S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries

In spite of apparent discrepancies, these three passages do refer to the same incident. The Matthew account cites two men healed as Jesus left Jericho. Mark and Luke refer to only one blind man hea...

Login or Sign Up to view the rest of this answer.

July 01 2013 • 2 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht Supporter ABC/DTS graduate, guitar music ministry Baptist church

Did Jesus heal two blind men (Matthew 20:29-34) or one blind man (Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-43)?

PROBLEM: Matthew says that Christ healed two men, but Mark refers to only one man being healed (10:46). This appears to be a clear contradiction.

How many blind men did Jesus encounter when leaving Jericho?
Matthew 20:29-30; Mark 10:46-47; Luke 18:35
1.	Two blind men (Matthew 20:29-30) - "And as they were going out from Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. 30And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!"
2.	One blind man (Mark 10:46-47) - "And they *came to Jericho. And as He was going out from Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. 47And when he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
3.	One blind man (Luke 18:35,38) - "And it came about that as He was approaching Jericho, a certain blind man was sitting by the road, begging...38And he called out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
There is no contradiction. Matthew 20:29-30 makes it clear that as Jesus was leaving Jericho that there were two blind men sitting by the road. If there are two blind men, then there is certainly at least one there as well. The one focused on was Bartimeaus. Both called out for healing (Matthew 20:29-30). Perhaps Mark and Luke focus on Bartimeaus' account because he was the loudest and most determined, a point worth focusing on for spiritual reasons. God wants us to be persistent in laying our needs before Him.

There were two blind beggars sitting by the road (Matt. 20:30), one of whom was named Bartimaeus. Both Mark and Luke focused attention on him since he was the more vocal of the two, as Michael mentioned.

SOLUTION: Although Mark records one individual getting healed, this does not mean that there were not two, as Matthew says there were. First of all, Mark does not declare that there was only one blind man healed. Matthew says there were two, and where there are two there is always one, every time! Matthew earlier mentions two demoniacs where Mark and Luke mention one (Matt. 8:28-34), so Matthew again mentions the two blind men where Mark mentions just one. Further, the fact that Mark mentions the name of one blind man, Bartimaeus, and his father (Timaeus, Mark 10:46), indicates that Mark is centering on the one that was personally known to him. If two men were to receive a medal of honor from the president of the United States and one was your friend, it is understandable that when you relate the story you might only speak of the one whom you knew receiving the medal.

May 29 2019 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report