The Gospels Flashcards
What is “Q”, and what do scholars think it reveals about the interests or priorities of early Christianity?
“Q” is a possible source for the NT writings but we do not have “Q’s” original writings
Possibly a book of sayings of Jesus
They liked to cross reference
What are the different symbols for the gospels and what do they tell us about their gospels?
Matthew
winged man
represents Christ’s incarnation as a man and as God
Mark
lion
legend of Mark being visited in a dream by a winged lion
strength of God and his word
Luke
bull
a bull was the big sacrifice you could make; Jesus is our sacrifice
John
eagle
is able to look deeply into God’s word in all its brilliance much how an eagle can look into the sun
Diagram two solutions to “the Synoptic Puzzle” and indicate why this discussion is important for Gospel studies. How are the synoptic gospels related?
Majority Opinion: Two Source Hypothesis
Mark written first; and Q written separately
They are both used to write Matthew and Luke, along with their own oral sources
Minority Opinion: Farrer
Mark written first, then Matthew
Luke uses both Mark and Matthew
The synoptic gospels are related because they cover different aspects of the same events, emphasizing new things, and pulling from each other as sources; they have parallel structures and styles
Be able to define the genre of “gospel” and name difference type of content in the gospels
“Gospel”= early Christian preaching
“Gospel”= Written life of Jesus
Written like an ancient biography
Evangelistic= “that you may believe”
Types:
Synoptic vs. Non-synoptic, sharing vs. not sharing sources
