Good Question...

On...a contradiction in the ascension accounts?

From gmiller@netcom.com Sat Oct 28 12:00:41 1995
Date: Sun, 15 Oct 1995 13:10:09 -0700 (PDT)

feedback=Dear Miller,

I would like to pose you a question: how could one harmonise the Ascension accounts in Matthew 28 and Luke 24?

Preliminarily speaking, I think that the Bethany location is the true location of Jesus' ascension, since Matthew contains a "then..." which could represent any period of time from a day to two thousand years.

[A COUPLE OF OBSERVATIONS HERE:

1. THE MATTHEW PASSAGE DOES NOT MENTION AN ASCENSION

2. IN ACTS 1.4-6, WE LEARN THAT JESUS MET WITH THEM ON MANY DIFFERENT TIMES AFTER HIS RESURRECTION, MOST INSTANCES OF WHICH HE PROBABLY LEFT BY A DISAPPEARANCE OR MINI-ASCENSION

3. ALSO IN THE ACTS PASSAGE IS AN APPARENT REF TO THE LUKE 24 INCIDENT, SO THE MINI-ASCENSION IN LUKE IS OBVIOUSLY DIFFERENT THAT THE ONE IN ACTS...

SO I DONT ACTUALLY SEE THAT THESE PASSAGES ARE REFERRING TO THE SAME ASCENSION...THE "BIG ONE" IS THE ONE OF ACTS...

HOPE THIS HELPS SOME...

GLENN