There is an apparent discrepancy between the accounts of the healing of the blind man Bartimaeus and his friend.
- Matthew 20:29 indicates that Jesus was leaving Jericho when he met the blind men.
- Mark 10:46 also says that Jesus was departing from Jericho when he came across Bartimaeus.
- Luke 18:35, on the other hand, seems to say that Jesus was approaching Jericho at the time of the encounter with the blind man.
How can we explain these differences, since according to Luke, Jesus the Messiah was approaching Jericho, whereas Matthew and Mark indicate that he was leaving the city? Yet in our view there is no error in the Gospels; so how can these wordings be reconciled?
This discrepancy can be explained rationally: there were two distinct Jerichos, one ancient and the other rebuilt by Herod. This could account for why two evangelists mention the exit while the third speaks of the entrance. The healing seems to have taken place between these two areas of the city. Thus, one can distinguish the historical Jericho from the modern Jericho.
Matthew and Mark seem to refer to the old city, the historical Jericho, important to them as Jews, whereas Luke refers to the new city rebuilt by Herod, which was probably a larger city in his day.