The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke each give a slightly different account on Peter’s confession. There are similarities in each which include the words said and the tone. There are also differences between them. Some pieces are left out of others and some things are described in different ways. The Traditional Theory solution to the synoptic problem could account for the similarities and differences observed.
There are many pieces that remain the same within the three gospels when it comes to Peter’s confession. In all three occurrences, Jesus is with the disciples. Another similarity between these stories lies within Mark and Luke. Jesus asks the disciples who they think he is. The answer is the same in Mark and Luke. "John the Baptist; but others say, Eli'jah;” is the answer that is given. Next comes another similarity within all three which is the answer that Peter gave. Peter said that Jesus was “The Christ of God”. The ending is another similarity that all three share. Jesus strictly told the disciples to not tell anyone that he was the Christ. All three of these gospels also have the same response that Jesus gave when commanding nobody to say that he was the Christ. "The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised." The last similarity is between Matthew and Mark. "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not on the side of God, but of men." That is the final verse regarding Peter’s confession in both Matthew and Mark.
Even though there are many similarities in the three gospels relating to Peter’s confession, there are also a large number of differences. The setting is something that is left out in Luke. It is also referred to a little differently in Matthew and Mark. Caesare'a Philip'pi is the place where this story takes place. In Matthew, this place is referred to as a district. In Mark, it is referred to as “villages”. Lastly, Luke does not reference Caesare'a Philip'pi at all. The next difference lies within the question. Even though Jesus asks essentially the same question in all three, the wording is different. In Matthew, he says "But who do you say that I am?" In Mark, he asks who “men” says that he is instead of directly asking the disciples as if only talking to them. Lastly, Mark says “people” instead of “men” which could refer to even more people. The answer that is given to the question is the same in all three gospels, but the wording is different. This is similar to how the question was worded differently. It is very confusing to some people to see the wording being randomly changed in places. "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." This is how Peter replies in Matthew. In Mark, Peter says "You are the Christ." In Luke, Peter replies "The Christ of God." Why are the replies different in all three? The three writers could simply have just written them in a different way. Often times writers will describe the same events in different ways. The important aspect is that they all ultimately say the same thing, which is that Jesus is the Christ. Matthew has a very different account of Jesus after finding out that Peter knew who he was. Jesus seems to teach and inform the disciples in Matthew, saying "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it…” In Mark and Luke, Jesus immediately gives a somewhat mean response, declaring to them that they are not to tell anyone what they know.
The Traditional Theory solution to the synoptic problem could account for the similarities and differences observed. The Traditional Theory centers around Matthew being the first gospel that was written. Mark then got some of its framework from Matthew. Lastly, Luke used both Matthew & Mark when being put together. This is a very feasible proposal when looking at Peter’s confession. Content wise, Matthew has the most writing. This is followed by Mark, and finally Luke. Looking at the similarities, interestingly enough Mark compares to Matthew the most, and Luke compares to Mark the most. This seems to follow that Traditional Theory that was mentioned above. Luke and Matthew are the most different, which would make sense because they were written the furthest apart. This raises the question of why some of the gospels leave out certain parts. Mark and Luke left out most of the response Jesus gave to Peter after finding out that he knew the truth. It could be that Matthew simply put the wrong text in the wrong place. Mark and Luke could have left this out because they did want anyone to think that this was the basis of the church. Regardless, Mark and Luke are both significantly shorter than Matthew, meaning many more details were left out. Mark and Luke may have wanted to be short and to the point, while Matthew liked to include more specific details. It is important to stress again that even though there are so many differences, they are still ultimately the same story.
