The tension: Matthew 6:5-6 explicitly forbids public prayer: do not be like the hypocrites who pray in synagogues and street corners to be seen — go into your inner room (*…
The tension: Matthew 6:9-13 has Jesus teach the Lord's Prayer with the formula *houtōs oun proseuchesthe hymeis* — 'therefore pray in this way.' Romans 8:26 then says *to g…
The tension: Matthew 6:10 has Jesus teach disciples to pray *genēthētō to thelēma sou, hōs en ouranō kai epi gēs* — 'your will be done, as in heaven so on earth' — taking t…
The tension: Mark 16:17 (the disputed Longer Ending) lists casting out demons as one of the signs *parakolouthēsei tois pisteusasin* — 'that will follow those who believe.'…
The tension: Matthew 8:12 has Jesus say that *hoi huioi tēs basileias ekblēthēsontai eis to skotos to exōteron* — 'the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer d…
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: John 1:29-34 has John the Baptist not only recognize Jesus on sight as "the Lamb of God" but explicitly testify, "I saw, and bare record that this is the Son o…
The tension: In Matthew 11:14 Jesus says of John the Baptist: "this is Elijah, which was for to come," and Matthew 17:12-13 makes the identification explicit — the disciple…
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…
