Szabó János Bence. A tömeg szerepe a szinoptikus evangéliumokban

The role of the crowd in the Synoptic Gospels This study examines the role, composition, and theological significance of the “crowd” (ὄχλος – okhlos) within the narrative framework of the Synoptic Gospels. Its central focus is how Matthew, Mark, and Luke portray the multitudes surrounding Jesus and what narrative and theological functions they assign to them. The research provides a detailed linguistic analysis of the Greek terms referring to groups of people (ὄχλος, πλῆθος,
λαός), highlighting their lexical distinctions and theological nuances. It explores the crowd’s geographical and cultural composition, the circumstances of its first appearances in each Gospel, and the diverse reactions of the multitude to Jesus’ teachings, miracles, and person. The study demonstrates that the Synoptic depiction of the crowd is marked by ambivalence: the multitude can serve as an attentive audience, a witness to Jesus’ miraculous works, yet also as an obstacle or a source of misunderstanding. Thus, the crowd functions not merely as a narrative backdrop but as a theologically charged element through which the evangelists present the dynamic interaction between divine revelation and human response.

Keywords: crowd, exegesis, Theological characterization, synoptic gospels, Lexical comparison(ὄχλος – πλῆθος – λαός)