Reading the Gospels Together Some Indirect Points of Contact between John and the Synoptic Gospels – Part 6 Points of Contact Shared by Luke and John – The Samaritans: Luke and John share a number of points of contact with one another that are not found in the other two gospels. We will note some of them as we look more closely at the Passion Narrative. Here we will examine a few points of contact within the realm of the ministry of Jesus prior to his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. In this section we will need to consider Luke 9:51-56, 10:30-37, and 17:11-19 along with the stories of Samaritans in the book of Acts; and John4:4-42. Both Luke and John place Jesus in connection with Samaritans – something Mark and Matthew never do. The main point of contact in John is the ministry of Jesus to the Samaritan woman at the well and ultimately to many other Samaritans. Luke does not tell this story; however, Luke tells his readers near the beginning of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem that he is passing near Samaria and the potential for contact is made. And Luke makes Samaritans the heroes of at least a couple of his stories. It is a Samaritan who is the hero in the parable of Jesus about the man who falls among robbers – the Good Samaritan. And it is a Samaritan leper who returns to give thanks to Jesus for his healing. In the book of Acts the ministry of the church quickly turns to the Samaritans. Likely Jesus in fact reached out to Samaritans during his ministry – a fact that would have also placed him at odds with the religious leaders. Reading John and Luke together leads us toward this insight. Points of Contact Shared by Luke and John – the Great Catch of Fish: In this section we will need to consider Luke 5:1-11 and John 21:4-8. We have already looked at this story in connection with the call of disciples. The remarkable thing to note in hearing this story is once again how gospel writers craftily use their material in proclaiming the gospel.