Matthew 20 vs Mark 10 vs Luke 18

In Matthew 20, two blind men asked Jesus to heal them as they were entering Jericho. In Mark 10, there was only one man who called when they were leaving Jericho. In Luke 18, there was only one man who called as they were entering Jericho; however, there are no contradictions.

Matthew 20

"As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. And two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!" (Matthew 20:29-30 NASB1995).

Mark 10

"Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road," (Mark 10:46 NASB1995).

Luke 18

"As Jesus was approaching Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging," (Luke 18:35 NASB1995).

To answer these supposed contradiction, it is best to take one at a time. Firstly, how many men were there? Matthew of course notes that there were two while Mark and Luke say one. What may be going on here is a difference in focus: "This does not mean that Matthew's report of two blind men is inaccurate, only that Mark and Luke focused on the one," (Crossway 1864; C.f. Barnes).

As for either entering or exiting Jericho, the ESV Study Bible explains: "It is possible that Matthew and Mark refer to the New Jericho, and Luke to the Old Jericho nearby, or vise versa. Another possibility is that the blind men cried out to Jesus first as he was entering the city (Luke 18:35) but he did not respond and heal them until he was leaving the city," (Crossway 1864). Thus, there does not seem to be any contradiction.

References:

Barnes' Notes on the New Testament. United Kingdom, Kregel Publications, 1962.

ESV Study Bible. United States, Crossway, 2008.

Image by Pawel Nolbert on Unsplash