Four pictures of Jesus

The GospelsThe Gospels

1. “gospel” = early Christian preaching 2. “gospel” = written life of Jesus Written like ancient biography

• Portrays “the essential character of the person”

• Encourages emulation of the person• Has little concern for chronology

Includes multiple genres Influenced by Jewish literature “Fictive” (story-like) style of narration Overtly evangelistic (“that you may

believe”)

Genre: What Is a Gospel?Genre: What Is a Gospel?

Parables (box 4.3)• Figurative stories that convey spiritual truth

Miracle stories (box 4.4)• Demonstrations of exceptional “power” or

“signs” Pronouncement stories (box 4.5)

• Anecdote that preserves “the memory of something Jesus said”

Individual sayings (box 4.6) Passion and resurrection narratives

Types of Material in GospelsTypes of Material in Gospels

Synoptic = “seeing together”• Matthew, Luke, and Mark appear to be

seeing Jesus together—from a similar view• Overlapping material• Parallel structures, style, perspectives, and

tone• Also each have unique material

Matthew contains 90% of material in Mark but is twice as long

This raises the question: How are these three Gospels related?

The Synoptic PuzzleThe Synoptic Puzzle

(Majority) Two-source Hypothesis• Mark written first• Matthew and Luke use Mark as a written

source• Matthew and Luke use a second

(hypothetical) source of Jesus’ sayings = Q• Matthew and Luke, independently, used their

own oral sources to complement written sources

(M and L)

The Synoptic PuzzleThe Synoptic Puzzle

(Minority) Two-Gospel Hypothesis• Matthew wrote first• Luke used Matthew• Mark later condensed Matthew and Luke

into one writing

The Synoptic PuzzleThe Synoptic Puzzle