For much of the twentieth century, the distinctiveness of the Gospel led scholars to argue that the author did not know any of the Synoptic Gospels but employed an independent source of oral and written traditions which had some overlap with “Synoptic- like” traditions, especially Mark and Luke. More recently, scholars have argued that the evangelist knew one or more of the Synoptic Gospels, but chose to present the story of Jesus in a different form. The Gospel employs elements of the dramatic form to focus attention on the identity of Jesus as God's Son, “the one coming into the world” (1.9;
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