Resemblance and Relation: Comparing the Gospels of Mark, John and Thomas (original) (raw)
Related papers
The Gospel of Thomas and the Synoptic Gospels
Oxford Handbook of the Synoptic Gospels, 2023
This article moves away from questions of dependence or autonomy to show that comparison of the texts' style and content is fruitful for understanding both Thomas and the Synoptic Gospels. When we read the Synoptics against Thomas, some of the central characteristics of Mark, Matthew, and Luke stand out in higher relief. Differences in theology, narrative structures, genre, and approaches to community formation combine to confirm that early gospel writers had a variety of choices about their modes of representation of the meaning(s) of Jesus. As part of its pattern of distance from Judaism, Thomas shows that it was possible to present Jesus as somehow removed from the thought world of Scripture, even as a source of revelatory or prophetic information.
Parallel Traditions or Parallel Gospels? John's Gospel as a Re-Imagining of Mark
Eve-Marie Becker, Helen Bond and Catrin Williams (eds.), John’s Transformation of Mark, 2021
Discussions of John’s relationship to the Synoptics Gospels have often focused on parallel wording and parallel traditions, to the neglect of the basic conceptual agreement between the evangelists’ projects. While any case for John’s familiarity with the Synoptics has to include the minutiae, the most striking agreements are at the macro-level. John’s Gospel parallels Mark's in story, structure, Christology and fundamental literary conceit. Both write a Passion narrative with an extended introduction that features a hidden Messiah who is only retrospectively understood by those he called. This is not a question of individual parallel traditions but of overall parallel literary concepts. The idea that John independently hit on the exactly the same project as Mark assumes that Mark’s Gospel is somehow normative, and its way of telling Jesus’ story inevitable. John is more plausibly understood as a creative re-imagination of Mark, inspired by his project, but critically reinterpreting it. This essay explores the significance of the agreements between John and Mark, from words, to sentences, to pericopae, to structure, to literary conceit.
The Relationship Between John and the Synoptic Gospels Revisited
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 2023
In a 1998 JETS article, James Dvorak examined scholarly perspectives on the relationship between John's Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels. Since then, significant shifts in interpretation on this question merit a re-examination. In 1998, the perspective of most scholars reflected the long-held consensus throughout the twentieth century that John's Gospel was independent and separate from the Synoptics. Recent decades, however, have seen an increased openness to a closer relationship between them, especially with Mark but also with Luke and Matthew. In his evaluation of the relationship, Dvorak opted for a mediating position between independence and dependence. The present article examines trends in scholarship over the last twenty-five years, evaluating whether a relationship closer to dependence (especially on Mark) has more explanatory power than independence or a mediating position.
2009
The hypothesis that the Fourth Gospel is a theological response to the Gospel of Thomas is a recent development in the study of the New Testament and early Christianity. Assuming an early date for the Gospel of Thomas, the proponents of this hypothesis argue that the supposed "polemical" presentation of Thomas in the Fourth Gospel is evidence of a conflict between the early communities associated respectively with John and Thomas. However, a detailed narrative study reveals that the Fourth Gospel portrays a host of characters--disciples and non-disciples--in an equally unflattering light where an understanding of Jesus's origins, message, and mission are concerned. The present study attempts to demonstrate that the Fourth Gospel's presentation of Thomas is part and parcel of its treatment of "uncomprehending" characters. If this thesis is correct, it poses a significant challenge to the assumption that the Fourth Gospel contains a polemic against Thomas, or that it was written in response to the Gospel of Thomas or the community associated with Thomas.
"John and Mark: The Bi-Optic Gospels"
This essay is one of my first treatments of the John-Mark relationship, showing John as something of an augmentation and modest correction of Mark. John is different on purpose! Pages 175-188 in Jesus in Johannine Tradition, ed. by Robert Fortna and Tom Thatcher, Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 2001.
The Relationship between John and the Synoptic Gospels
Since the beginning of the modern era, scholars have debated everything from the authorship of the fourth gospel to its purpose. Not uncommon among these debates has been that concerning the relationship between this gospel and the synoptic gospels. As D. M. Smith has noted, this particular debate stretches far back into history:
Mark's Use of the Gospel of Thomas Part Two
Neotestamentica, 1997
Following up on an earlier study, the thesis that Mark made use of the Gospel of Thomas is investigated further in this article. Some twenty sayings common to Mark and Thomas are examined. Among the consequences following from Mark's use of Thomas is the possibility of performing more sophisticated redaction criticism of the Gospel of Mark.