DAY 187
CHALLENGE
“The Gospels were written long after the fact. They aren’t historically reliable.”
DEFENSE
On the contrary, the details in the Gospels show they are very reliable.
In John, when Jesus is about to miraculously feed the five thousand, he asks Philip where it would be possible to buy bread (John 6:5–6). This is surprising since Philip was not a major apostle.
However, John also records that Philip was from Bethsaida—the town from which Peter and Andrew originally hailed (John 1:44, 12:21). The feeding of the five thousand occurred in a desolate place near the town of Bethsaida (Luke 9:10–13). That would explain why Jesus might ask Philip where bread could be bought, but since Peter and Andrew also came from Bethsaida, and since they were among the most prominent apostles, we would expect him to ask them.
The matter is clarified in Mark, which indicates Peter and Andrew were now living in the village of Capernaum (Mark 1:21–29). They no longer lived in Bethsaida and would not have up-to-date knowledge of where bread could be bought. Jesus thus asked Philip.
It is striking that each fact is mentioned in only one of the Gospels:
- Only John mentions that Jesus asked Philip where to buy bread.
- Only John mentions that Philip was from Bethsaida.
- Only Luke mentions that the feeding of the five thousand took place near Bethsaida.
- Only Mark mentions that Peter and Andrew were now living in Capernaum.
Yet when careful attention is paid to the details of each Gospel, a coherent picture emerges of why Jesus asked a lesser apostle like Philip where bread could be bought.
This is not the kind of situation that would arise if the evangelists were making up details at random. The Gospels are all too short for chance to explain the matter. Neither does the situation reflect a col- lusion of authors, for the relevant details are mentioned only in passing and nothing is ever made of them.
This indicates that the evangelists are accurately recording historical details, whose integrity is shown when their accounts are compared.
TIP
See John James Blunt, Undesigned Coincidences in the Writings Both of the Old and New Testament—An Argument of Their Veracity.