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1 No detail omitted or repeated Study Edition Charts showing harmonization of key passages Scripture references in body of text The NET bible Synthetic Harmony of the Gospels Study Edition Jerry Peyton, ed.. Biblical Studies Press Richardson, Texas 2 COPYRIGHT 2015 BY JERRY PEYTON AND BIBLICAL STUDIES PRESS BETA VERSIONa ALL RIGHTS RESERVES SCRIPTURE QUOTED BY PERMISSION. ALL SCRIPTURE QUOTATIONS, UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED, ARE TAKEN FROM THE NET bible COPYRIGHT 1996-2006 BY BIBLICAL STUDIES PRESS, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The NET bible is not a shareware program or public domain document and may not be duplicated without permission, however: The NET bible verse text and the NET bible notes, hereafter called NET bible , is available on the internet at You may copy the NET bible and print it for others as long as you give it away, do not charge for it and comply with our guidelines for content control including current valid copyright and organizational acknowledgments.

2 In this case, free means free. It cannot be bundled with anything sold, used as a gift to solicit donations, nor can you charge for shipping, handling, or anything. It is provided for personal Study or for use in preparation of sermons, Sunday school classes, undergraduate or seminary religion classes or other noncommercial Study . This release is also available to organizations like the Gideons, who may distribute millions of copies of the NET bible text without royalty. This release does not apply to media other than paper. For free distribution of more than 1000 paper copies (or distribution in any other form, electronic), you must obtain written permission and comply with our guidelines for content control and include valid BSP copyright and organizational acknowledgements.

3 The NET bible is a completely new translation of the bible with 60,932 translators notes! It was completed by more than 25 scholars experts in the original biblical languages who worked directly from the best currently available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. The translators notes make the original languages far more accessible, allowing you to look over the translator s shoulder at the very process of translation. The NET bible was created to answer the global need for a bible translation that can be distributed without cost on the Internet and be freely used in ministry.. Not only can you download the NET bible free, we have licensed the NET bible text without royalty to all publishers of bible Study software a historical first.

4 We give it away because our goal is to provide Trustworthy bible Study Resources for free. Ministry First is a principle that guides all we do. The arranging and editing of the text and the chronology used in The Net bible : Synthetic Harmony of the Gospels are solely the work of the editor, not of NET bible or Biblical Studies Press, Biblical Studies Press 1101 E. Arapaho Rd, Suite 200 Richardson, TX 75081 a Unedited except by the editor. If you find errors (misspellings, punctuation, incorrect references) please contact the editor at 3 CONTENTS PREFACE .. 5 INTRODUCTION TO THE LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST .. 9 BIRTH & CHILDHOOD OF JESUS [5 BC] .. 10 YEAR ONE: PREPARATION & BEGINNING [AD 28-29].

5 16 MINISTRY IN JUDEA [AD 29] .. 19 MINISTRY IN GALILEE .. 22 MINISTRY BEYOND GALILEE .. 24 BACK IN GALILEE .. 24 YEAR TWO: A YEAR OF POPULARITY [AD 30] .. 26 CONTINUED MINISTRY IN GALILEE .. 26 SERMON ON THE MOUNT .. 27 CONTINUED MINISTRY IN GALILIEE .. 31 FOCUS ON PARABLES .. 33 CONTINUED MINISTRY IN & AROUND GALILEE .. 35 MINISTRY IN JUDEA .. 38 BACK IN GALILEE .. 39 YEAR THREE INTENSIFIED REJECTION [AD 31] .. 44 CONTINUED MINISTRY IN GALILEE .. 44 MINISTRY IN PHOENICIA & DECAPOLIS .. 45 MINISTRY AROUND THE SEA OF GALILEE .. 45 MINISTRY IN & AROUND JERUSALEM .. 46 YEAR FOUR: FOCUSED ON THE CROSS [AD 32] .. 53 BACK IN GALILEE .. 53 HEADING TO JERUSALEM .. 57 JUDEA .. 57 HEADING NORTH TOWARDS GALILEE .. 65 NORTHERN SAMARIA/SOUTHERN GALILEE.

6 68 PEREA .. 68 70 JERICHO AREA .. 71 4 LAST DAYS ON EARTH [AD 33] .. 75 SATURDAY APPROACHING JERUSALEM .. 75 SUNDAY ENTERING JERUSALEM .. 75 MONDAY .. 77 TUESDAY .. 77 Jesus Foretells the Future .. 82 THURSDAY .. 87 The Upper Room .. 88 Mount of Olives .. 90 FRIDAY .. 94 Trials .. 95 Crucifixion .. 100 SATURDAY .. 103 The Resurrection .. 103 LAST 40 DAYS .. 105 APPENDICIES .. 109 I. BIBLICAL ABBRVIATIONS USED .. 109 II. ISSUES & STRATEGIES IN HARMONIZING THE 110 III. HARMONIZING REJECTION AT NAZARETH .. 113 IV. HARMONIZING CALLING DISCIPLES AT SEA OF GALILEE .. 114 V. HARMONIZING SERMON ON THE MOUNT .. 115 VI. HARMONIZING HEALING BLIND MEN AT JERICHO .. 117 VII. HARMONIZING JESUS PREDICTIONS OF THE FUTURE .. 118 VIII. HARMONIZING UPPER ROOM TO GETHSEMANE.

7 120 IX. SIX TRIAL STAGES .. 122 X. HARMONIZING TRIALS & DENIALS .. 123 XI. HARMONIZING ANOINTING OF JESUS BODY .. 126 XII. HARMONIZING VISITS TO TOMB .. 127 NOTES (UNDER CONSTRUCTION) .. 130 5 PREFACE I began compiling the four Gospels into one narrative when I taught the Gospels at a Christian high school. While I understood the unique value of each Gospel, I wanted students to see the flow of Christ s life. And they appreciated not having to read every verse in all four Gospels, some of which are repeated almost verbatim. I also read a one-year chronological bible and was amazed at how much I learned. After reading, studying and teaching the bible for fifty years I saw things I hadn t seen before because I saw them in their historical context.

8 The bible flowed more like a story or movie than a collection of books. But I was frustrated at having to read the exact same accounts in different books especially the historical books of Kings and Chronicles. It was then I decided to compile my own chronological harmony of the Gospels not because other harmonies do not exist or that I can produce a better harmony, but because doing it would force me to deal with the text myself. Editor s Qualifications I have an MA in biblical studies from Dallas Theological Seminary and an MA in faith and culture, with an emphasis in international human rights, from Trinity International University. I gave my first sermon when I was fifteen, over fifty years ago, and have been a pastor or bible teacher ever since, including teaching bible at a Christian college and high school.

9 I did not formally Study Greek or Hebrew and am not qualified to do bible translation work, which is why I use the NET bible for this harmony. Types of Harmonies In his article, Is Harmonization Honest? Dale Ellenburg describes four types of harmonies: Radical harmonizing suppresses variant details in one text by replacing them with preferred wording drawn from another version. Radical harmonizing tends to produce a uniform official version of a saying or story in separate Gospels. A synthetic harmony expands a text by adding details from one account to another to produce a conflated version that is not identical with any one source. Sequential harmonizing preserves two or more versions of the same material as separate incidents in the same narrative.

10 This produces repetitions of sayings and stories that literary critics call doublets.. a parallel harmony presents two or more versions of the same account side by side in a synopsis for easy comparison. a For more information see Appendix II. Issues & Strategies in Harmonizing the Gospels. Sources Used While I sought to harmonize the four Gospels by evaluating every verse myself, I also used other harmonies for comparison and for the chronological framework: Cheney, Johnston M. The Life of Christ in Stereo, Portland: Multnomah, 1969. (Sequential) Cheney, Johnston M. & Ellisen, Stanley. The Greatest Story. Portland: Multnomah, 1994. (Sequential) The One Year Chronological bible (NLT). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 1996, 2004. (Parallel) Cox, Steven & Easley, Kendall.