories of a moment during Jesus’ crucifixion. So settle your tail in a cozy chair and have a listen. It concerns the two thieves who hung next to Jesus and whether they both reject Him or if one of them accepted Christ as Lord. The good news is that this matter doesn’t require a lot of mental gymnastics or background info to understand what’s going on.

  As I’ll unpack here for you, there is one particular element that’s often taken for granted: time. So let’s not waste another second of it. To the Bible-mobile! (You may now groan and shake your head at my odd humor.)

  LEFT! LEFT! LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT!
  The verses in question are Matthew 27:44, Mark 15:32, and Luke 23:39-42. At a glance, and as I said, it does seem that there are two different stories here: Matthew and Mark say that both thieves insulted Jesus and mocked Him, while Luke says one of them asked Jesus to remember him. Given that this is the Bible, one would think these testimonies would just fall in line, right? If we’re talking about the same event, then we should get the same overall story.

  Okay, well, let’s see where the three accounts line up on this matter.

  	Matthew 27	Mark 15	Luke 23
  Number of thieves next to Jesus	2 (v. 38)	2 (v. 27)	2 (v. 32)
  Number of thieves who insulted Jesus	2 (v. 44)	2 (v. 32)	At least 1 (v. 39)
  Number of thieves who accepted Jesus	Not mentioned	Not mentioned	1 (vv. 40-42)
  Time elapsed during crucifixion	At least 3 hours (v. 45)	6 hours (v. 25)	At least 3 hours (vv. 44-46)

  NOTE: John 19:18 also agrees with the other Gospels that Jesus was crucified between two others, but he does not identify any other details in the same veins as noted in this chart; hence why we are only addressing Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

  “ELEMENTARY, MY DEAR WATSON…” (TRIVIA: Sherlock never said such words in the books)
  The Bible is many things. It’s a compilation of poetry, wisdom, history, scientific references, (moral, legal, & cultural) law, and more. Whether you agree with the teachings and claims in the Bible or not, however, one thing I think we can all agree on is this: the Bible tells a story. A series of stories, to be exact. And stories can be told in a variety of ways, and not always in a point-A-to-point-B fashion. Since the four Gospels (or the three referenced here, at least) all have a particular theme the authors wished to highlight in their testimonies (which I highlight later), it’s important to realize that there will be some variances in how the story is told. (Thankfully, we don’t have to worry much about order of chronology in this discussion.)

  For example, suppose I told a story of how two men came up to me and I talked with one of them. Afterwards, I shook the same man’s hand and they left. Later, I told the same story to someone else, except I didn’t mention that there were two men. The story remains the same, otherwise, right down to the handshake.

  The contradiction would be there if I stated absolutely that there was only one man present with me during the conversation. However, if I only stated that I spoke with a man for a while and later shook his hand, then no contradiction is present. I simply left out the detail that there was a second man there, too. Leaving out such a detail doesn’t prevent the possibility that there was, indeed, another man present. The two stories therefore are compatible.

  The lesson in this simple example must also be applied to the three accounts of the Gospels here. Is it stated explicitly that both thieves rejected Jesus the entire duration of their crucifixion? Is it not possible that there’s another factor we’re missing? Just a moment ago I mentioned time.

  “YOU BUILT A TIME MACHINE…OUT OF A DeLOREAN?!”
  In both Matthew and Luke, we read the following:

  And when they had crucified [Jesus], they divided His garments among them by casting lots. … Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ”Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, ”My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?” … And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit. (Matthew 27:35, 45-46, 50, ESV)

  And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified [Jesus]… It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. … Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, ”Father, into your hands I commit My spirit!” And having said this He breathed His last. (Luke 23:33, 44-46, ESV)

  These two accounts seem to suggest a time passage of 3 hours. The sixth hour was noon in Jewish customs, making the ninth hour 3pm. Okay. But what about Mark’s account?

  And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. And it was the third hour when they crucified him. … And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, ”Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” … (Mark 15:24-25, 33-34, ESV)

  As Marty McFly would say, “Whoa, hold the phone, Doc, that’s heavy!” (Doc would reply, “Weight’s got nothing to do with it!”) Suddenly, we have a much larger picture with Mark. It wasn’t that Jesus’ entire crucifixion up to His death lasted three hours, but the time of darkness during the middle of the day lasted only three hours. Mark adds that little detail about what time Jesus was actually nailed to the Cross, adding a whole extra three long hours!

  I know this detail may seem pointless; after all, what’s it matter if Jesus’ Crucifixion lasted three, six, or twelve hours? But it’s an important factor, however subtle, because the testimonies don’t give us every tiny little detail about what all happened. There’s often a great deal of summary or other structure to how each of the stories are told. When we understand that there was a whole six hours during the Crucifixion, though, suddenly we begin to realize that a lot could have potentially happened during this time (regardless if it was recorded in the Gospels or not).

  In fact, John 21:25 says as much, “Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.” So it’s reasonable to assume that one testimony might have a detail the others did not. In fact, there are some details in Luke that don’t show up in the other three. Each of the Gospels has details of Jesus’ life exclusive to their testimony.

  IN THE BEGINNING…that is, at 9am
  Let’s go back to the two thieves and how they treated Jesus. We see clearly that all three Gospels agree that there were two thieves who were crucified next to Christ. In Luke 23:32 it’s pointed out that the criminals were led to a place called Golgotha (aka The Place of the Skull…sounds fitting, doesn’t it?) along with Jesus. So we know that the three traveled together up to Golgotha.

  This means that they were clearly aware of the insults hurled at Jesus every step of the way and how Jesus responded (or didn’t respond).

  We also know that this entire event lasted over 6 hours (the duration of the Crucifixion plus the time spent walking through the city carrying the Cross He’d be nailed to).

  They saw how they gave Jesus wine mixed with vinegar and how His clothes were divided up among the soldiers. They saw how His mother, Mary, looked up upon her Son with tears in her eyes while Jesus instructed one of His disciples to look after her.

  They saw everything. They knew this man was innocent.

  A curious question might occur to you, though…it did just occur to me even now. Why do Matthew and Mark not mention the account of the thief who accepted Jesus? Honestly, at this moment in time, I have no idea. All we know is that at some point during those six painful hours (I’m thinking towards the end of those six hours), one thief finally had a change of heart.

  “JOIN THE DARK SIDE…OR DIE!”
  The thief in Luke’s testimony knew every that happened on the road to Golgotha. We know that, at first, he was also one of the people who hurled the insults. In fact, prior to this, both thieves were known murderers and revolutionaries (apparently not the good sort). They were nailed up next to Jesus in order to make Christ look like a worthless criminal (clearly propaganda and biased distortion of the facts is not limited to the modern media).

  Then something in him…was disturbed. What was it that prompted this change? Luke doesn’t explain exactly, except for the fact that he chided his fellow no-do-gooder for his treatment of Jesus and that they both knew they were guilty and Jesus was innocent. Perhaps it was that contrast that finally prompted this man to repent.

  This reminds me of Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi. During the climax of the story, Luke has already realized that his father, Vader (as if you didn’t already know), still has good in him, despite being a slave to the Dark Side of the Force for so long. Emperor Palpatine (aka Darth Sideous) is busy zapping poor Luke too crispy for most chicken lovers. Vader looks on as his son writhes in pain and pleads for his father to help him.

  We hear Sideous’ heinous, maniacal laughter as we watch Vader look from his son to his master to his son and to his master. The emotionless, dark mask that has been his identity for roughly 20 years begins to finally reveal something real about him: sorrow and pity. He steps forward and heaves Sideous over a railing down into the long silo below, ending in a well-done demise.

  Vader’s fate is sealed – the lightning Sideous continued to expel fried Vader’s mechanical components that had kept him alive since the events in Star Wars III. But we see in the end, during the celebration on Endor, Anakin is alive and well, living like a Force-ified willow wisp.

  We know this is true in regards to the Star Wars cannon because Luke was there. He could testify to the fact that Anakin really did help save the day. However, anyone else’s testimony might not reveal as much. They would only be able to tell you that Vader was the bad guy. Would Luke’s testimony contradict another’s testimony or the other way around? Not exactly. Because Luke would certainly tell you that Vader was, indeed, the villain for the longest time. Luke simply had the advantage of knowing additional details.

  Does this mean that Matthew and Mark didn’t know those additional details? No. It just means that their “lack” of including the detail found in Luke doesn’t mean there is a contradiction, because Matthew and Mark only state that the two thieves did, in fact, insult Jesus. They never say the men continued to insult Jesus to the bitter end.

  PARTS TO A WHOLE
  It’s right and natural to assume that the Bible ought to be cohesive with all its parts. However, instead of looking at the three Gospels as competing testimonies, let’s look at them as they really are: components to a larger story. Each one tells an aspect of the story according to that particular testimony’s purpose. Hopefully, the supposed conflict of these testimonies becomes less of a conflict and you see that they actually support each other.

  According this particular comparison chart of the various accounts in the Four Gospels, there are 167 main topics. Of those, there are only 50 of which none of the other three Gospels record the same matter in some fashion. That means that on every other instance, there is a 70% agreement to Jesus’ life and teachings.  And the remaining 30% are simply some of those “many other things” that John talked about. And there’s more, to be sure.

  That’s exactly what’s going on here. Matthew and Mark summarize the relevant parts of the whole story according to the purpose they were writing for. Luke does the same thing, but has a slightly different purpose in mind, and that includes adding the moment when the one thief has a change of heart. It’s relevant to the particular point he wants to make while sharing his account of Jesus. In contrast, Mark was the one to mention that the Crucifixion lasted a whole six hours.

  EXTREME MAKEOVER: HEART EDITION
  Thus, when it comes to the testimonies of Matthew and Mark versus Luke’s, what we have is not a contradiction, but just limited info from one account to the other. For during those six hours, there was nothing stopping the thief from having a change of heart even though Matthew and Mark never detail it.

  One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

  But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.“

  And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, ”Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43, ESV)

  The man took responsibility for his own sins and decided he would recognize Christ for who He really is. Because of his humility, repentance, and expression of faith in his heart, Jesus promised the man Paradise.

  ABOUT THE SON OF MAN
  The Gospels are explicitly about Jesus Christ. His life, His teachings, His sacrifice. There is such a multi-faceted depth to the four Gospels that just reading them “on the surface” will only get you part of the story. And reading any of them exclusively from the others is doing one’s self harm if there’s to be any credible investigation.

  Matthew was written primarily for the Jews in order to show that Jesus really is the Messiah as mentioned in the Old Testament prophesies. Mark deals greatly with Jesus’ humanity and is also focused on reaching non-Jewish audiences. Luke’s testimony is for non-Jewish peoples, also, including Jesus’ historical roots (by way of genealogy) as well as His humanity. And John is deeply focused on Jesus’ divinity, being one with God the Father. There are other themes that each includes, but that sums it up.

  Another of the other major themes in Luke’s account is that of inclusion (at the very least, as far as it concerns the two thieves). The Jews were often described as racist, looking unfavorably upon anyone who was not one of “God’s chosen people”. We see numerous stories detailing Jesus’ unconventional association with sinners, the lame and the diseased, women, foreigners, and criminals. His didn’t shy away from telling stories that forced these prideful people to confront their problems. And Luke wanted to further detail that Jesus was not above looking favorably on the sinners who showed humility.

  It’s not that Matthew or Mark (or John for that matter) didn’t consider this to be an important aspect to tell at length, but it did not fit with the purpose of why they were writing their testimonies.

  So when we take these clues into account, we begin to see why Luke saw fit to include the detail of the thief who gave his heart to Jesus. And let’s not forget that the universal theme of the Gospels, and surely the whole Bible, itself, is about Salvation, which the one thief received in full.

  Not everyone comes to Christ at the same age. Some accept Him at a tender young age (I did when I was five); others not until years later (my mom not until her twenties and one of my high school history teachers not until his sixties). It makes sense, then, that the man could, at first, join in on the insults one hour, then ask Christ for forgiveness a few hours later. It only took some time and an open, broken heart.

  • 5:13 pm
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