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Why are Matthew, Mark, and Luke called the Synoptic Gospels?

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Mosaic: Christianity — Christianity Christ as Ruler, with the Apostles and Evangelists (represented by the beasts). The female figures are believed to be either Santa Pudenziana and Santa Práxedes or symbols of the Jewish and Gentile churches. Mosaic in the apse of Santa Pudenziana basilica, Rome, 401–417 ce.

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the Synoptic Gospels because they present similar narratives regarding the life and death of Jesus Christ.12

The term is derived from the Greek word synoptikos, meaning "seen together". Since the 1780s, these three books have been grouped under this name because their structure, content, and wording are so strikingly similar that they can be arranged in parallel columns—a format known as a "synopsis" or Gospel harmony—to allow for a direct comparison of their accounts.31

In contrast, the Gospel According to John is excluded from this group because it follows a different arrangement and offers a distinct perspective on Christ. The high degree of literary agreement among the Synoptic Gospels has led to extensive scholarly study known as the "Synoptic problem," which examines the complex literary and source-critical relationships between these texts.13