Back to BSN: Glossary: Bible
Related: Context for Any Chapter of the Gospels
- Because the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke follow a similar pattern, they are called the “synoptic” Gospels – “syn” meaning “same,” and “optic” meaning “view.”
- Although we do not have historical certainty about the order in which these three Gospels were written, it appears that Matthew’s and Luke’s are expansions of Mark’s Gospel – Matthew’s for Jews and Luke’s for Gentiles.
- Mark’s Gospel was Peter’s Gospel. Like Peter, it was first, action-oriented, and to the point.
- The Gospel of John, presumably written after those three, takes a different approach – recording fewer events, but going into more detail about them.
The Duty of a Man 