Summary: The Synoptic Problem

The Mystery

Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell similar stories with strikingly similar wording – sometimes word-for-word identical. If three people witnessed the same event independently, we’d expect similar facts but not identical sentences.

Key Terms

• Gospel = “good news” (not modern biographies, but proclamations of Jesus’s significance)
• Synoptic = “seeing together” (from Greek: syn = together, optic = view)
• Matthew, Mark, and Luke = the three synoptic gospels (John is different)

The Evidence

• 506 out of 661 of Mark’s verses also appear in Matthew (over 75%!)
• Only about 31 verses (5%) of Mark are unique to him
• All three follow the same narrative sequence: John the Baptist → Galilee ministry → crucifixion → resurrection

The Solution: Four Document Hypothesis

The most accepted explanation among scholars:

1. Mark wrote first – he’s the primary narrative source
2. Q source existed – a lost collection of Jesus’s sayings (explains verses Matthew and Luke share that aren’t in Mark)
3. Matthew used Mark + Q + M (his own unique material)
4. Luke used Mark + Q + L (his own unique material)

Why Three Different Gospels?

Each author tailored the story for their specific audience:

• Matthew → Jewish community (Jesus as promised Messiah-King)
• Mark → Roman audience (Jesus as powerful suffering servant)
• Luke → Non-Jewish audience (Jesus as compassionate savior for all)

Big Takeaway: One core story can be authentically retold through different perspectives for different communities.

THE FOUR GOSPELS: GENRE, INTERRELATION, AND DISTINCT PORTRAITS OF CHRIST

I. The Importance and Genre of the Gospels

The four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—are among the most important books of the New Testament because they provide the core of our knowledge regarding the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. While chronologically later than Paul’s letters, they lay down the foundation for the Christian faith and were placed first in the New Testament canon.

The term “Gospel” is derived from the Greek word evangelion, meaning “good tidings” or “good news”. This word referred to the message or proclamation of Christ given by the apostles, and the Gospel writers are therefore sometimes called the “evangelists”.

The Gospels are not biographical accounts in the modern sense, as they report little about Jesus’ birth, childhood, upbringing, or inner feelings. Instead, they were written primarily to proclaim the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ and assert him as the Messiah and the Son of God. Most scholars today classify the Gospels as a unique form of ancient biography. While ancient biographies may have differed from modern ones in their emphasis, they were still recognized as a form of historical writing.

II. Defining the Synoptic Gospels

The first three Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—are categorized as the Synoptic Gospels because they share similar accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry. The word “Synoptic” means “same viewpoint” or “seeing together,” referring to the parallel nature of their stories.

This shared viewpoint contrasts sharply with the Gospel of John, which is notably different in its content and standpoint. John is concerned much more with the divinity of Christ, his private discourses with his disciples, and his ministry in Judea and Jerusalem rather than Galilee.

III. Common Material and Structure

The Synoptic Gospels exhibit strong resemblances in their order, content, and phraseology. For instance, Mark has 661 verses, and 506 of those are found in Matthew, and 380 in Luke, with only 31 verses unique to Mark.

These three Gospels contain several common themes and events in Jesus’ life, including:

• The ministry of Jesus’ forerunner, John the Baptist.
• Jesus’ Baptism followed by the Temptation in the Wilderness.
• The Ministry in Galilee.
• Certain discourses, parables, and miracles.
• The choosing of the Twelve Disciples and the Transfiguration.
• The announcement of his coming suffering and death.
• His last journey to Jerusalem, the Triumphal Entry, and the Last Supper.
• The Betrayal, passion, trial, Crucifixion, Burial, and Resurrection.

Furthermore, the Synoptics commonly relate the public teaching of Jesus through parables and portray Jesus as a miracle worker, reporting miracles of healing, exorcism, and nature.

IV. The Synoptic Problem: Explaining Similarities

The close verbal agreement and shared structure between Matthew, Mark, and Luke necessitated the development of the Synoptic Problem, which asks: If the Synoptics are independent, why do they resemble each other so closely? If they copied each other, how can they be considered independent witnesses?

The proposed solutions generally fall into three categories: oral tradition, reciprocal borrowing, and documentary sources.

1. The Theory of Oral Tradition

The oldest theory holds that the core of the message about Jesus was preached before it was written. The facts and teachings of Jesus were collected, organized, memorized, and delivered orally in a fairly fixed and consistent form by the apostles. This constant reiteration led to a crystallization of the form, which accounts for many of the similarities found in the written Gospels. This theory assumes that a common tradition was known to the writers through personal contact and was propagated as the general message of the church.

2. Documentary Hypotheses

These theories attempt to explain the similarities and differences by positing the use of shared written sources:

• Markan Priority: Most scholars believe that Mark wrote first because it has a greater freshness, and its sequence of events is often followed by both Matthew and Luke.
• Two-Document Hypothesis: This popular view suggests that Matthew and Luke both utilized the Gospel of Mark and a hypothetical document called “Q” (derived from the German Quelle, meaning “source”). Q is presumed to contain the sayings of Jesus.
• Four-Document Hypothesis: This refinement adds two more hypothetical sources to account for material found only in Matthew (“M”) and material found only in Luke (“L”).

V. The Four Distinct Portraits of Jesus

Despite dealing with the same subject, each evangelist tailored his message to a specific audience and theological aim, resulting in “four portraits” of Jesus, each bringing out distinctive facets of his character.

• Matthew: Writing to a Jewish audience from a prophetic perspective, he portrays Jesus as the promised Messiah-King and a great teacher, focusing on how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament.
• Mark: Writing for a Roman audience from a pragmatic perspective, he emphasizes action and presents Jesus as the crucified saviour who must suffer and be rejected.
• Luke: Writing to Gentiles and Greeks from a historical perspective, he stresses the universal blessings of salvation and portrays Jesus as the perfect Son of Man, especially focusing on the marginalized, such as women, tax-collectors, and the poor.
• John: Writing from a spiritual and theological perspective, he reveals Jesus as the Son of God sent by God the Father to be the world’s Saviour, emphasizing the “God-made-man” concept.