Synoptic Gospels

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Jesus’ ethics and morals are still crystallised for Christians today by a virtue of the gospel of Matthew, along with the other synoptic gospels, revealing a deeper understating of the portrayal of Jesus. Mathew’s Gospel is written to mainly satisfy the Jewish beliefs, this may differ to the other synoptic gospels as they all had a specific structure and style of writing to portray Jesus depending on their audience and time. Matthew’s representations of Jesus as being a teacher, a fulfiller of the law and a king of the highest authority are still applicable to Christians today. These portrayals made by Matthew and the other synoptic gospels can certainly enrich the individual’s knowledge on Jesus and expand their faith as Christians.

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Matthews’s intentions were to show the Jews that Jesus was the king who had the highest authority as he was the son of God. The relation of Jesus to Abraham and King David, provided the Jews the evidence they needed to believe in Jesus as the king. This portrayal of Jesus as the king was evident through the actions of the three wise men who searched for Jesus as the king to give Him his gifts, this was shown through Matthew 2:2 stating "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” This quote can enrich the lives of Christians today as it is clear that Jesus has to be worshiped and all his teaching must be obeyed to find eternal life. At the age of two, Jesus and his family had to flee from Egypt out of the hands of King Herod who had ordered to kill Jesus due to his loyalty. This scene parallels with the story of Moses fleeing out of the hands of pharaoh. This is another sign that Matthew was writing to the Jews as he was yet again referring back to the old testament. Matthew is the only gospel who mentions the phrase “the kingdom of heaven”, every other synoptic gospel refers it to be the kingdom of God. This is because Matthew didn't want to mention the sacred name of God due to the sensitivity of the Jewish people. Even though the synoptic gospels kept a constant story of Jesus, not changing the known truths and traditions, it was reworded to suit their community at the time. Evident in Mark 10:45, Jesus is mainly represented as a servant of God and the people, rather than the king which is what the gospel of Matthew represents. The purpose of this was to show Jesus’ humanity and humbleness. Many christians today can use and relate to this quote to help them

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