The Synoptic Problem – Four Views

Leading Scholars Debate a Key New Testament Topic

The relationship between Matthew, Mark, and Luke is one of the most contested topics in Gospel studies. How do we account for the close similarities--and differences--in the Synoptic Gospels? In the last few decades, the standard answers to the typical questions regarding the Synoptic Problem have come under fire, while new approaches have surfaced. This up-to-date introduction articulates and debates the four major views. Following an overview of the issues, leading proponents of each view set forth their positions and respond to each of the other views. A concluding chapter summarizes the discussion and charts a direction for further study.

Stanley E. Porter (PhD, University of Sheffield) is president, dean, professor of New Testament, and Roy A. Hope Chair in Christian Worldview at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario. A prolific scholar, he has authored, coauthored, or edited more than 130 books, including The Pastoral Epistles, Sacred Tradition in the New Testament, Linguistic Analysis of the Greek New Testament, The Synoptic Problem, Interpretation for Preaching and Teaching, and Origins of New Testament Christology.

Bryan R. Dyer (PhD, McMaster Divinity College) is senior acquisitions editor at Baker Academic and a part-time faculty member of religion at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is the author of Suffering in the Face of Death and the coeditor of Paul and Ancient Rhetoric and The Bible and Social Justice.