Don’t attack ME, attack my arguments!
Reading the Gospels according to Mark, Matthew, Luke and John as though they are all one book is not right if the goal is genuine comprehension. Each book was written in a different time and place by an editor for a particular group of people. It was in the year 397 AD that the 27 books of the New Testament were canonized (accepted as authoritative) by the Council of Carthage. This implies that there were many other Gospels and writings about Jesus eg: Gospel of Peter and the Gospel of Thomas.
Simply make a list of the events in the Gospels and be amazed how different they are. When that you do, my question is which one did Jesus really say/do. let’s case our study with the following question?
What did Jesus really say on the cross?
1. Mark 15:33-35–“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
2. Luke 23:46“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”
3. Matthew 27:45 Eli, Eli,[a] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” {All scholars are unanimous on the fact that Matthew copied largely from Mark}
4. John 19:30 “It is finished.”
To realize why these last words are different except for Mark and Matthew, please do some home work and read the events leading to Jesus’s crucifixion in all four narratives.
The confusion with today’s reading is, we read all four narratives and pretend they are one or continuations of one another; wrong! when you smash all accounts into one, notice what you have done; you have written your own GOSPEL.
Such Mal-read is what led to the famous 7 dying words of Jesus.
May God bring us to the best Understanding
Abdulkarim Ali.
