4. The Synoptic Gospels as Sources for the Life and Ministry of Jesus (Reading Questions)
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Feb 20, 2024
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Rel A 250
Reading Questions Name: The Synoptic Gospels as Sources for the Life and Ministry of Jesus
*Purpose of this material: Become familiar with the ways in which the teachings and stories of Jesus were preserved through their oral transmission, the earliest compilation of written sources,
and the relationship of the New Testament gospels. Four Portraits One Jesus (FPOJ)
, 23-42, 43-65 (LS)
What does each individual New Testament Gospel offer? What are different emphases of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in their portraits of Jesus? (pp. 24-25)
- The gospels exhibit both unity and diversity, bearing witness to the same Jesus but viewing him from unique perspectives
- Matthew: the Jewish Messiah, the gospel of the Messiah, most structured
- Mark: suffering Son of God, most dramatic
- Luke: The Savior for all people, who brings salvation to all nations and people groups, most thematic
- John: Jesus is the eternal Son of God, the self-revelation of God the Father, most theological
What are the “Synoptic Gospels”? What does the term synopsis
mean? (pg. 25)
- Matthew, Mark, and Luke
- Viewed together
- They view the life and ministry of Jesus from a similar perspective, follow the same general outline, and record a great deal of common material
What does the term gospel
mean? (pg. 26)
- good tidings
- good news
What ancient literary genre do the New Testament Gospels most resemble? What is this genre meant to emphasize? (pg. 28)
- ancient biographies/nonliterary collections of oral traditions or folk literature
- literary works, literary artists crafting their narratives
*Skim pp. 29-32 to get a sense of the different purposes and audiences of the Gospels
.
What is a “gospel harmony”? What is the danger of a “gospel harmony”? What does it mean to read the Gospels “vertically,” and what are the advantages of doing so? (pp. 32-
34)
- Synthesizing the Gospels into a single story
- Each has a unique literary account and as an inspired and authoritative work of the Holy
Spirit
- Reading vertically = following the storyline, reading the gospels on their own terms, following the progress of each narrative from introduction to conflict, to climax, to resolution
What does it mean to read the Gospels “horizontally,” and what are the advantages of doing so? (pg. 34)
- reading them harmonistically, placing the gospel in parallel columns
- comparing the gospels can help us identify each writer's themes and theology
Describe the “first stage” of the Gospel tradition. What is the main scholarly methodology used to understand this stage? (pp. 44-46)
- historical events
- the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus
- historical Jesus research
Describe the “second stage” of the Gospel tradition. How were the teachings of and stories about Jesus transmitted in this stage? What is the main scholarly methodology used to understand this stage? (pp. 44-46)
- Oral tradition
- The period of oral tradition, when the sayings and stories of Jesus were passed down primarily through spoken word
- Following the resurrection, Jesus' disciples passed down the stories of his words and actions
- These stories took various "forms", or genres, including miracle stories, parables, pronouncement stories, and others
- From criticism
Describe the “third stage” of the Gospel tradition. What types of materials were first written down? What is the main scholarly methodology used to understand this stage? (pp. 44-46)
- Written sources
- The period of written sources, when collections of sayings and other material began to be written down and collected
- At some point the early church began putting this material into various written forms for
teaching and evangelism and to retain a faithful record of the words and deeds of Jesus
- Source criticism
Describe the “fourth stage” of the Gospel tradition. What is the main scholarly methodology used to understand this stage? (pp. 44-46)
- The writing of the Gospels themselves
- The Evangelists took the various written and oral sources available to them and produced the Gospel
- Redaction criticism
What is the “synoptic problem”? What questions must be asked to solve “the problem”? (pp. 46-47)
- the relationship between Matthew, Mark, and Luke
- Are the gospels dependent on one another?
- If so, which was written first and which depended on the others?
What is “Markan Priority,” and what are some of the main observations that support this conclusion? (pp. 48-51)
- The view that Mark is the oldest Gospel and is the prototype for the other Gospels
- So much common material, verbal agreement, agreement in order, agreement in parenthetic comments and narrative asides, and identical alterations of Old Testament quotes
Briefly describe the “two source” and “four source” hypotheses regarding the compilation of the synoptic gospels. What is “Q” and what does it seem to have contained? According to the “four source” theory, what is “M” and what is “L”? (pp. 51-
53)
- Two Source: Mark + Q
-----Doesn't account for the so-called "double tradition", material which appears in both Matthew and Luke but not in Mark
-----Q = synoptic sayings source
- Four Source: Mark + Q + M and L
-----A study of origins
-----Same as two source theory except that is adds two more sources to explain the unique
material in Matthew and Luke not accounted for by Mark and Q
What are some observations and cautions given by the author regarding these source theories? What suggestions does the author give regarding the role of the Spirit and the role of human experience in the writing of the Gospels? (pp. 54-55)
- Griesbach hypothesis
-Matthew wrote first, Luke used Matthew as a source, and Mark combined and abridged two accounts
- Church tradition points most strongly toward Matthean priority
- The Matthew-Luke agreements against Mark
- Cautions
- Source theories remain theories
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- For most scholars, Markan priority best explains the available evidence
- The importance of eyewitness testimony and a strong oral tradition must be taken into account
- Church tradition about authorship should be taken seriously, but it is not infallible
*Skim pp. 55-65 to get a sense of the methodologies scholars often use to study the New Testament Gospels, including the author’s assessment of the strengths and limitations of those methodologies. General Authority Insights on the Formation of the New Testament (Handout; LS)
According to Elder McConkie, what are the limitations on writing a “biography” of Jesus? - The data to do so does not exist
- No mortal man, no matter how gifted he may be in literary craftmanship, and no matter how highly endowed he may be with that spiritual insight which puts the words and acts of men into a true eternal perspective-no mortal, can write the biography of a God
According to Elder McConkie, what does each individual Gospel writer try to accomplish?
- Matthew was directing his gospel to the Jews and presented Christ as the promised Messiah while Mark wrote with the aim of appealing to the Roman or Gentile mind
- Luke's gospel presents Jesus to refined and cultured Greeks
- John's gospel is for the saints—those who understand the symbolism of the scriptures and are concerned with spiritual, eternal things
According to Elder Holland, how long after the composition of its individual books did the New Testament come together as a single collection? What evidence does he cite?
- 1000 AD
- He cites the corps of 5,366 known Greek New Testament manuscripts
According to Elder Holland, what was the first New Testament gospel to be written?
- Mark
According to Elder Holland, what may have existed even before the books of the New Testament?
- Christians