The Synoptic Problem

What is the Synoptic Problem? Remember: Matthew, Mark and Luke are known as the three “Synoptic” Gospels. Synoptic comes from Greek, “seen together” They are called the “Synoptic Gospels” because they contain many of the same stories about Jesus, they follow a very similar sequence of events and often use similar or identical wording. John’s Gospel is NOT a Synoptic Gospel.

What is the Synoptic Problem? When the four Gospels are printed in parallel columns, with similar materials located alongside each other, it becomes clear that the first three have such similarities in content and order that they can be seen syn-optically.

What is the Synoptic Problem? There are passages in Matthew, Mark and Luke that are EXACTLY the same. However, the Gospels also disagree on some accounts. Some stories appear in all three, some appear in two of the three and others appear in only one Gospel. When the Gospels tell the same story, sometimes they word it EXACTLY the same; other times, they are worded completely differently.

What is the Synoptic Problem? The Synoptic Problem is the problem of accounting for the similarities and differences between the three Synoptic Gospels. i.e. Why are they different? What does this tell us about the sequence of the writing? Who influenced who? The similarities between the Gospels are almost impossible to account for, unless the Gospels are derived from a common source. Newspapers are a modern parallel. Think of this as a game of Clue.

This is how the Gospels are structured This is how the Gospels are structured. If we’re imagining the synoptic problem as a game of Clue, this is the “crime scene.” For many centuries, theologians have struggled to solve this mystery. We’ll come back to this in a few slides after we talk about the solutions to this mess.

Triple Tradition Example: The Plot to Kill Jesus Mark 14:1-2 “The Passover and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread were to take place in two days’ time. So the chief priests and the scribes were seeking a way to arrest him by treachery and put him to death. They said, “Not during the festival, for fear that there may be a riot among the people.” Matthew 26:1-5 “When Jesus finished all these words, he said to his disciples, “You know that in two days’ time it will be Passover, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and they consulted together to arrest Jesus by treachery and put him to death. But they said, “Not during the festival, that there may not be a riot among the people.” Luke 22:1-2 “Now the feast of the Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was drawing near, and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking a way to put him to death, for they were afraid of the people.”

Triple Tradition Example: The Plot to Kill Jesus Mark 14:1-2 “The Passover and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread were to take place in two days’ time. So the chief priests and the scribes were seeking a way to arrest him by treachery and put him to death. They said, “Not during the festival, for fear that there may be a riot among the people.” Matthew 26:1-5 “When Jesus finished all these words, he said to his disciples, “You know that in two days’ time it will be Passover, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and they consulted together to arrest Jesus by treachery and put him to death. But they said, “Not during the festival, that there may not be a riot among the people.” Luke 22:1-2 “Now the feast of the Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was drawing near, and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking a way to put him to death, for they were afraid of the people.”

Triple Tradition Example: The Plot to Kill Jesus Mark 14:1-2 “The Passover and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread were to take place in two days’ time. So the chief priests and the scribes were seeking a way to arrest him by treachery and put him to death. They said, “Not during the festival, for fear that there may be a riot among the people.” Matthew 26:1-5 “When Jesus finished all these words, he said to his disciples, “You know that in two days’ time it will be Passover, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and they consulted together to arrest Jesus by treachery and put him to death. But they said, “Not during the festival, that there may not be a riot among the people.” Luke 22:1-2 “Now the feast of the Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was drawing near, and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking a way to put him to death, for they were afraid of the people.”

Triple Tradition Example: The Plot to Kill Jesus Mark 14:1-2 “The Passover and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread were to take place in two days’ time. So the chief priests and the scribes were seeking a way to arrest him by treachery and put him to death. They said, “Not during the festival, for fear that there may be a riot among the people.” Matthew 26:1-5 “When Jesus finished all these words, he said to his disciples, “You know that in two days’ time it will be Passover, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and they consulted together to arrest Jesus by treachery and put him to death. But they said, “Not during the festival, that there may not be a riot among the people.” Luke 22:1-2 “Now the feast of the Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was drawing near, and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking a way to put him to death, for they were afraid of the people.”

Solutions to the Synoptic Problem Over the years, many scholars have come up with many different solutions to the Synoptic Problem. The “Four-Source Hypothesis” is the most widely recognized and the least problematic. This is NOT the same as the four-source documentary hypothesis of the Pentateuch. This is how the theologians have tried to explain the mystery.

The Four-Source Hypothesis Mark was a source for both Matthew and Luke Matthew and Luke also used another, unknown source – designated as Q. Q provides Matthew and Luke with the common material that doesn’t appear in Mark Matthew and Luke each have their own special sources – designated as M and L. According to this hypothesis, there are four sources for our three synoptic Gospels: Mark, Q, M and L.

The Four-Source Hypothesis* Mark Q M L Matt. Luke *This is the most important slide in the entire presentation. Even if you don’t understand it yet, it’s absolutely essential that you memorize this diagram. Hopefully, it will begin to make sense later in the semester.

Arguments for Markan Priority Patterns of agreement Sometimes, all of the Gospels tell a story in precisely the same way (that is, when they simply copied it from a similar source). Sometimes, all three Gospels are different (that is, when Matthew and Luke changed it in different ways). Sometimes, two of the three are exactly alike, but the third is different (that is, when both borrowed the story, but only one of them changed it). IMPORTANT: Matthew and Luke RARELY differ from Mark WHILE agreeing with each other; this would indicate that Mark was a common source.

What is Q? Q comes from the German word Quelle which means “Source” Matthew and Luke have instances where they totally agree with each other word-for-word; however, they DISAGREE with Mark. Therefore, they had a source for this material, but it WAS NOT Mark. Q is an unknown, hypothetical source, that accounts for the similarities in Matthew and Luke that are not found in Mark. Also called the Double Tradition (approx. 200 verses)

What is Q? Most scholars believe that Q is composed MOSTLY of sayings of Jesus (also John the B.) Since the document is hypothetical, we don’t have the original manuscript, which means that we don’t know EXACTLY what it contained. Some of the most memorable passages from the Gospels come from Q: The preaching of John the Baptist (Luke 3:7-9; 16-17) The Beatitudes (Luke 6:20) Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13) The Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11:2-4)

What is Q? Q comes from the German word Quelle which means “Source” Matthew and Luke have instances where they totally agree with each other word-for-word; however, they DISAGREE with Mark. Therefore, they had a source for this material, but it WAS NOT Mark. Q is an unknown, hypothetical source, that accounts for the similarities in Matthew and Luke that are not found in Mark.

What about M and L? We know almost nothing about these sources. They could be single documents, or a collection of documents. They may have also been oral sources. They account for the stories that are only found in Matthew or Luke

Why is the Four-Source Hypothesis Significant? If we know what the author’s source is, we can tell how he has changed it. If we know how he changed it, it can tell us something about the author’s personal interests. In other words, these redactions (or changes) tell us what mattered to the author. The study of these changes and what they tell us is called “Redaction Criticism”

In Summary The Synoptic Problem is how to explain the similarities and differences between Matthew, Mark and Luke. Most scholars solve the problem by arguing that Mark was written first and used as a source by Matthew and Luke. The Q Source provided Matthew and Luke with traditions that are not found in Mark. Matthew and Luke each have stories that are found in no other Gospel; these must have come from a unique source for each: M (Matthew’s source) and L (Luke’s source).