There are some former Christians who have lost
their faith, because they got caught up in a “Shell Game!” There are those who
divert Christians from the truth of Salvation provided through Christ’s Grace,
by focusing them on the inconsistencies that are within the New Testament. They
make the case that if there are inconsistencies, the information in the Bible
is false and if that’s the case, Jesus’ being the Son of God is also
false.
I will use the New King James Version (NKJV) of
the Bible and internet resources, if necessary, to further analyze any
inconsistencies that might exist to determine if they are significant enough to
disprove that God said that Jesus Is His Beloved Son and whether that also
disproves that Jesus Is the Son of God.
Since the Bible quite frequently uses the words
him and he within the same sentence, I will put in brackets the person talking
and the person being talked to, when it’s not clear. Additionally, I will put
analysis, opinions, and conclusions within brackets to make it easier to
identify. You will be able to find these at a future date on Biblical Proof! at https://BiblicalProof.blogspot.com and Do Biblical Inconsistencies Really Matter? at https://BiblicalInconsistencies.blogspot.com, two blogs I felt led to
create for viewers to read the research analysis and make their own decisions.
I put all the pertinent passages together in the
beginning, so you know the texts we are examining.
Jesus’ Baptism
Matthew 3:13-17 says: Then Jesus came from
Galilee to John [the Baptist] at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John
tried to prevent Him [Jesus], saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are
you coming to me?” But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all
righteousness.” Then he [John the Baptist] allowed Him [Jesus].
When He [Jesus] had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water;
and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and he [John the Baptist] saw the
Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him [Jesus]. And
suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Mark 1:9-11 says: It came to pass in those days
that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the
Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting
and the Spirit descending upon Him [Jesus] like a dove. Then a voice came from
heaven, “You are My beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased.”
Luke 3:21-22 says: When all the people were
baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed,
the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove
upon Him [Jesus], and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”
John
1:26-34 says: John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there
stands One among you whom you do not know. “It is He who, coming after me, is
preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.” “These
things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan [River], where John [the
Baptist] was baptizing. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and
said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! “This is He
of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was
before me.’ “I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel,
therefore I came baptizing with water.” And John bore witness, saying, “I
saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him
[Jesus] “I did not know Him, but He [God] who sent me to baptize with
water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining on
Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ “And I [John the
Baptist] have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
2 Peter 1:16-18 says: For we did not follow
cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He [Jesus]
received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from
the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased.” And we
heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy
mountain.
[I’m not sure this was at Jesus’ baptism or at
His Transfiguration, because God the Father said similar things at both. I will
review it again, later.]
[The first inconsistency I see is where it is
recorded that Jesus was baptized. I will put the portions below that provide
pertinent information for further analysis.]
Matthew 3:13 says: Then Jesus came from Galilee
to John [the Baptist] at the Jordan [River] to be baptized by him [John the
Baptist].
Mark 1:9 says: It came to pass in those days
that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the
Jordan [River].
Luke 3:21 says: When all the people were
baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He [Jesus]
prayed, the heaven was opened.
John 1:28 says: “These things were done in
Bethabara beyond the Jordan [River], where John [the Baptist] was
baptizing.
[Both the Gospels of Matthew 3:13 and Mark 1:9
say that Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River. Luke 3:21 says that Jesus was
baptized, but doesn’t say where this happened. John 1:28 mentions that Jesus
was baptized in Bethabara beyond the Jordan. I looked at about 20 different
internet sites to try to find out where Bethabara is/was in relation to the
Jordan River. Silly me! I didn’t notice that my NKJV Bible has a footnote for
that. It says: “NU-Text and M-Text read Bethany.” So, when I looked up special
Abbreviations in the front of my Bible, I found that NU-Text is the modern
eclectic, or “critical,” text of the Greek New Testament and that M-Text means
Majority Text. Since these two sources say that Bethabara is the same as
Bethany, I need to see where Bethany is located in relation to the Jordan
River.]
[In looking this up, I found lots of different
locations, but none of those gave me an idea of how far Bethany was from the
Jordan River except for Atlas Tours, Bethany, Jordan found at https://atlastours.net/jordan/bethany/
This is their description:
Less than 2 kms east of the
Jordan River is one of the most important places associated with the lives of
Jesus and John the Baptist (pbut), the settlement of Bethany, or Al-Maghtas in Arabic,
where John lived and baptized. John 1:28 refers to it as "Bethany beyond
the Jordan, where John was baptizing". ]
[In my opinion, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark,
and John are consistent with the location where Jesus was baptized. In that
John says that Bethany is 2 kilometers from the Jordan River, which is
approximately 1 ¼ miles, makes this possible as a site close to the Jordan
River. In that Luke 3:21 didn’t say where Jesus was baptized, in my opinion,
does not invalidate that Jesus was baptized and that God said that Jesus Is His
Beloved Son.]
[The next inconsistency that I am going to
tackle is whether John the Baptist is the one who baptized Jesus. Again, I will
put the portions of the Bible pertaining to this below to better analyze the
passages.]
Matthew 3:13-15 says: Then Jesus came from
Galilee to John [the Baptist] at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John
tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are you coming
to me?” But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all
righteousness.” Then he [John the Baptist] allowed Him [Jesus].
Mark 1:9-11 says: It came to pass in those days
that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the
Jordan.
Luke 3:21 says: When all the people were
baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed,
the heaven was opened.
[Normally, I wouldn’t put the whole passage
below, but it all seems significant in making a determination about who
baptized Jesus.]
John 1:26-34 says: John answered them, saying,
“I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. “It
is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not
worthy to loose.” “These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan [River],
where John [the Baptist] was baptizing. The next day John saw Jesus coming
toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world! “This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred
before me, for He was before me.’ “I did not know him; but that He should be
revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” And John bore
witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and
He remained upon Him [Jesus] “I did not know Him, but He [God] who sent
me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending
and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ “And
I [John the Baptist] have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
[Now for my analysis on this: Both Gospels of
Matthew and Mark say that John the Baptist was the one who baptized Jesus.
Special note: Luke 3:21: When all the people were baptized, it came to pass
that Jesus also was baptized; and while He [Jesus] prayed, the heaven was opened.
Just prior to the previous passage: Luke 3:19-20 says: but Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him [John the
Baptist] concerning Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils
which Herod had done, also added this above all, that he shut John [the
Baptist] up in prison. [This would mean that John the Baptist was not there
when Jesus was baptized, if this particular passage is correct.]
[If John isn’t the one who baptized Jesus, does
this invalidate that Jesus was baptized and that God said that Jesus Is His
Beloved Son? After lots of thorough research of these passages, whether John
the Baptist did or did not baptize Jesus doesn’t invalidate that Jesus was
baptized or that God said that Jesus Is His Beloved Son.]
[Additionally: John 1:26-34 doesn’t exactly say
that John the Baptist baptized Jesus, but it somewhat implies it. John 1:30-34
says: “This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before
me, for He was before me.’ “I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed
to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” And John bore witness,
saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He
remained upon Him [Jesus] “I did not know Him, but He [God] who sent me
to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending and
remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ “And I
[John the Baptist] have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.]
[So, John the Baptist was baptizing and Jesus was there
at this time. John the Baptist says that He [God] sent him to baptize with
water and that he will see the Spirit descending on Him who baptizes with the
Holy Spirit. John the Baptist attests to seeing the Holy Spirit descending and
remaining on Jesus, but never actually says that this happened as he, John the
Baptist, baptized Jesus. Is this significant? After reading these passages over
and over again, in that John the Baptist doesn’t say that he actually baptized
Jesus doesn’t invalidate that Jesus was baptized or that God said that Jesus Is
His Beloved Son. On the contrary, it corroborates that John the Baptist did see
the Spirit descend on Jesus after he had been told this by God. John testifies
that Jesus Is the Son of God.]
[The most significant of all the things we are
analyzing would be whether God said that Jesus Is His Beloved Son at Jesus’
baptism, meaning that Jesus Is God’s Son. I will put the pertinent passages below
to better be able to review them.]
Matthew 3:16-17 says: When He had been baptized,
Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened
to Him, and He [John the Baptist] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove
and alighting upon Him [Jesus]. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Mark 1:9-11 says: It came to pass in those days
that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the
Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting
and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Luke 3:21-22 says: When all the people were
baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed,
the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove
upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”
John 1:29-34 says: The next day John saw Jesus
coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of
the world! “This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred
before me, for He was before me.’ “I did not know Him; but that He should be
revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit
descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him [Jesus] “I
did not know Him, but He [God] who sent me to baptize with water said to me,
‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining on Him, this is He who
baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ “And I [John the Baptist] have seen and
testified that this is the Son of God.”
[After analyzing these and reviewing what all
four Gospels say, I feel they all basically say the same thing: that when Jesus
was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark
and Luke use basically the same words that God said about Jesus Being His Beloved Son in Whom He is well pleased! Although the Gospel of John doesn’t use those
words, it does say that God let John the Baptist know prior to Jesus’ baptism
that he would see the Spirit descending on Jesus who baptizes with the Holy
Spirit. When this happened, John
the Baptist testified that Jesus Is the Son of God. In my opinion, John the
Baptist’s being told by God in advance and seeing it happen as God told him, is
just more corroboration that Jesus Is God’s Son!]
In addition, 2 Peter 1:16-18 says: For we did
not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He
[Jesus] received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to
Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased.” And we
heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy
mountain.
[I’m not sure this was at Jesus’ baptism or at
His Transfiguration, because God the Father said similar things at both.
Despite the fact that I can’t tell which time God said this about Jesus, it
does provide additional proof about Jesus being God’s Son, not to mention all
the witnesses at Jesus’ baptism who saw and heard this!]
[Don’t let people try to confuse you about inconsistencies. You have to analyze them the way that we have to determine whether they are significant enough to disprove the points they’ve made. I have yet to find any inconsistency in the Bible that disproves that Jesus Is God’s Beloved Son. In and of itself, that is additional proof that Jesus Is God’s Son! If you need more proof, try going to How to Know Jesus Is the Son of God at https://JesusIsGodsSon.blogspot.com , a blog I felt led to create to provide a vast majority of the biblical proof that Jesus Christ is truly the Son of God!]
