1001 Errors in the Christian Bible
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John -- Errors 579-585
#579
John 12: (KJV)
3 “Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly,
and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and
the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
Compare to Matthew 26: (KJV)
7 There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious
ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.
“John’s” woman Mary anoints Jesus’ feet. “Matthew’s”
woman anoints Jesus head.
# 580
John 12: (KJV)
4 “Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son,
which should betray him,
5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to
the poor?”
Compare to Matthew 26: (KJV)
8 “But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying,
To what purpose is this waste?
9 For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.”
“Matthew” following “Mark” has the disciples indignant
at the anointing. In “John” the disciples are rehabilitated
and the indignation is mysteriously transferred to Judas. In stories of
the time a common literary technique is to present the hero and traitor
as twins to maximize the factor of betrayal (betrayed by someone closest
to the hero). “Judas” is close to “Jesus” and “Iscariot”
is close to “Christ” in sound. In “John” the ideal
good behavior is shown by Jesus and the ideal bad behavior is shown by
Judas.
# 581
John 12: (KJV)
14 “And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as
it is written,”
Compare to Matthew 21: (KJV)
6 “And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,
7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and
they set him thereon.”
John’s Jesus found a young ass himself. Matthew’s Jesus delegated
to his disciples.
# 582
John 12: (KJV)
14 “And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as
it is written,
15 Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an
ass's colt.”
Everyone agrees that “Fear not” is not in Zechariah where the
rest of the quote is. Perhaps that’s why “John” wrote “as
it is written”. When asked by “The Jews” exactly where
it is written, “John” said “John 12:15”.
# 583
John 12: (KJV)
14 “And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as
it is written,
15 Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an
ass's colt.”
Compare to Zechariah 9: (JPS)
9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem;
behold, thy king cometh unto thee, he is triumphant, and victorious, lowly,
and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal of an ass.”
“John” also left out “he is triumphant, and victorious,
lowly” because “John’s” Jesus was not yet triumphant
(the timing was wrong) or God forbid humble (lowly).
# 584
John 12: (KJV)
12 “On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when
they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
13 Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried,
Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the
Lord.
14 And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written,
15 Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an
ass's colt.
16 These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus
was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of
him, and that they had done these things unto him.”
“John’s” Jesus’ disciples remember that “they
had done these things unto him.”
except that they didn’t do anything unto Jesus here in John’s
narrative. Possibly an editor of “John” has the Synoptic version
of the donkey ride in mind where the disciples put Jesus on the donkey.
The donkey story doesn’t fit “John’s” theology as
we saw in the previous error so the whole story may have been added later
to John to try and make it agree to the Synoptics.
# 585
John 12: (KJV)
31 “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of
this world be cast out.
32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”
False prophecy.