When we read the four Gospels -Matthew, Mark, Luke and John -we are not reading four competing stories. We are reading four faithful witnesses, each giving us a true account of the life, ministry, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Each Gospel has its own emphasis, audience and arrangement. When we study them carefully together, we begin to see the richness and fullness of what God has preserved for us in His Word.
A harmony of the Gospels is a study tool that places the events recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John into a combined chronological order. Instead of reading each Gospel separately from beginning to end, a harmony helps the reader see where the accounts overlap, where one writer includes details another does not, and how the events of Christ’s earthly ministry fit together.
This particular resource, A Harmony of the Gospels in Modern English —The Life of Jesus Christ by Fred R. Coulter, is a detailed study work designed to help readers follow the life of Jesus from His pre-existence as the Word, through His birth, public ministry, teaching, miracles, final Passover, crucifixion, burial, resurrection and ascension. It includes the Gospel text arranged in sections, along with maps, charts, commentaries and historical notes.
For anyone wanting to study the life of Christ more carefully, a harmony like this can be very useful. It can help you slow down and notice the flow of events. It can also help when comparing passages, such as the birth narratives, the Sermon on the Mount, the parables, the final week before the cross, and the resurrection appearances.
As with any study aid, it should be used alongside the Bible itself, not in place of it. The Word of God must remain our final authority. Commentaries, charts and study tools may help us understand, but Scripture must always test them. The goal is not simply to gather more information, but to know Christ more rightly, to listen to His Word more carefully, and to walk before Him in faith and obedience.
For those who are newer to Bible study, this kind of resource can also be a helpful way to seethe Gospel accounts as one united testimony to the person and work of Jesus Christ. Read slowly, compare the Scriptures, pray for understanding, and let the Word of God lead your heart back to the Lord Himself.