Are the Differing Narratives of Peter's Denials Reconcilable?

Jack C. from Chicago asks:

Regarding Jesus' prediction of Peter's denial and the ensuing narrative that describes the denial, Matthew, Luke, and John disagree with Mark in such a way that seems like an irreconcilable contradiction: both accounts logically cannot be true. No commentary has provided a satisfying explanation. Can anyone? Should this interfere with our belief that the Scripture is inerrant?

We posed this question to Craig L. Blomberg, distinguished professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary in Littleton, Colorado.

A generation ago, Harold Lindsell in his widely quoted Battle for the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976, pp. 174-76) found the differences between the Gospels' accounts of Peter's denials so great that he postulated that Peter actually disavowed knowing Jesus six times! The problem is that every one of the four Gospels has Jesus predicting that Peter would deny him three times and then going on to describe only three denials by Peter. The kind of harmonization Lindsell suggested unfortunately discredits the whole enterprise in many people's minds. But better ways exist to deal with the apparent discrepancies.  Keep Reading >>>