Infidel Challenge #1

[Mateo el Feo]

Quotes from the Gospels:

[quote name='Luke 22:52' date='53']And Jesus said to the chief priests and temple guards and elders who had come for him, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs?  Day after day I was with you in the temple area, and you did not seize me; but this is your hour, the time for the power of darkness."[/quote]

[quote name='John 8:59']So they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.[/quote]
[quote name='John 10:39'](Then) they tried again to arrest him; but he escaped from their power.[/quote]

The infidel challenge #1 is to suggest that there is an inconsistency between the Gospels of Luke and John. Curiously, the infidel trusts the accuracy of the text (that's a good start! ), while placing the blame of "inconsistency" on Our Lord.

The Gospel of Luke indicates that the Jewish authorities never seized Jesus before His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, while the Gospel of John indicates that they tried to seize Him, but failed.

In my view, all of the verses rest on the same fact: the Jewish authorities never seized Our Lord until the seized Him in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Any other thoughts? Anyone care to defend the infidel position?

[Paphnutius]

I agree with you. Jesus never said that they did not try, but simply that they had not seized/arrested Him. I also think that it is worth pointing out that in other places of the Gospels they try to arrest Him but cannot because of the crowd. This points to the fact that while although someone may try to arrest another, those actions may never be actualized but instead they just keep an eye out for an opportunity.

[MichaelFilo]

The idea that came to mind was this :

Was not the people who tried to seize him different in one area, and the people who came to seize him in Jerusalem different from those? That is, the people in Jerusalem never tried to seize him. That would also make sense, I assume.

God bless,
Mikey

[cmotherofpirl]

Luke is talking about Holy Thursday.
John 8 and John 10 are not.
Johns Passion narratvie doesn't start until John 13.

[MilesChristi]

As you have said, Jesus was not saying that they had not tried to arrest him; rather, that they had not actually been able to do so in broad daylight amidst the crowds. Jesus eluded them because it was not yet the hour for the Son of Man to be glorified in His Passion. At Gethsemani, He knows that the time has come. Thus He says, "but this is your hour, the time for the power of darkness."