Learning Experience What Are the Synoptic Gospels? (25 minutes) Activity Plan 1. You will want to have read the Catechist Background information prior to beginning this part of the lesson. 2. Introduce the learning experience with these, or similar, words: Have you ever noticed that some passages, sayings of Jesus, even stories in one gospel are nearly identical to that found in one or more of the other gospels? Let me show you what I mean. Would someone please read aloud Matthew 3:13-17? . Now, would someone please read aloud Mark 1:9-11? . And lastly, would someone please read aloud Luke 3:21-22? It’s uncanny how similar are these passages. You would think the authors were copying from the same source! And if that is what you are thinking then, YOU ARE RIGHT! The Synoptic Gospels are the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. They are called synoptic (which means “seen together”) (like synonym) because they can be compared column by column with each other. The three Synoptic Gospels have many parables and accounts in common, as well as a general consensus on the order of events, suggesting a common source for all three. As we will see, the writers of these gospels were indeed using some of the same sources. You may be asking why each Gospel writer would retell story based on the same source of information. Studying each of the Synoptic writers in more detail will reveal that each wrote to a different audience and for different reasons. For example, the writer of the Gospel of Luke (who may have been a physician) wrote to, and on behalf of the widow, the poor, orphaned and marginalized. The Gospel of Mark is written to a largely Roman audience to communicate the power and authority of Jesus as the Son of God. Matthew’s Gospel was written for a largely Jewish audience to demonstrate that the life of Jesus should be seen as a fulfillment of the Old Testament. The infancy narrative portrayed parallels between Moses and Jesus, and even the genealogy of this Gospel demonstrates that Jesus was descended from the line of David reaching all the way back to Abraham. 2. The chart below shows stories and parables of Jesus found in all three Synoptic Gospels. Read the account from all three gospels, and then discuss these questions for each parable or story: List 3 things identical or very similar about the three accounts. List 3 points of difference in the three accounts. What is the message of the story for us today? Name the Story or Parable Matthew Mark Luke 3:13-17 1:9-11 3:21-22 4:1-11 1:12-13 4:1-13 4:12-17 1:14-15 4:14-15 9:1-8 2:1-12 5:18-25 12:1-8 2:23-28 6:1-5 10:1-4 3:13-19 6:13-16 13:1-9 4:1-9 8:6-8 17:1-8 9:2-8 9:28-36 19:16-30 10:17-22 18:18-23 22:34-40 12:28-34 11:25-28 .