Apparent Contradictions in the Bible?

Apparent Contradictions in the Bible:

1. Christ's mission was peace [Luke 2:13,14]
2. Christ's mission was not peace [Matt 10:34]

Luke 2:14 says, "Peace among men with whom he is pleased."

Mt. 10:34 says, "I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."

The first verse means that peace exists among those with whom God is pleased, i.e., the fellowship of believers. Yet such believers are like a light among the darkness, and men prefer the darkness. Thus, the fellowship of believers, while full of peace, incurs the wrath of the nonbelievers.

One only need consider that in some nations Christians peacefully gather, yet are persecuted, to see how easy this "contradiction" is resolved.

1. The two thieves reviled Christ [Matt 27:44 / Mark 15:32]
2. Only one of the thieves reviled Christ [Luke 23:39,40]

Did both or only one of the thieves revile Jesus?

Matt. 27:44 and Mark 15:32 say they both did.

Luke 23:39-40 says that the one rebuked the other for his blasphemy.

So, at first they both reviled Christ and then one of them repented, and, while one was still reviling Christ, the other thief rebuked him and then turned to Christ and asked the Lord to remember him. As a result, he was saved. Luke doesn't say that the saved one had not at first been also reviling. It merely records a segment of the conversation.

1. Christ was crucified at the third hour [Mark 15:25]
2. Christ was not crucified until the sixth hour [John 19:14-16]

At what hour was Jesus crucified?

Mark 15:25 says it was in the third hour, 9:00 a.m. John 19:14-16 implies that it was in the sixth hour. However, He was still not crucified yet, but was being judged before Pilate. This was at about 6 a.m.

So three hours later He had carried the cross up to Golgotha (with some help) and was crucified.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Acts use Hebrew time for their reckoning. John uses Roman time. Another example of this is in John 18:28 -- early morning refers to the fourth Roman watch, which was 3 a.m. to 6 a.m.

1. The infant Christ was taken into Egypt [Matt 2:14,15,19,21,23]
2. The infant Christ was not taken into Egypt [Luke 2:22, 39]

Luke does not say that the infant was not taken into Egypt as neither account is exhaustive (those who look for contradictions often overlook the fact that Biblical accounts are rarely exhaustive in their scope). We can easily harmonize the accounts as follows:

Journey of Joseph and Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem; birth of the child; presentation in the Temple; return to Bethlehem; visit of the Magi; flight into Egypt; return to settle in Nazareth.

1. Judging of others forbidden [Matt 7:1,2]
2. Judging of others approved [1 Cor 6:2-4 / 1 Cor 5:12]

This is a commonly employed 'contradiction' which also ignores context. Mt 7 is not dealing with judging in of itself, rather, it speaks of hypocrisy -- judging others by standards that one does not live by.

People that say there are contradictions in the Bible, haven't read the Bible with eyes to see the whole of the Bible.  No cutting and pasting with God.  Put ALL YOUR WORDS IN CONTEXT...and you will see that God is always right!