Biblical Proof!: Do Inconsistencies about Jesus Walking on Water Disprove that Jesus Walked on Water and that Jesus Is the Son of God?

Do Inconsistencies about Jesus Walking on Water Disprove that Jesus Walked on Water and that Jesus Is the Son of God?

[Have you ever heard someone say something about all the lies in the Bible that disprove that Jesus Is the Son of God? They generally base this on inconsistencies within the Bible which they call lies, but are any of the inconsistencies significant enough to disprove Jesus Is the Son of God?]

[I will research the inconsistencies about Jesus walking on the water and see if any inconsistencies are significant enough to disprove that Jesus walked on water or that Jesus Is the Son of God, so you can make up your own mind!]

[I will use the New King James Version [NKJV] of the Bible to do this research and possibly internet resources, as needed. Sometimes he and him are used within the same Bible verse, which can make it difficult to determine who is talking and who is being spoken to. I will use brackets to tell who each refers to, if it isn’t clear from the text. ]

[I will put my analysis, opinions, and comments of this research project within brackets, as well. That allows you and others to go to either of these two blogs I felt led to create, so you can read the research yourself and make up your own mind: Biblical Proof! at https://BiblicalProof.blogspot.com/ or Do Biblical Inconsistencies Really Matter? at https://Biblicalinconsistencies.blogspot.com/ .]

[I will put the main New Testament Bible passages that relate to Jesus walking on water, below. I will copy and paste portions of those passages that relate to particular aspects I’m evaluating, so it makes analysis of those portions easier to compare to see if there are any inconsistencies of significance.]

Matthew 14:19-33 says: Then He [Jesus] commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children. Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He [Jesus] went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He [Jesus] was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” So He [Jesus] said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he [Peter] was afraid: and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him [Peter], and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they [Jesus and Peter] got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him [Jesus], saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

Mark 6:41-51 says: And when He [Jesus] had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all. So they all ate and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish. Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men. Immediately He [Jesus] made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He [Jesus] sent the multitude away. And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He [Jesus] was alone on the land. Then He [Jesus] saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He [Jesus] came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. And when they saw Him [Jesus] walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” Then He [Jesus] went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.

Luke 9:16-22 says: Then He [Jesus] took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them. And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” So they answered and said, “John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again.” He [Jesus] said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.” And He [Jesus] strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”

John 6:9-21 says: “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?” Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. So when they were filled, He [Jesus] said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He [Jesus] departed again to the mountain by Himself alone. Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them. Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. But He [Jesus] said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.

[First of all, I think with this particular analysis, it’s important to find out what happened just before Jesus walked on water.]

Matthew 14:19-23 says: Then He [Jesus] commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children. Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He [Jesus] went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He [Jesus] was alone there.

Mark 6:41-47 says: And when He [Jesus] had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all. So they all ate and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish. Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men. Immediately He [Jesus] made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He [Jesus] sent the multitude away. And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He [Jesus] was alone on the land.

Luke 9:16-18 says: Then He [Jesus] took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them. And it happened, as He [Jesus] was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”

John 6:9-21 says: “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?” Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. So when they were filled, He [Jesus] said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He [Jesus] departed again to the mountain by Himself alone. Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them.

[In this particular research project, I have to break the passages down further into smaller chunks to better evaluate them.]

[Prior to the pertinent passages discussing Jesus walking on water, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all say that Jesus fed the people with five loaves of bread and two fish. So, that is consistent.]

[In the passages from Matthew, Mark and John, all say that Jesus took the five loaves of bread and two fish and fed about 5,000 people. Luke 9:16 says: Then He [Jesus] took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude, but doesn’t specify a particular number. Is this significant? In that three of the Gospels specify the miracle Jesus did was feeding the people with only five loaves of bread and two fishes to 5,000 people, and Luke said that the multitude was fed, is pretty similar, so I see no major inconsistency in this comparison of the passages.]

[The passage in Matthew says that there were 5,000 besides women and children. The passages in Mark and John say they were men, and Luke doesn’t say. Is that significant? Whether the people were all men, or men, women and children shouldn’t really have any implication of whether Jesus walked on water or that He Is the Son of God, so it’s of no real significance.]

[All four Gospel passages say that 12 baskets of fragments were collected of the bread and fish after everyone had eaten their fill, so that is consistent.]

[The Gospels of Matthew and Mark say that Jesus had His disciples go in a boat to the other side of the sea while He sent the multitudes away. Jesus, then, went by Himself to the mountain to pray. The Gospel of Luke says that while Jesus was alone praying, His disciples joined Him and they had a conversation with Jesus about who people say He is. John 6:14-17 says: Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He [Jesus] departed again to the mountain by Himself alone. Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them. Are these differences significant? That will depend on the results of the analysis of any inconsistencies.]

[The Gospels of Matthew and Mark are pretty consistent with the disciples going in a boat while Jesus sent the multitude home and then went on the mountain to pray. The Gospel of John does say that Jesus went to the mountain by Himself, but did not say that He went there to pray, although it does say that His disciples got into the boat and went over the sea toward Capernaum. The disciples getting on the boat without Jesus is consistent. Does it matter if the Gospel of John didn’t mention Jesus praying while He was on the mountain alone? Not really. Whether Jesus prayed while He was on the mountain alone or didn’t pray while He was on the mountain alone, doesn’t have anything to do with the disciples going in the boat without Jesus or whether Jesus walked on water or that He Is the Son of God!]

[I want to look further at the passage in the Gospel of John 6:14-15 which says: Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He [Jesus] departed again to the mountain by Himself alone. These two verses explain so much more. After Jesus’ performing the miracle where He turned five loaves of bread and two fish into enough food that 5,000 people could have their fill is pretty significant! That’s why the men who had seen this miracle said, “That This [Jesus] is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” That explains why they wanted to force Jesus to become their king. Often, the Gospel writers add more detail to what others have already written, for further clarification. There are those who call them inconsistencies and lies, but really they say the same basic thing, but the Gospel of John adds this clarifying information.]

[That brings us to the Gospel of Luke. Luke 9:18 says: And it happened, as He [Jesus] was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” Although it says that Jesus had been alone praying, His disciples joined Him and they had a conversation about who people say Jesus Is. I will be delving into this a little further, but want to analyze the portions of the passages about Jesus walking on water, first.]

Matthew 14:24-27 says: But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

Mark 6:48-51 says: Then He [Jesus] saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He [Jesus] came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. And when they saw Him [Jesus] walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” Then He [Jesus] went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.

The Gospel of Luke says nothing about Jesus walking on water.

John 6:16-21 says: Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them. Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. But He [Jesus] said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.

[ The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and John all say the crew members saw Jesus walking on water toward their boat when they were being tossed about in the wind. This is consistent. The Gospel of Luke doesn’t mention this which is inconsistent with the other three Gospels, but I will evaluate this further after I finish analyzing the portion of the passages that focuses on Jesus walking on the water.]

[The Gospels of Matthew and Mark say that the crew members were afraid when they saw Jesus walking on the water, because they thought it was a ghost. The Gospel of John just says that they were afraid. These are just minor differences of wording and are not significant.]

[Well, there are several explanations, but we will never know for sure why this is the case. Remember in John 6:14-15 which says: Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He [Jesus] departed again to the mountain by Himself alone? In these verses the Apostle John added more detail than was recorded in the Gospel of Matthew or Mark. It is often the case that the New Testament writers add to what has already been recorded by others or say nothing about what has already been amply recorded. So, Matthew and Mark may have felt that the Apostle John gave enough eyewitness information that they didn’t need to add it to what they recorded.]

[Another hypothetical reason that wasn’t recorded was that, because the boat was being tossed about in the storm, Mark and John may not have been near when Peter asked Jesus if he could walk on water. If that’s the case, Matthew recorded what he heard and saw, but the others were unaware of that happening or they couldn’t hear what Peter and Jesus said, so they didn’t record it. Again, we will never truly know why it wasn’t recorded in the Gospel of Mark and John, but is it significant that it wasn’t recorded?]

[In that three different Gospels record that Jesus walked on water toward their boat during a windy storm, is consistent proof that this happened. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and John record that the crew members saw Jesus walking on water toward their boat during the windy storm and were afraid or thought He [Jesus] was a ghost. This shows that not only were the Gospel writers aware that Jesus walked on water during the windy storm, but the rest of the crew witnessed this, as well. This means that there were lots of eyewitnesses of Jesus’ walking on water toward their boat during a windy storm.]

[Additionally, the Gospels Matthew, Mark, and John have been consistent in recording this: But He [Jesus] said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”]

[Matthew 14:28-31 says: And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” So He [Jesus] said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he [Peter] was afraid: and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him [Peter], and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Is this information significant, in that the Gospels of Mark and John don’t have this information recorded ? It most certainly is significant information! Not only did Jesus walk on water during a windy storm, which is a monumental miracle in and of itself, but Jesus also allowed Peter to walk on water, as well, which is another major miracle. Unfortunately, Peter became afraid and started to sink, but Jesus reached out His hand to Peter and saved him.]

[This is especially significant to all of us, because Jesus is there to save all of us when we are afraid and doubt, just like He did Peter, if we let Him. Back to my analysis of these passages...]

Matthew 14:33 says: And when they [Jessus and Peter] got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him [Jesus], saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

Mark 6:51 says: Then He [Jesus] went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.

John 6:21 says: Then they willingly received Him [Jesus] into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.

[The Gospels of Matthew and Mark have it recorded that when Jesus got into the boat after walking there on the water, the wind ceased. The Gospel of John has it recorded that when Jesus got into the boat that they were on land at their destination. Are these inconsistencies significant? Well, could they have arrived at land and the wind ceased, as well? Sure, but whether it did or didn’t isn’t significant, because it doesn’t disprove that Jesus walked on water to the boat in a windstorm, and that the crew witnessed this and that they got there safely. Also, according to Matthew 14:33 And when they [Jesus and Peter] got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him [Jesus], saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.” So, this passage not only corroborates that Jesus walked on water, but that the crew realized that after such a major miracle Jesus Is truly the Son of God.]

[I promised to further delve into the inconsistencies between the Gospel of Luke and what is recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and John.]

Matthew 16:6-8 says: “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?” “Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? “Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?

Mark 8:17-21 says: But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? “Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? “When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?” They said to Him, “Twelve.” “Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?” And they said, “Seven.” So He [Jesus] said to them, “How is it you do not understand?”

[Well, these two passages in the Gospel of Matthew and Mark prove that there were two different times that Jesus did the miracle of feeding the multitudes. The portion from the Gospel of Luke was talking about the second time that Jesus fed the multitudes. I am going to paste the passage from the Gospel of Luke here, so we can further analyze it for consistency along with the passages in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark.]

[ It is always good, when you have someone quote something from the Bible, that you read a chunk of text before the quote and a chunk of text after the quote. There are people who take text from the Bible and turn it around to support whatever they are trying to convince you of. It’s very important to always check the context of the quote.]

[ I know! I had someone do this to me years ago and they had me believing that my faith was all wrong, because of the Bible verses they quoted. When I got home, I read the quotes they had shared, but read chunks of information before and after the quoted Bible verses. They totally took those Bible verses out of context! The quotes weren’t even talking about the things the people had told me, but they took advantage of my trusting nature by using the Bible out of context to support what they wanted. Don’t let people mess with your faith! Always check things out for yourself! That’s why doing this research is so very significant, so people can really see and hear for themselves that the inconsistencies that they hear people talk about in the Bible have little to no significance and don’t disprove that Jesus Is the Son of God!]

Luke 9:16-22 says: Then He [Jesus] took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them. And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” So they answered and said, “John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again.” He [Jesus] said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.” And He [Jesus] strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”

[Let's compare this with the Bible passages in Matthew and Mark that tell about the two different times that Jesus did the miracle of feeding the multitudes. Additionally, I have included a portion of the Bible verses in Matthew and Mark that tell about the second feeding of the multitudes. This is before Jesus has the conversation with the disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees which discusses the two times He fed the multitudes.]

[If by any chance you want to compare the Bible passages of the second feeding of the multitudes with the first, they are all included at the beginning of this research project or you can find them in your Bible at Matthew 14:19-33, Mark 6:41-51.]

Matthew 15:36-39 says: And He [Jesus] took the seven loaves and the fish and gave things, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left. Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala.

Matthew 16:6-21 goes on to say: Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “it is because we have taken no bread.” But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?” “Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? “Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? “How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?-but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” Then they understood that He [Jesus] did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So, they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and the others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He [Jesus] said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ. From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.

Mark 8:6-10 says: So He [Jesus] commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them and they set them before the multitude. They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them. So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. Now those who had eaten were about four thousand. And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

Mark 8:14-21 further says: Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have no bread.” But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? “Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? “When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?” They said to Him, “Twelve.” “Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?” And they said, “Seven.” So He [Jesus] said to them, “How is it you do not understand?”

Mark 8:27-31 goes on to say: Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He [Jesus] asked His disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say that I am?” So they answered, “John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets. He [Jesus] said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.” Then He [Jesus] strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him. and He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

[Now, that you are aware that there were two different times that Jesus did the miracle of feeding the multitudes, I want to examine the last portions of these Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, to show further proof that they are talking about a conversation in Luke that happened shortly after the second feeding of the multitudes.]

Luke 9:18-22 says: And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” So they answered and said, “John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again.” He [Jesus] said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.” And He [Jesus] strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”

Matthew 16:13-21 says: When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So, they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and the others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He [Jesus] said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ. From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.

Mark 8:27-31 says: Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He [Jesus] asked His disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say that I am?” So they answered, “John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets. He [Jesus] said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.” Then He [Jesus] strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him. And He [Jesus] began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

[Since the Bible passage from Luke doesn’t say where it takes place, I went to Luke 9 and went backwards through the chapter to find out where they were.]

Luke 9:10 says: And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him [Jesus] all that they had done. Then He [Jesus] took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city of Bethsaida.

[I wanted to check to see if Bethsaida mentioned in Luke was on the route to Caesaera-Philippi, as per Matthew and Mark, and it is. I got on BibleWalks at https://www.biblewalks.com/bethsaida which included a map and the following information:

“A Biblical map of Bethsaida and the area around it is illustrated below. The site is located on the crossroads of major trade routes: north to Caesarea-Philippi (Panias/Banias); south to Gadara and the Gilad; east to Aram; west thru Capernaum, Genneserat (Kinnereth), Magdala (Migdal) to the Via Maris route which crossed the land to the south.”

Remember you can see the map and the rest of this research project at Biblical Proof! at https://BiblicalProof.blogspot.com/ or Do Biblical Inconsistencies Really Matter? at https://Biblicalinconsistencies.blogspot.com/

[Matthew says that Jesus asked: “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” Mark says Jesus asked: “Who do men say that I am?” Luke says that Jesus asked: “Who do the crowds say that I am?” These are all pretty consistent, since there is only some paraphrasing of the same thing with little to no difference in the meaning. Now, we will analyze the response of the disciples.]

Mathew 16:14 says: So, they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and the others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

Mark 8:28 says: So they answered, “John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.

Luke 9:19 says: So they answered and said, “John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again.”

[These three responses the disciples made to Jesus are consistent, except for minor variations in wording style. Next, we will look at the Peter’s response to when Jesus asked, “But who do you say that I am?”]

Matthew 16:16 says: Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, [I only included the verse that pertains to our focus, at this time.]

Mark 8:2nd half of 29: Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.”

Luke 9:20 says: Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”

[These three responses recorded of Peter in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are almost the same and have the same basic meaning, so they are also consistent. We’ll look at what Jesus told His disciples to do, next.]

Matthew 16:20 says: Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

Mark 8:30 says: Then He [Jesus] strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.

Luke 9:21 says: And He [Jesus] strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one,

[All three of these Bible verses are pretty consistent, other than minor word differences. Now, we’ll look to see if there are significant inconsistencies in the bigger message that Jesus had for the disciples.]

Matthew 16:21 says: From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.

Mark 8:31 says: And He [Jesus] began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

Luke 9:22 says: “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”

[All three of these passages are consistent and explain how Jesus foretold that He would suffer, be killed and would rise again on the third day. Any differences are minor and are more in the order of paraphrasing or word style differences which are of no significance.]

[As you can see, the original passage used from Luke was when Jesus fed the multitude the second time when 4,000 people were fed. So, is it significant that the Gospel of Luke did not have information recorded about when Jesus fed the multitude (5,000) and when Jesus walked on the water during the windy storm?]

Mark 3:14-15 says: And He [Jesus] appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons.

[So all the disciples weren’t necessarily at every or all of the events, because some were out preaching and healing, at different times. So, it appears that Luke wasn’t with Jesus when He fed the 5,000 and walked on the water during the windy storm, but Luke was present when Jesus fed the 4,000 and heard Him foretell of His suffering, death and resurrection, which happens to be one of the most significant things of all of the this research project. Who, but the Son of God could feed 5,000 people with a few loaves of bread and a couple fish or again feed 4,000 with a few loaves of bread and a few fish? Who, but the Son of God could walk on water and in a windy storm? Who, but the Son of God could allow Peter to walk on water with Him and save Peter when he started to doubt? Who, but the Son of God could foretell of His suffering, death and resurrection, before it ever happened?]

[Remember, don’t let people confuse you! Most inconsistencies in the Bible are primarily related to writing style, one sharing more details, some fewer, some sharing eyewitness accounts or recording the testimony of eyewitnesses, and some adding to what others have already recorded for additional information.]

[Most important of all, remember the message in John 3:16-21: ”“For God so Loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. “For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. “But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”]