Who Really Were the First Authors?

Response Paper #4: Who Really Were The First Authors? Kristin Serey Hazelett

What really was the first gospel written? How much evidence to we have to prove it? Why is original authorship shitt doubted today?Traditionally, the gospel of Matthew is believed to be the first gospel to have been written, and it is believed that all four gospels were written independently of the others, three of them by apostles and one by a very close follower of an apostle. But what if this isn't the case? What if--as many scholars now claim--Mark really is the first gospel, Matthew and Luke are largely copies of Mark with additional material added, and John is an older work, more a development of a particular theological perspective than a specific apostle recounting his experiences with Jesus?

Matthew has 1068 verses, Mark has 661 verses, and Luke has 1098 verses. Matthew repeats 454 verses from Mark, and Luke repeats 350 verses from Mark.

What I mean by repeat, is either a word for word repeat or a very similar repetition with the primary differences being in word choice or order. For example, let's compare the accounts of Jesus' baptism: Mark: 1:9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 1:10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove; 1:11 and a voice came from heaven, "Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased." Matthew: 3:13:Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 3:14 John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" 3:15 But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness." Then he consented. 3:16 And when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on him; 3:17 and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."Luke: 3:21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 3:22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, as a dove, and a voice came from heaven, "Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased."

Now, this is only one example, but I chose it only because it is the first example in the text; nothing else special about it. So, we can see that there is clearly some repetition, much more than would be case if three people were simply recording the same event.However, the logical question is, how do we know that Matthew and Luke copied Mark rather than Mark copying Matthew or something along those lines?

First, I have taken into consideration that Mark is only 16 chapters long, while Matthew and Luke are both significantly longer. Of Mark's 661 verses, 454 are repeated in Matthew and 350 are repeated in Luke. But how much isn't repeated?

While 396 of Matthew's 1068 verses are unique to Matthew and