The unit considered here is a stumbling block to proponents of Matthean
priority. Mark 1:21-22 / Luke 4:31-32 seem to reflect a base text the second
half of which Matthew reutilized for the purpose of providing a fitting
response to the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 7:28-29).
(14)
S* Καὶ εἰσπορευόμεθα εἰς Καφαρναούμ
Mark Καὶ εἰσπορεύονται εἰς Καφαρναούμ
Luke Καὶ κατῆλθεν εἰς Καφαρναοὺμ πόλιν τῆς Γαλιλαίας.
S* And we enter Capernaum,
Mark And they enter Capernaum,
Luke And he went down to Capernaum,
a city of Galilee,
It looks as if Luke adjusted a narrative presentation in which the unspecified
initial subject included Jesus, but only implicitly, to a presentation in which
Jesus is front and center from the start. That appears to be the direction of
development: a claim to the effect that Mark took a narrative like that in Luke
and rewrote it such that Jesus is no longer the protagonist from the get-go strains
the imagination. The shift from “historical present” to standard past tense
presentation is also telling.
Luke’s πόλιν τῆς Γαλιλαίας is the kind of explicative
gloss one expects from a writer with goals like those adumbrated in Luke 1:1-4.
(15)
S* καὶ εὐθὺς τοῖς σάββασιν εἰσελθὼν εἰς τὴν συναγωγὴν ἐδίδασκεν.
Mark καὶ εὐθὺς τοῖς σάββασιν εἰσελθὼν εἰς τὴν συναγωγὴν ἐδίδασκεν.
Luke καὶ ἦν διδάσκων αὐτοὺς ἐν τοῖς σάββασιν.
S* and right then, on the
Sabbath, he went into the synagogue and taught.
Mark and right then, on the Sabbath, he
went into the synagogue and taught.
Luke and * * he was teaching them on
the Sabbaths. * *
It would seem that Luke chose to replace a narrative that recounts the
movements of a wandering band with a narrative focused resolutely on Jesus and that this led him to abbreviate and rework his source. The omission of εὐθὺς and εἰσελθὼν εἰς τὴν συναγωγὴν and the generalizing diction of ἦν διδάσκων αὐτοὺς ἐν τοῖς σάββασιν are consistent with that supposition. To be sure, Luke is more conservative than first appears, since it is
reasonable to assume that his ἦν διδάσκων αὐτοὺς was in his source further on (see (17) below), but that he transposed it here. The alternative, that a
generalized narrative (Luke) was particularized (Mark), seems unlikely.
(16)
S* καὶ ἐξεπλήσσοντο ἐπὶ τῇ διδαχῇ αὐτοῦ
Mark καὶ ἐξεπλήσσοντο ἐπὶ τῇ διδαχῇ αὐτοῦ
Matt Καὶ ἐγένετο ὅτε ἐτέλεσεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τοὺς λόγους τούτους,
ἐξεπλήσσοντο οἱ ὄχλοι ἐπὶ τῇ διδαχῇ αὐτοῦ
Luke καὶ ἐξεπλήσσοντο ἐπὶ τῇ διδαχῇ αὐτοῦ
S* And they were taken aback by
his teaching,
Mark And they were taken aback by his
teaching,
Matt And it came to pass, when Jesus
finished these words,
the crowds
were taken aback by his teaching,
Luke And they were taken aback by his
teaching,
Whereas Luke seems to rewrite his source such that it is no longer part of
a vignette that presents a one-time only occurrence, Matthew seems to omit the
Capernaum complex (Mark 1:21-28 // Luke 4:31-37) except for the part that tells
of the reaction of those who hear Jesus’ teaching, the account of which he
reframes and reworks such that it serves as the narrative conclusion to the
Sermon on the Mount. Matthew’s introductory Καὶ ἐγένετο ὅτε ἐτέλεσεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τοὺς λόγους τούτους is exquisitely biblical in style (an approximation of Septuagintal style,
not Hebrew style; otherwise, there would be a καὶ before ἐξεπλήσσοντο). The alternative, that
the Capernaum complex was unknown to Matthew except for the response to Jesus’
teaching, seems unlikely. In the gospel of Mark and the putative common source
of Mark and Matthew, the healing of the demoniac in the synagogue of Capernaum
is, for its position and content, of programmatic importance. In Matthew, the
Capernaum complex, an account of an exorcism whose foreshadowing function (in
which Jesus’ true identity is revealed) is fulfilled through inter alia an
account of Jesus’ genealogy and birth (Matt 1-3), is replaced with an epitome
of Jesus’ teaching, the Sermon on the Mount (5-7). Luke is different
again. Jesus’ characterization of his ministry through Isaiah 61:1-2 in
the synagogue of Nazareth is programmatic (4:16-22a). It is not hard to see why
the presentations of Matthew and Luke might be thought to be more satisfying
than that of Mark and the putative common source behind all three.
(17)
S* ἦν γὰρ διδάσκων αὐτοὺς ὡς ἐξουσίαν ἔχων καὶ οὐχ ὡς οἱ γραμματεῖς.
Mark ἦν γὰρ διδάσκων αὐτοὺς ὡς ἐξουσίαν ἔχων καὶ οὐχ ὡς οἱ γραμματεῖς.
Matt ἦν γὰρ διδάσκων αὐτοὺς ὡς ἐξουσίαν ἔχων καὶ οὐχ ὡς οἱ γραμματεῖς αὐτῶν..
Luke ὅτι ἐν ἐξουσίᾳ ἦν ὁ λόγος αὐτοῦ.
S* because he was teaching them
as one with authority, not like the scribes.
Mark because he was teaching them as one
with authority, not like the scribes.
Matt because he was teaching them as one
with authority, not like their scribes.
Luke because his word possessed authority.
Matthew’s their scribes is a nice touch, though its makes the unit’s
conclusion a bit ponderous from a prosodic point of view. In Matthean
Christianity, scribes internal to the movement were appreciated, such that the
kingdom of heaven benefitted from their gifts: see Matt 13:51-53, unparalleled
in the other gospels. The alternative direction of development, in which Mark would have cut out their,
lacks a compelling justification.
In contrast to Mark and Matthew, Luke leaves out the reference to scribes.
This, along with Luke’s omission of a reference to the synagogue (see (15)
above), serves to formulate the content of the unit in the broadest of
possible terms. Once again, the alternative, that a generalized narrative was
particularized, seems an unlikely explanation of the facts on the ground.
The Reconstructed Common Source
Καὶ εἰσπορευόμεθα εἰς Καφαρναούμ· καὶ εὐθὺς τοῖς σάββασιν εἰσελθὼν εἰς τὴν συναγωγὴν ἐδίδασκεν. καὶ ἐξεπλήσσοντο ἐπὶ τῇ διδαχῇ αὐτοῦ· ἦν γὰρ διδάσκων αὐτοὺς ὡς ἐξουσίαν ἔχων καὶ οὐχ ὡς οἱ γραμματεῖς.
Mark 1:21-22
Καὶ εἰσπορεύονται εἰς Καφαρναούμ· καὶ εὐθὺς τοῖς σάββασιν εἰσελθὼν εἰς τὴν συναγωγὴν ἐδίδασκεν. καὶ ἐξεπλήσσοντο ἐπὶ τῇ διδαχῇ αὐτοῦ· ἦν γὰρ διδάσκων αὐτοὺς ὡς ἐξουσίαν ἔχων καὶ οὐχ ὡς οἱ γραμματεῖς.
Luke 4:31-32
Καὶ κατῆλθεν εἰς Καφαρναοὺμ πόλιν τῆς Γαλιλαίας. καὶ ἦν διδάσκων αὐτοὺς ἐν τοῖς σάββασιν· καὶ ἐξεπλήσσοντο ἐπὶ τῇ διδαχῇ αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἐν ἐξουσίᾳ ἦν ὁ λόγος αὐτοῦ.
Matthew 7:28-29
Καὶ ἐγένετο ὅτε ἐτέλεσεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τοὺς λόγους τούτους, ἐξεπλήσσοντο οἱ ὄχλοι ἐπὶ τῇ διδαχῇ αὐτοῦ·ἦν γὰρ διδάσκων αὐτοὺς ὡς ἐξουσίαν ἔχων καὶ οὐχ ὡς οἱ γραμματεῖς αὐτῶν.
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