Re-thinking the Gospel Sources

Burkett offers a fresh reading of the much-debated Synoptic Problem. He contends that each theory regarding the Synoptic Problem is contentious. Each presents a case for the mutual dependence of one source upon another—for example, Matthew and Luke depend primarily on Mark, but use each other where they report the same story not contained already in Mark. Neither Mark nor Matthew nor Luke served as the source for the other two, but all depended on a set of earlier sources now lost. The relations between the Synoptic Gospels are more complex than the simpler theories have assumed.

Delbert Burkett is Associate Professor of New Testament at Louisiana State University and the author of The Son of Man Debate: A History and Evaluation and An Introduction to the New Testament and the Origins of Christianity.