Sunday, January 29, 2017

"into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John" - Mystery of Resemblance of the Four Gospels


Around Prime Minister's Office, Tokyo


Mystery of Resemblance of the Four Gospels

Why do the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John resemble one another in their contents about the mission by Christ Jesus?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synoptic_Gospels

As Christ Jesus preached for three years, namely 1,000 days, there must have been at least 1,000 episodes to be written in each Gospel.  But each of them contains only about 100 episodes, at most.  If these Gospels had used different sources, their contents should have differ from one another significantly.

The answer must be that there was only one source.

My theory is that it was written by Jesus after the Resurrection in Qumran in Aramaic or Hebrew.  This document was handed to Paul when he came to Qumran from Damascus.  And Paul made it secret, since there were many enemies.  But with this source of evidence of Christ Jesus, Paul could preach to Judaists and gentiles so passionately with strong confidence.

When Paul came to Rome, he allowed some of his followers, such as Luke (his close aid or personal medical doctor), and even followers of Peter (such as Mark), when Peter came to Rome, to translate the secret document into Greek, one of the then common languages in the Roman Empire.   So, according to translators, some variations came to emerge.  And, as the original author was Jesus, they called their translation the Gospel according to Mathew, the Gospel according to Mark, the Gospel according to Luke, and the Gospel according to John.  This "according to" means "translated from the original source by."

 But, it might have been Paul who chose about 100 episodes from original 1,000 episodes Jesus had written.  Or as it took three years for Paul to come to Jerusalem after his encounter of the spirit of Jesus on the road to Damascus, it is thought that Paul stayed in Qumran for three years.  Then Paul might have written the original source as he saw and heard directly words of Jesus in Qumran like Muhammad later heard words of an angel in a cave and wrote them down.

Anyway, the direct source of the Gospels must have been Paul in Rome.  And he must have the original source where the mission of Christ Jesus was written with 100 or more episodes in Aramaic or Hebrew.  And it was translated by Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John.  However, as there are some difference among them, the original source must have been larger in volume.  The translators had discretion to choose or spare some episodes or interpret episodes.

The key factors are the linkage of Jesus with Qumran, Paul's three years from Damascus to Jerusalem, and Paul's strong confidence that he knew Christ Jesus spiritually or personally.



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Mar 1:28 And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.
Mar 1:29 And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
Mar 1:30 But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her.
Mar 1:31 And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.