Introduction
When it comes to the reliability of the gospels, many Christians believe that their authors were writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit providing multiple independent yet perfectly harmonious testimonies about the life and ministry of Jesus (PBUH). In this blog, we will put this belief to the test by comparing the gospel accounts. There is in fact compelling evidence that the authors of Matthew and Mark were copying from one another.
Prophecy of Daniel
Let us observe Matthew 24:15-16 (The Bible) "So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the Prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand) then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains." Now let's cast a glance at Mark 13: 14 ("But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains."
If we compare these two texts we can see that they are both narrating the same speech of Jesus (PBUH). We can notice the identical comment 'let the readers understand' by both authors. This statement is obviously not something that Jesus (PBUH) himself said but rather is the gospel author's editorial comment directed to us. It is extremely unlikely that two writers would by pure chance insert into their accounts exactly the same editorial comment in exactly the same place.
The simplest and obvious explanation is that one of the writers was using the material of the other as a source and copied not only the bulk of the speech of Jesus (PBUH) but also the same editorial comment. This seriously cast doubt on the traditional understanding that Matthew and Mark were independent eyewitnesses to the life and ministry of Jesus (PBUH) as it appears that one of the authors was plagiarizing the work of the other.
Woman in the Crowd
Now Christian apologists and missionaries may argue that this is not an issue so long as the earlier source was inspired and so long as the later authors were faithful in a copying process then all the accounts will contain reliable information about Jesus. Let's now put this argument of theirs to the test by comparing the gospel accounts.
Mark 5:25-30 (The Bible) mentions the following incident about a woman in a crowd "And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak because she thought 'If I just touched his clothes, I would be healed immediately'. Her bleeding stopped at once. Jesus realized that power had gone out of him. He turned around in the crowd and asked who touched his cloak". Here is Matthew's (9:20-22; The Bible) account of the same incident "Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself if I only touch his cloak, I will be healed. Jesus turned and saw her. 'Take heart daughter for your faith has healed you'."
We can see that the gospels of Mark and Matthew both narrate a story about a woman who was miraculously healed by touching the cloak of Jesus (PBUH). In Mark, Jesus (PBUH) is ignorant about who touched him. He had to consult the crowd in order to find out the person. Now contrast this with Matthew who changed the story so that Jesus (PBUH) immediately knew who touched him. The author of Matthew seems to have wanted to portray Jesus (PBUH) in a more powerful light.
The Storm
The gospel of Mark (4:38-40; The Bible) mentions the following incident about the disciples. "Jesus was in the stone sleeping on a cushion. The disciples walked him and said to him; 'Teacher don't you care if we drown?' He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the waves 'Quiet! Be still! Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples; 'Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" Here is Luke's (8:24-25; The Bible) account of the same incident "The disciples went and walked to him saying 'Master! Master! We're going to drown. He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters. The storm subsided and all was calm. 'Where is your faith?' he asked his disciples".
We can see that the gospels of Mark and Luke both provide an account of Jesus (PBUH) and the disciples on a boat during a storm. Mark portrays the disciples as rather disrespectful towards Jesus (PBUH) accusing him of being uncaring. Even the response of Jesus (PBUH) 'Do you still have no fear?' is quite harsh by comparison. Luke softened the tone considerably not only by having the disciples address Jesus (PBUH) more respectfully but also by changing the response of Jesus (PBUH) to 'Where is your faith?'
The Question
The gospel of Mark (10:17-18; The Bible) mentions the following incident about a man who questions Jesus (PBUH).”As Jesus started on his way a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. ‘Good teacher!’ he asked; ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ ‘Why do you call me good?’ Jesus answered; ’No one is good except God alone'. Here is Matthew's (19:16-17; The Bible) account of the same incident. “Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked; ‘Teacher! What good thing must I do to get eternal life?’ ‘Why do you ask me about what is good?’ Jesus replied; ‘There is only one who is good.’
We can see that the gospels of Mark and Matthew both mention an incident about a
man who approached Jesus (PBUH) and questioned him about eternal life. In Mark, Jesus (PBUH) rejected the question as praise of him being good saying that God alone is good Matthew seems to have been troubled by this and therefore rephrased Jesus' answer very subtly from ‘Why do you call me good?’ to ‘Why do you ask what is good?’ so as to avoid the difficult implication that Jesus (PBUH) is not completely good.
Crucifixion
The gospel of Mark (15:34-37; The Bible) mentions the following incident about the crucifixion: "And at three in the afternoon, Jesus cried out in a loud voice 'My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?' With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last." Here is Luke's account of the same incident: "Jesus called out with a loud voice; 'Father! Into your hands, I commit my spirit.' When he had said this, he breathed his last."
We can see that the gospels of Mark and Luke both record the dying words of Jesus (PBUH). In Mark, Jesus (PBUH) is alleged to have cried out in blasphemous despair. Luke's account completely reversed this by placing in the mouth of Jesus the far more stoic and submissive statement 'Father! Into your hands, I commit my spirit.'
Consistency of Reports on Islamic Paradigm
The reality is that the vast majority of Christians are unaware of such changes. This is not surprising because the gospels are typically read in isolation. It's only when you read them horizontally comparing their accounts with each other side by side that the changes become apparent. Let's compare this messy situation of the gospels to the Islamic sources about the life and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
His close disciples known as the companions accurately preserved and transmitted much of the information that we know about him today.
Here are some examples in Medina. The Messenger of God was thrown from a horse onto a palm trunk and dislocated his foot after arriving in Medina. The prophet passed by some people who were fertilizing some dead palms. He said 'I don't think that will provide any benefit' so they refrained from doing it and that year the crop was not as good. They mentioned it to him and he replied 'If I inform you of something from God
do it for indeed I will never convey an untruth on behalf of God but if I tell you to do something based on personal opinion then realize that I am only human and you know better of your worldly affairs'. The prophet used to say in his illness from which he died 'I still feel the pain of the food which I ate at Hreibar and now I feel as if my aorta is being severed by that poison'.
Conclusion
The companions transmitted numerous such incidents that would be considered embarrassing and could even have been used as propaganda by Islam's enemies in order to undermine Muhammad's prophethood now just like the gospel authors the companions could have easily suppressed or tampered with such accounts in order to aggrandize and exaggerate the status of the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) but they never did. They narrated exactly what they witnessed which shows us that their
main concern was propagating the truth. This is one reason why Muslims can be confident that our religion is based on authentic information.
That is all for now. Please stay tuned for the next blog. Thank you for your support and stay blessed. Assalamalaikum!
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