Artifact:

Coming into Religion 103: Intro to the New Testament I had never looked at the Bible from a

historical standpoint. Reading the New Testament as a historian was one of my more interesting

experiences in school that I’ve had. I believe that John’s presentation of Jesus is compatible with the other

Synoptic Gospels. The passion narrative, the teachings, and who Jesus is as a person all lead to the belief

that they are more alike, than they are different.

The most obvious factor that points to John being compatible with the other Synoptic Gospels

has to be the chronology of Jesus’ life and his passion narrative. They all overlap each other at some

point. They may have different certain details but both capture the same exact passion narrative route. In

Matthew 26:34 Jesus states, “I tell you the truth this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown

me three times.” This was Jesus talking to Peter after Peter had told Jesus that he will never will fall away

from him. Compare that to John 13:38 where he says, “Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell

you the truth, before the rooster crows you will disown me three times!” This was also in response to

Peter stating that he would lay down his life for Jesus. Both of these use the same exact disown me

phrasing in response to the same disciple, Peter. This is an example of Jesus predicting Peter betraying

him three times in Matthew and in John. In Mark 14:47 there is a section talking about how one of the

men who had come to arrest Jesus, cut off one of the High Priest's right ear. Then in John 18:10, the High

Priest who had his right ear cut off is mentioned as well. This is quite the miniscule fact to have in

mentioned in both Mark as well as John. In both Luke and John during Jesus’ crucifixion there is a sign at

the bottom of his cross that labels him as “The King of The Jews”. This could also be viewed as a

miniscule detail that both John and Luke include. As well as both John and Luke then speak of the death,

the burial, and Jesus’ resurrection in that sequential order.

The second of the three factors that points to John and the rest of the Synoptic Gospels’

presentations of Jesus being compatible are the teachings. Jesus’ message is fundamentally the same
throughout the Synoptic Gospels and John. One example of this is in Jesus being able to foretell the

knowledge of his death. In John 12:23 Jesus states that, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be

glorified.” Little did Andrew and Philip know that Jesus was talking about himself. Jesus also continued

to say in John 12:32, “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” The

scripture says that this was Jesus foretelling the type of death he was going to die. In Luke Jesus predicts

his death multiple times. One of these is in Luke 18:32, “He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They

will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him, and kill him.” Once again the disciples did not

understand that Jesus was talking about, especially that he was talking about himself. In Mark he predicts

his death multiple times just like in Luke. In Mark 10:34 Jesus speaks nearly the exact same quote as in

Luke 18:32. Then in Matthew 20:19 it is the same as those two verses. All three Synoptic Gospels convey

the same message and that message is in line with the message that John preaches. The disciples don’t

understand that Jesus is speaking about himself when he speaks of the Son of Man to be killed and then

raised from the dead. In Matthew 18:3 Jesus speaks about the principle of accepting God. “I tell you the

truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”

This is a basic teaching about the principle of being innocent to be accepted by God. This aligns with

John 3:3. “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” This is the

fundamentally same principle being taught both in John and in Matthew by Jesus. He is attempting to

convince Nicodemus in John then in Matthew is attempting to teach the disciples. Two different

people/groups being taught the same exact “born-again” or “innocence” message.

The third and final factor that I believe shows that the Synoptic Gospels’ and John’s presentation

of Jesus and his message are compatible is the person that Jesus is portrayed as. In the beginning of John

Jesus is described as the Lamb of God. Who is meant to take the sin away from the world (John 1:29).

This is something that is in line with a reading in the beginning of Matthew. “She will give birth to a son,

and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21
speaks as Jesus the same way that John 1:29 does. He is meant to be the one who takes away sin from the

people of Jerusalem. In John 13:14 Jesus talks about himself being a teacher. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and

‘Lord’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.” He then follows that with showing how since he washed his

disciples feet, they should do the same for others. The phrase that his home is, “No servant is greater than

his master.” He is really trying to hit home the idea that he is a leader by example and what he does, not

what he says. This is seen in Mark 10:45. Jesus states, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be

served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” This was following Jesus telling his

disciples in 10:44 that they must be slaves to all for then they will be first. This is instilling the same idea

that Jesus is trying to preach to his followers that they must lead through service. Overall through all the

gospels Jesus is seen and the messiah. He is the chosen one to lead the Jews away from Roman rule.

Throughout the Synoptic Gospels and John the reader gets the sense that all of them are

compatible and connected. All four have extremely similar passion narratives as well as teachings

throughout those narratives. As well as the presentation as who Jesus is as a person. The belief that they

are compatible is not only the most popular belief among scholars but, the most logical one proven by the

word itself.

Reflection:
 Carroll University advertises itself as a Presbyterian University, however in my experience the

only taste of religion that I got was when I signed myself up for Intro to the New Testament. I had never

had any previous experience learning about religion outside of bible study when I was in elementary

school. Therefore, it is safe to say that I was not the most knowledgeable about any of the Testaments.

Our final essay gave us a prompt to discuss the Synoptic Gospels and John. My thesis was that they all

had very similar narratives, and that they followed the passion narrative. Thanks to the communication

program I was able to convey the message that I was trying to, about a subject I had very little knowledge

on. My entire paper was very well structured. I was able to make arguments and then follow them up with

examples that were discussed in class. Previously to my communication experience, I would’ve just gone

straight into my points. The communication program taught me how to effectively communicate points

using arguments and examples. Another thing that the communication program had taught me was

empathy, as discussed in learning outcome #2. Being able to see the bible in the historical standpoint that

our professor wanted us to view it in allowed me to more effectively communicate the message that I

wanted to.