is this a contradiction in the bible ?

Question

Hi . here's the story of peter dening not to know Jesus christ .
peter denied jesus 3 times , in mattew we read that a maid asked him for the first time , an another maid asked him for the second :

matt :
26:69 Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.
26:70 But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.
26:71 And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.

but luke says at first a maid ask then a man ... :

luke
22:56 But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him.
22:57 And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not.
22:58 And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not.

the contradiction is matt says two women but luke say one woman and a man

Answer 1

Depends on who you ask.

Answer 2

There are many such contradictions regarding all holy scriptures the world has been following. I think we should see to what the good aspect that is to be taken from them and just put off the unwanted controversies... Nobody can explain all these since the written words might have been told by a number of persons rather than one person and then it went on and on until it had been recorded as it is now. So, many of the passages might have different explanations and details regarding the same topic. Did u think, why is there so many of the testaments written based on one life history? If one writer leaves something, the other might get it there... so, there's an easy way for us to find what happened at that time.. Written words can be fictious too... think about that too.. Belief is the route and love is the way that we should take up from these words written in the bible... thank you.

Answer 3

I don't think it's a contradiction at all. Jesus said before the c o c k crowed Peter would deny Him 3 times. Matt told of 2 women who spurred 2 denials and Luke mentioned one of those women and added the man, the 3rd person who spurred the 3rd denial. No contradiction there.

Answer 4

This is about as useful as getting three eye-witness testimonies of a car wreck.

All of them are right, but you can be just nit-picky enough to confound the details and "prove" that there's no evidence the car wreck didn't happen!

Want to prove something useful?

Prove that Jesus didn't predict Peter's denial.
Prove that none of the denials actually happened.
Prove that none of the denials happened before sunrise.

Prove that Jesus' words didn't happen as predicted, and if you can't, explain how a human being can make such a prediction just seconds after the man proclaims loyalty and commitment.

Answer 5

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke were written some 60 or so years after Jesus died and were based on peoples' memories of what happened and what was said. Their value is in the principles taught, not in being transcriptions of actual conversations.

Answer 6

matthew states the Peter sat (somewhere) outside the palace, then by the porch.
by luke we know that this likely when he was by the fire.
so matthew states, first one woman thought she recognized him but Peter denied it.
then even though he'd moved.. another recognized him, and Peter again denied it.
luke had also acknowledged one of the women, and then also when a man recognized Peter, and that makes 3 denials.

how is that a contradiction?
.

Answer 7

Damsel, maid, what difference does it make. Peter still denied jesus three times, as predicted.

Answer 8

Yeah probably. I doubt it has anything to do with translation either.

I hate that cop out. Thankfully I can read Hebrew, so that Translations confuse things nonsense doesn't work on me in the Old Testament, but I don't know Greek. Should maybe learn it.

Answer 9

im 13 and i would be able to tell u...but the words...i just dont understand them..the way they are written...it could be a contradictiion...or not. there are plenty of contradictions in the Bible...like there is only one God but there is 3. it is a contradiction...but it is true and i believe it.


sorry that i cant tell whether it is or not. if they are saying the opposite then most likeley they are. so..u might be able to figure it out...ask God for guidance! =]

Answer 10

No - in the Greek, "man" in the luke passage means "a human being, whether male or female."

It says "another" came to him.. .there is no specification of gender in the passage in Luke.

Answer 11

it is not a contradiction, because both are saying that he denided Jesus three times.. i don't think it really matters who was the first person or second person...as long as the whole story is correct in the end-which it is.