Matthew

a
r
Luke

Why arent the three Synoptic

Gospels the same?
And why are they different?

 The

synoptic problem is an investigation

into the existence and nature of the
literary interrelationship among the first
three "synoptic" gospels( Carlson)

 Why

is this a problem and why does it

matter?
It might possibly change whether you believe

someone copied, or maybe they just got

together and said, lets say this even when it
wasnt true.

 So

did they copy each other?

There

are too many similarities to believe that

they accidentally told the same stories.

How

much is the same?

Oral

tradition? Could this account for the

similarities?
Well yes they probably did have a shared oral
tradition but this does not account for all of the
similarities.

 Who

wrote stuff down first?

Thats an interesting question. There are lots of

theories so here we go..

This is a traditional approach that mainly

comes from external reasons based on the
chronology of the stories.
This is not the most widely held theory today.

Matthew was written

first
He influenced both
Mark and Luke.

"The Synoptic Problem & Proposed Solutions." The Synoptic Problem & Proposed Solutions. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

This is not the most widely held theory today.

Matthew was
written first.
Luke used Matthew
to write his.
Mark used both
Luke and Matthew
to write his.
"The Synoptic Problem & Proposed Solutions." The Synoptic Problem & Proposed Solutions. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

This is a popular theory among some who

dont like the theory that involves Q.

Mark was written first. Matthew

used Marks gospel. Luke used
both Mark and Matthew to write his.

This accounts for how much of

Mark is duplicated.
This also accounts for a few errors
that Mark made were corrected by
Matthew and Luke. Its unlikely that
the reverse would have been true,
that Mark would have made the
errors when using two correct
books.

"The Synoptic Problem & Proposed Solutions." The Synoptic Problem & Proposed Solutions. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

Q-A text called Quelle (sayings)

This comes from the idea that the three gospels

must have had help in writing their gospels and

thats why they are so similar.
There were other collections of saying written at the
time, so it is possible that a book of sayings was
written during this time period. However, if there was
one, we dont have it now and no one has mentioned it
directly anywhere.

"The Synoptic Problem & Proposed Solutions." The Synoptic Problem & Proposed Solutions. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

PUBLIC

Preparation

MINISTRY

Sacrifice

POPULARITY
(Declining)
Extended Ministries

OBSCURITY
(Vanishing)

OPPOSITION
(Increasing)

Specialized
Ministry

Early
Ministries

Concluding Ministries

Opening
Events

Ascension

Resurrection
Death

SECOND YEAR ------------------------------- THIRD YEAR

Triumphal Entry

FOUR
ANNUAL
PASSOVERS

FIRST YEAR ----------

Beyond Jordan

To Feast of Tabernacles

To Tyre and Sidon

Jesus Ordains Twelve

Jesus Returns to Galilee

Jesus Cleanses Temple

John Introduces Jesus

5

PUBLIC

Preparation

MINISTRY

Sacrifice

POPULARITY
(Declining)
Extended Ministries

OBSCURITY
(Vanishing)

OPPOSITION
(Increasing)

Specialized
Ministry

Early
Ministries

Concluding Ministries

Opening
Events

Ascension

Matthew

Resurrection
Death

SECOND YEAR ------------------------------- THIRD YEAR

Triumphal Entry

FOUR
ANNUAL
PASSOVERS

FIRST YEAR ----------

Beyond Jordan

To Feast of Tabernacles

To Tyre and Sidon

Jesus Ordains Twelve

Jesus Returns to Galilee

Jesus Cleanses Temple

John Introduces Jesus

5

PUBLIC

Preparation

MINISTRY

Sacrifice

POPULARITY
(Declining)
Extended Ministries

OBSCURITY
(Vanishing)

OPPOSITION
(Increasing)

Specialized
Ministry

Early
Ministries

Concluding Ministries

Opening
Events

Ascension

Mark

Resurrection
Death

SECOND YEAR ------------------------------- THIRD YEAR

Triumphal Entry

FOUR
ANNUAL
PASSOVERS

FIRST YEAR ----------

Beyond Jordan

To Feast of Tabernacles

To Tyre and Sidon

Jesus Ordains Twelve

Jesus Returns to Galilee

Jesus Cleanses Temple

John Introduces Jesus

5

PUBLIC

Preparation

MINISTRY

Sacrifice

POPULARITY
(Declining)
Extended Ministries

OBSCURITY
(Vanishing)

OPPOSITION
(Increasing)

Specialized
Ministry

Early
Ministries

Concluding Ministries

Opening
Events

Ascension

Luke

Resurrection
Death

SECOND YEAR ------------------------------- THIRD YEAR

Triumphal Entry

FOUR
ANNUAL
PASSOVERS

FIRST YEAR ----------

Beyond Jordan

To Feast of Tabernacles

To Tyre and Sidon

Jesus Ordains Twelve

Jesus Returns to Galilee

Jesus Cleanses Temple

John Introduces Jesus

5

PUBLIC

Preparation

MINISTRY

Sacrifice

POPULARITY
(Declining)
Extended Ministries

OBSCURITY
(Vanishing)

OPPOSITION
(Increasing)

Specialized
Ministry

Early
Ministries

Concluding Ministries

Opening
Events

Ascension

John

Resurrection
Death

SECOND YEAR ------------------------------- THIRD YEAR

Triumphal Entry

FOUR
ANNUAL
PASSOVERS

FIRST YEAR ----------

Beyond Jordan

To Feast of Tabernacles

To Tyre and Sidon

Jesus Ordains Twelve

Jesus Returns to Galilee

Jesus Cleanses Temple

John Introduces Jesus

5

Carlson, Stephen. "Synoptic Problem

FAQ." Synoptic Problem Website:.
Blogger, n.d. Web. 07 Sept. 2015.
"Project Gutenberg." Harmony of the
Gospels. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Sept. 2015.
"The Synoptic Problem & Proposed
Solutions." The Synoptic Problem &
Proposed Solutions. N.p., n.d. Web. 08
Sept. 2015.