The Matthean and Marcan miracle pattern.

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Ben C. Smith
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The Matthean and Marcan miracle pattern.

Post by Ben C. Smith »

Subject: Bethphage.
Understand that I am not in the camp of Markan priority (my order is prototypes not published, then Marcion, then Matthew, then John, probably Mark came next, and Luke last, with John getting an extensive revision of 15% or so verses added, the others small Catholic adjustments, less than 1%). Note, I do think Mark adhered closest to his source documents of any Gospel, and did not add a large layer of his Sects theological parables and teachings as the others did.
The question of which came first, Matthew or Mark, has interested me for a very long time. It is not always easy to find arguments one way or another which do not pertain only to individual passages or even verses. But one argument which spans most of the length of both gospels seems pretty critical to me. The following table is simply a collation of all the miracles in Matthew with all the miracles in Mark. I am not employing a very rigorous definition of the term "miracle" here, but I do not think that the outcome would substantially change under any definition of the term. I am, however, limiting the miracles to those actually worked by Jesus himself, whether directly or indirectly. Accordingly, incidents like the theophany at the baptism do not count. Even if one were to count such items, however, the outcome would, I believe, remain the same:

Miracles in Matthew
Miracles in Mark
1.23-28. The exorcism of the Capernaum demoniac.
8.14-15. The healing of the mother-in-law of Simon.1.29-31. The healing of the mother-in-law of Simon.
8.16-17. The evening healings.1.32-34. The evening healings.
8.1-4. The healing of a leper.1.40-45. The healing of a leper.
8.5-13. The healing at the request of a centurion.-
9.1-8. The healing of a paralytic.2.1-12. The healing of a paralytic.
9.32-34. The healing of a dumb man.-
11.5. Various healings.-
12.9-14. The healing of a man with a withered hand.3.1-6. The healing of a man with a withered hand.
12.22. Healing of a blind and dumb man.-
8.23-27. The calming of the sea.4.35-41. The calming of the sea.
8.28-34. The exorcism of the two Gadarene demoniacs.5.1-20. The exorcism of the Gadarene demoniac.
9.18-19, 23-26. The raising of the daughter of Jairus.5.21-24, 35-43. The raising of the daughter of Jairus.
9.27-31. The healing of two blind men.-
9.20-22. The healing of a hemorrhaging woman.5.25-34. The healing of a hemorrhaging woman.
13.53-58. Rejection at Nazareth (few miracles).6.1-6a. Rejection at Nazareth (few miracles).
14.15-21. The feeding of the five thousand.6.35-44. The feeding of the five thousand.
14.22-33. Walking on the waves (including Peter).6.45-52. Walking on the waves (excluding Peter).
14.34-36. The healings in Gennesaret.6.53-56. The healings in Gennesaret.
15.21-28. The healing of the daughter of a Canaanite woman.7.24-30. The healing of the daughter of a Syrophoenician woman.
15.29-31. Many healings.7.31-37. The healing of a deaf-mute man.
15.32-39. The feeding of the four thousand.8.1-10. The feeding of the four thousand.
8.22-26. The healing of a blind man with spittle.
17.14-21. The exorcism of a boy.9.14-29. The exorcism of a boy.
17.24-27. The didrachma tax (possibly just a witticism).-
20.29-34. The healing of two blind men.10.46-52. The healing of blind Bartimaeus.
21.18-22. The cursing of the fig tree.11.11-14, 19-24. The cursing of the fig tree.

A scan of the two columns will reveal that Matthew lacks narrative parallels to the following Marcan miracles:
  1. The exorcism of the Capernaum demoniac, Mark 1.23-28.
  2. The healing of a blind man with spittle, Mark 8.22-26.
It will also reveal another datum of interest. Two miracles are extant in which there are two recipients in Matthew but only one in Mark:
  1. The exorcism of the Gadarene demoniac(s), Matthew 8.28-34 = Mark 5.1-20.
  2. The healing of a blind man (or two blind men), Matthew 20.29-34 = Mark 10.46-52.
Is it mere coincidence that Matthew lacks exactly two Marcan miracles and yet has doubled two other miracles that are identical in kind (an exorcism and a healing of the blind)? It looks to me as if Matthew has compositionally accounted for all of the miracle material in Mark. Matthew contains several miracles which go unrelated in Mark, so Mark obviously has no motive to make sure he accounts for everything. It is Matthew who appears to have the motive to swallow Mark's miracle material whole.

If this observation holds water, then it means that something compositionally like Mark preceded something compositionally like Matthew. It does not necessarily mean that every single detail in our extant text of Mark preceded every single detail in our extant text of Matthew: scribes still may have added materials, different recensions of each gospel may have existed, and Matthew may have sometimes drawn from earlier, more primitive material than Mark.

Ben.
Last edited by Ben C. Smith on Sun Apr 18, 2021 11:35 am, edited 2 times in total.
Secret Alias
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Re: The Matthean and Marcan miracle pattern.

Post by Secret Alias »

Well reasoned.
“Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.”
― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote
Charles Wilson
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Re: The Matthean and Marcan miracle pattern.

Post by Charles Wilson »

Ditto.

Note also that, for example, Matthew has changed the Story of Walking on the Water. Mark's version makes little sense - the people in the boat do not understand about the loaves due to the hardness of their hearts. "Huh...?"

We get "The Rest of the Story" in Matthew. Peter asks to come out on the water and lacks faith. He sinks. "Jesus" reaches out and grabs him and they get into the boat and the storm ends.

Both of these are too clever by half.
Ben wrote:If this observation holds water, then it means that something compositionally like Mark preceded something compositionally like Matthew.
As SA stated, "Well Reasoned".
Kunigunde Kreuzerin
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Re: The Matthean and Marcan miracle pattern.

Post by Kunigunde Kreuzerin »

Ben C. Smith wrote: Wed Nov 22, 2017 8:31 amThe following table is simply a collation of all the miracles in Matthew with all the miracles in Mark.
It has nothing to do with the topic, but I noted with interest that the chronological order is mainly intact in the second half. Thanks for the nice table.
Ben C. Smith wrote: Wed Nov 22, 2017 8:31 am
Miracles in Matthew
Miracles in Mark
1.23-28. The exorcism of the Capernaum demoniac.
8.14-15. The healing of the mother-in-law of Simon.1.29-31. The healing of the mother-in-law of Simon.
8.16-17. The evening healings.1.32-34. The evening healings.
8.1-4. The healing of a leper.1.40-45. The healing of a leper.
8.5-13. The healing at the request of a centurion.-
9.1-8. The healing of a paralytic.2.1-12. The healing of a paralytic.
9.32-34. The healing of a dumb man.-
11.5. Various healings.-
12.9-14. The healing of a man with a withered hand.3.1-6. The healing of a man with a withered hand.
12.22. Healing of a blind and dumb man.-
8.23-27. The calming of the sea.4.35-41. The calming of the sea.
8.28-34. The exorcism of the two Gadarene demoniacs.5.1-20. The exorcism of the Gadarene demoniac.
9.18-19, 23-26. The raising of the daughter of Jairus.5.21-24, 35-43. The raising of the daughter of Jairus.
9.20-22. The healing of a hemorrhaging woman.5.25-34. The healing of a hemorrhaging woman.


13.53-58. Rejection at Nazareth (few miracles).6.1-6a. Rejection at Nazareth (few miracles).
14.15-21. The feeding of the five thousand.6.35-44. The feeding of the five thousand.
14.22-33. Walking on the waves (including Peter).6.45-52. Walking on the waves (excluding Peter).
14.34-36. The healings in Gennesaret.6.53-56. The healings in Gennesaret.
15.21-28. The healing of the daughter of a Canaanite woman.7.24-30. The healing of the daughter of a Syrophoenician woman.
15.29-31. Many healings.7.31-37. The healing of a deaf-mute man.
15.32-39. The feeding of the four thousand.8.1-10. The feeding of the four thousand.
8.22-26. The healing of a blind man with spittle.
17.14-21. The exorcism of a boy.9.14-29. The exorcism of a boy.
17.24-27. The didrachma tax (possibly just a witticism).-
20.29-34. The healing of two blind men.10.46-52. The healing of blind Bartimaeus.
21.18-22. The cursing of the fig tree.11.11-14, 19-24. The cursing of the fig tree.

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Ben C. Smith
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Re: The Matthean and Marcan miracle pattern.

Post by Ben C. Smith »

Secret Alias wrote: Wed Nov 22, 2017 8:54 amWell reasoned.
Charles Wilson wrote: Wed Nov 22, 2017 9:55 amAs SA stated, "Well Reasoned".
Thanks.
Kunigunde Kreuzerin wrote: Sat Nov 25, 2017 10:07 am
Ben C. Smith wrote: Wed Nov 22, 2017 8:31 amThe following table is simply a collation of all the miracles in Matthew with all the miracles in Mark.
It has nothing to do with the topic, but I noted with interest that the chronological order is mainly intact in the second half.
And this is the case, not only with respect to the miracles, but also with respect to pretty much every kind of pericope shared by Matthew and Mark. Matthew 3.1-4.22 lines up with Mark 1.2-20 quite well (there are large Matthean additions, but only the most minor kind of disruptions in order). After that spot, however, things get dicey, with Matthew and Mark departing from each other all over the place right up until Matthew 14.1-2 = Mark 6.14-16, from which point Matthew and Mark scarcely leave one another's side (except, again, for large Matthean additions and a handful of small Marcan ones; but scarcely any disruptions in order) through to the end of each text.
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