DID YOU KNOW?

Mark is the shortest of the first three Gospels, at 661 verses. Roughly what share of those verses also appear in Matthew?

The answer

About 80 percent, by Raymond Brown's count. Matthew runs to 1,068 verses, so it has room for most of Mark and a great deal more. Luke, at 1,149 verses, has about 65 percent of Mark's verses.

Why it’s interesting

The stories all three Gospels tell are called the triple tradition. Jesus clearing the Temple in his last week is one of them (Mark 11:15-18; Matthew 21:12-13; Luke 19:45-46).

Scholarly consensus

Learn the Bible.

Not just the stories, but the history, authorship, and scholarship behind it.