The tension: John 16:30 and 21:17 affirm that Jesus knows all things (*panta oidas*), and Colossians 2:2-3 says all treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ.
The tension: Matthew 8:20 and Luke 9:58 have Jesus say *hai alōpekes phōleous echousin kai ta peteina tou ouranou kataskēnōseis, ho de huios tou anthrōpou ouk echei pou tēn…
The tension: Mark 5:1-2 and Luke 8:26-27 both narrate the Gerasene demoniac as *anthrōpos en pneumati akathartō* — a single man with an unclean spirit.
The tension: Mark 5:22-23 and Luke 8:41-42 have the synagogue ruler (Mark and Luke name him Jairus) come to Jesus while his daughter is still alive — "at the point of death…
The tension: Mark 5:29 and Luke 8:44 say the bleeding stopped "immediately" — *euthys* in Mark, *parachrema* in Luke — at the instant she touched Jesus' garment.
The tension: Matthew 10:5-6 and 15:24 have Jesus restrict his and his disciples' mission to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel" — explicitly forbidding any approach to…
The tension: The Synoptic Jesus identifies one sin that will never be forgiven "neither in this world, neither in the world to come" — blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Ma…
The tension: Matthew 12:30 and Luke 11:23 record Jesus saying, "He that is not with me is against me." Mark 9:40 and Luke 9:50 record Jesus saying the opposite: "he that is…
The tension: Matthew 13:10-11, Mark 4:10-11, and Luke 8:9-10 all have Jesus tell the disciples that the parables function as a deliberate esoteric/exoteric distinction: "un…
The tension: Mark 4:33-34 and the parallel in Matthew 13:34 make an absolute claim: "without a parable spake he not unto them" / "He never spoke to them without using parab…
The tension: Luke 4:13-30 places the Nazareth rejection at the very *beginning* of Jesus' Galilean ministry, immediately after the temptation, as the inaugural event settin…
The tension: Matthew 14:1-2 and Mark 6:14-16 report Herod Antipas concluding that Jesus is John the Baptist resurrected — "It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the…
The tension: The Synoptic Gospels record Jesus making at least three explicit, detailed passion predictions to the disciples (Matt 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:18-19; Mark 8:31; 9:3…
The tension: Matthew 17:1 and Mark 9:2 both state that the transfiguration occurred "after six days" following Jesus' prediction about some standing there not tasting death…
The tension: Matthew 17:22-23 reports the disciples' reaction to Jesus' second passion prediction: "they were exceeding sorry" (*elypēthēsan sphodra*), indicating comprehen…
The tension: The Synoptic Jesus tells his followers they must become like little children to enter the kingdom — receive it, in fact, *as* a little child or stay locked out.
