Synoptic Gospels, Synoptic Problem

The synoptic gospels are Matthew, Mark and Luke. They are called ‘synoptic' (which means ‘of one eye') because they cover roughly the same stories, occasionally in the same order and sometimes their wording is even identical. John's gospel is almost entirely different, so it is usually studied separately. The ‘synoptic problem' is the term used to describe the study of how these three gospels relate to each other (e.g. which was written first, did one copy the other etc.).

Biblical scholars have come up with various solutions to this problem. Traditionally, the Church insisted that Matthew was written first, followed by Mark who abbreviated Matthew and then Luke who used them both as sources. With the rise of modern biblical criticism, this view was challenged and the two-source theory developed and became popular. According to this theory, Mark (as the shortest) was written first and then used as a source by both Matthew and then Luke. Matthew and Luke also both used a common source, dubbed ‘Q', (as well as their own sources) as they put their gospels together.

The two-source theory remains the most popular, although it has been challenged by recent studies. Some scholars would accept the two-source theory but would question the existence of Q. A smaller number believe that Luke wrote first or that Matthew was originally written in Aramaic and was therefore the earliest.