far more literary
competence than the other two, ignores any "Sermon on the Mount," such
as that reported by "Matthew," just as much as the oldest authority
does. Yet "Luke" has a great many passages identical, or parallel,
with those in "Matthew's" "Sermon on the Mount," which are, for the
most part, scattered about in a totally different connection.

Interposed, however, between the nomination of the Apostles and a
visit to Capernaum; occupying, therefore, a place which answers to
that of the "Sermon on the Mount," in the first gospel, there is in
the third gospel a discourse which is as closely similar to the
"Sermon on the Mount," in some particulars, as it is widely unlike it
in others.

This discourse is said to have been delivered in a "plain" or "level
place" (Luke vi. 17), and by way of distinction we may call it the
"Sermon on the Plain."

I see no reason to doubt that the two Evangelists are dealing, to a
considerable extent, with the same traditional material; and a
comparison of the two "Sermons" suggests very strongly that "Luke's"
version is the earlier. The correspondences between the two forbid the
notion that they are independent. They both begin with a series of
blessings, some of which are almost verbally identical. In the middle
of each (Luke vi. 27-38, Matt. v. 43-48) there is a striking
exposition of the ethical spirit of the command given in Leviticus
xix. 18. And each ends with a passage containing the declaration that
a tree is to be known by its fruit, and the parable of the house built
on the sand. But while there are only 29 verses in the "Sermon on the
Plain" there are 107 in the "Sermon on the Mount;" the excess in
length of the latter being chiefly due to the long interpolations,
one of 30 verses before and one of 34 verses after, the middlemost
parallelism with Luke. Under these circumstances it is quite
impossible to admit that there is more probability that "Matthew's"
version of the Sermon is historically accurate, than there is that
Luke's version is so; and they cannot both be accurate.

"Luke" either knew the collection of loosely-connected and aphoristic
utterances which appear under the name of the "Sermon on the Mount" in
"Matthew"; or he did not. If he did not, he must have been ignorant of
the existence of such a document as our canonical "Matthew," a fact
which does not make for the genuineness, or the authority, of that
book. If he did, he has shown that he does not ca