Please take a look a this online Gospel synopsis here. This site allows you to easily scroll through Matthew, Mark, or Luke and find the parallel passages in the other gospels. If you clicking on the purple (Matthew), blue (Mark), or green (Luke) book icon beside the section heading, the appropriate column will automatically scroll to the parallel passage. Read a portion of the Gospel of Mark and a parallel passage in the Gospel of Matthew, e.g., the "plucking the grain" story in Matthew 12:1-8 and Mark 2:23-28 or the "house divided" story in Matthew 12:25-27 and Mark 3:23-30.
As your "comment," note which version of the passage (if either) seems to you to be most likely the original version? In this passage does it look like Matthew is dependent on Mark, the Mark is dependent on Matthew, or that the the two gospels are giving independent accounts? Explain your thinking.
In comparing Matthew 9:18-26 and Mark 5:21-43, both titled "Jairus' daughter/a Woman's Faith," Mark's account is much longer and more detailed. According to what I know of church history, while Mark wasn't one of the original disciples, he spent a lot of time traveling with the early apostles after Jesus' resurrection, and his gospel is based on Peter's teaching. Peter was an eye witness to all of Jesus' public ministry, which Mark drew from. Matthew identifies Jairus as "a ruler;" Mark adds that he is "one of the rulers of the synagogue." The conversations between Jesus and both Jairus and the woman are much more detailed in Mark than in Matthew. Mark has the history of the woman, how much she has suffered, the part about Jesus asking who had touched him, and how she "came in fear and trembling, and fell down before him, and told him the whole truth," which is where Peter would have heard it. That incident takes 10 verses in Mark, while in Matthew it is covered in 3 verses. Afterwards, Jesus continues to Jairus' house. Again, what Mark covers in 9 verses, Matthew sums up in 4. Mark includes many details which show Jesus' tenderness and compassion, both to the woman and to Jairus, his wife, and especially the little girl. Mark says that when Jesus got to Jairus' house, he "took the child's father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was." I'm thinking that one of those "with him" was Peter, and that Peter was later able to relate these events to Mark. I think Mark's version was the original one, and that Matthew's version is dependent on Mark's.
ReplyDeleteI picked the passage over John the Baptist. I believe that in this specific scriptural account, Mark looks to have taken from Matthew. I say this for a possibly simple reason, but a good one all the same. The depth of gospel passages is evident in this text. Mark appears to give an overview of what was said, while Matthew goes into longer detail. I also take note of how long each section is, and Matthew provides more explanation. Matthew includes more with Jesus's preaching on repentance. I don't necessarily believe one was taken first or from another; they came together and shared their ideas, resulting in a mix of both.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to pick the Plucking Grain Story in which both passages Jesus and his disciples are walking through grainfields on the Sabbath and they are picking grain to eat but the Pharisees see this as working on the Sabbath and Jesus responds to them by saying the Sabbath was for the people the People are not made for the Sabbath. Marks version is simpler and is more direct than Matthews longer more clarifying version. Part of me wants to say that Matthews was written first and Mark was just elaborating and simplifying Matthews but Marks is not as well thought out so I think that Marks was first.
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