contradictions or misunderstandings

Hopefully, we all know who Judas Iscariot was, but just to refresh, he was the betrayer or our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.   According to the Gospel of John, Jesus informed his disciples during the Last Supper that one of them will betray him. When they asked who it would be, Jesus said “It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” He then dipped a piece of bread in a dish and handed it to Judas, identified as the “son of Simon Iscariot.” After Judas received the piece of bread, “Satan entered into him.” (John 13:21-27). 

Now, the book of Matthew  27 reads that Judas Iscariot out of guilt for his betrayal committed suicide by hanging himself.   According to the Book of Acts (written by the same author as the Gospel of Luke), Judas didn’t kill himself after betraying Jesus. Instead, he went into a field, where “falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out” (Acts 1:18). This spontaneous-combustion-like process was a common form of death in the Bible when God himself caused people’s deaths. 

A contradiction or misunderstanding?  Misunderstanding, of course!

The two accounts of Judas' death work together to make a complete picture of how he died.  After he hanged himself, his body was left there to decay.  A decaying corpse will bloat from gases if left alone.  After hanging there for some time, his dead, bloated body fell and struck the ground bursting open.  Indeed, there were two witnesses:  Matthew who saw him hang himself, and the doctor Luke (who wrote the Book of Acts) describing the horrors of his death.

By the way, Judas' return of the unwanted blood money led to having a Potter's Field today where people are buried who are unknown, poor and/or have no one to claim their body.

In 1 Timothy 4:4 it reads, "For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving"...  So, does this mean that every animal is good for food?  Seemingly, reversing what God said in the Old Testament about clean and unclean animals.  The answer is no!  Some try to suggest that Paul is throwing out God's laws of what a healthy diet consists, as if anyone could.  But take heed whenever someone does this.   The laws of God, as presented in the Pentateuch, are as relevant today as they were in biblical times.  Plus, our common sense and a bit of knowledge let us know that not all creatures are good for us to eat.  For example, there is a starfish whose flesh contains a neurotoxin for which there is no antidote and is certainly not listed in the Old Testament group of clean animals.

Here again the scripture is taken out of context.  Examining context is one of the keys to understanding the bible.  If you read the preceding verses, you will find that Paul is not talking about The Laws, but rather "doctrines of demons" who will cause some to depart from the faith.  There were man-made laws forbidding marriage and teaching the avoidance of food that God created for us to eat.  Paul addressed these same concerns in Colossians 2:22 where it was forbidden to eat meat on a particular day of the week - fish on Friday, Christians should only eat vegetables, etc.

Also, the words sanctified and set apart are used in the verses and God gave us permission to eat what He has set apart by His Word in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14.

In Act 10:9-11, Peter's words are also taken out of context, and his trance is symbolic and is not about food but about all types of people.   As a conscientious Jew, he rejected the food, claiming that he had never eaten anything impure or unclean. A voice corrected him that he should not call anything impure that God has made clean. This cancellation of all distinctions between clean and unclean foods then became a simile for the cancellation of all distinctions between Jews and Gentiles (Acts 11:15-18).