A quick intro episode that discusses why the Gospel of Matthew has Jesus enter Jerusalem on two animals instead of one, and why Mark and Luke only have him on one. This episode also includes a brief introduction to the "Synoptic Problem."

THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM
The "Synoptic Problem" is the title used for the issue of how the first three Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) are related to each other. It is clear on a number of levels that there is literary dependence between the three. The current dominant theories are:

The 2 Source Hypothesis: This posits that the Gospel of Mark was the original Gospel, and then Matthew and Luke used Mark, along with a missing source which scholars call "Q" (based on the word Quelle for "source"), to write their Gospels.

The Farrer Theory: This theory removes the need for Q by presenting that Mark wrote his Gospel first, then Matthew used Mark, followed by Luke who used both Mark and Matthew.

The Griesbach Hypothesis: This theory sees the original Gospel being written by Matthew, which is then used by Luke, and then finally the author of Mark uses both Matthew and Luke for the composition of his Gospel.

The Augustinian Theory: First proposed by Augustine in the 5th century, this view holds that Matthew wrote his Gospel first, which was then used by Mark as a source, and finally Luke uses both Matthew and Mark.


SOME SCRIPTURE REFERENCES IN THIS EPISODE

• Entry into Jerusalem: Zechariah 9.9; Matthew 21:1-7; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:28-40; John 12:12-19
• Matthew's Doublets: 
  • Demonized man: Matt. 8:28–34; Mark 5:1–20; Luke 8:26–39
  • Blind Men: Matt. 9:27–31; Matt. 20:29–34; Mark 10:46–52; Luke 18:35–43
  • Deaf-Mute and Beelzebul: Matt. 9:32–34; Matt. 12:22–24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:14–15
  • Divorce: Matt. 5:27–32; 18:8–9; Matt. 19:3–12; Mark 9:43–48; Mark 10:2–12; Luke 16:18
  • Fruits: Matt. 7:15–20; Matt. 12:33–35; Luke 6:43–45
  • Sign of Jonah: Matt. 12:38–42; Matt. 16:1–2, 4; Mark 8:11–12; Luke 11:16, 29–32