The so-called ‘Parable of the Sower’ is recorded in all three Synoptic Gospels. And, in each case, the parable itself is followed by an explanation by Jesus of why he taught in parables.
Luke’s is the briefest account, followed by Mark’s and then Matthew’s:
…‘Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.’
This is the one passage in the NT that seems to speak of the return of Jerusalem to the custody of the Jews.
For some, the ‘times of the Gentiles’ came to an end on 14th May, 1948, when Israel became an independent state, or Jane 1967, with the capture of East Jerusalem.
For Derek White, of Christian Friends of Israel, there is no doubt:
…‘The plain meaning of these words of Jesus is that the imposition of Gentile rule and possession of Jerusalem is to have an end, and that it will come again into the possession of the Jewish people as their Capital.
This difficult saying has been understood in various ways:-
1. Some, such as Barnes, think that this is a promise of supernatural protection to a particular people at a particular time. Barnes thinks that this was fulfilled at the time of the fall of Jerusalem, when it has been thought that Christians suffered no serious harm. But Kidner (commenting on Psa 121:7f) notes that
…‘God’s minutest care (‘not a hair of your head will perish’) and his servants’ deepest fulfilment (‘you will win true life’, NEB) are promised in the same breath as the prospect of hounding and martyrdom (Luke 21:16f.).’
22:6 Train a child in the way that he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it.
This well-known proverb has been understood in a variety of ways.
In popular Christian thinking, it is thought to constitute an unconditional promise to parents. It is taken as a guarantee of the success of early training of children. But not a few parents find that, despite their best efforts at bringing up their child ‘in the way he should go’, when he is old he does turn from it. …
Josh 3:14 When the people left their tents to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. 3:15 When the ones carrying the ark reached the Jordan and the feet of the priests carrying the ark touched the surface of the water—(the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest time)—3:16 the water coming downstream toward them stopped flowing. It piled up far upstream at Adam (the city near Zarethan); there was no water at all flowing to the sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea).…
Prov 26:4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
or you will be like him yourself.
Prov 26:5 Answer a fool according to his folly,
or he will be wise in his own eyes.
Here is one of the most famous, and seemingly most blatent, of all the Bible ‘contradictions’.
This pair of verses is marked up by the Skeptic’s Annotated Bible as ‘absurd’. And, according to Kidner, even some rabbis thought that they were inconsistent, leading them to doubt the authority of the entire book.…
Exodus 14:21 Moses stretched out his hand toward the sea, and the LORD drove the sea apart by a strong east wind all that night, and he made the sea into dry land, and the water was divided. 14:22 So the Israelites went through the middle of the sea on dry ground, the water forming a wall for them on their right and on their left…14:26 The LORD said to Moses, “Extend your hand toward the sea, so that the waters may flow back on the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen!”…
2:1 Joshua son of Nun sent two spies out from Shittim secretly and instructed them: “Find out what you can about the land, especially Jericho.” They stopped at the house of a prostitute named Rahab and spent the night there. 2:2 The king of Jericho received this report: “Note well! Israelite men have come here tonight to spy on the land.” 2:3 So the king of Jericho sent this order to Rahab: “Turn over the men who came to you—the ones who came to your house—for they have come to spy on the whole land!”…
Disclaimer: I am not a linguist. But I know (mainly through their writings) a number of people who are. So, obviously, I am relying heavily upon their expertise in what follows.
1 Cor 6:9-11 ‘Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, passive homosexual partners, practicing homosexuals, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God. …
Mark 1:12 ‘The Spirit immediately drove him into the wilderness.’
This verse indicates that Jesus’ temptation happened ‘immediately’ after his baptism.
For Ehrman (Jesus, Interrupted) this is a problem:
…In John there is no account of Jesus being tempted by the Devil in the wilderness. The day after John the Baptist has borne witness to the Spirit descending on Jesus as a dove at baptism (John 1:29–34), he sees Jesus again and declares him to be the Lamb of God (John is explicit, stating that this occurred “the next day”).
