Exegesis and the SynopticsPainos 1

Does the resolute defense of their beliefs prove that the Christian proto-communities’ earliest documents about Jesus’ life did not have the discrepancies, contradictions, and conflicts which exegetes argue existed in the four Gospels? Their presence has divided the Gospels into the Synoptics and John, declared by most contemporary exegetes to be originally Greek in their composition. Geis claims that the various differences in Synoptic accounts can be explained by the evidence that reveals they were originally, whole or in part, Hebrew documents that were later translated into Greek. The texts lexically provide a basis for this Hebrew undercurrent. Exegesis and the Synoptics also maintains, against current exegesis, that Matthew’s role as a tax collector and a record keeper makes the claim that he kept a contemporaneous written account of the Lord quite credible.