Some critics assert a contradiction between Matthew and Luke by point out that some of the same teachings found in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) are found in different contexts in Luke. For example, when Jesus offers the model prayer often known as the “Lord’s Prayer,” Matthew has Jesus teaching the multitude how to pray (Matt. 6:6-13). Luke records another instance (Luke 11:1-4), where the disciples ask Him to teach them to pray, which He does in much the same way He taught the crowd in Matthew. There is certainly no logical conflict here at all. Jesus can (and did) teach the same thing more than once.
| Matthew 5:1-3; 6:9-13 | Luke 11:1-4 |
| 1 When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2 He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying, 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…” | 1 It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.” |
| — Matt. 5:1 begins the beatitudes that go through to Matt. 7:29 | |
| 9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread. 12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’ | 2 And He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. 3 ‘Give us each day our daily bread. 4 ‘And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.’ “ |
It is worth noting that, even in Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount, strictly speaking, Jesus was actually teaching the Lord’s Prayer (as with the rest of the sermon) specifically to His disciples rather than the larger multitude. Verse one mentions the crowds but then says that Jesus went up on a mountain and “His disciples came to Him,” (Matt. 5:1) and he “began teaching them [i.e., the disciples],” (Matt. 5:2). Thus, in both cases, Jesus is actually teaching these things to His disciples. Still, we need not force the two instances to be the same. Jesus taught the same things more than once. Why would we think He would do otherwise?
