| The Synoptic Problem | Understanding the relationship between the synoptic Gospels | |

The New Testament of the Bible begins with the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These four books are a biography of the life Jesus Christ. Most want to views these books as photographs of the life and ministry of Christ, but they should really be viewed as portraits of Christ. A photograph takes a picture and shows you exactly what is there, while a portrait can add different perspectives on the same image. If four people each painted a picture of a sunset each painter would show the sunset from a different perspective (1). Each author of the books of the Gospels adds his own views into each book. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the synoptic Gospels. The word synoptic in Greek means “seeing together” this is appropriate for these books because of the common viewpoint. While John is known as the supplemental Gospel, and has very different characteristics from the other three books.(2) If we view the Gospels as a modern day biography we would want to see all the facts of Jesus's life and them all to be laid out in chronological order. The authors of the Gospels however were basing their versions of Jesus's life off of ancient biographies. These works were not written in chronological order, but were written with specific facts to show the significance of one's life. The way the Gospels were written was very understandable to the people of that time. (1) The synoptic Gospels share an over reaching chronology, or they share the same basic timeline. There are also common stories in each of the Gospels. Some examples of these are the narratives of John the Baptist, the calling of the Apostles, the sermon on the mountain side, the healing of the leaper, and the passion story. There are also similarities in their styles of writing. You can see this in the story of the healing of the leper in Matthew 8:1-2, “When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." and in Mark 1:40, “A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." finally in Luke 5:12, “While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Another good reference to this point in similar writing styles can be seen in the asking of Jesus's body from Pilot in Matthew 27:58, “Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him.” and in Mark 15:43, “Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body.” and finally in Luke 23:52, “Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body.” Sometimes two of the books in the Gospels will have greater similarities, while the other will stand alone. Usually the relationship is between Matthew and Luke. This is usually because most believe that Mark was written first along with an unknown document named Q, and Matthew and Luke were based off of these books. This is part of the documentary theory of the synoptic problem. Matthew and Luke will include a lot of the same events, but they will not appear in Mark. For example the Lord's Prayer is in both Matthew and Luke but does not appear in Mark. You can also notice the similarity in the wording in Matthew and Luke in these passages. “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Matthew 6:9-13. Luke's account is found chapter 11 verses 2-4, “So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.” (3) If everything in the synoptic Gospels where exactly the same there would be no synoptic problem, this however is not the case. There are differences in the details of the same events. For example the healing of Peter's mother-in-law, each give the account that she had a fever and Jesus healed her, but in Matthew he simply touched her and she was healed while in Mark he lifted her up, and in Luke he stood over her and rebuked the fever. There are also events that are only unique to a particular Gospel. For example Luke is the only Gospel to record Jesus's visit to the temple as a young boy, and only Matthew records Peter walking on the water. Now that you can see some of the differences and similarities let's discuss the problem. The synoptic problem is the differences and agreements among the synoptic Gospels. The synoptic problem really isn't a problem at all though. It is more of a way of trying to understand the relationships between the three synoptic Gospels (3). There are many proposed solutions to the problem but there are three basic suggestions: oral tradition, interdependence, and documentary sources (2). The documentary theory proposes that Mark and an unknown document name Q were the basis of Matthew and Luke. The most satisfactory approach though involves four pieces: direct knowledge, oral traditions, use of documentation, and the help of the Holy Spirit. (2) There is no proof that “Q” exists or ever existed. Considering the sheer volume of pseudo-Gospels and documents the early church had, if a collection of Jesus’ sayings would have been discovered and were up to the same standard of all four of the other Gospel accounts, “Q” would not be theory. Instead we would have a book with title of “Sayings of Jesus”. However, without a “Q” there are no easy answers to some of the differences in the Synoptic Gospels. Most of these differences, however, can be attributed to difference in purposes in the Synoptic Gospel narratives themselves. Some of the differences are easily explainable. For instance, the difference between the genealogies of Matthew and Luke can be readily explained by emphasis. Matthew was showing Jesus’ genealogy through Abraham since his audience was primarily Jews. Luke, on the other hand, was writing to mainly Gentiles. Because of this he saw the need to trace Jesus all way to Adam and ultimately, the reminder that Jesus is, in fact, the Son of God. There are many differences which are not so easily explained and there are several prevailing theories to help explain these and other situations further. As these theories are evaluated, it is important to note the Bible is the Word of God as revealed to humanity. The Bible, although written by humans is still, fundamentally, a spiritual document. The Gospels may share the same stories, but there are some real differences in them. If you look closely you can see them in areas a little as the way something is worded, to items in the stories being different. The bottom line is they all tell the same Good News. The fact is they were divinely inspired. They are the living word of God. So even if there is no real solution to the synoptic problem, they are the way that they should be according to a perfect God. Perhaps they are simply different because they are each a painter painting a picture of the same sunset, or maybe because each of them was writing to a different audience, or because we were meant to see Christ in four different ways. Whatever the case may be it is simply being honest with the biblical text and not trying to make it say or be what is not. And it is not a matter of believing or not believing the Bible, but rather to be seeking to understand since we do not have all of the answers. There comes a point in time where we have to admit that we don’t know, and that is the case here. Who are we to try and understand and infinite God? We have such a finite mind that cannot explain his purpose for things, and I for one would be a little worried if we could.

Bibliography 1. Kaiser, Walter C. Hard Sayings of the Bible. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1996. Print. 2.Wilkinson, Bruce, and Kenneth Boa. "Introduction to the Historical Books." Talk Thru the Bible. Nashville: T. Nelson, 1983. 303-06. Print. 3.Bratcher, Dennis. "The Synoptic Problem: The Literary Relationship of Matthew, Mark, and Luke." The Voice. 2011. Web. 18 Nov. 2011. <http://www.crivoice.org/synoptic.html>.