II.

Synoptic Gospels

The first three Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) are called the Synoptic Gospels (Greek synoptikos,”viewing at a glance”) because they provide the same general view of the life and teaching of Jesus. They narrate almost the same incidents, often agreeing in the order of events, and use similar phrasing. In many instances they use identical phrasing.

Until the 19th century nearly all scholars and theologians believed that Matthew was the earliest Gospel. Mark was believed to be an abridged version of Matthew. Luke, which appeared to based on Matthew and Mark, was believed to be the latest of the three. With some modification, this remains the view of some conservative scholars.

Today, most other scholars accept some modified form of the two-document hypothesis, first developed in the latter part of the 19th century. According to this hypothesis, Mark is the earliest Gospel and provided much of the narrative material, as well as the chronological framework, for both Matthew and Luke. A collection of sayings (with a few narratives) of Jesus, which may have been written in Aramaic, was the second main document, or source, employed by Matthew and Luke (a number of scholars, however, do not agree that it was a single document). This document provided the material lacking in Mark and then, apparently, was lost. It usually is designated as Q (German Quelle,”source”), but sometimes as Logia (Greek for “words” or “sayings”). The authors of Matthew and Luke may also have drawn material from other sources available to them individually. See also Luke, Gospel According to; Mark, Gospel According to; Matthew, Gospel According to.