Chronological gospels, Harmony of the gospels part 7

(Luke 3:19-20 NIV) But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother's wife, and all the other evil things he had done, {20} Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.

(Mark 1:21-22 NIV) They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. {22} The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.

(Luke 4:33-37 NIV) In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, {34} "Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!" {35} "Be quiet!" Jesus said sternly. "Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him. {36} All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!" {37} And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.

(Mark 1:29-34 NIV) As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. {30} Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. {31} So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them. {32} That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. {33} The whole town gathered at the door, {34} and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.

(Matthew 8:17 NIV) This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: "He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases."

(Mark 1:35-45 NIV) Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. {36} Simon and his companions went to look for him, {37} and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!" {38} Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else--to the nearby villages--so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." {39} So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. {40} A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." {41} Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" {42} Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. {43} Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: {44} "See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them." {45} Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

(Luke 5:16-21 NIV) But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. {17} One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. {18} Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. {19} When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. {20} When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven." {21} The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

(Matthew 9:4-6 NIV) Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? {5} Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? {6} But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. . . ." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home."

(Luke 5:25-28 NIV) Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. {26} Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today." {27} After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, {28} and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

(Matthew 9:10-17 NIV) While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. {11} When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" {12} On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. {13} But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." {14} Then John's disciples came and asked him, "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" {15} Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. {16} "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. {17} Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."

(Matthew 12:1-8 NIV) At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. {2} When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath." {3} He answered, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? {4} He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread--which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. {5} Or haven't you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? {6} I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. {7} If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent. {8} For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

(Luke 6:6-9 NIV) On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. {7} The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. {8} But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Get up and stand in front of everyone." So he got up and stood there. {9} Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?"

Note: You can see how, except for the beginning and the end, the gospels don't tell the other events in chronological order. That's how you go from Mark 1 to Luke 5 to Matthew 9. In some cases I jump between gospels not because there's additional information in one account but to show how the events are in multiple gospels. You can see how they reinforce each other.