A vast number of similarities exist between the three Synoptic Gospels namely Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In essence, over 88% and 97% of the content in Mark’s Gospel appears in Luke and Matthew, respectively. The Synoptic Gospels contain some similar accounts in the life of Jesus’ ministry. These include: Jesus and Beelzebul (Matthew 12:22-27, Mark 3:20-30, Luke 11:14-28); parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-9, Mark 4:1-9, Luke 8:9-10); the stilling of the storm (Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:35-41, Luke 8:22-25); and the rejection at Nazareth (Matthew 13:53-58, Mark 6: 1-6a, Luke 4:16-30). Other similarities include the basic story of Jesus, sayings of Christ, the chronology of events, and use of similar words in parallel accounts.
Sources
In order of chronology, Matthew wrote his Gospel first followed by Mark and finally, Luke. Therefore, it can be argued that Mark sourced from Matthew while Luke sourced from both Matthew and Mark. However, the extent to Luke sourced from Matthew was relatively limited since Matthew was written in Hebrew. Luke, on the other hand, was a Gentile, so he did not understand much Hebrew. Matthew, being the first to write the Gospels, relied heavily on the Apostles for information. He began writing the Gospel of Matthew just soon after the Ascension when some of the Apostles such as James and Peter were still in Jerusalem and Judea. Moreover, Matthew might also have relied on his experiences and memories with Christ coupled with citations from the Old Testament. Mark built on Matthew’s Gospel, translating it from Hebrew to Latin.
Synoptic Problem
Personally, I think the synoptic problem boils down to the similarities and differences that exist among the Synoptic Gospels. These Gospels have vast similarities despite the fact that they were written in different times by different people. Did they use a similar source? Also, the differences that exist in some of the accounts results in some level of confusion when it comes to interpreting the Gospels. My proposal to this problem is grounded in the fragmentary approach in that the Gospels used different hypothetical sources. These sources composed of related accounts of Jesus’ ministry which the three authors used to write their books.
References
Carson, D., & Moo, D. (2011). An Introduction To The New Testament. Grand Rapids:: Zondervan.
Enns, P. (2012). The Moody Handbook of Theology. Chicago, Ill: Moody Press.
