Reading the Gospels Together Some Indirect Points of Contact between John and the Synoptic Gospels – Part 5 The Healing of the Official’s Slave/Son: In this section we will need to consider Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10; and John 4:46-54. All three gospel writers tell a similar story of Jesus healing an official’s slave/son at a distance. Matthew and Luke are closer to one another although there are differences within their stories. John’s story has even more differences to deal with. Some common elements seem to indicate that the same event lies behind all three accounts. The one requesting Jesus is an army official – likely a Gentile in all three stories. The official is connected with Capernaum – although Jesus is in Cana in John’s gospel. The official has great faith knowing that Jesus can heal from afar in all three stories. While one could argue otherwise it seems likely that all three writers have the same event in mind. The minor changes all three make to the story really doesn’t change the main point of the story. Reading the gospels together helps us to see how each gospel writer takes the traditions available to them and shapes them in their own way.