...The four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John 1. Introduction The term Gospel means good news, a message which was desperately needed (Guthrie, 1965: 11). According to Talbot (2013: 69) gospels can be divided into 2 groups namely the Synoptic gospels- Matthew, Mark and Luke and Gospel of John. He explains that Matthew, Mark and Luke are called the synoptic gospels because they have so much in common. Kotze (6), outlines their similarities and differences as follows: |Mark | |Matthew | |Luke | |Total: 661 verses | |Total :1068 verses | |Total: 1149 verses | |600 verses parallel to Matthew | |505 verses parallel to Mark | |380 verses parallel to Mark | |61 verses peculiar to Mark | |235 versus parallel to Luke | |235 versus parallel to Matthew | | | |328 verses peculiar to Matthew | |534 verses peculiar to Luke | There are suggestions due the similarities and differences that (1) Mark was the original writer and was copied by Matthew and Luke (2) Matthew was original writer copied by Luke, and Mark made a shorter version. The material where obtained from the following suggested sources: (1) Oral tradition – the good news spread by word of mouth before it was written down (2) An earlier...
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...Theology of the Four Gospels The first three gospels are sometimes called the 'synoptic' or same view gospels. This is because they each cover teaching and miracles by Jesus that are also covered in another account. The fourth gospel, John, writing later, recounts Jesus' other words and miracles that have a particular spiritual meaning. All four gospels present Jesus as both the Son of God and son of man. In this paper information will be provided that describes the major theological differences between the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Information will also be provided that describes a theological perspective of the gospel of John. Finally, information in this paper will include how ones understanding of the various theological perspectives presented in the four Gospels can be used as an additional tool to facilitate the proclaiming of the Four Gospels. Theological Differences between the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John The Gospel According to Matthew The first three books of the New Testament have been identified as the synoptic gospels. These books are Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The first book of the New Testament is identified as the book of Matthew. Matthew was one of the first twelve disciples of Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 9:1; 10:1-4 and therefore an eye-witness. Matthew records more of Jesus' teaching concerning God's heavenly kingdom than the other writers, Mark, Luke, or John. In the first four books of Matthew, the miracle story of Jesus’...
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...Answer The synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, are so named because they are in substantial agreement on the life of Jesus. Mark's Gospel was the original gospel, and is believed to have been written around 70 CE. Whenever Matthew and Luke copy material from Mark's Gospel, they do so with remarkable consistency, even to the use of words in the original Greek language. John's Gospel, although influenced by Mark's Gospel, is further removed, with its principal source being Luke's Gospel. It is believed that John's Gospel was originally much more Gnostic, but that after the split in the Johannine community, the Gospel was reworked to remove much of its Gnostic flavour. Whereas the synoptic gospels say that Jesus, although the Son of God, was not truly divine, John's Gospel makes it quite clear that he was considered to be both God and pre-existing. Much of the material in John is unique to this Gospel, although passages in John can be seen to be adaptations of similar material in Luke. For example, the post-resurrection appearance of Jesus, in which he tells the disciples to cast their nets on the other side and thus they catch a multitude of fish, is unique to John. However, a very similar episode occurs in Luke before the crucifixion and resurrection. In the synoptic gospels, particularly in Mark, Jesus is at pains to keep his true identity secret. He does not 'cleanse' the Temple until towards the end of his mission, and this violent action is the trigger...
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...Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the four narrators for the Gospels. The Gospel “offers distinctive information about Jesus, his public ministry, death, Resurrection, and significance” (Mueller 80). Each of the four Gospels were written at different times, and without collaboration. Due to the differences of chronological order, the order in which events took place, vocabulary, the overall contents, and similarities the Synoptic Problem was created. The Synoptic problem refers to the discussion and the relationship between the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The main question that the Synoptic problem posses is what is the nature of the relationship between the three Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke, which was written first, and what sources were used in each of them? With the exception of John, the Gospels have many different similarities in the text, passages, and the specific arrangements of those passages. The reason for the Gospel written by John not being included in the synoptic problem is that there are very few agreements in the text compared to those of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. “The synoptic gospels are synoptic in that they share a majority of their information. Mark contains 93% shared information, Matthew 58% and Luke contains 41%. The Gospel of John in the only gospel that is not considered part of the synoptic gospels because it is 92% peculiar, or dissimilar in its structure and makeup” (Linderer 2). Although each of the Gospels written by Matthew...
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...The New Testament contains the four synoptic gospels that were written by different authors at different periods. It goes without saying that each author had a different view of Jesus and his life story, which makes it hard for a reader to understand the full context of the life of Jesus. The several differences in the gospels dispute one another and depict Jesus with several different characteristics; it shows how many different personal circumstances may have shaped the way each author wrote their own version of the gospels and can it can be concluded that that New Testament is contradictory due to those circumstances. It is has been said that Matthew was the first gospel written out of the synoptic gospels followed by Mark, and then Luke and lastly John. John and Matthew are the only two authors who witnessed the life of Jesus but strangely their depiction of Jesus couldn’t be anymore different from one another. It is strange that John and Matthew have completely different outlooks on what Jesus was like even though they both physically witnessed him, I think it takes away a sense of truth from the Bible. While writing their own gospels Mark and Luke both drew inspiration from Matthew in writing their own gospels so there is an underlying resemblance between the three. John on the other hand depicts Jesus way differently than the rest. John writes about Jesus as the self-proclaimed Son of God, within the first chapter of John, Jesus is already heard saying, “behold the...
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...CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 EXPLORATION OF THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS........................................................................1 ORAL THEORY.............................................................................................................................2 THE TWO-SOURCE HYPOTHESIS.............................................................................................3 THE GREISBACH HYPOSTHESIS..............................................................................................4 THE FARRER-GOULDER HYPOTHESIS...................................................................................5 THE AUGUSTINE HYPOSTHESIS..............................................................................................6 DEFENSE OF THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM................................................................................6 CONCLUSION...............................................................................................................................7 BIBLIOGRAPHY...........................................................................................................................9 INTRODUCTION At first, one reads the words “Synoptic Problem” and assumes the worst. The expression problem summons the question, “is there a hindrance within the Gospel accounts?” However, the “Synoptic Problem” is more of a variation of elucidations to its literary interrelationship among the Gospels. This quandary cultivated through the exertions of...
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...Jesus (/ˈdʒiːzəs/; Greek: Ἰησοῦς Iesous; 7–2 BC to AD 30–33), also referred to as Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus Christ,[e] is the central figure of Christianity, whom the teachings of most Christian denominations hold to be the Son of God. Christianity regards Jesus as the awaited Messiah (or Christ) of the Old Testament,[12] while Islam regards Jesus as a major prophet, second in importance only to Muhammad.[13] Virtually all modern scholars of antiquity agree that Jesus existed historically,[f] and historians consider the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) to be the best sources for investigating the historical Jesus.[20][21][22][23] Most scholars agree that Jesus was a Galilean, Jewish rabbi[24] who preached his message orally,[25] was baptized by John the Baptist, and was crucified by the order of the Roman Prefect Pontius Pilate.[26] In the current mainstream view, Jesus was an apocalyptic preacher and the founder of a restoration movement within Judaism, although some prominent scholars argue that he was not apocalyptic.[21][27] After Jesus' death, his followers believed he was resurrected, and the community they formed eventually became the Christian church.[28] The widely accepted calendar era, abbreviated as "AD" or sometimes as "CE", is based on the birth of Jesus. Christians believe that Jesus has a "unique significance" in the world.[29] Christian doctrines include the beliefs that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, was born of a virgin named Mary, performed miracles...
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...Luke’s gospel, the parable has some the same aspects of that in Matthew and Mark with some distinct differences. The parable begins with the disciples reporting to Jesus what they had done is similar to that of the gospels' of Matthew and Mark. Then Jesus took His disciples and withdrew by themselves to Bethesda. Luke added the destination in which Jesus and His disciples were heading unlike Matthew and Mark. The crowd learned of the location and followed Jesus and His disciples. Jesus welcomed them and spoke about the kingdom of God, and healed those in need (Luke 9: 11). This is seen a divine appointment by God. Because of the crowd set out to find Jesus in a desert place (Barclay 117). Jesus welcomed those who came to Him by healing...
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...The Gospel and the Four Gospels In the beginning the New Testament is given in metaphor as described as a turtle. The New Testament should be treated just like a snapping turtle. You do not know that it’s a snapping turtle until your each out for it and it quickly snaps back at you. You have to be very careful in approaching both, we have to take into consideration that dealing with them both we have to not only look at the impression or the first impression they give off. You would think you can trust a turtle because it’s so harmless, but you don’t know until you reach out. The New Testament is innocent until you start to read and you start to see that it’s definitely different from your other readings. The first four documents will give us a more mature look about the New Testament. The content of the message is that its important when reading and studying the four Gospels. You have to recognize that each of the Gospels are written and specifically designed for a certain audience and group of people. Matthew is written for the Jewish audience. Mark is written to the Romans. Luke is written to the Greek. John is written to the Christian that is born again. Even though they all generally, but not always, include events that are the same but gives different information from a certain event. The biggest difference in the four Gospels is that God is reaching out to everyone. He created us all different but the bible was that one source that will make us all alike. He creared...
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...Sacred Scripture Last Friday afternoon, we had class Some students had other priorities. Therefore, if you missed class on Friday, you have a make-up assignment. You must write me a 1-2 page paper for Wednesday. Question: Who wrote the Bible? You must discuss 1) the traditional evidence for Moses; 2) the Documentary hypothesis. This is ONLY for those who MISSED Friday. The names of God. Lord: Adonai (Hebrew) LORD: Yahweh or Jehovah or I am who I am. God: Elohim (Hebrew). God Almighty: El Shaddai. Most ancient Jews thought that Moses wrote the Torah/Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy). Moses is traditionally thought to have lived in the 1200sBC. The names of God appear to differ systematically in the Torah. J source: used Yahweh/Jehovah. E source: used Elohim/God. P source: written by priestly writers. D source: The book of Deuteronomy is a separate composition. ------------------------------------------------- Genesis 27.46: Esau’s wives drove his mother CRAZY!!!!!! Welcome back! The New Testament presents Jesus as… The New Moses (but who is Moses?????????????) Exodus 1-20 The Ten Commandments: Exodus 20/Deuteronomy Genesis 1: 10 COMMANDMENTS! The covenant/allianza. I am the LORD your God who brought you out of slavery. 1. You shall have no other gods before me. 2. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain. 3. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 4. Honor...
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...can it be solved? The first three (3) books of the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, are commonly called the Synoptic Gospels. They have gained this title because they are very similar to each other yet commonly different from John's Gospel. In fact, their similarities and relation to each other have created one of the most debated subjects in the realm of New Testament Studies. This area of scholarship has adopted the name The Synoptic Problem. Determining the dependence or interdependence of each Gospel then attempts to conclude, which Gospel was written first, and subsequently, which Gospel then used the other as a primary source, and if not what source was then used to compile the gospel in question. “Mark's Gospel is the shortest of the three, yet large portions of it are also found in Matthew and Luke. Additionally, Matthew and Luke share a significant amount of verses (more than 200) that are not found in Mark. The similarities include subject matter, exact wording, and even order of events. When material is found in all three Synoptic Gospels, it is referred to as triple tradition. The material that is only found in Matthew and Luke is called double tradition, or Q. Also, the material that distinctively belongs to Matthew is called the M tradition, while that which belongs to Luke is called the L tradition” (The) The content of M suggests that the community for which this gospel was written, as stricter than the others in its attitude to keeping the Jewish law,...
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...BOOK CRITIQUE: WHY FOUR GOSPELS? Tiago Souza NBST 515 September 24, 2013 INTRODUCTION This work will analyze the book “Why Four Gospels” by David Alan Black. The main objective will be compare the Fourfold-Gospel Hypothesis opposed to the Markan Priority. In order to do that, this work will first analyze the historical background and reality context of the composition of each gospel. The author David Black has published over 100 scholarly articles and book reviews in such journals as Novum Testamentum, New Testament Studies, Bible Translator, Journal of Biblical Literature, and many others. He also serves as Professor of New Testament and Greek and the Dr. M. O. Owens Jr. Chair in New Testament Studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. SUMMARY The book starts by bringing up a description of the development of the gospels, and a not very known basic historical fact is that the Gospels were written through a not so brief period of time. The “Gospel according to Mathew” was published in 42 AD, and there was a 20-25 years gap between its publication and the publication of “Luke’s Gospel” and “The gospel according to Mark”. And than, another huge gap between the publication of those and finally “The Gospel of John” being published in 96 AD, so there was a 54 years interval between the publication of the 4 Gospels, and that fact shows that sometimes God likes to act in a way that takes time, seems unusual to human eyes, but in...
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...Problem The Gospels according to Matthew, Mark and Luke are so similar to each other that, in a sense, they view Jesus "with the same eye", in contrast to the very different picture of Jesus presented in the Fourth Gospel of John. Yet there are also many significant differences among the three Synoptic Gospels. The Synoptic Problem, in the normal sense is not really a problem, it refer to questions and possible explanation on the relationships between Matthew, Mark and Luke. The similarities between these three writers are so numerous and close, in the order of the materials they presented, the stories told, the sayings of Jesus, even using the exact wording of long stretches of text, that it is not sufficient to explain these similarities on the basis of oral traditions alone. There must be some literary dependence of one or more gospels upon another, meaning that someone copied from another person. Common material presented is not always in the same order, in the three gospels; and thus leaving the question of who wrote first and who copied from whom? There are three theories which have tried to explain the literary relationships between the synoptic gospels. These theories will be briefly looked at. The first theory held that the apostles had written down brief memorabilia which were later collected and arranged according to their particular type of genre. The problem with this view is that it fails to explain the overall arrangement of the synoptic gospels. [Schleiermacher...
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...20. Some Differences Between the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John The Synoptic Gospels-Matthew, Mark and Luke-offer such strikingly similar accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ that, according to one author, “they can be placed side by side and viewed horizontally” (Harris 103). In contrast, the Fourth Gospel, the Gospel of John, stands alone in its portrayal of Jesus Christ. The differences in the Synoptic Gospels and John relate to content of each and the variation in purpose or point of view. According to one author, “The Fourth Gospel…is so different from the other three in …content…, that it has few parallels with the Synoptic accounts” (104). For example, Matthew, Mark and Luke record thirty miracles. John records a total of seven (He calls these miracles “signs.”) and only one is recorded by all four gospel writers: the feeding of the 5000 with the few loaves and bread and fishes (Biblecenter). Obviously, the writers differ in what the miracles indicate. The Synoptics are “basically descriptive in their approach” while John, who seeks to demonstrate the divinity of Christ to his readers, is more “reflective” in his selection of the signs he wishes to include (Angelfire). He makes the purpose of his selectivity clear, however, when he acknowledges that while Jesus did many more signs than those included in the book of John, his purpose is that men would come to believe that He was indeed the Son of God and “that believing”, … they would...
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...Summary of the New Testament Books I. Luke The genre in the book of Luke is gospel. Luke is not only a physician, but also a historian that wrote concerning the perfect humanity of Jesus Christ. Throughout Luke’s gospel the humanity and compassion of Jesus is portrayed in His mission of seeking and saving the lost. In the introduction, Luke emphasized how the beginnings of Christ and John the Baptist intertwined. Jesus prepared for His ministry for over thirty years, which is summarized in one verse (2:52). After being baptized by John the Baptist and tempted by Satan, Jesus began His ministry that lasted only three years. In Jesus’ ministry, authority was shown over every realm, including demons, disease, nature, effects of sin, and traditions. With the growing number of ones that believed, there were also those that rejected the gospel. Jesus taught His disciples on a number of practical matters by parables, including the Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, and Lost Son. After the crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples before He ascended to heaven. II. John The genre in the book of John is gospel. The humanity of Jesus, as the Son of Man, is shown in the gospel of Luke. Jesus is portrayed in the gospel of John in His deity as the Son of God. The seven “I am” statements and seven miracles represent the deity of Christ in the gospel of John, more than any other book in the Bible. The major theme in the gospel of John is twofold, eternal life given to those...
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