- John 18:20, “I spoke openly to the world, I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where the Jews always meet, and in secret, I have said nothing.”
- Matt. 5:1-2, âAnd when He saw the multitudes, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2 And opening His mouth He began to teach themâŚâ
- Matt. 13:1-3, âOn that day Jesus went out of the house, and was sitting by the sea. 2 And great multitudes gathered to Him so that He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole multitude was standing on the beach. 3 And He spoke many things to them in parables, sayingâŚâ
Did Jesus knowingly, purposefully lie to the Jews? In John 18:20 He said that He always taught in synagogues and the Temple, but we know that He also spoke on a mountain (Matt. 5:1-2), a boat (Matt. 13:1-3), and other places. So, was Jesus lying? No, He wasnât lying.
The supposed problem rests on the definition of âalways.” Does it mean âwithout exceptionâ since this is the only sense in which the supposed contradiction can stand?
The word âalwaysâ in John 18:20 is pantote. It occurs 42 times in the Greek New Testament and has several different meanings depending on the context. Following are some of its usages:
- It can mean without exception.
- Jesus is always with Christians, (Matt. 28:20).
- Jesus always did that which pleases the Father, (John 8:29).
- The Father always hears the Son, (John 11:42).
- It can mean frequently.
- A son always with his father, (Luke 15:31).
- âmen ought always to pray,â (Luke 18:1).
- âalways abounding in the work of the Lord,â (1 Cor. 15:58).
- âGiving thanks always for all things,â (Eph. 5:20).
- âI thank my God . . . Always in every prayer,â (Phil. 1:3).
- âpraying always for you,â (Col. 1:3).
- âRejoice evermore,â (1 Thess. 5:16).
- Other.
- âeverymore give us this bread,â (John 6:34).
- âyour time is always opportune,â (John 7:6).
Therefore, the alleged contradiction rests on saying that the use of the word by Jesus meant âalwaysâ in the sense of “without exception.â But how can this be demonstrated to be the case? It cannot, especially since the word is used by Jesus to mean âfrequentlyâ as in Luke 15:31 and 18:1. It is also used by Paul in the same sense in 1 Cor. 15:58; Eph. 5:20; Phil. 1:3; Col. 1:3; 1 Thess. 5:16.
It is common in discussions and assertions to try to make a point by using exaggeration. wife says to her husband, âYou never listen to me.â Does she mean he ânever in any caseâ hears what she says? Of course not. Consider the statement, âYou always exaggerate things.â Havenât we all used phrases like this to make a point, not meaning for it to be taken literally? Of course, we have, but does it mean we are purposely lying? No. We are exaggerating to make a point.
Jesus did this in John 12:8 when He said, âthe poor you always have with you…” He was speaking to the disciples along with Lazarus and Martha. He used the word âalwaysâ in the sense of the poor being generally with them, not literally with them. Was Jesus lying there? No, He was using the word as we all do sometimes.
Also, the Jewish way of speaking back then was a bit different from ours now. Consider Mark 4:10, âAnd as soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables.â How could Jesus be âalone,â and yet His disciples were also with Him? Simple, the Ancient Jews spoke differently from what we do. Therefore, it isnât fair to impose our linguistic patterns on them in such cases and assert contradictions or lying on the part of Jesus.
So, the claim of a contradiction cannot be sustained since the word pantote has different meanings in different contexts, and it cannot be asserted that Jesus only meant the literal usage in John 18:20, especially since He often used the word in a non-literal sense.