Understanding God's Word by Bernard David K

Author:Bernard, David K.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Word Aflame Press
Published: 2010-12-26T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

8

Understanding the Gospels

The Gospels have occasioned much study because of their unique character and their central role for the Christian faith. Most of the studies of the Gospels begin with what is called the synoptic problem, which is not really a theological problem but a literary puzzle.

The Synoptic Problem

The word synoptic refers to something that presents a synopsis, summary, general view, or similar point of view. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the synoptic Gospels because they present an overview of the life of Jesus Christ and they correspond closely to each other.

Simply put, the synoptic problem is how to explain the significant overlap of material among these three Gospels and yet the differences among them. There is striking agreement in wording, order of content, and parenthetical material. In particular, 97 percent of Mark has parallels in Matthew, and 88 percent of Mark has parallels in Luke. Only 40 percent of Matthew has no parallels in Mark, and only 53 percent of Luke has no parallels in Mark.1

Clearly, these books were not written independently. The problem, then, is how to account for their origin. Did one writer use another Gospel as a source? Did they use common sources? What is the literary relationship among these three books? On the next page is one example of the correspondence among them. (Plain text is common to all three accounts, underlined text appears only in Mark and Matthew, italicized text appears only in Mark and Luke, and bold text is unique to one account. No material here is in both Matthew and Luke but not Mark.)

Matthew 19:13-15. “Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.’ And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.” Mark 10:13-16. “Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.’ And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.” Luke 18:15-17. “Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to Him and said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.’”

Source Criticism

The synoptic problem gave rise to source criticism of the Gospels, which means a study of sources and how each writer used them.

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