THEO 202 Lecture Notes - Lecture 76: Synoptic Gospels, Unification Church, Mark 3
29 Apr 2020
School
Department
Course
Professor
Theo 202 Introduction to biblical studies
Class 76
I. Main Themes of the Synoptic Tradition
Authorship of the Synoptic Gospels
Mark
o Mark was the scribe of Peter
o Gospel written in Rome shortly after 70 CE
Luke
o Luke was a doctor and helper of Paul
o He wrote his Gospel and Acts in the region of Corinth around 75–85 BCE
Matthew
o Traditionally Matthew was a disciple of Jesus
o It seems that the gospel was likely written in honour of Matthew, who likely wrote first edition
of Q in Aramaic
o Written in Antioch 80–90 CE
General Themes 1: Main Purposes
We have already talked a little about the main themes (as the main purposes)
o Historical theme:
▪ Gospel of Jesus Christ
▪ Witnessing the teaching and deeds of Jesus
▪ Gospels report what happened
▪ But not as we would report theme
o Theological theme
▪ To show Jesus is the Son of God.
o The apologetic theme
▪ To show that Jesus was innocent and not deserving of being crucified
• Crucifixion was reserved for treason against the empire
• This would include fomenting rebellion
General Themes 2
They all have the central themes of Jesus teaching
o This is due to there historical purpose of preserving the Jesus tradition
o See the themes of Jesus’s teaching (the way: love, do not judge, help poor/share wealth/wealth
root of evil, etc.)
To explain why Jerusalem was destroyed
o The gospel writers, following Mark, see that it was destroyed because Jesus was rejected
The life of Jesus is predicted in the Hebrew Bible
o This is to explain that it was predicted that the Messiah would come and die
o As opposed to physically restoring Israel and ending all evil
▪ This will happen, but with a “second coming”
Themes Emphasized by Mark
Mark
o Jesus is the Son of God (theological theme)
▪ Jesus becomes the Messiah through his death
▪ Scripture predicted a dying Messiah
o Jerusalem was destroyed because authorities rejected and killed Jesus
o Jesus was innocent (apologetic theme)
▪ Gospel is sometimes referred to as a Passion Play with an introduction
Document Summary
Mark: mark was the scribe of peter, gospel written in rome shortly after 70 ce. Luke: luke was a doctor and helper of paul, he wrote his gospel and acts in the region of corinth around 75 85 bce. Matthew: traditionally matthew was a disciple of jesus. It seems that the gospel was likely written in honour of matthew, who likely wrote first edition of q in aramaic: written in antioch 80 90 ce. To explain why jerusalem was destroyed: the gospel writers, following mark, see that it was destroyed because jesus was rejected. Mark: jesus is the son of god (theological theme) Because luke and matthew both incorporate mark into their gospels: these are also central themes of their gospels. Jesus in the wilderness teaches people and gathers twelve baskets. This section is structured around 4 main panels: power panel 1: healing miracles. Jesus cures all types of disease: wisdom panel 1: controversy stories.
