Each of the four Gospels has its own unique traits, its own perspective on the life of Jesus.

​When we look at the Gospel of Luke, for example, we see a clear stress on Jesus as the Son of Man, but there is another, often less noticed, aspect of Luke’s Gospel that can be illuminating: its focus on prayer.

​Read our new article on this aspect of the third Gospel here .  You may never see the Gospel of Luke in the same way again. 

​SCRIPTURES IN QUESTION: 
​Luke 23:46 and John 19:30

“Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" And having said this he breathed his last” (Luke 23:46 ESV).
“When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:30 ESV).

On the surface, the accounts of Luke and John certainly might seem to be at variance with each other regarding the last words of Jesus, but when we look more closely we find little reason to see any contradiction.

First, we should notice that while Luke specifically says “…having said this he breathed his last,” the wording of John’s Gospel “… and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” does not necessarily preclude intervening words – it could simply mean that moments or minutes after receiving the wine, Jesus died. 

Note that while Luke focuses specifically on Jesus’ last words – and calls them exactly that – John seems to focus on the sour wine event and its resultant “It is finished” as the final prophecies fulfilled by Christ. This is typical of Luke’s frequent focus on the humanity of Jesus and his actual words, as opposed to John’s focus on Jesus’ fulfillment of prophecies relating to the Messiah and details regarding the message of salvation.

But there is no real reason to think that both accounts were not true.  Jesus’ last words may have been a combination of what John and Luke record: “It is finished. Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”   If these were the actual and full last words of Jesus, then the two Gospel writers simply recorded that part of the expression which was of most importance to their own accounts.

It is also sometimes said that both Luke and John are contradicted by Matthew and Mark, whose Gospels both record Jesus’ expression “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” as his last words.  But both Matthew and Mark write that, soon after this, Jesus gave a loud cry:  “And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit” (Matthew 27:50); “With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last” (Mark 15:37).

But these accounts do not say whether the “loud cry” or “loud voice” contained words or not. If the cry contained words, it was doubtless those recorded by Luke and John.  The reason that the other two Gospels say a “voice” or “cry” was probably because they are based on the account of a witness of the crucifixion who was close enough to hear the cry, but not close enough to make out the exact words.  (Both Matthew and Mark agree that many of the witnesses stood “at a distance” from the cross – Matthew 27:55, Mark 15:40).

When we keep both factors in mind: that Luke and John compiled their Gospels stressing different themes, and that Matthew and Mark may well have drawn their information from different witnesses, there is no need to presume any contradiction between the four Gospels as to the last words of Jesus.

Today we are very excited to bring you the latest in our series of interviews with Presidents and CEO's of  faith-based charities and missionary organizations.  Our latest interview focuses on CHILDREN IN CHRIST® (CIC) – a unique Christian organization founded in 1997 and now working in some 20 countries.  A major focus of CIC's work is in Africa, and the organization is accomplishing amazing things in its work there and elsewhere.  

Jennifer Merryman, CIC’s CEO, kindly agreed to answer our questions about this organization’s approach and what it is doing.  Her firsthand knowledge of the situation "on the ground" provides important insights into current missionary work in some of the most needful and dangerous areas of the world's "10/40 Window."  We feel our interview with her is a must read for anyone wanting to better understand the challenges and opportunities of missions today. This is an exceptional work of faith and you can read the interview here.​

Articles recently published on many online sites and in some printed media claim that hundreds of skeletons as well as many ancient Egyptian weapons and broken chariots have been discovered beneath the waters of the Red Sea, seemingly confirming the biblical story of the Exodus.  One of these articles (March 9, 2016) provides a good many details as we see in this direct quote:
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“Egypt’s Antiquities Ministry announced this morning that a team of underwater archaeologists had discovered that remains of a large Egyptian army from the 14th century BC, at the bottom of the Gulf of Suez, 1.5 kilometers offshore from the modern city of Ras Gharib. The team was searching for the remains of ancient ships and artifacts related to Stone Age and Bronze Age trade in the Red Sea area, when they stumbled upon a gigantic mass of human bones darkened by age.

The scientists lead by Professor Abdel Muhammad Gader and associated with Cairo University’s Faculty of Archaeology, have already recovered a total of more than 400 different skeletons, as well as hundreds of weapons and pieces of armor, also the remains of two war chariots, scattered over an area of approximately 200 square meters. They estimate that more than 5000 other bodies could be dispersed over a wider area, suggesting that an army of large size who have perished on the site.”

This extract from one of the published articles “reporting” the discovery certainly looks authentic in that it states the find was officially announced by Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities and names the specific archaeologist - Professor Abdel Muhammad Gader – responsible for the discovery, as well as seeming to show a discovered artifact.
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The truth, however, is that the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities has never made such an announcement, there is no Professor Abdel Muhammad Gader at Cairo University, and every detail of the claimed finds is pure fiction. Even the picture of the ancient Egyptian “Khepesh” (or Khopesh) sword accompanying the article (reproduced above), and implied to have been found among the Red Sea artifacts, is well known to archaeologists. It was found at Nablus, north of Jerusalem, a good many years ago, and the photograph of this weapon used in the supposed news article has been taken from the Wikipedia site, here.
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But the spurious “announcement” of evidence of the Exodus destruction of Pharaoh’s army is a recurring one, with “coral encrusted” chariot wheels, ancient weapons and other artifacts routinely said to have been found in the Red Sea.  And the Exodus isn’t the only Biblical story that is frequently said to have been “confirmed.”  Stories ranging from discoveries of wood from Noah’s Ark to “evidence” of Goliath’s spear occur periodically, and all have in common their complete lack of factuality.

Archaeology has confirmed many details of the biblical account, and these discoveries are encouraging to read; but we should realize that Christians have a special responsibility not to believe or repeat stories of “major discoveries” that simply are not true. Psychologically we all like to get affirmation for what we believe, but we must remember that gullibility on our part always leads to rejection of what we say by others.  When people find such stories are false, they are more likely to turn from the Bible than to it.

As a simple rule of thumb, we should realize that any “discovery” of real Biblical significance would be reported by most of the newspapers and news sources around the world.  The moral of the “coral encrusted” chariot wheels is that if we don’t see a story of such major significance everywhere, we should not believe it.   It’s always better when our faith is based on what matters – and what is true. ​

​The Book of John tells two stories, back to back, of encounters between Jesus and individuals who came to him  alone.  Rather than being part of the crowds that thronged Jesus daily, these individuals talked with him privately. One sought him out in the dark of night and the other was approached by him under the blazing sun at noon.  The two individuals were the priest Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman Jesus met at the well. The two stories, told in conjunction by John, clearly contrast in a number of ways, but also share something in common.

Nicodemus, a prominent Pharisee and ultra-righteous member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, came to Jesus, John tells us, “by night” (John 3:1-21) in order to question him about his teachings.  Nicodemus was part of the religious establishment of the time, and he clearly went to Jesus under the cover of darkness so as not to be seen and recognized. John’s record of the conversation between Jesus and the Pharisee shows us that Nicodemus  was beginning to believe the truth, but he held back because of the opinions of his friends and colleagues. 

The Samaritan woman Jesus met at the well outside the city of Sychar in Samaria came to draw water around noon (John 4:4-42), which was the hottest time of day when the fewest people would be at the well. It is unlikely that anyone would purposely plan a trip to the well at that time unless they wanted to avoid people.  But, as someone doubtless shunned or shamed by her neighbors because of her sexual relations with a number of men, the Samaritan woman had good reason to go to the well at a time when she would not meet others. She doubtless went then because of her discomfort with her neighbors’ opinion of her.

The two individuals were worlds apart.  Nicodemus was a respected member of the privileged religious elite in the Judean capital of Jerusalem; the Samaritan woman was a shamed individual from a despised culture in a rustic backwater of the country. Spiritually, Nicodemus may have needed help to see his sin and the Samaritan woman may have needed help to see her worth,  but both individuals shared something in common – they both evidently feared the opinions of others and sought to avoid those who might look down on them.

It is unlikely that John juxtaposed his accounts of these individuals in the way he did without intending his readers to see the connection of fear implied in both stories. Whatever our background, whatever our own perception of our standing before God, we may adjust our behavior in order to cope with our inherent human fear of the opinions of others.  But after meeting with the one they came to see was probably the Messiah, both individuals found the courage to act without shame and without cover.
 
Nicodemus later spoke with courage to remind his colleagues in the Sanhedrin that a person should be heard before being judged (John 7:50–51), and then, after the crucifixion, he helped to prepare the body of the reviled and executed Jesus for burial (John 19:39–42).  In the same way, after meeting Jesus, the Samaritan woman – if she had been avoiding her neighbors – now found the courage to tell them all about the one she had met who was the Christ.

We may not be like Nicodemus or like the Samaritan woman. Perhaps our lives are being lived out somewhere between those of the two individuals, the saint and the serial sinner.  But like them, if we have met with Jesus in our lives, we will be strengthened to live above the opinions of others.