My First Victim (a Softball)

  (I dedicate this post to two youngsters named Joshua and Joey. This blog was made possible 

through their financial gifts. I thank you two for your never-ending humor and energy. Keep up the 

good work.)

  Now, when going through the lists of “contradictions”, I had a tough time choosing. It needed 

to  be big. Controversial. Raging. Potentially embarrassing. In the words of those annoying pigeons in 

the sappy animated movie Bolt, “It (needs) to be huge, man, huge.”

  So, naturally, I went with a contradiction that had none of those qualities. Let’s travel to the 

Gospels for a softball, shall we? When Jesus was hung on a cross, they put a sign over Him that 

detailed His (blasphemous) claim. Let’s examine it.

  Matthew stated that the sign they put over Jesus proclaimed “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF 

THE JEWS” (Matthew 27:37).

  But wait, Mark writes “THE KING OF THE JEWS” (Mark 15:26).

Even worse, Luke writes that the sign said “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS” (Luke 23:38).

  Naturally, John just has to make it worse by saying “JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF

THE JEWS” (John 19:19).

  Why do they contradict each other? Well, the short answer is: they don’t. A contradiction is 

when one person says X and another person says Y (for you math people, in this instance X ≠ Y). Or 

later one person says X and someone else gives a different definition for X. The Gospel writers do 

neither of those things.

  For example, on the Huffington Post website, if you scroll down, there is an article by Belle 

Beth Cooper titled “10 Simple Things You Can Do Today That Will Make You Happier, Backed By 

Science”. Let’s say that you read it. Later, you ask four people (who have also read the article), “What 

was its title?”

  One person says, “Simple Things You Can Do Today That Will Make You Happier”.

  Another person says, “10 Simple Things You Can Do That Will Make You Happier, Backed 

By Scientists”.

  The third person says, “10 Things You Can Do Today That Will Make You Happier, Backed 

By Science.”

  Finally, the fourth says, “Things You Can Do That Will Make You Happier”.

  Did they contradict each other? No, not at all. They just gave either the bare minimum and/or 

selective details to go along with it. But in the end, the message comes across (stated by the fourth 

person).

  The same logic applies to the sign in the Gospels. Mark supplies the bare minimum (THE 

KING OF THE JEWS) in his description, and the other three add to that. But the message doesn’t 

change. No one states “THE PRINCE OF THE JEWS”, or anything like that. If that was the case, that 

would be a true contradiction. A prince and a king are very different. But as it is, we are left with the 

truth:

Jesus (from Nazareth) is the King of the Jews

P.S. The blog was free ;)