What's up with this Biblical contradiction?

Question

When Jesus was a baby, Matthew says in 2:13&14 that Mary& Joseph & Jesus fled to Egypt to escape King Herod. In Luke 2:39&40, it says they just returned on to Nazereth. That is a contradiction, Right?
Now, before you attack me, I'm 35 and went to a Christian school and had to study the Bible. I know the Bible.
Try not to personally attack me on this one. If you dont have anything pertaining to the question and you just want to save my soul, save your time. I'm not hearin all that.

maybe when the Coucil of Trent was picking abd choosing books they overlooked this discrepency

Answer 1

Those books were not actually written by those particular people. The books were named by the Catholic Church a very long time ago. Going to school, you probably know this.

There are a lot of contradictions mainly because the books of the bible were cut up and edited in the very early Catholic Church when they were deciding which books to keep and which ones to toss. After the Church made the first cuts, King James went through and made a lot more cuts. The current bible is a mess.

I like the Eastern Translation much better. It's a cleaner translation. The Nag Hammadi is also well worth reading.

Don't get stuck on the contradictions; you won't untangle them. Not without the original scripts which the Church either destroyed or hid very deep in the vaults.

Answer 2

As someone said to me, Context, context context.
Mathew 2:13-14: "When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him"
Luke 2:39-40: "When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town Nazareth. And the child grew and become strong, he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him."
Mathew 2 is saying, if you read 4-5 verses before it, that the child was already born, and that it was after the wise men left that the angel came and told them to flee to Egypt. Now, John 2 does not say they were in Bethlehem and then simply returned to Nazareth. When they had done what was required by the Law of the Lord. Now, I can see why this may seem like a contradiction, if you read further in Mathew, it explains a little better, saying that they went to Egypt, and waited till Herod died, then returned to Nazareth. Now, the Law of the Lord was to go to Egypt and wait till the time was right. So, they did return to Nazareth after everything that was required by the Law of the Lord, which was go to Egypt and wait.
Hope this helps

Answer 3

When you read the Bible, you have to read it not just as a great or wonderful book. It is not any book but a book that records the word of God. Sure it was wirtten by many human beings but they all wrote under inspiration of God. In that light, the reader should not read it with doubts. Any doubt that may come up is the result of our lown shortcomings in that we do have limited understanding escpecially when we are handling things divine. Over the years I have read the Bible and still do so, and in my early years I am like you - I often wonder about what appears to be contradictions. But when I ponder about them at length and read up commentries., I find that there are possible and plausible explanations. God cannot contradict himself and therefore is unchangeable - if there is any supposed errors or omissions (and I do not think there is any) it must lie with us, the reader, or translators. Now back to the matter you raise. Try this - Matthew gospel is written to record in more details for Jews - you see a list of genealogy tracing the root of Jesus back to David to show that that he is the Messiah. The fact that Jesus returned with his family to Nazareth is recorded in verses 19 - 23 in Matthew. Luke recorded the birth of Christ in lesser details but emphasied on other aspects . So that you also see the return of Nazareth as well but in verses 39-40 as you noted. Matthew tells you the reason for the return but in Luke which recorded the same event, simply says that they return but not the reson for it. I think there is no contradiction at all save as to details. Trust I got it right for you - but do read the bible with faith and pray for understanding. The Lord will bless you for your labours and enlighten you.

Answer 4

There is no contradiction! Matthew tells the story of Jesus going to Egypt and then to Nazareth. Luke skips the story of Herod and Jesus fleeing to Egypt and continues directly when he went to Nazareth. Keep reading Matthew chapter 2. Matthew 2:22,23 to be specific.

Answer 5

No contradiction

Gospel According to Saint Luke
Chapter 2

39 And after they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their city Nazareth.


Gospel According to Saint Matthew
Chapter 2

12 And having received an answer in sleep that they should not return to Herod, they went back another way into their country.
13 And after they were departed, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: Arise, and take the child and his mother, and fly into Egypt: and be there until I shall tell thee. For it will come to pass that Herod will seek the child to destroy him.

Answer 6

Those are two different versions, obviously written at different times, and at different places, by different people.

If the Bible was 'fake,' you'd think they'd have done a better job of editing out these sorts of conflicts 1,800 years ago.

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want people measuring my entire life, my life's purpose, and the value of what I've done with my life based on what strangers said about my childhood, thirty years ago.


--
EDIT:

"maybe when the Council of Trent was picking and choosing books they overlooked this discrepancy."

They 'overlooked' it? They had one job -- to read the books going into the Bible. Read what I've already written . . . .

They didn't rewrite the different gospels, because each one was complete, and correct.

The wonder of God and the breath of God isn't in the "BIBLE," it's in the different versions of the same story -- giving the overall story greater credibility.

They didn't create ONE story. They collected several different documents that told THE story of God and God's creation.



Godspeed.

Answer 7

It seems to me that you're reading the bible with the desire to not believe. It looks like you're really trying to pull a contradiction that really isn't there. I'm not going to suggest you just believe whatever it says but have a more humble, open minded attitude. Is that okay? Are you "hearin that"?

13When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." 14So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt,

39When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

Apparently, they stayed in Egypt "until I tell you" and then returned.

Answer 8

In my opinion I think some of the authors did not put in all the minor details because their particular book is focusing on a different aspect of Jesus life and their personal encounters with him.

Answer 9

As John Dominic Crossan once said in reference to this subject, people don't know about people's childhood's before they were famous. The birth narratives were created as fitting kinds of stories for the person who would become Jesus.

It's just like the stories of young George Washington and the cherry tree. Their function isn't journalistic but literary.

Answer 10

Bible was written by man over period of time, it has been edited, re-written, passed down, now we see MANY versions of it. Well, to make it simple just compare Catholic Bible and King James version Bible that is popular among protestant. Why Catholic bible is longer and has more chapter??? Well, "some one" edited it, and got rid of what he did not want to hear.....and so on. But in any case, Bible is written and Christianity is preached in a way that no one can disprove or argue. Its like you can not argue or win over opinion.