The Synoptic Gospels An Index of Themes

1. The Synoptic GospelsAn Index of Themes • The Gospel According to St. Matthew • Jesus as the Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy • The Ecclesiastical Gospel • The Gospel According to St. Mark • Jesus, the Christ and Son of God • The Authority of Christ • The Gospel According to St. Luke • Discipleship means Renunciation • The Universality of Salvation

2. Luke 1:52-53 “He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich sent away empty.”

3. Luke 5:10-11 “But Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on it is men you will catch.’ Then, bringing their boats back to land, they left everything and followed him.”

4. Luke 5:27-28 “When he went out after this, he noticed a tax collector, Levi by name, sitting by the customs house, and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And leaving everything he got up and followed him.”

5. Luke 6:20-21, 24-25 “How happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God. Happy you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied.” “But alas for you who are rich: you are having your consolation now. Alas for you who have your fill now: you shall go hungry.”

6. Luke 9:3 “Take nothing for the journey: neither staff, nor haversack, nor bread, nor money; and let none of you take a spare tunic.”

7. Luke 9:23-24 “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross every day and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, that man will save it.”

8. Luke 12:15 “Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for a man’s life is not made secure by what he owns, even when he has more than he needs.”

9. Luke 14:26-27 “If any man comes to me without hating his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, he cannot be my disciple. Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”

10. Luke 14:33 “So in the same way, none of you can be my disciple unless he gives up all his possessions.”

11. Luke 16:14-15 “The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and laughed at him. He said to them, ‘You are the very ones who pass yourselves off as virtuous in people’s sight, but God knows your hearts. For what is thought highly of by men is loathsome in the sight of God.”

12. Luke 18:22 “There is still one thing you lack. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

13. Luke 18:24-25 “How hard it is for those who have riches to make their way into the kingdom of God! Yes, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

14. Luke 18:29-30 “I tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, wife, brothers, parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God who will not be given repayment many times over in this present time and, in the world to come, eternal life.” Home

15. Luke 2:29-32 “Now, Master, you can let your servant go in peace, just as you promised; because my eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared for all nations to see, a light to enlighten the pagans and the glory of your people Israel.”

16. Luke 3:5-6 “Every valley will be filled in, every mountain and hill be laid low, winding ways will be straightened and rough roads made smooth. And all mankind shall see the salvation of God.”

17. Luke 9:6 “So they set out and went from village to village proclaiming to Good New and healing everywhere.”

18. Luke 10:1-2 “After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of Him, in pairs, to all the towns and places He Himself was to visit.”

19. Luke 9:55, 10:25-37 Salvation is not to be refused even to the Samaritans: “But He turned and rebuked them…” “But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion when he saw him…”

20. Luke 24: 46-48 “So you see how it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise again from the dead, and that, in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses to this.” Home

21. Matthew 1:22-23 “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means “God is with us.”

22. Matthew 2:15 “He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

23. Matthew 2:17-18 “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means “God is with us.”

24. Matthew 2:23 “He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He shall be called a Nazorean.”

25. Matthew 4:13-16 “He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled: “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by deathlight has arisen.”

26. Matthew 8:17 “When it was evening, they brought him many who were possessed by demons, and he drove out the spirits by a wordand cured all the sick, to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet:“He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.”

27. Matthew 12:17-21 “but he warned them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom I delight; I shall place my spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not contend or cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

28. Matthew 13:34-35 “All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables, to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation [of the world].”

29. Matthew 27:9-10 “Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of a man with a price on his head, a price set by some of the Israelites, and they paid it out for the potter’s field just as the Lord had commanded me.” Home

30. Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”

31. Matthew 16:18 “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.”

32. Matthew 18:15-17 “If your brother sins [against you], go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.”

33. Matthew 28:19-20 “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Home

34. Mark 1:1 “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

35. Mark 8:27 - 29 “Jesus and his disciples left for the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say I am? And they told him, ‘John the Baptist, others Elijah, others again, one of the prophets.’ ‘ But you,’ he asked them, ‘who do you say I am?’ Peter spoke up and said to him, ‘You are the Christ.”

36. Mark 14:61 - 62 “The high priest put a second question to him saying, ‘Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?’ “I am,’ said Jesus, ‘and you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

37. Mark 15:32 “’Let the Christ, the king of Israel, come down from the cross now, for us to see it and believe.’” Home

38. Mark 1:22 “ And his teaching made a deep impression on them because, unlike the scribes, he taught them with authority.”

39. Mark 1:27 “The people were so astonished that they started asking one another what it all meant, saying, ‘Here is a teaching that is new, and with authority behind it: he gives orders even to unclean spirits and they obey him.’”

40. Mark 2:10 “But to prove to you that the Son of man has authority to forgive sins on earth”

41. Mark 6:7 “ Then he summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs, giving them authorityover unclean spirits.”

42. Mark 11:28 - 33 “ and they said to him, ‘What authority have you for acting like this? Or who gave you authority to act like this?’ Jesus said to them, ‘And I will ask you a question, just one; answer me and I will tell you my authority for acting like this. John’s baptism, what was its origin, heavenly or human? Answer me that.’ And they argued this way among themselves, “If we say heavenly, he will say, Then why did you refuse to believe him? But date we say human?’ They had the people to fear, for everyone held that John had been a real prophet. So their reply to Jesus was, ‘We do not know.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Nor will I tell you my authorityfor acting like this.’ Home