Saint Luke: Synoptic Gospel Analysis

Thanks to the current growth of recent multidisciplinary approaches to the study of study of biblical archaeology and history, scholars have come to realize that biblical history took place in not just a political context, but as well as a social context. Hence a full understanding of what was going on historically in the biblical word requires some understanding of the ancient social structures that provided the background for the activities that where undertaken by biblical peoples. (Alexander and Baker, P.783)

The Gospel of Luke was written by a Greek- speaking Christian. It was not written to replace the Gospel of Mark, but as a new account written for an audience under different circumstances than Mark’s community. The church was becoming more Gentiles than Jews. Most people in Luke’s community were not familiar with the Jewish traditions that were referred to by many preachers. Many members of the community were well off as well. This community struggled to follow a church that had a Hebrew core. These issues are what influenced Luke’s writing. Luke wanted his community to know that they were all included in God’s plan for salvation even though in history the Jews would have been the first to know. A few of the major themes of Luke’s Gospel were: salvation for all, mercy and forgiveness, and modern

Should one fully read the opening four Gospels of the New Testament, he or she can find many similar patterns of literature and themes affording much attention to detail and study. This is what someone such as Merriam Webster would define as the ?Synoptic Gospels?. So, what are and how can we explain the differences and similarities among synoptic authors Matthew, Mark, Luke, and the gospel, John? Which Book was written first? To what extent did the Evangelists depend on oral tradition, written sources, or each other? The phenomenon and mystery of these similar but unique Synoptic Gospels has for centuries challenged some of the best minds of academia and the church, stirring up much scholarly

I chose to read The Gospel of Luke for my project. It is said that The Gospel of Luke was written somewhere between 80 CE - 90 CE. The Gospel of Luke was written for Theophilus, who was called “Friend of God”. But The Gospel was also written for a wider audience, including converts and potential converts.

The gospel of Luke and John are gospels about Jesus and John the Baptist. They have several differences and similarities. The Gospel of Luke describes the conception and birth of John the Baptist and Jesus while the gospel of Luke describes their life after birth. Summaries, variances, and connections of these two gospels are discussed below.

The Synoptic Gospels are composed of the gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke. These three gospels covered many of the same stories; yet, they disagree with each other on various details within certain stories. Also, numerous events that are in Mark, is not in Matthew or Luke and vice versa. Many historians have concluded that Mark was the first of the three gospels written and that Matthew and Luke used Mark as a source to their own gospels. The Synoptic Gospels were first written in Greek, which would suggest to some ambiguity within Mark, Matthew, and Luke due to certain perceptions and translations within the Greek language. One ambiguity that is shown within the Synoptic Gospels dealt with Jesus’s view on marriage and divorce. Using

From the religious standpoint of the catholic church, a vital element to live under God’s eyes during this time era was the character of giving to the poor. Based on the the reading of

There are over two thousands verses in the Bible that deal with the issue of the poor. This paper will explore the Old Testament from the creation story dealing with the reason of our very existence to little-known laws about gleaning and discover that the issue of economic justice has been one about which God has cared since the earliest writings of Christian scripture. We will then forward to

The three Synoptic Gospels agree fully on the form and method of Jesus’ teaching (Harris, 2014). The signature style of Jesus’ teaching: a parable meaning a “placing beside” or “a comparison” usually takes the form of a brief fictional narrative, comparing some familiar object or practice to the dawning kingdom of God (Harris, 2014). In the Synoptic accounts, Jesus commonly likens God’s kingdom to a germinating mustard seed, the unexpected discovery of a valuable pearl, or a woman kneading bread. Jesus debated points of the Mosaic Torah or delivers aphorisms, terse, quotable statements that his audience will remember, such as “The Sabbath was made for the sake of man and not for the Sabbath” or “it is easier for a camel to pass through the

Using the text provided, it can be concluded that the gospels written by both Luke and Matthew share similar sources of information used to write their scriptures. This evidence has been collected based on the incommon stories told throughout the scriptures in both of the gospels of the New Testament. The written texts of information believed to be shared by both Luke and Matthew is known as the Q source. (Ehrman 2012, 100) Ehrman agrees that both writers used the Q source; however he argues that Luke had to have used the original document of the Q source versus Matthew, because of the way the stories were constructed in both of the gospels. In Matthew particularly, the organization of the miracle stories is what stand out to Ehrman. (Ehrman 2012, 100) Matthew chose to organize the stories of Jesus’s miracles into one chapter while other authors of scriptures such as Luke, and along with Mark, chose to separate the stories of Jesus’s miracles throughout many chapters as the original Q source tells the stories of Jesus.

The Gospel According to Luke is the third and second longest of the four canonical Gospels. It tells of the birth, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. Luke is a poetic book it opens with a song and closes with a song. The purpose for the book of Luke was to present an accurate account of the life of Christian to present His as the perfect human and Savior. Luke was a doctor and a Greek Gentile Christian. He was the only Gentile author and he also wrote the book of Acts. Luke wrote this book to the Greeks.

The “Synoptic Problem” (Harris, 2014, p. 127), as it is labeled does not present an issue regarding understanding the New Testament Gospel’s to me personally. Moreover, the variations between the Gospel’s account may provide an opportunity for a greater understanding (Wilcox, 2014). For example, with only one author, the insight on the subject received is from one individual; however, when multiple authors write about the same field the readers benefit from multiple perspectives allowing the possibility for a greater understanding of the topic in question. Consequently, the “Synoptic Problem” (Harris, 2014, p. 127) is not a problem from a believer’s vantage point.

In the Bible, the four Gospels push different ideologies, views, lessons and different stories that center around the central figure of Jesus. The Gospel of Luke main themes center on Universalism, social justice, compassion for outcasts, the role of woman and the Holy Spirit.(Hauer and Young) These parables are able to connect to the context of when Luke was able bring these stories together in 85 CE. The Gospel was most likely written in Greek speaking area located in the Roman empire.(Coogan et al.) This time of stability allowed for the proliferation of Christianity and Gospels such as Luke. The passages that will be discussed will mainly focus on compassion for outcast seen in Luke 16:19–31 and warning against greed in Luke 12:13-34. Luke 13:6-9 focuses on a fig tree talks of the opportunities people and if they use them properly. Finally, the last parable is 7:11-17, which focuses on holy spirit and the possibilities for miracles and the importance of life. These parables in Luke are able to give a social justice commentary that can make a person feel compassionate for the poor and the reckoning they would receive in the afterlife if they didn’t follow Jesus’s teachings. As, well the story is able to push across a message that will everlasting importance to people. This has led to the Gospels of Luke becoming one of the main 4 Gospels and one of the most highly regarded of the Gospels. (Hauer and Young)

The word "gospel" is a translation of the Greek word "euangelion" which means "good news. The first three books in the New Testament (Mark, Matthew, and Luke) are often referred to as the Synoptic Gospels (from Greek synoptikos, "seen together") They bear greater similarity to each other than any of the other gospels in the New Testament. Along with these similarities come some differences among the gospels, suggesting that each gospel was written for a specific audience and for a specific purpose. This paper will examine the resurrection of Jesus, while identifying the significant differences between Mark, Matthew and Luke. This paper will also analyze the differences to suggest the prominent theological perspective each gospel author

The theme of the gospel of Luke talks about the journey of the life of Jesus, Christ. His death, burial, and resurrection. Moreover, his ministry, teachings and parables. As a historian, and physician, Luke was not only eloquent in his writing about Jesus; he also took interest in his early life. The Gospel of Luke also depict Jesus as compassionate, caring, and loving. Likewise, Luke not only put Jesus at the heart of the Jewish world during the first century, but also at the heart of the Roman world, where with the Christian gospel exploded.