Tell the Jews: Notes
1a. The writer of Luke tells us that 70 men were sent out, as opposed to Matthew and Mark, which restrict the mission to the twelve apostles. The Lukan writer chose the number 70 in order to indicate a spiritually complete, or perfect, amount. No doubt an early editor, aware that the number was not intended to convey mathematical precision, thought it good to incorporate the number 12, in order to represent the 12 tribes of Israel, and possibly to harmonize with Mark and Matthew. Plainly, 72 = 6x12.
Either number is "correct" in accordance with the prevailing standards. Somewhere between 50 and 100 men is probably meant. And no doubt the writer and/or editor thought Jesus would inevitably send out just the right number of men.
Matthew's account of the sending out of the twelve is quite likely drawn from Mark's. Mark has only sketchy information, whereas the writer of Luke took pains to check facts where he could. Thus, he comes up with a more realistic number of 70 men sent to fan out through the towns to prepare for a visit by Jesus. An editor, in my view, then tweaked that number to 72, so that Mark's concept of 12 apostles for each tribe of Israel was respected.
In any case, here we have an example of a "discrepancy" that, on closer inspection, turns out to not be a discrepancy at all.
1. Jesus and his disciples experienced intense political animosity during his earthly mission. But his warnings pointed to later periods in which Christians suffered dreadful persecutions both at the hands of the Romans and the Jews. Under Roman rule, Jewish authorities could penalize someone with up to 39 lashes without getting Roman permission.
2. Because this assertion has proved so difficult to interpret, no one believes the early Christians made it up and put it in Jesus' mouth. So a number of scholars have thought that Jesus made a (rather awful) mistake. His anticipated second coming still hasn't occurred, after 2,000 years! But, was Jesus referring specifically to his so-called second coming? Did he not come with power at the Feast of Pentecost some 40 days after his death and resurrection? And it was certainly true that the apostles had yet to reach everyone in the House of Israel when that happened.
For more on this topic, please see my article,
On the Kingdom of Heaven
https://zioncallingyou.blogspot.com/2020/02/appendix-b-concerning-kingdom-of-heaven.html
3. We may notice here that, according to the source used for Matthew and Luke, Jesus casts body and soul as two different entities – though he does not say that the soul exists without a body.
4. See The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan (London: Nath. Ponder 1678).
5. We are disregarding the apparent chronology of John. That book is a literary and spiritual masterpiece. But the order of events related is given for teaching, and not for historical, reasons. (That observation should not be taken to mean that there are no historically valid memories recorded in John.)
3. We may notice here that, according to the source used for Matthew and Luke, Jesus casts body and soul as two different entities – though he does not say that the soul exists without a body.
4. See The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan (London: Nath. Ponder 1678).
5. We are disregarding the apparent chronology of John. That book is a literary and spiritual masterpiece. But the order of events related is given for teaching, and not for historical, reasons. (That observation should not be taken to mean that there are no historically valid memories recorded in John.)
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