When Did Jairus’ Daughter Die?

When Did Jairus’ Daughter Die?

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Raising of Jairus’ Daughter by Paolo Veronese, 1546

Critics and skeptics claim the gospel of Matthew contradicts the gospels of Mark and Luke about the time of Jairus daughter’s death. They claim Matthew has her dying before he healed “a woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years” (Matthew 9:19 NAB), while Mark and Luke have the girl dying after this healing. So, when did Jairus’ daughter die?

Here is the alleged contradiction:

When Jesus met Jairus was Jairus’ daughter already dead?
(a) Yes. Matthew 9:18 quotes him as saying, “My daughter has just died.”
(b) No. Mark 5:23 quotes him as saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death.”

The accounts in Mark and Luke add an additional detail that clears up the confusion:

“While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. ‘Your daughter is dead,’ they said. ‘Why bother the teacher anymore?'”—Mark 5:35 NIV; Luke 8:49

When Jairus first mentioned this to Jesus, he was not yet informed of his daughter’s death, as Mark 5:23 and Luke 8:42 indicate. Matthew 9:18 can be translated as indicating the girl was near death, but not yet dead, as follows: read more

Why Did Felix Become Frightened Listening to Paul?

Why Did Felix Become Frightened Listening to Paul?

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    Paul's Message to Felix - Plain Bible Teaching  

“Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He had Paul summoned and listened to him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. But as he spoke about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and said, ‘You may go for now; when I find an opportunity I shall summon you again'” (Acts 24:23,24 NAB). What strikes us here as being highly unusual, is that the powerful Roman governor of Judea, M. Antonius Felix became frightened while listening to the prisoner Paul speak in a hearing before him. One would naturally think that Paul should be the one who is frightened, not Felix. So, the question naturally arises, why did Felix become frightened listening to Paul?  read more

Paul’s Roman Citizenship, Governor Felix, and Bribery

Paul’s Roman Citizenship, Governor Felix, and Bribery

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What do Paul’s Roman citizenship, Governor Felix, and bribery have to do with the Bible’s authenticity? M. Antonius Felix was the 4th Roman governor of Judea, from 52-60 CE, and well known for taking bribes and other corruption. The apostle Paul, who was in custody, came before him in “trial”, and after hearing both sides of the issue, “Felix . . . postponed the trial” (Acts 24:21,22 NAB). Why?

“Felix . . . hoped that a bribe would be offered him by Paul, and so sent for him very often and conversed with him. Two years passed” (Acts 24:25,26 NAB). Felix’ hope for a bribe from Paul seems highly unusual, not because of any honesty on Felix’s part, but because of Paul’s poverty. To support himself, Paul, at times, did manual labor as a part-time ‘tentmaker’ (Acts 18:3). Due to his intense focus on spreading the gospel and his itinerant travel, at times he didn’t even have the basic necessities of life (2 Corinthians 11:27).  read more

Did One Or Two Thieves Mock Jesus?

Did One Or Two Thieves Mock Jesus?

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Skeptics and critics have asserted that the gospels contradict about whether one or two thieves who were executed with Jesus that afternoon mocked him. “Did one or two thieves mock Jesus?” Often, on the surface, what seems to be a contradiction, but upon close examination of the accounts in their context, things turn out to be different. So, let’s see: 

Here is the alleged contradiction:

The gospels say that two thieves were crucified along with Jesus. Did both thieves mock Jesus? read more

Why Have Alligators Not Evolved?

Why Have Alligators Not Evolved?

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The head of an alligator submerged in water and surrounded by aquatic plants (Credit: Alamy) Many alligators live in the Florida Everglades.   All living things are claimed to have originally developed from non-living matter, and then gradually and continually undergo Darwinian evolution over millions of years of time.    “By around 8 million years ago, the modern alligator species began to emerge. These creatures were smaller and more adapted to their swampy habitats.” (Evolution of Modern Alligators). This is the standard teaching of mainstream science today. But what are the actual facts?   “The fossil record does support the evolution of reptiles, although it may not provide a complete and unbroken chain of transitional fossils for all reptile lineages.”—AI search   The Bible reports that, “God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moved about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind, and God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:21 NIV). God created all the creatures that make their home in the water, “according to their kinds”, that is, there are barriers as reproduction, or cross-breeding. 

“Alligators are often called “living fossils”, relatively untouched by major evolutionary changes for at least eight million years, with remarkably similar ancestors already hunting swamps alongside the dinosaurs. Yet, beginning in the 1850s, the arrival of rifle-wielding European settlers into the wetlands of Florida and Louisiana drove this evolutionary line to the verge of extinction.”-—How Alligators Are Breathing Life Into Florida’s Everglades, BBC Earth, April 19, 2025 read more

Does God Change His Mind? – Bible Contradictions?

Does God Change His Mind? – Bible Contradictions?

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Does God Ever Change His Mind? - Faith is the Evidence

Does God change his mind? Skeptics and critics have claimed the Bible contradicts itself on this matter. 

Alleged contradiction:

Does God change his mind?
(a) Yes. “The word of the Lord came to Samuel: “I repent that I have made Saul King…” (I Samuel 15:11)
(b) No. God “will not lie or repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent” (I Samuel 15:29)
(c) Yes. “And the Lord repented that he had made Saul King over Israel” (I Samuel 15:35). Notice that
the above three quotes are all from the same chapter of the same book! In addition, the Bible shows that
God repented on several other occasions:
i. “The Lord was sorry that he made man” (Genesis 6:6)
“I am sorry that I have made them” (Genesis 6:7)
ii. “And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do to his people” (Exodus 32:14).
iii. (Lots of other such references). read more

Did The Brain Evolve, or Was It Created?

Did The Brain Evolve, or Was It Created?

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Did the brain evolve, or was it created? 

“The human brain is staggeringly complex and the product of millions of years of evolution”—YourGenome.org

“We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV). The ability to develop thoughts and learn has to have come from God. The brain, where thoughts are developed, is far too complex to have evolved without design. Recent discoveries continue to give evidence of this.  

“Scientists achieved “a milestone” by charting the activity and structure of 200,000 cells in a mouse brain and their 523 million connections.
A neuron extends an axon to make contact with other neurons. A team of more than 100 scientists recorded the cellular activity and mapped the structure in a cubic millimeter of a mouse’s brain. read more

Did Jesus Die Before Or After Passover?

Did Jesus Die Before Or After Passover?

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The Judgment on the Gabbatha by James Tissot, c. 1890

Skeptics and critics of the Bible often claim that the gospel of John contradicts the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John,  in reporting Jesus died before, rather than after, the Passover. Did Jesus die before, or after, Passover?

Alleged contradiction:

Was Jesus crucified on the daytime before the Passover meal or the daytime after?
(a) After (Mark 14:12-17)
(b) Before. Before the feast of the Passover (John 13:1) Judas went out at night (John 13:30). The other
disciples thought he was going out to buy supplies to prepare for the Passover meal (John 13:29). When
Jesus was arrested, the Jews did not enter Pilate’s judgment hall because they wanted to stay clean to
eat the Passover (John 18:28). When the judgment was pronounced against Jesus, it was about the sixth
hour on the day of Preparation for the Passover (John 19:14) read more

Was Quirinius Governor of Syria When Jesus Was Born?

Was Quirinius Governor of Syria When Jesus Was Born?

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Mary and Joseph register for the census before Governor Quirinius. Byzantine mosaic at the Chora Church, Constantinople 1315–1320.

Critics and skeptics of the Bible claim that Luke 2:2 contradicts history by saying that Quirinius was “governor of Syria” at the time of Jesus’ birth, because reliable historical records indicate that Quirinius held the position from 6 to 9 CE.

“In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria. all went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem . . . He went to registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child”—Luke 2:1-6 NRSV read more

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