The Jesus Itinerary

[John V]

OK, maybe I need to go even slower with you: How do you propose the early Christians would have known that Matthew contradicted Luke if they didn't have both a copy of Matthew and a copy of Luke? And even if they had both, they would just conclude, this other Gospel is wrong.

The timeline contradiction between Matt and Luke is only a problem for Christians today who (1) have both and (2) think both are true. This was not the case for early Christians.

Clear?

...he asked in a fit of optimism.

OK, I see the problem.

My point is that people would have known if either of them separately conflicted with historical reality and so reject them.