Description
THEO 203 Week 3.1
Mark, Matthew and Luke are synoptic gospels
Synoptic comes from the greek word sunoptikos, which means seeing the whole together; they are stories
The three stories are:
Similar (i.e. temptation, baptism, entry into Jerusalem, etc)
In a similar order (i.e. Temple cleansing after Jerusalem entry)
Some editorial comments are similar (i.e. Mk 13:14 & Mt 24:15)
Similar vocabulary
The sources hypothesis
Legend
Mk = Mark
Mt = Matthew
Lk = Luke
Q = Q
M = Special Matthew
L = Special Luke
The first widely accepted hypothesis was the two source hypothesis : Mark and Q Explanation of Mk: The three synoptic gospels have similarities. Scholars have decided that Mark must be the oldest gospel, because:
i. It is shorter. Thus, it must be earlier than the two others, because usually scribes added material. They rarely took material away.
ii. Most of what is in Mt and Lk is also in Mk, thus, they conclude that Mk must be the main source of Mt and Lk.
Explanation of Q: Q is a fictional gospel which does not exist. It was created to explain the content which is in Mt and Lk, but not in Mk, the primary source. It was invented, there is no original physical document that is what we call Q.
On the opposite, we know Luke and Matthew are ‘’real’’, because they contain content which is unique to them. Q’s content is all taken from other known sources.
The second widely accepted hypothesis was derived from the previous hypothesis and is the four source hypothesis: Mark, Q, Special Matthew and Special Luke We also discuss several other topics like linguistics 101 uw madison
This hypothesis accepts the same two sources as before, but adds two sources: M and L. These sources explain the material that are unique to Matthew (M) and unique to Luke (L)
In the triple tradition, where the three synoptic gospels are mainly considered because of their similarities, one source is considered: Mark because according to the hypothesis Luke and Matthew come from Mark.
*Triple tradition = one source
In the double tradition, where only Luke and Matthew are considered, one source is considered: Q because according to the hypothesis what is unique to both these gospels (that is, absent from Mark but present in both) come from Q. If you want to learn more check out art history exam 2
*Double tradition = one source Don't forget about the age old question of dawn neill cal poly
Answers from the quiz
o How many sources in the triple tradition? One
o Which gospels have common material in the double tradition? Luke and Matthew
o Which gospels have common material in the triple tradition? Luke,
Matthew and Mark
o How many sources are there in the double tradition? One - Q
o Which texts are the synoptic gospels? Matthew, Mark, Luke
*We don’t actually know who wrote the gospels. 2nd century Greeks attributed the texts to authors because something that is anonymous does not have as much weight/authority.
Mark: Jesus the Apocalyptic Preacher
Mark is the only text which opens with the term “gospel” (only text which calls itself a gospel
– e.g. Matthew starts with “the book”)
Gospel means good news
Son of God is contested; a scribe might have added “Son of God” after Jesus Christ, because
it had more impact.
The author of Mark pretends that Jesus is the realization of old prophecies (quotes the Old Testament, quote can be attributed to two prophets – Malachi 3:1a and Isaiah 40:3)
John the Baptist – He proclaims a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins in the desert (in the water of the Jordan), but claims that “the one who is more powerful than I” is Don't forget about the age old question of What does cyanobacteria do to humans?
coming, and he will baptize the people with the Holy Spirit
John is unusual, because usually people go the Temple to repent, so John becomes a religious competitor to religious authorities who like people coming to the Temple because
it gives them money
Usually, when someone is baptized, they recognize that they are inferior to the person baptizing them. Thus, because John baptized Jesus, scholars believe that Jesus (the man) was
a follower of John the Baptist, and eventually broke off from him and started his own minister. That was a problem for early Christians who did not want to see Jesus as inferior to
anyone, this might be why words such as “the one who is more powerful than I” have been added to gospels. Also, sometimes, John the Baptist completely disappears, in later Don't forget about the age old question of 735mmhg to atm
gospels.
The baptism was a problem for early Christians, because how can God (how
they saw Jesus) be baptized?
Question: Why was Jesus baptized? If the purpose of the baptism is to wash away sins, what sins did Jesus have?
THEO 203 Week 3.2
Mark, cont’d
The voice from God when Jesus gets baptized is a quote from the OT - Isaiah 42:1 or Psalm 2:7
Psalm 2:7 directed at David - Writer in Luke applies it to Jesus, that would mean David was God’s son
What does son of God mean? In ancient times kings were designed as such, it speaks of a function/role
Equivalent to the expression Christ, which means anointed (messiah also means anointed) In ANE (Ancient Near East), God sent prophets with holy oil to meet the chosen one to pour this oil on that individual - The messiah is actually a king
Jesus is the son of God in the sense of a king who was anointed by God to represent him on earth : SON OF GOD HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH DIVINITY (does not mean Jesus was not divine; but son of God isn’t the proof)*
The gospel of Mark itself (the most archaic versions) presents some problems at the end: it ends with the fear and confusion of the women after discovering that Jesus’ body is not there anymore; there is no reappearance of Jesus Don't forget about the age old question of glg 121 miami university
Matthew
1st gospel in the NT, but wasn’t written the first (80-85 common era)
The writer of Matthew is clearly very familiar with the Hebrew Bible; he quotes a lot from that
Scholars don’t agree with the structure of Matthew, some say
Five main parts: ‘’Now when Jesus had finished saying these things’’ (7:28, 11:1, 13:53, 19:1, 26,1)
Two main parts: ‘’From that time Jesus began’’ (4:17, 16:21)
Theological features of that gospel:
It is a theology of accomplishment - accomplishment of things that were predicted by ancient prophets in the Old Testament (he quotes them)
The quotes do not really match the initial quotes though, the prophets were not talking about Jesus, it is the author of the gospel creating the link, appropriating the stories and applying them to Jesus (Mt 1:22-23, 2:15, 2:17-18, 2:23, 4:14-16, 8:17, 12:17-21, 21:4-5, 27:9-10)
This is what we call a retrospective reading of the Hebrew Bible (this is what most people do nowadays, they go back and apply the readings to today)
Jesus the New Moses (Mt 1:18 — 2:28, 5:1—7:29, 17:1-9, 26:28, 28:16-20) Jesus gives a new law to his own people, like Moses did in Exodus
Jesus is the New Israel (Mt 2:15, 3:13-17, 4:1-11)
Jesus, like the Hebrews, went into the desert for 40 days and 40 nights, he was tempted by the devil but prevailed where Israel failed (they did not have faith in God in the desert)
Kingdom of Heaven
Jesus is an eschatological teacher (eschatology = the doctrine of the end time; where God will establish his kingdom on earth, people need to repent before)
Many people read Mt 24 as a prophecy of the end of the world, but this isn’t really what Jesus is talking about; he is actually commenting on the Temple. He is saying that the Temple will be destroyed.
Then, he is talking about the end of the age, not of the world. The “end of the world” is the end of their world, the end of the impact of Judaism on their society, the end of what they know.
The temple was actually destroyed in a conflict of that time; the author of Matthew writes after this episode. This is about what people from that time lived, it is not applicable to today.
Poetic apocalyptic language is found in Isaiah 13:10 (against the King of Babylon) and Ezekiel 32:7 (against Pharaoh) as well; those two instances talk about political issues. It is the same in the New Testament
Answers to the quiz
o The kingdom of God represents the reign of God
o The writers of the NT established their theology of accomplishment by a process of retrospective reading
o The expression Son of God in the NT refers to the title which speaks of Jesus’ role as God’s representative
o The “end of the age” in Matthew 24 refers to the end of the Jewish age