Many people believe that the Bible contradicts itself. Such claims are usually based on differences between the four Gospels. It is said that these differences show that the Gospels cannot be trusted. The main example of these differences is the birth narratives.

Each gospel gives a different account of the birth of Jesus. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke each record a different group of people who came to meet Jesus in the manger, and only Matthew describes the appearance of the star and the family’s flight to Egypt.
The Gospel of Mark does not even include the birth story. Then there is the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John is simply not like any other gospel. Those who want to question the authenticity of the biblical accounts argue that each birth account violates the other, thus rendering the Gospels unreliable.

Alleged contradictions in birth narratives can be troubling for a person of faith. The credibility of the biblical narrative is a key component of our faith. However, is the claim of contradiction accurate? Are the birth narratives contradictory? Most importantly, how can Christians respond to this challenge?

What is the contradiction?

A contradiction occurs when two mutually exclusive propositions are held together. We cannot believe in “A” and “non-A” at the same time. A classic example is “Peter is married to Debbie, but Debbie is not married to Peter.” The two propositions naturally cancel each other out. No statement can be both true and false at the same time.

More importantly, differences are not contradictions. The fact that Matthew describes the visit of the Magi, while Luke records the visit of the shepherds, is not a contradiction. Both events can be true at the same time.

The same is true of Luke’s omission of the flight into Egypt or Mark’s omission of the birth narrative. We cannot argue the contradiction from the absence of a position. A deletion is just a deletion. Deleting an event has no effect on the validity of the event.

To suggest that the omissions and differences somehow contradict the biblical narrative is a misunderstanding of the concept of contradiction. Above all, this is a misunderstanding of the intentions of the Gospel writers.
Luke records that the Gospels were written “so that you may know for sure the things which you have been taught” (Luke 1:4). The Gospels are not fictional stories. Each gospel describes the historical reality of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.

However, each of the Gospel writers wrote their Gospel from a particular perspective. They have a specific focus. They have a specific audience. This difference in focus and audience explains the differences we see between the Gospels, especially in the birth narratives.

Purpose of the Gospel of Matthew (Bible)

The Gospel of Matthew was written for a Jewish audience. Matthew’s main purpose is to highlight how the Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled by Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. As you read the Gospel of Matthew, you will often find quotations from the Old Testament.

Matthew often ends his description of an event with the words, “This was done to fulfill the scriptures” (see, for example, 1:22; 2:15; 4:14). By writing his Gospel, Matthew wanted to clearly state that Jesus is the promised Messiah of the Jews.

This is why Matthew highlights the coming of the shepherds instead of the visit of the shepherds. Israel expected the Messiah to be recognized by foreign kings. We see this expectation in several places in the Bible.

For example, Isaiah 60:3 says, “The nations will come to your light, and kings to your dawn.” Similarly, Psalm 10:72 explains that “the kings of Tarshish and the isles bring ransom, the kings of Sheba and Sheba offer gifts.”

The visit of gift-bearing “kings” from the East testifies that Jesus is not just a prophet or a sage, he is the promised Messiah. Jesus is the savior that the Jewish people have been waiting for.

This is also the reason why Matthew mentions the flight into Egypt while the other Gospels omit this fact. Matthew highlights how this flight fulfills God’s words, “Out of Egypt I called my Son” (2:15). Jesus is the personification of Israel’s history, the history that he will ultimately redeem. This understanding was especially important for Jewish audiences.

Matthew’s main purpose in writing the Gospel is to explain how Jesus fulfilled the expectations of the Jews. Jesus fulfills the scriptures, not replaces them. This becomes Matthew’s standard for what is or is not included in his Gospel.

To say that Matthew’s decisions call into question the authenticity of the Gospel is to completely misunderstand Matthew’s purpose in writing the Gospel.

Purpose of the Gospel of Luke (Bible)

Unlike Matthew, Luke’s Gospel is less concerned with how Jesus’ ministry fulfilled Old Testament prophecies. Instead, Luke’s Gospel focuses more on Christ’s ministry to the poor and outcasts.

Luke spends more time talking about Jesus’ ministry of healing and reconciliation. Those who are on the margins of society often play a central role in Luke’s narrative. This makes sense given that Luke is a Gentile writing to a Gentile audience.

Therefore, we can understand Luke’s decision to omit the visit of Maghan but to include the angel’s visit to the shepherds. Shepherds did not live at the top of Israelite society. They were considered physically and mentally impure due to frequent contact with animals. As unclean people, they were forbidden to attend the temple in Jerusalem. Therefore, they lived apart from God’s house and God’s presence.

Angels come for these outcasts of society and give this testimony: “Today in the city of David, a savior has been born for you” (2:11). Jesus was born not in the halls of the elite but in the manger of the lowly.

God dwells among those who cannot go to the temple. Angels announce that through Christ, those who were cut off have come near and those who were considered impure are pure in God’s sight.

Luke emphasizes this throughout the Gospel. While Matthew is passionate in describing the Jewish roots of Jesus’ ministry, Luke is decisive in portraying Christ’s loving embrace of the poor and lost.

What does this mean?

The Gospel writers did not sit behind the manger with parchment and pen to accurately record who, what, when and where Jesus was born. The Gospels are not written this way. As the disciples look at the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, they learn certain truths about the resurrected Lord.

These facts form the basis for the writing of each of the Gospels. However, since each author had a specific audience, concern, and reason for writing his Gospel, there are differences between the Gospel accounts.

However, such changes in no way diminish the validity or accuracy of the Gospels. In fact, these differences reinforce their authenticity. The birth of Jesus was not made by one person. This was not a hoax by the wandering disciples. There will be differences in each recollection of an event.

Therefore, we believe that the four Gospels provide a true history of Jesus Christ. No Bible gives the complete picture. The Gospels need each other. Jesus was not only a Jewish man who fulfilled Jewish messianic prophecies (Matthew’s Gospel), but he was also one who brought redemption and healing to the outcast and downtrodden (Luke’s Gospel).

Similarly, Jesus was fully human, participating in human activities and relationships (Mark’s Gospel). And yet, Jesus was not only human born in history, but He also possessed a divine nature. He is the personification of the eternal God in whom we find the forgiveness of our sins (Gospel of John). None of these facts overrides or supersedes the other.

While people may quibble over the subtle differences between each Gospel, the fact is that there are far more similarities between the Gospel accounts than there are differences. The Gospels testify about the good news of God entering the world for our salvation and forgiveness.

Today in the article : What Does it Mean There Is Nothing That Will Not Come to Light in Bible?  We reviewed useful information about the Bible and the way of Jesus. If you wish, you can view other articles of Ali Vahidi about Christianity