Are you reading this to find out about the inconsistencies in the Bible you’ve heard someone call lies? Don’t let those people fool you! Sure there are some inconsistencies, because the Bible was written over many years, by a variety of God inspired people, eyewitnesses and those who interviewed eyewitnesses, but are any of these inconsistencies significant and do they disprove that Jesus Is the Son of God?
Well, I will research the related Bible passages about what was predicted in the Old Testament about Preparing the Way of the Lord and what actually happened in the New Testament. Although I will show my research analysis, evaluations, and comments within brackets, you will be the one who actually determines if any differences that may exist, are significant enough to disprove that Jesus Is the Son of God.
I will use the New King James Version [NKJV] of the Bible and internet resources, as needed to do this Biblical Research Project. Sometimes the word ‘he’ and ‘him’ are both used within the same Bible verse. I will put who is speaking and who is being spoken to within brackets when I feel it’s not clear by the context of the passage.
I will post this Biblical Research Project on either of these two blogs I felt led to create, should you want to read the research findings further: Biblical Proof! at https://BiblicalProof.blogspot.com/ and Do Biblical Inconsistencies Really Matter? at https://Biblicalinconsistencies.blogspot.com/
[I looked up these Old Testament Bible predictions related to Prepare the Way of the Lord on BibleGateway.com]
Isaiah 40:3 says: The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.
Malachi 3:1 says: “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the Lord of hosts.
[Both of these Old Testament predictions talk about someone coming to prepare the way of the Lord. I will first share the related New Testament passages in their entirety before analyzing them. I quite often copy and paste portions of the passages together to better determine if there are any inconsistencies and whether it is even significant. ]
[Here are the related Bible passages in the New Testament that fulfilled these predictions!]
Matthew 3:1-6 says: In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying; “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’” [Isaiah 40:3] Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan [River] went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
Mark 1:1-11 says: The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son
of God. As it is written in the Prophets:“Behold, I send My messenger before
Your face, Who will prepare Your way before
You.” “The voice of one
crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’ ” John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him [John the Baptist] and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And he [John the Baptist] preached, saying, “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. “I indeed baptized you with the Holy Spirit.” It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John [the Baptist] in the Jordan [River]. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him [Jesus] like a dove. Then a voice came from Heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Luke 1:13-17 says: But the angel said to him [Zacharias’ about his soon to be born son, John the Baptist] “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. “And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.“For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. “And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. “He [John the Baptist] will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Luke 1:67-80 is when John the Baptist’s father, Zacharias, prophesied
about his newborn son’s life and what he will do: Now his father Zacharias was
filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: “Blessed is the
Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, And has raised
up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David, As He spoke by
the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began,
That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us,
To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy
covenant, The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, In
holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. “And you,
child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For
you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, To give knowledge
of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, Through the tender
mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring [Messiah] from on high has visited
us; To give light to those who
sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of
peace.” So the child [John the Baptist] grew and became strong in spirit, and
was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
Luke 3:1-6 says: Now in the fifteenth year of
the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod
being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region
of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were
high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the
wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a
baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book
of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:“The
voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight. Every
valley shall be filled And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked
places shall be made straight And the rough ways smooth; And all flesh shall
see the salvation of God.’ ”
In Luke 7:27-28 Jesus says : “This is he [John the Baptist] of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send
My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.’ “For
I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than
John the Baptist, but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than
he.”
John 1:21-34 says: And they asked him [John the Baptist], “What then? Are you Elijah? He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?’ He said: “I am The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the Lord,’” as the prophet Isaiah said.” Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. And they asked him [John the Baptist] saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?’ John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. “It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.” These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan [River], where John was baptizing. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! “This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ “I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him [Jesus]. “I did not know Him, but He [God the Father] who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ “And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
[I think that I should start with comparing the passages in the Gospel of Luke where the angel tells Zacharias about his son who is about to be born soon. I will post the Old Testament predictions first, so that I can compare them more closely.]
Isaiah 40:3 says: The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.
Malachi 3:1 says: “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the Lord of hosts.
Luke 1:13-17 says: But the angel said to him [Zacharias’ about his soon to be born son, John the Baptist] “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and you wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. “And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.“For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. “And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. “He [John the Baptist] will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
[The prediction in Isaiah says: the person that God is going to send will “make straight in the desert, a highway for God.” The prediction in Malachi says: “the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the Lord of hosts. The first portion from Luke says that John the Baptist will be filled with the Holy Spirit from birth. The passage where Zacharis is sharing what his soon to be born son, John the Baptist, will do, says that God will save us from our enemies and from the hand of all those who hate us.]
[Sure, these words are different, so you could call them inconsistencies, but are they really? I have found that with all writers, they sometimes paraphrase things, and may say things somewhat differently. I find that some of the writers of the Bible write with more detail and some with less. Some only add to what hasn’t been adequately recorded, elsewhere, but we need to focus on what is really crucial in these passages.]
[The main portion of the Isaiah prediction says: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. Malachi says: “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. In Luke 1:17, the angel predicts to his father, Zacharias, that John the Baptist will: “turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.” and ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” When you compare them side by side, although they may say this with different words, it pretty much says the same thing. So, thus far, there are no significant inconsistencies.]
[Now let’s compare the rest of the related passages.]
Matthew 3:1-3 starts by telling you that John the Baptist is doing exactly what was predicted of him in the Old Testament: In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying; “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’”
Mark 3:2-3 is referring back to the Bible prophecy: As it is written in
the Prophets:“Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.” “The voice of one crying in the
wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’
Luke 1:16-17 says: “And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. “He [John the Baptist] will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Luke 1:76-78 says: “And you, child [baby John the Baptist], will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring [Messiah] from on high has visited us;
Luke 3:2-4 says: ... while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.
[In fact in Luke 7:27-28 Jesus even says] : “This is he [John the Baptist] of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send
My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare
Your way before You.’ “For I
say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John
the Baptist, but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
John 1:23 said: He said: “I am The voice of
one crying in the wilderness: “Make
straight the way of the Lord,’” as the prophet Isaiah said.”
[In analyzing this, not only do these four Gospels say basically the same thing, but Jesus says it as well. Our Lord and these Gospel writers go beyond just saying what was predicted about John in the Old Testament, but they are saying that he actually did this. This will be apparent in the following passages.]
Matthew 3:4-6 says: Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan [River] went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
Mark 1:4-8 says: John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him [John the Baptist] and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And he [John the Baptist] preached, saying, “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. “I indeed baptized you with the Holy Spirit.”
Luke 3:2-3 says: ...while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan [River], preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins,...
In Luke 7:28 Jesus says this about John the Baptist: “For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist, but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
John 1:25-28 says: And they asked him [John the Baptist] saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?’ John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. “It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.” These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan [River], where John was baptizing.
[As you can clearly see, there are no significant inconsistencies. In fact, these passages only serve to verify that Jesus Is the Son of God.]
Mark 1:9-11 says: It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John [the Baptist] in the Jordan [River]. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him [Jesus] like a dove. Then a voice came from Heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
John 1:29-34 says: The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! “This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ “I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him [Jesus]. “I did not know Him, but He [God the Father] who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ “And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
[Use the intelligent mind that the good Lord gave you to know when people are trying to confuse you by saying the Bible is full of inconsistencies and lies. To date, I have found little to no inconsistencies in the Bible and those are primarily due to writing style. Again, some Bible writers use more detail and others use less. Some only add pertinent information that hasn’t already been adequately recorded elsewhere or paraphrase things. These minor inconsistencies are insignificant and there is nothing in the Bible that disproves that Jesus Is the Son of God!]
Remember that Jesus says 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.”
Follow Jesus, the Light of our Salvation!
