This web site provides a brief lesson on how the gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are related to one another and to John. Below, read about the relationship between the three. Next, learn about the synoptic evangelists and their unique perspectives on the life of Jesus and his disciples. Finally, compare an example of a story shared by all three. The calming of the sea is told in a slightly different way by each evangelist according to his own style.
And we don't simply mean that they're all about Jesus. The gospel accounts of Mark, Matthew, and Luke are said to be "synoptic," a word that means "with same vision." Together, these three gospel accounts are called the "synoptic gospels." These three books tell many of the same stories, often in the same words. This tells us that these three evangelists shared the same sources or borrowed from one another in some way. The next sections, which may be accessed through the menu at the top of the page, describe the details surrounding each evangelist and his work.
In addition to sharing many common elements between each other, the Synoptic writers all reveal the identity of Jesus as the Son of God in the climaxes of their accounts. John, on the other hand, begins with "In the beginning was the Word...[ and the Word is Jesus, the Eternal Son of God]" So, from the outset, John establishes his Christological emphasis and expounds in much greater detail the relationship between God the Son and God the Father throughout his gospel. Furthermore, John generally does not share a common written source with the synoptics, and thus does not have a great deal of text in common with them.
A pericope is a relatively short scripture passage that stands on its own as a cohesive story. Several verses that make up a single parable would be an example of a pericope. By a "parallel pericope," we mean a pericope that appears in more than one location in Sacred Scripture. An example is the calming of the sea, which is found in Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:35-41, as well as 8:22-25. Jesus also calms the seas in John's gospel account, but the details of that story are significantly different and it is not considered a parallel to the synoptic pericope discussed here. The various accounts of Jesus' calming the sea will be analyzed side-by-side in the "comparison" section of this web site.
Each gospel account was written to convey the good news of Jesus Christ to a different audience. Luke, for example, was writing to a friend named Theophilus and may have elaborated a parable that was especially useful in conveying the message to Theophilus. On the other hand Matthew, who is believed to have preached his gospel to the Jews, could have omitted the same parable if it was less useful for his purposes.
As mentioned above, the three synoptic gospel accounts contain parallels. The similarity between these parallels is so great that scholars believe the gospel accounts used the same sources or are based on one another. There are many theories about how Matthew, Mark, and Luke are related to one another. There is not complete agreement on which theory is correct. Examples of theories include:
A prevalent theory today is that Matthew and Luke each had a copy of Mark, which was written earlier. This is a variation of the “Interdependent theories.”
To continue the lesson, go to the next page to read about Mark.