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Entering, or leaving Jericho?
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Luke 18:35, 19:1 X Mark 10:46 X Matthew 20:29-30
In the NKJV, Luke 18:35 and 19:1 read like this: “Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging… Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.” Luke plainly states that Jesus healed a blind man before entering Jericho (he mentions only one, but does not say that there was only one). And Mark 10:46 reads like this: “Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.” Mark plainly states that Jesus healed a blind man upon leaving Jericho (he names the blind man, referring only to him, but does not say that there was only one). And Matthew 20:29-30 reads like this: “Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. And behold, two blind men sitting by the road…” Matthew plainly states that Jesus healed two blind men upon leaving Jericho.
Well now, entering is one thing, and leaving is another, so which was it? Strange to relate, it was both! The Jericho that Joshua destroyed had been rebuilt (at least partially), and was inhabited. But in Jesus' day Herod had built a new Jericho, perhaps a kilometer away from the old one, also inhabited. So where would an intelligent beggar place himself? Presumably between the two towns. I take it that all three of the accounts before us transpired between the two Jerichos, so Jesus was leaving one and entering the other. There is no discrepancy. Luke and Mark probably give us the same incident, but what about Matthew? Besides stating that the men were two, he says that Jesus “touched their eyes”, whereas according to Luke and Mark He only spoke. It is entirely probable that there was more than one beggar along that stretch of road, and any shouting could be heard for quite a ways. I take it that Matthew records a different incident. I suppose that Bartimaeus was healed first, and he shouted so loud that the two heard it all and knew what to do when their turn came.

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© 2016 Wilbur N. Pickering, ThM, PhD