Bauckham's theory: named individuals are living eyewitness sources the author is appealing to

Bauckham argues that names are preserved in Gospel accounts because the named individuals were still alive at time of writing and served as the eyewitness sources for those specific stories. Naming them was a form of citation — readers could verify the account by consulting the named person. Example: Bartimaeus is named because he was alive, known to the community, and could confirm his own healing account.