Coloring Your Synopsis

A Color Scheme for Underlining

Different people use different color schemes and underlining methods for marking a synopsis. However you do it, the aim is to help you better visualize the relationships between the three synoptic gospels.

This method borrows primary and secondary colors to help you see what is going on with similar texts.

What Colors to Use Here are the rules for what colors to use where: Use black pencil to underline a word or phrase that appears in all three gospels. Use secondary colors for a word or phrase that occurs in two gospels: purple for material in Matthew & Mark. green for material in Mark & Luke. orange for material in Matthew & Luke. Use primary colors for a word or phrase that appears in only one gospel. red for Matthew. blue for Mark. yellow for Luke

Types of Lines

Solid Line for Exact Agreement

Where there is exact agreement use solid underlining.

Dashed Line for Same Word, Different Form of the Word

Where there is a tense change with verbal forms, or a case change with articles, adjectives, or nouns, underline with a dashed line. This will show that the agreement is close, but not exact.

Wondering what your synopsis will look like when you're finished with a text? Link to a sample underlined pericope here.

Wavy Line for Same Words, Different Word Order

Where you want to point out the fact that the same words are in the text, but they appear in a different order, make your line wavy.

Sequence of Coloring

This process is easier if you scan across columns first to find material that is in all three gospels, then in two, then underline what is left with the appropriate primary color.

Underline in the following sequence:

1. Material in all three gospels. Underline in black (solid and dashed) that which all three gospels share.
2. Material in two gospels. Underline with secondary colors (solid and dashed) that which two gospels share.
3. Material in only one gospel. Underline with primary colors (solid) every word that is not underlined at this point. This material is only in one gospel.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do I do when the gospel of John is on the same page?

Work carefully but not obsessively. The point of this system is not all of its rules, but rather what it helps you see. If you need to adapt part of this underlining scheme to help you grasp the similarities and differences among the synoptics, that's fine.

John's gospel is so different from the other three gospels in the New Testament that it is rare to find any word for word agreement between it and another gospel. If a text from John is on the same page, read it to see how it is different or similar to the other three gospels, but don't worry about underlining it.

What if two gospels are almost alike?

Don't underline two gospels as agreeing with each other unless they are identical. Look at pericope no. 14, for instance. "Bear fruit that befits repentance," and "Bear fruits that befit repentance," would be underlined in such a way as to draw attention to the difference between the words, "fruit" and "fruits," and the difference between "befit" and "befits." In other words, you would use solid underlining for the words "bear," "that"and "repentance," and a dashed underline for "fruit/fruits" and "befit/befits."

What's Next...

After you have underlined a pericope, you have some things to describe and decide. Continue to the next page for "Describe and Decide" steps for Comparing the Synoptic Gospels.

Next: What Does It All Mean?