|
Q&A Home > S > Synoptic Gospel Why did synoptic gospels speak very little about Christ divinity? Each of the writers of the four accounts of the Holy Gospel spoke about the divinity of Christ in his own way. However, each of the Synoptic Gospels had a specific target audience: St. Matthew addressed the Jews; St. Mark addressed the Romans; St. Luke addressed the Gentiles. St. Matthew was a disciple and apostle of Christ. St. Mark was a young man from a godly family that often hosted the Lord's significant events as well as the apostles and the formation of the early Church. Thus, he was a keen eyewitness, who was later mentored by his uncle St. Barnabas, traveled with St. Peter, and eventually served directly with St. Paul. St. Luke was the only Gospel writer not of Jewish descent. He was a physician, historian, and painter, who also accompanied St. Paul and wrote the Book of Acts. St. Luke was detail-oriented, and keenly sensitive to the outcasts evinced in his narrative. St. John wrote his account of the Holy Gospel after the others. The prefix "syn" in Greek and Latin means "with" or "together" as in a word that goes together with another similar word or meaning. "Optic" in Latin and Greek refers to "sight." Thus, the Synoptic Gospels are together or similar in view of the events, but focused their narratives from the perspective of their target audiences. However, St. John had the privilege of divine revelations which not only encompassed the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, but was written long after the martyrdom of the other three writers, and included more unique and remarkable events that were later revealed to him about Christ's divinity that comprise the last book [Revelation] of the Holy Scripture. Thus, some biblical scholars believe that St. John may have actually written the Book of Revelation prior to his account of the Holy Gospel during the last few years of his life between 80-90 AD in Ephesus, because he was in Patmos prior when he wrote the Book of Revelation.
|  |