190 LIEUT. -COL. G. MACKINLAY, ON SOME LUCAN PKOBLEMS. 



possibility, and in this conclusion Canon Sanday"^ agrees with 

 him. 



(2) If St. Luke referred to a copy of Mark such as we now 

 have, he may have " accidentally left it unused, having perhaps 

 been misled into doing so by passing in his MS. from the 

 mention of feeding multitudes in Mark vi, 42-44, to that in 

 Mark viii, 19-21, or from the name Bethsaida in vi, 45, to the 

 same namef in viii, 22 (the place being nowhere else mentioned 

 in Mark). . . The evidence for it is greatly strengthched 

 by consideration of the physical difficulties that must iiave 

 beset compilers and copyists in the first century as compared 

 with our own literary conveniences."+ Sir John Hawkins 

 thinks that this is a more than possible solution, but he admits 

 that some will be unable to accept this explanation. 



(3) St. Luke may have intentionally passed over this 

 division of Mark's Gospel as unsuitable for his purpose for 

 the following reasons§ : two of the miracles which it contains, 

 the healing of a man who was deaf and had an impediment in 

 his speech, and the giving of sight to a blind man, may seem 

 to detract from the dignity of Christ : in the one case our Lord 

 " spat, and touched his tongue,"|| and in the other the healing 

 was not immediately complete, because at first men were only 

 seen as trees, walking."1[ A tendency has been observed in 

 Luke to avoid the narration of events and sayings which are 

 somewhat similar to others, thus the omission of — (a) The feeding 

 of the four thousand.** (b) The second storm on the lake.ff 

 (c) The general account of many miracles.JJ And (d) the 

 refusal of Christ to give a sign,§§ may be accounted for. It 

 is also thought that Luke generally limits the recital of anti- 

 Pharisaic controversy, hence the omission of the discourse 

 which contains the charge against the Pliarisees, that "ye leave 

 the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men."|||| 

 Another tendency of St. Luke is " ' to spare the twelve ' — to say 

 comparatively little as to their faults and failings "HIT ; this may 



^ S.S.P., pp. XXV, XX vi. 



t There is, however, our author i)Gints out, a Western reading 

 Br)3aviav. 



1 S.S.P., p. 66, by Eev. Sir J. Hawkins ; also p. 16 If., bv Canon Sanday. 

 § S.SR, pp. 67-74. II Mark vii, 33 •[^Mark viii, 24.' 



■^^ Mark viii, 1-9 (c), with Mark vi, 34-44. 

 ft Mark vi, 45-52 (c), with Mark iv, 35-41. 

 I Mark vi, 53-56 (c), witli Mark iii, 7-11. 

 § Mark viii, 11, 12 (c\ with Luke xi, 16, 29. 

 nil Mark vii, 8. ITIF S.S.F., p. 71. 



