The Four: A Survey of the Gospels. By Peter J. Leithart. Moscow, ID: Canon Press, 2010, 251 pp. In chapter 3 of his Survey of the Gospels, Peter Leithart introduces three questions which arise because of the similarities and differences between Matthew, Mark, and Luke: “Where do the Gospels come…
The most popular modern hypothesis for explaining the publication order of the Synoptic Gospel is that Mark was published first, followed by Matthew and Luke, each having used Mark and other sources without having consulted each other. Variations exist on this hypothesis; but consistently, Mark is claimed to have been…
In 1792, John Eveleigh delivered the annual Bampton Lectures at Oxford. At the time, Eveleigh was the provost of Oriel College, one of the colleges of Oxford, and prebendary of Rochester Cathedral. The lectures were published under the title: A View of Our Religion: With Regard to its Substance, With…
A kind review by Pastor Joel Grassi over at Commonwealth Community Baptist Church in the Bronx, NY. Click HERE to download. Also, a nice discussion of the book on his radio program, Walking in the Word, on July 28, 2025 at t=10:30. Click HERE to listen.
Two great interviews recently over at the Bible and Theology Matters podcast, hosted by Dr. Paul Weaver of Dallas Theological Seminary. “Matthew or Mark?: Which Gospel was Written First?” — with Dr. William Varner. (Including a quick mention of my book!) “The Synoptic Problem: Why Four Gospels?” — with Dr.…
Ferry to San Juan Island (WA)
In previous articles, I have illustrated Mark’s tendency towards omitting Matthew’s Old Testament quotations, when covering the same episode as Matthew, while at the same time inserting a few words which allude to the underlying OT passage itself. I am presently aware of six instances of this behavior. Correspondingly, I…
In a prior article it was observed that Oliver Buswell acknowledged that his interpretation of the Olivet Discourse was impacted by his assumptions regarding the date of Matthew’s Gospel. I suggest that publication assumptions can likewise impact one’s interpretation and application of the Sermon on the Mount. Specifically, I suggest…
Is There a Synoptic Problem? : Rethinking the Literary Dependence of the First Three Gospels. By Eta Linnemann. Translated by Robert W. Yarbrough. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1992, 219 pp. Back when I began my own journey in wrestling with the Synoptic Problem (SP), I found that Eta Linnemann was frequently…
Last year, I surveyed the opinions of various scholars who either “broadly discounted the Gospels as providing chronological accounts” or who specifically discounted Matthew’s chronological sequence of events, in favor of Mark’s ordering of events. In contrast, I suggested that “if we accept that Matthew was published first, coincident with…