The evidence for Matthew and Luke not knowing each other is the following:
- The Matthean additions to Mark are never found in Luke, and the Lukan additions to Mark are never found in Matthew. In other words, whenever Matthew or Luke add something to Mark, it is never found in the other gospel. If Mathew and Luke knew each other, one of them would probably have copied the other’s additions to Mark. However, this never happens.
- The material that is shared in common by Matthew and Luke is in a different order in each gospel. For example, the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew is found in one section (ch. 5-7). However, Luke spreads that material all over his gospel. Similar examples could be shown. If Matthew or Luke knew each other, one would think that they would agree in order somewhere. But this doesn’t happen.
- In some cases, Matthew’s material seems more primitive. But in other cases, Luke’s material seems more primitive. By “primitive” I mean less theological developed. For example, Matthew’s version of the Lord’s Prayer is much more intricate than Luke’s version. In this case Luke is more primitive than Matthew. However, Matthew 7:9-11 says that the Father will give “good things” while the Lukan parallel has “Holy Spirit” (11:11-13). In this case, Matthew is more primitive than Luke. If Matthew and Luke knew each other, one would be consistently more primitive.
- Luke and Matthew do not copy the material that is unique to the other, even if it contains an emphasis of his gospel. There is material that is unique to Matthew and Luke (about 20% of Matthew and 35% of Luke). For a visual representation see the chart on my previous blog. It is striking that Matthew or Luke didn’t copy any of this material from each other, even when it serves their emphasis. For example, Luke-Acts has an emphasis on the Gentiles. However, he does not copy the story of the Magi from Matthew. Surely if Luke were copying Matthew, he would have included this story.
It seems then that Matthew and Luke did not know each other. So they must have copied a common source. Q must exist.
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