Liberty University NBST 515: New Testament Orientation I: The Gospels

Synoptic Gospels - Matthew, Mark, and Luke J.J. Griesbach - Creator of the term: "Synoptic Gospels" Matthew (Order of Writing) - Traditionally considered to be the first Gospel written (Irenaeus, Clement, & Origen) Mark (Order of Writing) - Modern scholars believe this to be the first Gospel written Q - A supposed document that (along with Mark) influenced the creation of Matthew and Luke in the Two-Source Theory Form Criticism - Argument against the miracles and spiritual emphasis of the New Testament in order to "demythologize" based on idea that oral sharing and tradition and writing led to addition of miracles and Divine status of Jesus. Source Criticism - The challenge that of the source of information that the Gospel writers wrote from other sources/heavily relied on Mark. Literary Criticism - Places Gospels side-by-side to determine differences, origins, etc. Redaction Criticism - The challenge that the authors of the Gospels "redacted" (or edited) from other sources in order to add material. Author of Matthew - The apostle Matthew who was also called Levi. Location of the writing of Matthew - Unknown Audience of Matthew - Especially for Jewish Christians Pattern of writing in Matthew - Often compared to the Pentateuch (Torah) for its seeming division into five sections. Jesus as... (Matthew) - King Matthew's Opening - Genealogy presenting Books that contain the "Olivet Discourse" on the end times - Matthew (25)/Mark (13)/Luke (21) Traditional origins of Matthew - Taught orally before written Key word in Matthew - Kingdom (Used 1/3 of all uses in the New Testament) Dating of the Gospel of Matthew - Approx. AD 60-65 Matthew's closing statement - Great Commission Unique signature that shows Matthew authorship - Emphasis on financial transaction details as Matthew was a tax collector (only Gospel that shares the story of Jesus paying taxes) Language Matthew was written in - Some suggest Matthew was written in Hebrew before being translated to Greek, but most modern scholars refute this idea. Author of Mark - Mark (Undisputed) who wrote primarily from the words of Peter Jesus as... (Mark) - The perfect servant. Location Mark was written - Rome Primary audience of Mark - Roman Christians Date of Mark's writing - Approx. AD 65 Key word in Mark - Immediately (Continual moving actions) Key theme in Mark - Conciseness Mark, separate from Matthew and Luke - Matthew and Luke share the most similarities which has caused many to believe that Mark was written first and Matthew/Luke borrowed from Mark and Q. Key feature of Mark - No genealogy