Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John - ebook: Gospels in Parallel

By Kyle N. Koenig

The four Gospels (Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John) in the Bible’s New Testament cover the stories of Jesus’ life, however, they are known to contain variations of those stories. Some variations are simply alternative words or rephrased sentences that retain the thought and meaning of the text between Gospels. Other variations, however, have the appearance of introducing changes to the subject content of those shared stories.

This book groups verses from the four Gospels according to story sections and arranges them in a side-by-side format. This layout allows the reader to compare and contrast the differently worded story versions as written by the authors of the four Gospels. The grouped stories are ordered to follow the general timeline of Jesus’ life: birth, teaching, death, and resurrection.

The Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke on several occasions share identical, or nearly identical, segments of story text. The similarly worded text between the first three Gospels is referred to as being synoptic or “together seeing” because the Gospel authors seemingly either borrowed text from one another or had access to common original witness writings. This book identifies the instances of synoptic text sharing.

The biblical content of this book is a modern day translation of the American Standard Version (ASV) Bible. Archaic words, spellings, and sentence phrasings have been translated to more closely match the modern English language characteristics and sentence structure used today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Aug 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9781312490260

Book preview

Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John

Gospels in Parallel

Kyle N. Koenig

Copyright

Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John

Gospels in Parallel

First Edition 2023, revised

Copyright © 2023 by Kyle N. Koenig

ISBN 978-1-312-49026-0

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

This book is a translation derivative of the public domain American Standard Version (ASV) Bible.

Preface

The Gospels have always been a part of my Christian life. They were read to me when I was small and later when I learned to read for myself I encountered them often as I paged through the Bible, jumping from book to book, story to story. Gospel verses were showcased every Sunday and I became aware how important they were, not just within the New Testament, but within the whole of Christianity itself. They told the wonderful and horrific stories about Jesus and set the foundation for what it means to be a follower of Christ.

Over time I recognized that each Gospel had its own unique take on the events surrounding Jesus, either seen from a different angle or with a different emphasis or perspective. Some non-Christians see these differences as faults or contradictions and use them as reasons to dismiss the scriptures. Even some Christians find themselves troubled by the apparent inconsistencies and try to minimize or avoid any direct comparisons between the Gospels. On their own each Gospel is perfect but when critically compared to each other, well, some eyebrows raise.

I entered into a new phase in my Christian life. I started to critically analyze the scriptures and dig into the historical provenance and complex chain of literary events that culminated in the scriptures we have today. I eventually arrived at the Gospels and, knowing about the differences, decided to do a critical assessment of my own. How much damage are we talkin’ here?

I found as many instances as I could of associated and overlapping pericope verses and placed them side by side for comparison. I then reordered all the pericopes so they were in the general timeline of Jesus’ life. When I finished putting all the verses together in that structure something special happened that I did not expect. For me, this new arrangement of the Gospels sprang to life like I had never experienced the Gospels before. I had expected to see a dry pile of words ready for analysis but what I got felt like the Holy Spirit had just hit me in the temple with a golden brick. All the variant verses were right there in front of me and I could critically assess them all day long if I wanted but instead I saw a single Gospel, one where the Holy Spirit revealed different knowledge to different people at different times for different reasons. For me, the Gospels were not meant to be analyzed but to be experienced, not to be dismissed but to be embraced.

Here they are: the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John, together. By all means, compare their similarities and differences, their uniqueness and sameness. That’s why I created this book. But don’t miss the opportunity to read them together as a single Gospel.

I recommend you approach this book as you would any other book by reading it from beginning to end. However, I recognize the book structure may take some time to get used to. When a pericope section is represented by more than one Gospel the verses from each of the contributing Gospels will be separated by colored brackets:

Man from Cyrene Carries Jesus’ Cross

Mark 15:21 And they compelled one passing by, Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to go with them, so he could carry his cross.

Matthew 27:32 And as they came out, they found a man from Cyrene, Simon by name: they compelled him to go with them, so he could carry his cross.

Each Gospel bracket will contain one or more sections of Gospel verses related to that pericope. You can read through each Gospel variant in order or choose to circle back through all of them and compare. However, don’t expect to be able to jump to any book, chapter, and verse like you can with the Bible. This book is not structured that way. Think of it as an integrated story of Jesus. You might just experience something new.

This book is a modern day translation of the public domain American Standard Version (ASV) Bible. I replaced the archaic spelling and a majority of the outdated sentence structure and phrasing with the current spelling and phrasing used today, but I took great care to retain the thought, meaning, and intent behind the words.

Kyle N. Koenig

Historically Unsupported Additional Verses

The following verses have been omitted from this translation of the Gospels. These verses are present in the King James Version (KJV) and some associated KJV revisions but are considered by most biblical scholars to have been added without early witness sources centuries after the earliest manuscripts were written. The verses are being omitted from this work to remain consistent with the earliest witness manuscripts.

The verse numbers of the omitted verses are included in the text for reference and are placed in square brackets: [26]

Mark 7:16 – KJV: If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

Mark 9:44 – KJV: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

Mark 9:46 – KJV: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

Mark 11:26 – KJV: But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Mark 15:28 – KJV: And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors.

Mark 16:9-20 (extended ending) – KJV: "9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. 10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. 12 After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. 13 And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. 14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. 15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. 19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen."

Matthew 17:21 – KJV: Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

Matthew 18:11 – KJV: For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.

Matthew 23:14 – KJV: Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.

Luke 17:36 – KJV: Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

Luke 23:17 – KJV: For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.

John 5:4 – KJV: For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.

Synoptic Gospels Shared Texts

On several occasions the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke share identical, or nearly identical, segments of story text. The similarly worded text between the first three Gospels is referred to as being synoptic, or together seeing, because the Gospel authors seemingly either borrowed text from one another or had access to common original witness writings.

Since the late 19th century most biblical scholars have aligned with the Marcan priority hypothesis that proposes the Gospel of Mark was the first of the four written and the authors of Matthew and Luke had access to Mark’s writings.

Text that is overlapping to some degree across the first three Gospels, Mark, Matthew, and Luke, are identified as Synoptic Triple Tradition.

Several instances exist where Matthew and Luke have similarly worded overlapping text but Mark does not include those texts, thereby excluding Mark as the source. Text that is overlapping between the Gospels of Matthew and Luke are identified as Synoptic Double Tradition.

Other synoptic combinations exist with Mark sharing text with one other Gospel: Mark and Matthew, or Mark and Luke.

The Gospel of John is unique and shares almost no text with the other three Gospels. Because of the lack of overlap with the other Gospels John is not included in the synoptic comparisons and combinations.

Gospels in Parallel

Gospel Manuscript Titles

Mark and Matthew

Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Matthew 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Gospel Introductions

Luke and John

Luke 1:1 Since many have taken in hand to draw up a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us,

2 even as they delivered them to us, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and keepers of the word,

3 it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write to you in order, most excellent Theophilus;

4 that you might know the certainty concerning the things in which you were instructed.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made through him; and outside him was not anything made that had been made.

4 In him was life; and the life was the light of everyone.

5 And the light shines in the darkness; and the darkness did not apprehended it.

6 There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John.

7 The same came for witness, that he might give witness of the light, that all might believe through him.

8 He was not the light, but came that he might give witness of the light.

9 There was the true light, that is the light which lights every man, coming into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him.

11 He came to his own, and they that were his own did not received him.

12 But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, that is to them that believe in his name:

13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of people, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh, and lived among us, and we saw his glory, glory as of the only delivered child from the Father, full of grace and truth.

15 John gave witness of him, and proclaimed, saying, This was he of whom I said, He that comes after me has come before me: because he was before me.

16 We all received his fulness, and grace for grace.

17 The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

18 No one has seen God at any time; the only Son of the Father, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him.

Gabriel Announces the Birth of John the Baptist

Unique to Luke

Luke 1:5 There was in the days of Herod, king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the family of Abijah: and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blameless in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.

7 And they had no child, because Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well advanced in years.

8 It came to pass, while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,

9 according to the custom of the priest's office, his responsibility was to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.

11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

12 And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell on him.

13 But the angel said to him, Fear not, Zacharias: because your humble prayer is heard, and your wife Elisabeth will give you a son, and you will call his name John.

14 And you will have joy and gladness; and many will rejoice at his birth.

15 He will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink; and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.

16 And many of the children of Israel will be turned to the Lord their God.

17 And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to walk in the wisdom of the just; to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.

18 And Zacharias asked the angel, How will I know this? I am an old man, and my wife advanced in years.

19 And the angel answering said to him, I am Gabriel, that stands in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you these good tidings.

20 And you will be silent and not be able to speak, until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their season.

21 And the people were waiting for Zacharias, and they wondered while he lingered in the temple.

22 And when he came out, he could not speak to them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: and he continued making signs to them, and remained speechless.

23 And it came to pass, when the days of his service were fulfilled, he departed to his house.

24 And after these days Elisabeth his wife conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying,

25 So has the Lord done to me in the days in which he looked upon me, to take away my reproach among people.

Gabriel Announces the Birth of Jesus to Mary

Unique to Luke

Luke 1:26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

28 And he came to her, and said, Greetings, you that are highly favored, the Lord is with you.

29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and wondered what manner of greeting this might be.

30 And the angel said to her, Do not fear, Mary: you have found favor with God.

31 And know that you will conceive in your womb, and bring forward a son, and will call his name Jesus.

32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David:

33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there will be no end.

34 And Mary asked the angel, How can this be, seeing I do not know a man?

35 And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you: for that reason also the holy child which is delivered will be called the Son of God.

36 And see, Elisabeth your relative, she also had conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that was called barren.

37 No word from God will be void of power.

38 And Mary said, Here, the handmaid of the Lord; be it to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her.

Mary's Visit to Elizabeth

Unique to Luke

Luke 1:39 And Mary arose in these days and went into the hill country quickly, into a city of Judah;

40 and entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elisabeth.

41 And it came to pass, when Elisabeth heard the greeting from Mary, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit;

42 and she lifted up her voice with a loud cry, and said, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

43 And from where is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

44 When the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.

45 And blessed is she that believed; there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord.

46 And Mary said, My soul does magnify the Lord,

47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

48 He has looked on the low estate of his handmaid: from now all generations will call me blessed.

49 He that is mighty has done great things to me; and holy is his name.

50 And his mercy is to generations and generations of them that fear him.

51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their heart.

52 He has put down princes from their thrones, and has exalted them of low degree.

53 The hungry he has filled with good things; and the rich he has sent away empty.

54 He has given help to Israel his servant, that he might remember mercy

55 as he spoke to our fathers, toward Abraham and his descendants forever.

56 And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her house.

Birth of John the Baptist

Unique to Luke

Luke 1:57 Elisabeth's time was fulfilled that she should deliver; and she brought forward a son.

58 And her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy towards her; and they rejoiced with her.

59 And it came to pass on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they wished to call him Zacharias, after the name of the father.

60 But his mother answered and said, Not so; he will be called John.

61 And they said to her, There is none of your relatives that is called by that name.

62 And they made signs to his father, what he wished to have him called.

63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they all marveled.

64 And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue was freed, and he spoke, blessing God.

65 And fear came on all that were around them: and all these sayings were told abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.

66 And all that heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, What then will this child be? The hand of the Lord was with him.

67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying,

68 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has visited and created redemption for his people,

69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.

70 As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets that have been from of old,

71 Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;

72 to show mercy towards our fathers and to remember his holy promise,

73 the oath which he spoke to Abraham our father.

74 To grant to us that we being saved from the hand of our enemies should serve him without fear,

75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

76 Yes and you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High: you will go before the face of the Lord to make ready his ways;

77 To give knowledge of salvation to his people in the remission of their sins.

78 Because of the tender mercy of our God, in accordance the dawn from on high will visit us,

79 To shine on them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death; To guide our feet into the way of peace.

80 And the child grew, and strengthened in spirit, and was in the deserts until the day of his showing to Israel.

Family Lineage of Jesus

Matthew and Luke - Non-Synoptic

Matthew 1:2 Abraham fathered Isaac; and Isaac fathered Jacob; and Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers;

3 and Judah fathered Perez and Zerah of Tamar; and Perez fathered Hezron; and Hezron fathered Ram;

4 and Ram fathered Amminadab; and Amminadab fathered Nahshon; and Nahshon fathered Salmon;

5 and Salmon fathered Boaz of Rahab; and Boaz fathered Obed of Ruth; and Obed fathered Jesse;

6 and Jesse fathered David the king. And David fathered Solomon of her that had been the wife of Uriah;

7 and Solomon fathered Rehoboam; and Rehoboam fathered Abijah; and Abijah fathered Asa;

8 and Asa fathered Jehoshaphat; and Jehoshaphat fathered Joram; and Joram fathered Uzziah;

9 and Uzziah fathered Jotham; and Jotham fathered Ahaz; and Ahaz fathered Hezekiah;

10 and Hezekiah fathered Manasseh; and Manasseh fathered Amon; and Amon fathered Josiah;

11 and Josiah fathered Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the carrying away to Babylon.

12 And after the carrying away to Babylon, Jechoniah fathered Shealtiel; and Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel;

13 and Zerubbabel fathered Abiud; and Abiud fathered Eliakim; and Eliakim fathered Azor;

14 and Azor fathered Sadoc; and Sadoc fathered Achim; and Achim fathered Eliud;

15 and Eliud fathered Eleazar; and Eleazar fathered Matthan; and Matthan fathered Jacob;

16 and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the carrying away to Babylon fourteen generations; and from the carrying away to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

Luke 3:23 And Jesus himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years of age, being the son, as was supposed, of Joseph, the son of Heli,

24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,

25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai,

26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda,

27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri,

28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,

29 the son of Jesus, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,

30 the son of Symeon, the son of Judas, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim,

31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,

32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon,

33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,

34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,

35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah

36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,

37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan,

38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

Birth of Jesus

Matthew and Luke - Non-Synoptic

Matthew 1:18 The birth of Jesus Christ was this way: When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, before they came together she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.

19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, was inclined to put her away secretly.

20 But when he thought on these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, a son of David, do not fear to take to you Mary your wife: that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

21 And she will bring forward a son; and you will call his name Jesus; it is he that will save his people from their sins.

22 All this came to pass, so it would be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,

23 The virgin will be with child, and will bring forward a son, And they will call his name Immanuel; which is, being interpreted, God with us.

24 And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took to him his wife;

25 and did not know her until she had brought forward a son: and he called his name Jesus.

Luke 2:1 It came to pass in those days, there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be