Synoptic Gospels

 

This is a lesson that we did on the Synoptic Gospels. I started by explaining that Mathew, Mark and Luke were different than John because they all told the same story from different view points. I used the following example:

"If three people go to the zoo together and see all of the same exhibits, they are seeing everything from different view points. If later on they are asked to write about what they did, they wouldn't write the same thing. One person might have been fascinated by the zebra while another barely noticed the zebra but was amazed by the lions. Their accounts would be different even though they are writing about the same trip."

The Synoptic Gospels are like that. They each give a different perspective of some of the same events in Jesus' life.

The book of Matthew was written by a disciple. Before he met Jesus he was a tax collector. Tax collectors were looked at as thieves in those times. (He was not exactly winning any popularity contests!) He gave up his life of greed and possessions to follow Jesus. Matthew tells the story of Jesus the promised king. His Gospel was written to the Jews.

The Gospel of Mark was written by a preacher or evangelist. He was an interpreter for the apostle Peter at one time. His Gospel is written to the Romans. He tells the story of Jesus the servant and obedient son of the Father.

The Gospel of Luke was written by a doctor. As a doctor, Luke's interest was in Jesus as a man. He writes his Gospel to the Gentiles (non-Jews).

So each of these Gospels tell the same story, concentrating on different characteristics of Jesus, and with different audiences in mind.

I drew out these bible character outlines for Dr X. to decorate and cut out. And yes, I realize they are bow legged. I was trying to make them easy for Dr. X to cut out. We're not talking masterpiece artwork here, quite obviously - just a Sharpie outline.

He added a money bag to Matthew (That is the Israel new shekel sign on the money bag, in case you were wondering -  Dr. X's idea.) and a stethoscope to Luke. He drew their faces and colored them. Then he glued them to construction paper. I cut three rectangles out of construction paper, folded each in half and glued them under the Gospel writers. On the front section we wrote out the name and occupation of the each of the writers.

 

On the back of the front section we indicated the characteristic of Jesus that the writer was focusing on. And on the opposite section we labeled the audience that each writer had in mind.

 

 

Questions and comments are always welcome. You can also email me at adventuresofahomeschoolmama@gmail.com.

Thanks for stopping by! Please make sure to check back. I'm just getting started but I will be adding new stuff daily.