Almost all of Mark's content is found in Matthew, and much of Mark is similarly found in Luke. Additionally, Matthew and Luke have a large amount of material in common that is not found in Mark.

The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are referred to specifically as the Synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in the same sequence, and similar wording.^[1][2][3] This degree of parallelism in content, narrative arrangement, language, and sentence structures can only be accounted for by literary interdependence. Many scholars believe that these gospels share the same point of view and are clearly linked.^[4] The term synoptic comes from the Greek syn, meaning "together", and optic, meaning "seen".^[3]

According to the majority viewpoint,^{[citation needed]} Mark was the first gospel written. Matthew and Luke then used Mark as a source, as well as a hypothetical sayings gospel known as Q. Matthew and Luke also included unique material, and the sources for this material are designated M and L, respectively.

The Synoptic Gospels are the primary source for historical information about Jesus.^[5][6][7]

Apocryphal gospels, as well as the canonical Gospel of John, differ greatly from the Synoptic Gospels.

Structure[link]

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The triple tradition is the material that is present in all three synoptic gospels. It includes most of the narrative about the events in the life of Jesus, starting with his baptism and ending with the discovery of an empty tomb after the crucifixion. It also includes some of the parables (such as the parable of the mustard seed). The triple tradition accounts for approximately 76% of the text of Mark. Some of this material is present almost verbatim in all three gospels, and sometimes there are minor variations; there are some notable cases, called "minor agreements", where Matthew and Luke agree on wording with each other against Mark.^[8]

The double tradition is the material (circa 200 verses) shared by Matthew and Luke, but absent in Mark. It consists almost entirely of Jesus' sayings and teachings, and includes most of the Sermon on the Mount and most parables. In addition to these, the double tradition includes a three-verse quotation (Mt. 3:8-10) that is attributed to John the Baptist (the last verse of this quotation also appears in Mt. 7:19, attributed to Jesus) and the story of centurion's servant (Mt. 8:5-13).

The Mark-Matthew material, shared between Mark and Matthew, includes the story of the death of John the Baptist, several miracles (including one of the two occurrences of feeding the multitude), the expanded version of the ban on divorce (Mt. 19:1-8), and the depiction of the death of Jesus (Mk. 15:34-41).

The Mark-Luke material is limited to a single incident in Capernaum involving exorcism (Mk. 1:21-28).

The material unique to Mark consists of some 40 verses, including, among others, Mark 3:20-21, the parable of the seed and the harvest (Mk. 4:26-29), two miracles (Mk. 7:31-37 and Mk. 8:22-26), two fragments without obvious meaning at Mk. 9:49 and Mk. 14:51-52, and the verse at Mk. 16:8 which states that the women who discovered the empty tomb did not say anything about it to anyone.^[9][10]

The material unique to Matthew or Luke is fairly extensive. It includes two similar but distinct accounts of the genealogy of Jesus, two distinct birth narratives, and two distinct resurrection narratives. Matthew adds several statements to the Sermon on the Mount, several parables (including "the parable of unmerciful servant", "the parable of the weeds", and "the parable of the laborers in the vineyard"), the prophecy of the last judgment (Mt. 25:31-46), and describes the suicide of Judas. Luke also contains multiple unique miracles and parables (e.g. "The Parable of the Good Samaritan"). Many details of the last days of Jesus can only be found in Matthew or Luke. For example, Matthew is the only gospel that states that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on two animals (Mt. 21:2-7). Matthew is the only gospel that states that Jesus' tomb was guarded by a soldier. Luke is the only gospel that states that one of the robbers crucified next to Jesus repented and was promised Paradise by Jesus (Lk. 23:40-43).

Composition[link]

The Augustinian hypothesis suggests that the Gospel of Matthew was written first. The Gospel of Mark was written using Matthew as a source. Then the Gospel of Luke was written using both Mark and Matthew.

There is continuing debate regarding the composition of the synoptic gospels.

Traditional view[link]

Traditionally, the Gospel of Matthew was seen as the first gospel written. The Gospel of Mark was written after Matthew, with the Gospel of Luke then dependent on Matthew, Mark, and other eyewitness testimony.^[11] This is commonly referred to as Augustinian hypothesis. Unlike some competing hypotheses, this hypothesis does not rely on, nor does it argue for, the existence of any document that is not explicitly mentioned in historical testimony. Adherents to the Augustinian hypothesis view it as a simple, coherent approach to understanding the synoptic gospels. However, textual criticism has shown serious flaws^{[citation needed]} with this traditional approach; and it has been largely abandoned^{[citation needed]} by the academic community. Most modern study, however, focuses on the two-source or four-source hypothesis.

A return to the traditional view is found in the hypothesis of Eta Linnemann, formerly a pupil of Bultmann, that Matthew and Mark were written together as "two witnesses" required by Mosaic law.

Historical-critical view[link]

Markan priority[link]

The understanding that Mark was the first of the canonical gospels and that it served as a source for Matthew and Luke is foundational to modern critical scholarship.^[12]

Q source[link]

Another fundamental feature of modern Bible studies is the presumption of the existence of Q, a written source, now lost, hypothesized to have been used both by Matthew and by Luke.^[12]

Two-source hypothesis[link]

The two-source hypothesis states that Matthew borrowed from both Mark and a hypothetical sayings collection, called Q (for the German Quelle, meaning "source"). Much work has gone into the extent and wording of Q, particularly since the discovery of the Gospel of Thomas, an example of the sayings gospel genre. Holtzmann's 1863 theory posited an Ur-Marcus in the place of our Mark, with our Mark being a later revision. Some scholars occasionally propose an unattested revision of Mark, a deutero-Mark, being the base of what Matthew and Luke used. In 1924 Burnett Hillman Streeter further refined the two-source hypothesis into a four-source hypothesis, with an M and an L being a unique source to Matthew and Luke respectively, with Q and L combined into a proto-Luke before Luke added Mark. While unique sources, such as M, L, or Semitic first editions, are interesting for form-critical purposes, they are quite peripheral to the "synoptic problem" as to how the canonical gospels are interrelated.

Four-source hypothesis[link]

There were difficulties with the Two Source Hypothesis, the most serious of which was that it could not account for all the material in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. In The Four Gospels: A Study of Origins (1924), Burnett Hillman Streeter refined the Two-source hypothesis into a Four-source hypothesis. It attempts to explain the relationship among the three Gospels and posits that there were at least four sources to the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke: the Gospel of Mark, and three hypothesized sources: Q, M-Source and L source.

According to Streeter's analysis, the non-Marcan matter in Luke has to be distinguished into at least two sources, Q and L. In a similar way he argued that Matthew used a peculiar source, which we may style M, as well as Q.^{[13] [14]}

Minority hypotheses[link]

Two-gospel hypothesis[link]

Johann Jakob Griesbach (1745–1812) proposed that Mark was the last synoptic gospel written and that it was based on Matthew and Luke.^[15] In the 20th century, the view was revived by William Farmer.^[15] The hypothesis states that Matthew was written first (probably in the 40s AD by the apostle Matthew), while Christianity was still centered in Jerusalem, to calm the hostility between Jews and Christians. After Matthew, as the church expanded beyond the Holy Land, Luke was written as a gospel to the Gentiles by Luke the Evangelist, probably in the 50s AD. But since Luke was not himself an eyewitness of Jesus, Peter gave public testimonies that validated Luke’s gospel. These public speeches were transcribed by Mark the Evangelist into Mark’s gospel and distributed immediately thereafter, as recorded by the early church father Irenaeus. Mark's shorter and less-polished nature is therefore a consequence of the fact that it came from a series of transcribed speeches that were never meant to be a separate gospel tradition. Paul then allowed Luke’s gospel to be published.^[16] This hypothesis is the most serious alternative to the two-source hypothesis.^[16][17] Its main advantages over the two-source hypothesis include the fact that it relies not just on internal evidence, that it doesn’t require lost sources or other “plugs” (like the Q document) and that it reconciles the view of the early church with the evidence.^{[citation needed]}

Three-source hypothesis[link]

In 1880, Eduard Simons presented the first detailed case for a hypothesis according to which Matthew used Mark and a written sayings source, whereas Luke used both of these as primary sources, plus Matthew as a subsidiary source.^[18] The sayings source in this hypothesis is not necessarily identical to Q, for Luke may have derived some of the supposedly Q material from Matthew instead of from the sayings source.

Farrer hypothesis[link]

The Farrer hypothesis suggests that the Gospel of Mark was written first. The Gospel of Matthew was written using Mark as a source. Then the Gospel of Luke was written using both Mark and Matthew.

In 1955, Austin Farrer argued that the Gospel of Mark was written first, that it was a source for the Gospel of Matthew, and that Mark and Matthew were then sources for the Gospel of Luke. Farrer's position has the advantage of simplicity, as there is no need for hypothetical sources.^[19][20]

Parker hypothesis[link]

In 1953, Pierson Parker argued that a Hebrew proto-Matthew was the first gospel to be written and it was the basis for later gospels.^[21] James R. Edwards (2009) argued that the 4th Century Jewish-Christian gospels preserved in citations by Jerome and others preserve material from a proto-Matthew which, if more had survived, would correspond to "L material" used in the Gospel of Luke.^[22]

Other minority hypotheses[link]

Other hypotheses that have been proffered in order to deal with the synoptic problem include, the oral transmission (synoptic problem), the Lindsey hypothesis (1963), Jerusalem school hypothesis (1973), the logia translation hypothesis (1998)^[23][24][25] and the progressive publication of Matthew hypothesis.^[26]

The problems with Q[link]

Although most scholars accept the Two Source Hypothesis (2SH), many are not entirely happy with it. The difficulty tends to center around Q. The 2SH explains the double tradition by postulating the existence of a lost "sayings of Jesus" document known as Q. It is this, rather than Marcan priority, which forms the distinctive feature of the 2SH as against rival theories.

While the 2SH remains the most popular explanation for the origins of the synoptic gospels, the existence of the "minor agreements" have raised concerns. These minor agreements are those points where Matthew and Luke agree against Mark (for example, the mocking question at the beating of Jesus, "Who is it that struck you?", found in both Matthew (26:67–68) and Luke (22:63–64) but not in Mark (14:65)). The "minor agreements" thus call into question the proposition that Matthew and Luke knew Mark but not each other.

Other concerns that have been raised are how a major and respected source, used in two canonical gospels, could totally disappear and the fact that Q is never mentioned in any of the Church catalogs or by one scholar from the time of Christ to Jerome. Until these issues are resolved, Q will remain in doubt.^{[27][28][29][30][31]}

DIFFERENCES are rendered in black.^[32]

See also[link]

• Gospel harmony

References[link]

External links[link]

• Catholic Encyclopedia: Synoptics

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There are many people in history who are commonly appended with the phrase "the Great", or who were called that or an equivalent phrase in their own language. Other languages have their own suffixes such as e Bozorg and e azam in Persian and Urdu respectively.

In Persia, the title "the Great" at first seems to be a colloquial version of the Old Persian title "Great King". This title was first used by the conqueror Cyrus II of Persia.^[1]

The Persian title was inherited by Alexander III of Macedon (336–323 BC) when he conquered the Persian Empire, and the epithet "Great" eventually became personally associated with him. The first reference (in a comedy by Plautus)^[2] assumes that everyone knew who "Alexander the Great" was; however, there is no earlier evidence that Alexander III of Macedon was called "the Great".

The early Seleucid kings, who succeeded Alexander in Persia, used "Great King" in local documents, but the title was most notably used for Antiochus the Great (223–187 BC).

Later rulers and commanders began to use the epithet "the Great" as a personal name, like the Roman general Pompey. Others received the surname retrospectively, like the Carthaginian Hanno and the Indian emperor Ashoka the Great. Once the surname gained currency, it was also used as an honorific surname for people without political careers, like the philosopher Albert the Great.

As there are no objective criteria for "greatness", the persistence of later generations in using the designation greatly varies. For example, Louis XIV of France was often referred to as "The Great" in his lifetime but is rarely called such nowadays, while Frederick II of Prussia is still called "The Great". A later Hohenzollern - Wilhelm I - was often called "The Great" in the time of his grandson Wilhelm II, but rarely later.

Rulers[link]

• Abbas I of Persia (1571–1629), Shah of Iran
• Akbar (1542–1605), ruler of the Mughal Empire of South Asia, mainly India
• Alain I of Albret (1440–1522), French aristocrat
• Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), King of Macedonia, Persia, Greece, Egypt, and all of Mesopotamia
• Alexander I of Georgia (1386–1446), King of Georgia
• Alfonso III of León (c. 848-910), King of León, Galicia and Asturias
• Alfred the Great (848/849-899), King of Wessex
• Antiochus III the Great (c. 241–187 BC), ruler of the Seleucid Empire
• Ashoka the Great (c. 304–232 BC), Indian emperor of the Maurya dynasty
• Ashot I of Iberia “the Great”(died 826/830), presiding prince of Iberia (modern Georgia),
• Askia Mohammad I (c. 1442–1538), ruler of the Songhai Empire
• Bhumibol Adulyadej (born 1927), King of Thailand
• Bolesław I Chrobry (967-1025), sometimes called "the Great", first King of Poland
• Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the following section)
• Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (1736–1809), founder and ruler of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (in what is now Thailand)
• Cnut the Great (c. 985 or 995-1035), King of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden
• Casimir III the Great (1310–1370), King of Poland
• Catherine the Great (1729–1796), Empress of Russia
• Chandragupta II (reigned 375-413/415), also known as Vikramaditya, ruler of the Gupta empire in India
• Charlemagne (died 814), King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans
• Chulalongkorn (1853–1910), King of Siam (now Thailand)
• Chlothar II (584-629), King of Neustria and King of the Franks
• Conrad, Margrave of Meissen (c. 1097-1157), Margrave of Meissen
• Constantine I (c. 272-337), Roman emperor
• Cyaxares the Great (c. 625-585 BC), third king of Media
• Cyrus the Great (c. 600 BC or 576 BC–530 BC), founder and ruler of the Persian or Achaemenid Empire
• Darius the Great (550 – 486 BC), third ruler of the Persian Empire
• Devapala (died 850), ruler of the Pala Empire in the Indian subcontinent
• Dionysius I, Greek tyrant of Syracuse^[3]
• Ferdinand I of León and Castile (c. 1015–1065), King of León and Count of Castile
• Frederick the Great (1712–1786), King of Prussia
• Genghis Khan (1162?-1227), founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire
• Gero (c. 900–965), ruler of Marca Geronis, a very large march in Europe
• Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (1594–1632), King of Sweden, founder of the Swedish Empire, and noted military leader
• Gwanggaeto the Great, King of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea^[4][5]
• Hanno the Great, the name of three leaders of Carthage, in the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd centuries BC
• Henry I, Duke of Burgundy (946–1002)
• Henry IV of France (1553–1610), King of France and King of Navarre
• Herod the Great (73/74 BC-4 BC), King of Judea
• Hugh the Great (898-956), Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris
• Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France
• Hugh I, Count of Vermandois (1057–1101)
• Humphrey I de Bohun (died c. 1123), Anglo-Norman aristocrat
• Ivan III of Russia (1440–1505), Tsar of Russia
• John I of Portugal (1358–1433), King of Portugal and the Algarve
• John II of Aragon (1398–1479), King of Aragon and, through his wife, King of Navarre
• Justinian I (483-565), Byzantine Emperor
• Kamehameha I (c. 1758-1819), first King of Hawai'i
• Kanishka (died c. 127), ruler of the Kushan Empire in Central Asia and parts of India
• Kvirike III of Kakheti (1010–1029), King of Kakheti in eastern Georgia
• Kublai Khan (1215–1294), Mongol ruler in the 13th century and Emperor of China; founder of the Yuan Dynasty
• Llywelyn the Great (c. 1172–1240), Prince of Gwynedd and de facto ruler of most of Wales
• Louis I of Hungary (1326–1382), King of Hungary, Croatia and Poland
• Mangrai the Great (1238–1317), Lanna, northern Thailand
• Emperor Meiji (1852–1912), Emperor of Japan
• Mircea I of Wallachia (1355–1418)
• Mithridates II of Parthia (died 88 BC), ruler of the Parthian Empire (in present day Iran)
• Mithridates VI of Pontus (134 BC–63 BC), ruler of Pontus and the Bosporan Kingdom
• Mstislav I of Kiev (1076–1132), Grand Prince of Kievan Rus
• Naresuan (1555–1605), King of Ayutthaya
• Narai (1633–1688), King of Ayutthaya (in what is now modern Thailand)
• Odo the Great (died c. 735), Duke of Aquitaine
• Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (912-973)
• K'inich Janaab' Pakal (603-683), ruler of the Mayan city-state of Palenque
• Parakramabahu I of Polonnaruwa (1123–1186), King of Sri Lanka
• Peter Krešimir IV of Croatia (died 1075), King of Croatia
• Peter the Great (1672–1725), Tsar of Russia
• Peter III of Aragon (1239–1285), King of Aragon and King of Sicily
• Pompey (106 BC-48 BC), military and political leader of the late Roman Republic, rival of Julius Caesar
• Radama I (1793–1828), first king of greater Madagascar
• Raja Raja Chola I (c. 947-1014), Indian emperor of the Cholas.^[6][7][8]
• Rajendra Chola I (reigned 1014–1044), Tamil King of India
• Ramesses II (reigned 1279 BC – 1213 BC), considered the greatest pharaoh of Ancient Egypt
• Ram Khamhaeng (around 1237 to 1247-1298), King of Sukhothai (in present day Thailand)
• Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona (1082–1131), also Count of Provence and various other counties
• Rhodri the Great (c. 820–878), King of Gwynedd (in present day Wales)
• Roman the Great (after 1160-1205), Grand Prince of Kiev
• Saladin (c. 1138-1193), Kurdish Sultan of Egypt and Syria, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, and victor over the Crusaders
• Samudragupta (c. 335–375), ruler of the Gupta empire in the Indian subcontinent
• Sancho III of Navarre (c. 992-1035), King of Kingdom of Navarre
• Sargon of Akkad (died c. 2215 BC), ruler of the Akkadian Empire
• Sejong the Great (1397–1450), Korean king^[9]
• Shapur II (309-379), king of the Sassanid Empire, Persia
• Simeon I of Bulgaria (864/865-927), ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire
• Stephen III of Moldavia (1433–1504), Prince of Moldavia (Romania)
• Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia (c. 1308-1355), King of Serbia and Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks
• Taksin (1734–1782), King of the Thonburi Kingdom (Thailand)
• Tamar (1160-1123), Queen of the Georgian Empire
• Timur (1336–1405), better known as Tamerlane, founder of the Timurid Dynasty
• Theobald II, Count of Champagne (1090–1151), Count of Blois and of Chartres as Theobald IV, Count of Champagne and of Brie
• Theodoric the Great (454-526), King of the Ostrogoths, regent of the Visigoths and a viceroy of the Byzantine Empire
• Theodosius I (347-395), Roman emperor
• Tigranes the Great (140-55 BC), Emperor of Armenia
• Tiridates III of Armenia (285-339), King of Armenia
• Umar (c. 586 to 590–644), second caliph of the Muslim Empire
• Valdemar I of Denmark (1131–1182), King of Denmark
• Valentinian I (364-375), Roman Emperor
• Vladimir I of Kiev (c. 958-1015), ruler of Kievan Rus
• Vytautas (c. 1350-1430), archduke of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy
• William I, Count of Burgundy (1020–1087), Count of Burgandy and Mâcon
• William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969-1030), also Count of Poitou
• Xerxes I (519-465 BC), King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire (Persia)
• Yu the Great (c. 2200-2100 BC), legendary ruler in ancient China

Religious figures[link]

• Abraham the Great of Kashkar (ca. 492-586), monk and saint of the Assyrian Church of the East
• Abraham Kidunaia (died c. 366, hermit, priest, and Christian saint of Mesopotamia
• Albertus Magnus (1193/1206–1280), medieval German philosopher and theologian
• Anthony the Great (c. 251–356), early Christian saint of Egypt
• Babai the Great (c. 551–628), Assyrian church leader
• Basil of Caesarea (330-379), Greek bishop and theologian
• Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the previous section)
• Euthymius the Great (377-473), abbot and Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint
• Gertrude the Great (1256-c. 1302), German Benedictine, mystic, theologian and Roman Catholic saint
• Pope Gregory I (c. 540-604)
• Hiyya the Great, 3rd-century rabbi, Palestine
• Pope John Paul II (1920–2005)
• Pope Leo I (c. 391 or 400-461)
• Macarius of Egypt (c. 300-391), Egyptian hermit
• Pope Nicholas I (c. 800-867)
• Photius I of Constantinople (c. 810–c. 893), Eastern Orthodox saint and Patriarch of Constantinople
• William of Maleval (died 1157), founder of the Catholic congregation of Williamites

Other[link]

• Beli Mawr, a figure in medieval Welsh literature and genealogies
• Emmy the Great, folk singer
• Matteo Rosso the Great, Roman politician and father of Pope Nicholas III
• Prokop the Great, Hussite general in Bohemia

See also[link]

• Epithet
• List of monarchs by nickname
• List of nicknames of European Royalty and Nobility: G-I
• James, son of Zebedee, also known as James the Greater, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus
• Ajax (mythology), called Ajax the Greater
• Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, whose common honorific "Mahatma" means "Great Soul"

Notes[link]