...The Synoptic Gospel similarities can’t be explained from looking at each gospel. There is similar grammar, language used that shows that some of the writers used, some parts of others work and claimed it as their own material. Three of the gospels have a lot in common. There are many similarities between Matthew and Luke but are not found in the gospel of Mark. And there are parts found in Mark and Luke but not seen in Matthew. And vice versa with the similarities found in Matthew and Mark but not in Luke. The gospels are one of the greatest sources of knowledge to learn about the life of Christ. The books were written, to have some sort of validation of each writer’s encounters with Jesus. From my findings the Gospels were not mentioned until...
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...Deion Awah Professor Denny Theology 1000c 8 December 2015 Continuity and Change in the Bible 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...
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...The gospels put emphasis on Jesus’ religious meaning, it is to inspire life giving faith in the readers. There are the Synoptic Gospels and then there is the Gospel of John. The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) are three versions of the same sayings or incidents of Jesus life. They follow the same order of events in narrating Jesus’ public ministry. All four concentrate exclusively on the last phase of Jesus’ life, the period of his public ministry when his teachings both attracted devoted followers and created bitter enemies. Matthew: It tells the story some what differently, avoiding any implications that Jesus made have had limited powers and stating merely that Jesus “did not work many miracles there”. In Matthew, Jesus first public act is to deliver the sermon on the mound demonstrating his authorities as a teacher, upholding and interoperating the Mosaic Law, He also represents Jesus’ birth and ministry as fulfilling prophecies from the Hebrew Bible. Matthew betrays Jesus as a greater Moses who demands a higher righteousness unlike Mark and Luke. All four concentrate exclusively on the last phase of Jesus’ life, the period. Mark: Marks gospel for instance seems to consist a string of incidents, anecdotes, and sayings that are very loosely connected to one another. Mark, is the first Gospel, who was stitched together of previously isolated oral units, individual episodes illustrating Jesus words and deeds. According to Mark, Jesus first act was to drive...
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...Critique “The Relationship between John and the Synoptic Gospels” Introduction The Journal article entitled “The Relationship between John and the Synoptic Gospels,” focuses on the relationship that John may have had access to the synoptic gospels when he wrote the book of John. The debate focuses on three theories about how the book of John was written, and how John is similar, yet uniquely different from the Synoptic Gospels, of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The journal compares the writing style and the scripture context in comparisons and differences between the synoptic gospels and the book of John. Brief Summary The three distinct positions of the article focuses on, first “that John was literally dependent upon one or more of the synoptic gospels” (1). The second is “that John was literally independent of the synoptic gospels, but that similarities between them are due to use of a common synoptic tradition” (1). The third and final position is “that John was literally independent of the synoptic gospels, but was aware of them and their traditions.” (1). All of these literary theories help the reader to understand why the book of John is different, yet similar in many ways to the synoptic gospels, although it is not included as one of the synoptic gospels. “The term synoptic is derived from a combination of the Greek words συν (syn = together) and οψις (opsis = seeing) to indicate that the contents of these three Gospels can be viewed side-by-side, whether in a vertical...
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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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...Liberty University THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM A paper submitted to PROFESSOR MONTE SHANKS In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the course NBST 510 Liberty Theological seminary By Wilbert L. Bracey Lynchburg, Virginia February 1, 2014 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 The Synoptic Problem-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2 Markan Priority---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3 Q Hypothesis------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4 L and M------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6 Two Gospel Hypothesis-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------7 Conclusion--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------10 Bibliography------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11 Introduction There are differences in the area of Synoptic Gospel as well as there are large amounts of similarities that can be proved with all the evidence written as well as physical. The synoptic Gospels are ones that include Matthew, Luke and Mark. The reason they are called synoptic, which means, seen together, is because...
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...The Synoptic Problem: What is it and 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...
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...| 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...
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...John's Gospel to the Synoptics. Two basic positions on the relationship of John’s Gospel to the Synoptics are possible: If John knew of the synoptics, then he wrote to supplement them. (To say John knew of one or more of the synoptics is not to say, however, that he wrote his gospel with copies of Matthew, Mark, and/or Luke in front of him. John may have been aware of the existence of other written accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry without actually having seen them.) If John’s Gospel is totally independent from the synoptics, he had enough material to choose from that much of it does not overlap with the synoptics (cf. Jn 20:30 and 21:25). This point is strengthened considerably if one accepts the Fourth Gospel’s claim to reflect eyewitness testimony about the life and ministry of Jesus (John 21:23-24). Major Differences: 1. Omission by John of material found in the synoptics. John’s Gospel omits a large amount of material found in the synoptic Gospels, including some surprisingly important episodes: the temptation of Jesus, Jesus’ transfiguration, and the institution of the Lord’s supper are not mentioned by John. John mentions no examples of Jesus casting out demons. The sermon on the mount and the Lord’s prayer are not found in the Fourth Gospel. There are no narrative parables in John’s Gospel (most scholars do not regard John 15:1-8 [“the Vine and the Branches”] as a parable in the strict sense). 2. Inclusion by John of material not found in the synoptics. John...
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...Solving the Synoptic Problem 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...
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...The Synoptic 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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...in-charge Ma. Imelda Grace G. Daña RVM. First, I learned about the Four Gospel: One Message of Lesson 1 of our subject. St. Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, stress two important facts about gospel: there is no other gospel and that the gospel he and the other apostles preach came from Jesus Christ. The Gospel writers are Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. Matthew, Mark and Luke are Synoptic Gospels because it explains about Jesus’ Humanity. John’s Gospel explains about Jesus’ Divinity. The account of Jesus teaching His audience about the values of the kingdom contained in the Beatitudes and the many new laws on praying, almsgiving, and fasting is presented in both gospels. Matthew calls this event “Sermon on the Mount” while Luke calls it “Sermon on the Plain”. Matthew’s audience is predominantly Jewish so he wanted to show them that Jesus is the Promised Savior, the God-Son who, like the Father who gave the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai also gives the Beatitudes and the new laws on praying, fasting, and almsgiving on mount. Luke has for his audience the Greeks so Jesus must be presented to them as someone who accepts and treats everyone “Jews and Gentiles” equally. Dei Verbum urges that the sacred authors told us the honest truth about Jesus Christ. In what He did and taught for our eternal salvation. This is the Good News, the Gospel and there is no other. Jesus is the good news presented to us in the gospels. Jesus is no ordinary good news. He is the good news of Salvation therefore...
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...LIBERTY UNIVERSITY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Synoptic Problem Submitted to Professor Laurie Schweinsberg., in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of the course NBST 510 New Testament Introduction by Jacqueline Goldston June 2, 2014 TABLE OF CONTENT INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………1 UNDERSTANDIN THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM…………………………..2 SIMLARITIES BETWEEN THE GOSPELS………………………………..3 HISTORY OF THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM………………………………..6 A PROPOSED SOLUTION TO THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM……………..7 THE TWOFAVORED SOLUTIONS………………………………………..8 DEFENDING TWO GOSPELS HYPOTHESIS (GRIESBACH)…………..9 CONCLUSION …………………………………………………………….12 BIBLOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………13 1 INTRODUCTION The Synoptic problem can be a very difficult subject to understand at times. When you take a look around or start asking question of your bible scholars or even your casual readers of the Bible you find out people don’t even realize there is a Synoptic problem. There seems to be many different proposed solutions that will fix the problem. Some accepted and some of which has very little support at all. When you read you see that there are different scriptures in the bible that shows a level of agreement in the content of reading, and seems as if the authors have borrowed each other’s writings’ or used the same materials in research they had in common. However, even though they...
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...LIBERTY UNIVERSITY THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM A RESEARCH PAPER SUBMITTED TO DR. CAROL A. THOMAS IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COURST NBST 525 LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY BY LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA , 2013 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...
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...The Preexistence of Jesus: Jesus’ Divine Origin and Identity in the Gospel of Mark Andrew Kutz REL 371 - New Testament Dr. Jason Bruner February 27, 2015 Introduction Bart Ehrman, a New Testament scholar and author of The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Church Writings, was once a strong proponent of the view that the Gospel of John, alone, presents Jesus as divine: Until a year ago I would have said – and frequently did say, in the classroom, in public lectures, and in my writings – that Jesus is portrayed as God in the Gospel of John but not, definitely not, in the other Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Nevertheless, over the course of writing his book How Jesus Became God, Ehrman admitted to a change of perspective, saying, “These [Synoptic] Gospels do indeed think of Jesus as divine.”As far as this statement, Ehrman and I agree. He does, however, clarify his position, as he posits a viewpoint that I will attempt to refute. For Mark, Jesus was adopted to be God’s son at his baptism. Before that, he was a mere mortal. For Luke, Jesus was conceived by God and so was literally God’s son, from the point of his conception. (In Luke Jesus did not exist prior to that conception to the virgin – his conception is when he came into existence). For John, Jesus was a pre-existent divine being – the Word of God who was both with God and was God at the beginning of all things – who became a human. Here he is not born of a virgin...
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