An Analysis of a Story in Three Versions: Jesus Drives Out a Demon and Heals a Person Matthew 12:22-32//Mark 3:20-30//Luke 11:14-23
An analysis of a story in Three Versions:
Jesus Drives out a Demon and Heals a Person
(Matthew 12:22-32//Mark 3:20-30//Luke 11:14-23)
Introduction
I find it fascinating but also a bit confusing that the bible has more than one account of similar stories. The versions are alike yet have obvious differences as well. How can we explain these discrepancies? Do we need to? It is understandable to me why people have trouble sorting through the different versions, in the hopes of finding the truth. Will we ever be able to find out what the true stories are? Did the authors of the gospel even really know what the truth was? This we will never really know for sure, but what we can do is look at the analogous passages and sort out the comparable phrasing, parallel surroundings, and matching backgrounds to see if one straightforward version can be derived from a melding of all three.
Step # 1 Inventory
What I did to start sorting through the three versions from the gospels was I highlighted in the same colour anything that was comparable, and if something was unique to a particular version I underlined it. If a passage was word for word with it’s counterpart, I made it bold. Here is what I found:
Similarities
There were a number of passages that were strikingly similar with each other in all three gospels, in some cases they matched word for word.
Similar phrasing in all three accounts:
1 ~ Matthew 12: 24 // Mark 3: 22 // Luke 11: 15
2 ~ Matthew 12: 25 // Mark 3: 24 // Luke 11: 17
3 ~ Matthew 12: 26 // Mark 3: 26 // Luke 11: 18
4 ~ Matthew 12: 29 // Mark 3: 27 // Luke 11: 21
Word for word accounts:
1 ~ Matthew 12:22 // Luke 11: 14 ~ in both accounts they use the word AMAZED to describe the crowds.
2 ~ Matthew 12: 25 // Luke 11: 17 ~ First sentence only
3 ~ Matthew 12: 27 // Luke 11: 19
4 ~ Matthew 12: 29 // Mark 3: 27
5 ~ Matthew 12: 30 // Luke 11: 23
Differences
1 ~ In Matthew the Demoniac is a blind and mute man. In Mark there is no mention of
Jesus Drives out a Demon and Heals a Person
(Matthew 12:22-32//Mark 3:20-30//Luke 11:14-23)
Introduction
I find it fascinating but also a bit confusing that the bible has more than one account of similar stories. The versions are alike yet have obvious differences as well. How can we explain these discrepancies? Do we need to? It is understandable to me why people have trouble sorting through the different versions, in the hopes of finding the truth. Will we ever be able to find out what the true stories are? Did the authors of the gospel even really know what the truth was? This we will never really know for sure, but what we can do is look at the analogous passages and sort out the comparable phrasing, parallel surroundings, and matching backgrounds to see if one straightforward version can be derived from a melding of all three.
Step # 1 Inventory
What I did to start sorting through the three versions from the gospels was I highlighted in the same colour anything that was comparable, and if something was unique to a particular version I underlined it. If a passage was word for word with it’s counterpart, I made it bold. Here is what I found:
Similarities
There were a number of passages that were strikingly similar with each other in all three gospels, in some cases they matched word for word.
Similar phrasing in all three accounts:
1 ~ Matthew 12: 24 // Mark 3: 22 // Luke 11: 15
2 ~ Matthew 12: 25 // Mark 3: 24 // Luke 11: 17
3 ~ Matthew 12: 26 // Mark 3: 26 // Luke 11: 18
4 ~ Matthew 12: 29 // Mark 3: 27 // Luke 11: 21
Word for word accounts:
1 ~ Matthew 12:22 // Luke 11: 14 ~ in both accounts they use the word AMAZED to describe the crowds.
2 ~ Matthew 12: 25 // Luke 11: 17 ~ First sentence only
3 ~ Matthew 12: 27 // Luke 11: 19
4 ~ Matthew 12: 29 // Mark 3: 27
5 ~ Matthew 12: 30 // Luke 11: 23
Differences
1 ~ In Matthew the Demoniac is a blind and mute man. In Mark there is no mention of