Introduction to the Synoptic Gospels

In this book respected New Testament scholar Pheme Perkins delivers a clear, fresh, informed introduction to the earliest written accounts of Jesus — Matthew, Mark, and Luke — situating those canonical Gospels within the wider world of oral storytelling and literary production of the first and second centuries. Cutting through the media confusion over new Gospel finds, Perkinss Introduction to the Synoptic Gospels presents a balanced, responsible look at how the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke came to be and what they mean.

John P. Meier
University of Notre Dame
"Pheme Perkins has dedicated her career to communicating her professional expertise in both the New Testament and the Gnostic Gospels to her students in the classroom and to a wider audience of interested clergy and educated laity. Now she distills both her vast knowledge and her teaching skills in this book on the Synoptic Gospels. But the scope of this volume is much broader than the standard introduction to the Synoptics. Perkins situates the Synoptics within the wider contexts of the composition and function of books in the ancient Greco-Roman world, the development of the idea of a New Testament canon, and the continuation of the Gospel genre in the Gospels of the second and third centuries. College and university professors will welcome this volume as a valuable teaching tool."
Adela Yarbro Collins
Yale University
"This book not only provides a much-needed general introduction to the Synoptic Gospels but also introduces its audience to the apocryphal Gospels, including the Gospel of Judas. Perkins's treatment is fair and balanced, and her analogies to contemporary culture are inspired and illuminating."
Margaret M. Mitchell
University of Chicago Divinity School
"Pheme Perkins provides an accessibly written, evenhanded, and carefully reasoned guide to major issues in Gospel studies. In economical fashion she enables the reader to gain a sure understanding of the place of Synoptic and apocryphal Gospels in ancient literary culture and in the development of early Christianity. Highly recommended."
Daniel J. Harrington, S.J.
Weston Jesuit School of Theology
"Pheme Perkins provides a comprehensive and up-to-date discussion of each Synoptic Gospel and a balanced analysis of all the apocryphal and Gnostic Gospels that have attracted so much attention recently. Her knowledge of the ancient texts, long experience as a teacher, sound judgment, and clarity of expression make this book a reliable guide for college and seminary students and for all who are perplexed about the Gospels and the development of early Christianity."
Church of England Newspaper
"Perkins' book is an excellent resource that deserves to be read widely. . . It should be on the reading list for undergraduates and ordinands, and would make an excellent (and affordable) refresher for clergy wanting to reacquaint themselves with recent developments in the academic study of the synoptic gospels."
"Choice"
"Perkins undertakes the challenge of explaining the what and why of the methods scholars use in gospel study. Although this text is not for scholars, it focuses on broad-scale scholarly consensus. Highly recommended."
"America"
"The author's long experience as a teacher, her knowledge and love of the ancient texts, sound judgment and clarity of thought and expression make this introduction to the Synoptic Gospels a trustworthy guide for all who are perplexed about Christian origins. It can serve as a fine textbook for college and seminary courses, as well as a reliable survey for all those who want to know where Gospel studies are today.""

John P. Meier
-- University of Notre Dame
"Pheme Perkins has dedicated her career to communicating her professional expertise in both the New Testament and the Gnostic Gospels to her students in the classroom and to a wider audience of interested clergy and educated laity. Now she distills both her vast knowledge and her teaching skills in this book on the Synoptic Gospels. But the scope of this volume is much broader than the standard introduction to the Synoptics. Perkins situates the Synoptics within the wider contexts of the composition and function of books in the ancient Greco-Roman world, the development of the idea of a New Testament canon, and the continuation of the Gospel genre in the Gospels of the second and third centuries. College and university professors will welcome this volume as a valuable teaching tool."

Adela Yarbro Collins
-- Yale University
"This book not only provides a much-needed general introduction to the Synoptic Gospels but also introduces its audience to the apocryphal Gospels, including the Gospel of Judas. Perkins's treatment is fair and balanced, and her analogies to contemporary culture are inspired and illuminating."

Margaret M. Mitchell
-- University of Chicago Divinity School
"Pheme Perkins provides an accessibly written, evenhanded, and carefully reasoned guide to major issues in Gospel studies. In economical fashion she enables the reader to gain a sure understanding of the place of Synoptic and apocryphal Gospels in ancient literary culture and in the development of early Christianity. Highly recommended."

Daniel J. Harrington, S.J.
-- Weston Jesuit School of Theology
"Pheme Perkins provides a comprehensive and up-to-date discussion of each Synoptic Gospel and a balanced analysis of all the apocryphal and Gnostic Gospels that have attracted so much attention recently. Her knowledge of the ancient texts, long experience as a teacher, sound judgment, and clarity of expression make this book a reliable guide for college and seminary students and for all who are perplexed about the Gospels and the development of early Christianity."

Church of England Newspaper
"Perkins' book is an excellent resource that deserves to be read widely. . . It should be on the reading list for undergraduates and ordinands, and would make an excellent (and affordable) refresher for clergy wanting to reacquaint themselves with recent developments in the academic study of the synoptic gospels."

Choice
"Perkins undertakes the challenge of explaining the what and why of the methods scholars use in gospel study. Although this text is not for scholars, it focuses on broad-scale scholarly consensus. Highly recommended."

America
"The author's long experience as a teacher, her knowledge and love of the ancient texts, sound judgment and clarity of thought and expression make this introduction to the Synoptic Gospels a trustworthy guide for all who are perplexed about Christian origins. It can serve as a fine textbook for college and seminary courses, as well as a reliable survey for all those who want to know where Gospel studies are today."