Do Mark 15:26, Matthew 27:37, Luke 23:38, & John 19:19 Contradict?

Do Mark 15:26, Matthew 27:37, Luke 23:38, & John 19:19 Contradict?

For many skeptics of the Bible, this is a common rebuttal that the Bible is the word of God. Today, we will be debunking this claim. 

"And above His head they put up the charge against Him which read, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS” (Matthew 27:37 NASB1995).

"The inscription of the charge against Him read, “THE KING OF THE JEWS” (Mark 15:26 NASB1995).

"Now there was also an inscription above Him, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS" (Luke 23:38 NASB1995).

"Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS” (John 19:19 NASB1995).

There really isn't a contradiction here, it more of is just a difference in phrasing. None of these verses contradict one another. All verses agree Jesus was called King of the Jews. Just some have more information than others. Like how John adds the fact he was a Nazarene and Matthew adds his name. Paraphrasing something isn't equivalent to a contradiction. Let us use an analogy.

A youth leader is preaching to the youth, he says, "God came down in human flesh as Jesus. He forgave our sins on the cross so we can be with him forever in Heaven." Two of his students who were listening to his message, decide to share the message to their friends.

The first says, "Jesus came down as man to forgive our sins! Now we can be forever with him in Heaven!"

The second says, "God came down as a human to help us out! He forgave us of our sins, so now we can go to Heaven!"

Do these two students contract one another or their teacher? Clearly not. They both provided the same message, just worded it differently, and added different information just as the apostles did in the prior verses.

Works Sited:

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.