synoptics
Synoptics refers to the first three canonical Gospels of the New Testament—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—so named because they can be viewed together in parallel and share a large amount of content and order. The term derives from the Greek synoptikos, meaning “seen together.” The Gospel of John is not considered a synoptic, due to substantial differences in content, chronology, and style.
These three texts are characterized by a substantial overlap of material, often in similar sequence and wording,
The most influential explanation is the two-source hypothesis, which posits that Mark was written first and
Scholarly consensus generally places Mark earlier (roughly the 60s–70s CE) and Matthew and Luke in the following