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Writing and Rewriting the Gospels: John and the Synoptics
A compelling reappraisal of the relationships between the canonical gospels
Biblical scholars have long debated the Synoptic problem and the literary relationship between the Gospel of John and the Synoptics. During the twentieth century, the consensus shifted decisively to the Two-Source hypothesis for the Synoptic problem along with the view that John’s Gospel was independent of the Synoptics. In recent decades all consensus has dissolved—yet these questions retain currency and significance.
James W. Barker takes up these questions and reappraises the evidence. Drawing on his expertise in ancient compositional practices, he makes a persuasive case for a snowballing trajectory, whereby each canonical gospel drew upon other canonical gospels. Thus, Mark was written first; Matthew draws on Mark; Luke draws on Mark and Matthew; and the last of the four, John, is dependent on all three Synoptics and was meant to be read alongside them.
This judicious and ambitious study will be of interest to New Testament scholars as well as general readers who want to know more about the literary relationships between the gospels.
Biblical scholars have long debated the Synoptic problem and the literary relationship between the Gospel of John and the Synoptics. During the twentieth century, the consensus shifted decisively to the Two-Source hypothesis for the Synoptic problem along with the view that John’s Gospel was independent of the Synoptics. In recent decades all consensus has dissolved—yet these questions retain currency and significance.
James W. Barker takes up these questions and reappraises the evidence. Drawing on his expertise in ancient compositional practices, he makes a persuasive case for a snowballing trajectory, whereby each canonical gospel drew upon other canonical gospels. Thus, Mark was written first; Matthew draws on Mark; Luke draws on Mark and Matthew; and the last of the four, John, is dependent on all three Synoptics and was meant to be read alongside them.
This judicious and ambitious study will be of interest to New Testament scholars as well as general readers who want to know more about the literary relationships between the gospels.
204 pages, Paperback
Published January 30, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 29, 2025
Pretty wild that Eerdmans published Barker and Goodacre’s new monographs within six months of each other - between these and Méndez’s new volume 2025 has really provided a glut of new scholarship on John. Hopefully each provokes conversation for years to come! Since Barker clocks 140 pages, a chapter by chapter treatment seems fair for such a compelling, short read.
Chapter 1, “How to Write a Gospel,” features Barker’s most engaging and novel contributions regarding the synoptic problem and gospel composition writ large. As he said at his review panel at SBL, “he studies the New Testament as God intended - with power tools!” Truly an incredible insight to make and experiment with wax tablets, manuscripts, and codices in order to evaluate often dubious claims that scholars make about the feasibility of gospel copying. From drafting on wax tablets to moving through a source scroll, Barker convincingly shows that, for example, Luke would’ve had no trouble at all consulting Mark and Matthew as he composed his gospel.
Chapter 2, “Synoptic Trajectories,” is a solid defense of the Farrer hypothesis. Barker briefly recounts the history of this underdog challenger to the 2 source hypothesis, and does not obscure his dependence on Goodacre’s work. For someone familiar with the debate, like myself, this is perhaps the least innovative chapter; conversely, it’s a very helpful summary if the subject matter is foreign to the reader. Speaking of, this is a good time to praise how Barker clearly wrote for a broad audience - all Greek within the body of the text is transliterated, and with plenty of pop culture references and a charming style of prose it is clear he welcomes all comers.
Chapter 3, “Johannine Trajectories,” is the climax of his argument that John knew the Synoptics. This is where his “snowballing” metaphor comes to full fruition. Not only does he identify several pericopes where John is close to the Synoptics (as Goodacre does), but his borrowing from Classics of the notion of ‘oppositio in imitando’ is a creative way to explain instances such as the Lazarus accounts in Luke and John. Overall, a brilliant chapter.
Chapter 4, “Johannine Christology in Context,” is one of the most ambitious chapters I’ve ever read. I’m not lying - Barker wants to make the argument for ascending Christology in the canonical gospels, markan dependence on Paul, then he wants to give a flyover of Trinitarian doctrinal development through AD 381 at Constantinople. While he certainly could’ve gone into more detail, I never found myself challenging any of his summaries as incorrect. It’s an incredible attempt, and he mostly sticks the landing. I definitely agree with his conclusion that “the economic Trinity stood ready-made in the Gospel of John” (139).
I’ve gone on too long, but I’m grateful for Barker’s contribution and will frequently return to it, especially chapter 1. Chapter 2 dragged a little for me (probably taking this down a star), but 3 and 4 are strong. Overall an excellent, accessible read that I hope has sustained popularity.
Chapter 1, “How to Write a Gospel,” features Barker’s most engaging and novel contributions regarding the synoptic problem and gospel composition writ large. As he said at his review panel at SBL, “he studies the New Testament as God intended - with power tools!” Truly an incredible insight to make and experiment with wax tablets, manuscripts, and codices in order to evaluate often dubious claims that scholars make about the feasibility of gospel copying. From drafting on wax tablets to moving through a source scroll, Barker convincingly shows that, for example, Luke would’ve had no trouble at all consulting Mark and Matthew as he composed his gospel.
Chapter 2, “Synoptic Trajectories,” is a solid defense of the Farrer hypothesis. Barker briefly recounts the history of this underdog challenger to the 2 source hypothesis, and does not obscure his dependence on Goodacre’s work. For someone familiar with the debate, like myself, this is perhaps the least innovative chapter; conversely, it’s a very helpful summary if the subject matter is foreign to the reader. Speaking of, this is a good time to praise how Barker clearly wrote for a broad audience - all Greek within the body of the text is transliterated, and with plenty of pop culture references and a charming style of prose it is clear he welcomes all comers.
Chapter 3, “Johannine Trajectories,” is the climax of his argument that John knew the Synoptics. This is where his “snowballing” metaphor comes to full fruition. Not only does he identify several pericopes where John is close to the Synoptics (as Goodacre does), but his borrowing from Classics of the notion of ‘oppositio in imitando’ is a creative way to explain instances such as the Lazarus accounts in Luke and John. Overall, a brilliant chapter.
Chapter 4, “Johannine Christology in Context,” is one of the most ambitious chapters I’ve ever read. I’m not lying - Barker wants to make the argument for ascending Christology in the canonical gospels, markan dependence on Paul, then he wants to give a flyover of Trinitarian doctrinal development through AD 381 at Constantinople. While he certainly could’ve gone into more detail, I never found myself challenging any of his summaries as incorrect. It’s an incredible attempt, and he mostly sticks the landing. I definitely agree with his conclusion that “the economic Trinity stood ready-made in the Gospel of John” (139).
I’ve gone on too long, but I’m grateful for Barker’s contribution and will frequently return to it, especially chapter 1. Chapter 2 dragged a little for me (probably taking this down a star), but 3 and 4 are strong. Overall an excellent, accessible read that I hope has sustained popularity.
May 12, 2025
Summary; Drawing on ancient compositional practice, argues for for a “snowballing” process of gospel writing.
We have long noticed the similarities of the first three gospels. Hence the term “synoptic” (literally “seeing together”). Yet we also notice that Matthew and Luke share a body of material in common not in Mark as well as some material being unique to each. The scholarly consensus is that Mark wrote first. Matthew and Luke used Mark as well as a second source known as Q (short for Quelle). No actual Q manuscript has ever been found but its existence is posited on the basis of shared material. Finally, John wrote much later and independently.
James W. Barker challenges this consensus, defending a hypothesis by Farrer that argues for a “snowballing” of composition. The argument is that Mark indeed wrote first, Matthew followed, drawing upon Mark. In turn Luke wrote using both Mark and Matthew. Finally, John used all three Synoptic gospels in a creative formulation. And there was no such thing as Q. The shared material of Matthew and Luke was added by Matthew and used by Luke.
Barker develops his argument in part upon recent research into ancient compositional practice. Some of this includes his own work in copying the gospels onto codices and bookrolls. He also develops evidence of that the practice of rewriting an earlier writer’s work was common practice. Moreover, it was not overly cumbersome to work with multiple sources in rewriting. He then turns to the synoptics and offers evidence for Matthews rewriting of Mark and Luke’s use of both. For example, in Mark 12:38b-39, Jesus warns about scribes, their finery, the greetings and the seats they expected. Matthew 23:2b, 5b-8a elaborates this. Luke 20:46 virtually copies Mark verbatim, but Luke 11:43 adds some of Matthew’s material.
Then Barker turns to John. Only about a quarter of the material in John is shared. He notes that the differences reflect a storytelling device known as oppositio in imitando, the imitating of a story while turning many elements inside out. Barker compares, for example, the synoptics treatment of Samaritans with Jesus encounter with the Samaritan woman. He looks at the paralysis healings, the feeding of the five thousand and taking Luke’s Lazarus character and literally raising him to life. He develops from this a case that John also “rewrote,” interacting with the prior material.
Finally, he traces Christology in Paul’s work, the synoptics, and John, as well as later works. He contends Mark and some of Paul left room for adoptionist Christologies. Matthew and Luke, with the birth accounts laid groundwork for a higher Christology. He argues that John’s high Christology anticipates the councils and contributed substantively to them.
The most attractive aspect to me of Barker’s proposal was his argument against Q. I always wondered about this shadowy source no one has ever found. He offers a plausible account to me for both the distinctive composition of each gospel and how they “snowballed” on earlier accounts. In so doing, he advances Farrer’s hypothesis of the literary relationships between the gospels. I think he makes a good case for this being at least a viable alternative to the two source explanation. And he even incorporates John in the process, although I suspect there is much more to be done to make his case fully persuasive. All told, this is an important contribution to our understanding of the relationship of the four gospels.
____________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.
We have long noticed the similarities of the first three gospels. Hence the term “synoptic” (literally “seeing together”). Yet we also notice that Matthew and Luke share a body of material in common not in Mark as well as some material being unique to each. The scholarly consensus is that Mark wrote first. Matthew and Luke used Mark as well as a second source known as Q (short for Quelle). No actual Q manuscript has ever been found but its existence is posited on the basis of shared material. Finally, John wrote much later and independently.
James W. Barker challenges this consensus, defending a hypothesis by Farrer that argues for a “snowballing” of composition. The argument is that Mark indeed wrote first, Matthew followed, drawing upon Mark. In turn Luke wrote using both Mark and Matthew. Finally, John used all three Synoptic gospels in a creative formulation. And there was no such thing as Q. The shared material of Matthew and Luke was added by Matthew and used by Luke.
Barker develops his argument in part upon recent research into ancient compositional practice. Some of this includes his own work in copying the gospels onto codices and bookrolls. He also develops evidence of that the practice of rewriting an earlier writer’s work was common practice. Moreover, it was not overly cumbersome to work with multiple sources in rewriting. He then turns to the synoptics and offers evidence for Matthews rewriting of Mark and Luke’s use of both. For example, in Mark 12:38b-39, Jesus warns about scribes, their finery, the greetings and the seats they expected. Matthew 23:2b, 5b-8a elaborates this. Luke 20:46 virtually copies Mark verbatim, but Luke 11:43 adds some of Matthew’s material.
Then Barker turns to John. Only about a quarter of the material in John is shared. He notes that the differences reflect a storytelling device known as oppositio in imitando, the imitating of a story while turning many elements inside out. Barker compares, for example, the synoptics treatment of Samaritans with Jesus encounter with the Samaritan woman. He looks at the paralysis healings, the feeding of the five thousand and taking Luke’s Lazarus character and literally raising him to life. He develops from this a case that John also “rewrote,” interacting with the prior material.
Finally, he traces Christology in Paul’s work, the synoptics, and John, as well as later works. He contends Mark and some of Paul left room for adoptionist Christologies. Matthew and Luke, with the birth accounts laid groundwork for a higher Christology. He argues that John’s high Christology anticipates the councils and contributed substantively to them.
The most attractive aspect to me of Barker’s proposal was his argument against Q. I always wondered about this shadowy source no one has ever found. He offers a plausible account to me for both the distinctive composition of each gospel and how they “snowballed” on earlier accounts. In so doing, he advances Farrer’s hypothesis of the literary relationships between the gospels. I think he makes a good case for this being at least a viable alternative to the two source explanation. And he even incorporates John in the process, although I suspect there is much more to be done to make his case fully persuasive. All told, this is an important contribution to our understanding of the relationship of the four gospels.
____________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.
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February 5, 2025Accessible to both lay people and biblical studies scholars, Barker’s book brilliantly sheds new light on the old question of how the gospels were written. Barker shows how the gospel authors are in conversation—copying, augmenting, and even correcting the other accounts—even as each maintains a distinct style and set of concerns. Barker explains a remarkable breadth and depth of knowledge while connecting it to the writing practices of the Beatles, Johnny Cash, and the Mad Men typing pool. Barker draws on his own experience making wax tables, scrolls, and codices in an effort to render ancient writing practices relatable. This text would be great for a church group, an undergraduate/graduate study of the Gospels, or an interested reader. It is easily accessible and applicable (I found myself instinctively applying Barker’s ideas as part of a Bible study discussion not long after reading).
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