by Dave Brown
Ye often hear it said ...
The bible contradicts itself . . .
but Jesus said (Matthew 4:4):
"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."
This passage teaches that God's word cannot be contradictory, and that it is only by the different passages on the same subject that we can construct the total view which the Holy Spirit wants us to have. Each writer had and presented a part (see 1 Cor. 13:9). The following is quoted from Albert Barnes:
"That a thing is omitted by one [gospel writer] does not prove that another is false because he has recorded it, for the very object of the different Gospels was to give the testimony of independent witnesses to the great facts of the life and death of Jesus. Nor does it prove that there is a contradiction because one relates facts in a different order from another, for neither of them professes to relate facts in the precise order in which they occurred. The object was to relate the facts themselves. With these principles in view, which are conceded to profane historians always, let us look at the accounts which are presented in the sacred narrative respecting the resurrection ... and ascension of Christ."
There is a plausible explanation for every difference. The accounts are different, but their harmony only validates the resurrection.