“There is always room for intelligent new writing on the Gospels like this intriguing study of Saint Luke. Thomas J. Mosbø sees it as not only history or theology but a true work of art. Luke the composer has created a beautiful sonata form complete with exposition, development, and recapitulation. Mosbø examines carefully the hows and whys that went into the work of this most meticulous of evangelists. The author wears his scholarship lightly, which makes it all the more enjoyable to read. Some of his conclusions will no doubt be debated, but Mosbø achieves what matters most: to help us admire this Gospel even more than we did before, as one of the supreme testimonies to the vibrant faith of early Christianity.”
Luke the Composer: Exploring the Evangelist’s Use of Matthew
The literary relationships among the Synoptic Gospels have long attracted scholarly attention which has now generally coalesced into the predominant Two- (or Four-) Source Hypothesis and leading alternatives, the Griesbach (or Two-Gospel) Hypothesis (Mark used Matthew and Luke) and the Farrer Hypothesis (Luke used Mark and Matthew). Thomas J. Mosbø here argues that no theory of Synoptic relations is adequate unless it can satisfactorily explain the extensive middle third of Luke’s Gospel, the so-called Travel Narrative (9:51–19:27), where Luke departs from the order shown in either Matthew or Mark and assembles stories and sayings that develop themes concerning discipleship that are important to Luke. Mosbø examines this narrative as a composed narrative, not merely an assembly of “materials,” and finds that Luke has reordered materials taken from Matthew and from Mark in a very particular manner. He then examines Luke’s purposes in the Gospel as a whole, then addresses objections raised by Q advocates to the hypothesis that Luke knew Matthew. At length Mosbø offers his own hypothesis of Synoptic relationships, including the relationship between Matthew and Mark.
- Publisher Fortress Press
- Format Hardcover
- ISBN 9781506425573
- eBook ISBN 9781506420387
- Dimensions 6 x 9
- Pages 264
- Publication Date June 15, 2017
Contents
Prologue: The Synoptic Problem
1. Reading Luke
2. Luke’s Sonata
3. Luke’s Sources
4. Writing Luke
5. Evaluating Luke
Epilogue: A Synoptic Theory
Appendix: Special Lukan Material
Bibliography
Index
Full-Color Diagrams
Samples
Reviews
Reviewed in New Testament Abstracts 61.2 (2017)
Endorsements
There is always room for intelligent new writing on the Gospels like this intriguing study of Saint Luke.
Michael Sadgrove | dean emeritus, Durham Cathedral