Synoptic Gospels
Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
Join Britannica's Publishing Partner Program and our community of experts to gain a global audience for your work!Synoptic Gospels, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke in the New Testament, which present similar narratives of the life and death of Jesus Christ. Since the 1780s the first three books of the New Testament have been called the Synoptic Gospels because they are so similar in structure, content, and wording that they can easily be set side by side to provide a synoptic comparison of their content. (The Gospel According to John has a different arrangement and offers a somewhat different perspective on Christ.) The striking similarities between the first three Gospels prompt questions regarding the actual literary relationship that exists between them. This question, called the Synoptic problem, has been elaborately studied in modern times(see also Biblical literature: New Testament literature).
-
St. Mark, illuminated manuscript page from the Gospel Book of the Court school of Charlemagne, c. 810; in the Stadtbibliothek, Trier, Ger.Stadtbibliothek, Trier, Ger. -
Luke St. Luke, detail of St. Luke Drawing the Virgin, oil on canvas by Rogier van der Weyden, 15th century; in the Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia.© Photos.com/Jupiterimages
Learn More in these related Britannica articles:
-
biblical literature: Early theories about the Synoptic problem…been referred to as the Synoptic Gospels (fromsynoptikos , “seen together”). The extensive parallels in structure, content, and wording of Matthew, Mark, and Luke make it even possible to arrange them side by side so that corresponding sections can be seen in parallel columns. John Calvin, the 16th-century Reformer, wrote… -
Jesus: Sources for the life of Jesus…and are hence called the Synoptic Gospels. John, however, is so different that it cannot be reconciled with the Synoptics except in very general ways (e.g., Jesus lived in Palestine, taught, healed, was crucified and raised). In the Synoptics Jesus’ public career appears to have lasted less than one year,… -
biblical literature: Literary criticismIn the Synoptic Gospels (that is, those having a common source—i.e., Matthew, Mark, and Luke) indicators as to source and composition are provided by the presence of so much material common to two or to all three of them. The majority opinion since the mid-19th century has…
