Interpreting a Synoptic passage is a challenge. Let’s take for example Jesus’ plucking of grain on the Sabbath (Matt 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28; and Luke 6:1-5).
Order
Mark and Luke follow the same general order — the fourth in a series of controversies with the religious leaders. Matthew places the episode at the first of a series of controversies where the primary issues are confrontation, rejection, and the need for a response. The passage is placed between two teaching sections (chapters 10, 13).
Text
Most of the differences in the narratives are incidental and stylistic than substantial.
Major differences
Matthew 12:5-7 –> Matthew is a Jewish Gospel so the additions found in these verses can be explained as a concern for Jewish issues.
Mark 2:26 –> Abiathar was not high priest — Ahimelech was according to 1 Samuel 21. Honestly, no good answer has been given to deal with this textual problem. Those who hold to Markan Priority all say that Matthew and Luke leave this reference out to improve on Mark. Could not Peter have simply preached it that way? “In the times of Abiathar? (I hold to the traditional view that Peter is the source behind Mark’s Gospel.)
Mark 2:27 –> Sabbath law was never meant to restrict human need — some argue that Matthew and Luke omit the saying because it seemed potentially in conflict with the unique authority attributed to the Son of Man. The idea is ‘son of man’ could be translated more generically, so that the saying would be in effect, “Human beings have control of the Sabbath.” But would that necessarily be so? The emphasis of Matthew and Luke could simply be that the writers wanted to make a strong Christological point. That could be done without Markan Priority. The saying, which was original, could be left out of Matthew and Luke for redactional reasons and left in by Mark because that’s how Peter related it.
Potential Explanation
Matthew was there and reports the essential voice of Jesus. He leaves out Mark 2:27 for redactional reasons. Mark reports the preaching of Peter, which includes the statements about Abiathar and v. 27. Luke, who certainly used Matthew as well as other sources, relates the story in his own words, leaving out Mark 2:27, perhaps for the same reason as Matthew. His sources, however, may not have included v. 27. Neither Matthew nor Luke includes the Abiathar incident. Matthew does not report it because it was not from Jesus. Luke does not because he does not know it.
ADDED NOTE: I’ve love dealing with the Synoptic Problem, and it is quite a PROBLEM!
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