By Mark D. Taylor, NLT Bible Translation Committee<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are four Gospels in the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The word gospel<\/em>, meaning \u201cgood news,\u201d is the traditional translation for the Greek term euangelion<\/em> (pronounced you-ahn-GEL-ee-on, with a hard g in the accented syllable). Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called Synoptic Gospels because they tell much of the story of the life and ministry of Jesus in a similar way. (In this context, synoptic<\/em> means seeing that two or more documents tell an account from a common viewpoint.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some elements of the story of Jesus are told in only two of the Gospels, some are told in all three of the Synoptics, and some are told in all four of the Gospels. But as we read the Gospels, we often find minor differences between the various accounts. For example, let\u2019s look at the story of Jesus\u2019 interaction with the \u201crich young ruler.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As highlighted in the above passages, the description of this man varies across the accounts. Matthew describes him as \u201csomeone . . . a young man . . . [who] had many possessions.\u201d Mark describes him as \u201ca man . . . [who] had many possessions.\u201d Luke describes him as \u201ca religious leader [or ruler] . . . [who] was very rich.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we look at the three Synoptic Gospels together, we see that he can be called a \u201crich young ruler.\u201d This descriptor is an example of a harmonization<\/em> of the Gospel accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Notice also how Jesus responds to the man\u2019s question in the three accounts. Matthew tells us that Jesus quoted five of the commandments from Exodus and Deuteronomy, along with an additional command from Leviticus (\u201cLove your neighbor as yourself\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark likewise tells us that Jesus quoted five of the commandments from Exodus and Deuteronomy. But Mark\u2019s account also includes \u201cYou must not cheat anyone,\u201d which is not a direct quotation of a command (though this idea is alluded to in the Old Testament), and no mention is made of the command from Leviticus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luke also tells us that Jesus quoted from these five commandments from Exodus and Deuteronomy, but with a slightly different ordering, and he does not include the command about cheating or the command from Leviticus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Does this suggest that there are errors in one or more of these passages from the Gospels? No, they simply tell the story with slightly different details. When we combine those details, we get a more complete picture than we get from any one of the Gospel writers. And this is the case in many stories throughout the Gospels. Study Bibles (including the NLT Study Bible<\/em> and the Life Application Study Bible<\/em>) often indicate where parallel passages occur, so readers can easily find and read the different accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are benefits to reading parallel passages in relation to each other, and there are benefits to reading through the Gospels on their own. Regardless, may we regularly read the stories and words of Jesus and allow them to transform us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Mark D. Taylor, NLT Bible Translation Committee There are four Gospels in the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The word gospel, meaning \u201cgood news,\u201d is the traditional translation for the Greek term euangelion (pronounced you-ahn-GEL-ee-on, with a hard g in the accented syllable). Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called Synoptic Gospels because […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[44,236,55],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6562"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6562"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6562\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6571,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6562\/revisions\/6571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Matthew 19:16-22 <\/td> Mark 10:17-22 <\/td> Luke 18:18-23<\/td><\/tr> 16<\/sup>Someone<\/mark> came to Jesus with this question: \u201cTeacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?\u201d<\/td> 17<\/sup><\/strong>As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man<\/mark> came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, \u201cGood Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?\u201d
18<\/sup><\/strong>\u201cWhy do you call me good?\u201d Jesus asked. \u201cOnly God is truly good. 19<\/sup><\/strong>But to answer your question, you know the commandments:
<\/td>18<\/sup><\/strong>Once a religious leader<\/mark> [other translations call him \u201ca ruler\u201d] asked Jesus this question: \u201cGood Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?\u201d
19<\/sup><\/strong>\u201cWhy do you call me good?\u201d Jesus asked him. \u201cOnly God is truly good. 20<\/sup><\/strong>But to answer your question, you know the commandments:<\/td><\/tr>17<\/sup><\/strong>\u201cWhy ask me about what is good?\u201d Jesus replied. \u201cThere is only One who is good. But to answer your question\u2014if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.\u201d
18<\/sup><\/strong>\u201cWhich ones?\u201d the man asked.
And Jesus replied: \u201c\u2018You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely.19<\/sup><\/strong>Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.\u2019*\u201d
20<\/sup><\/strong>\u201cI\u2019ve obeyed all these commandments,\u201d the young man<\/mark> replied. \u201cWhat else must I do?\u201d<\/td>\u2018You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.\u2019*\u201d
20<\/sup><\/strong>\u201cTeacher,\u201d the man replied, \u201cI\u2019ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.\u201d<\/td> \u2018You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother.\u2019\u201d
21<\/sup><\/strong>The man replied, \u201cI\u2019ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.\u201d<\/td><\/tr>21<\/sup><\/strong>Jesus told him, \u201cIf you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.\u201d<\/td> 21<\/sup><\/strong>Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. \u201cThere is still one thing you haven\u2019t done,\u201d he told him. \u201cGo and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.\u201d<\/td> 22<\/sup><\/strong>When Jesus heard his answer, he said, \u201cThere is still one thing you haven\u2019t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.\u201d<\/td><\/tr> 22<\/sup><\/strong>But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions<\/mark>.<\/td> 22<\/sup><\/strong>At this the man\u2019s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.<\/mark><\/td> 23<\/sup><\/strong>But when the man heard this he became very sad, for he was very rich.<\/mark><\/td><\/tr> Footnote: 19:18-19<\/strong> Exod 20:12-16; Deut 5:16-20; Lev 19:18.<\/td> Footnote: 10:19<\/strong> Exod 20:12-16; Deut 5:16-20.<\/td> Footnote: 18:20<\/strong> Exod 20:12-16; Deut 5:16-20.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n