The Harmonized Life of Jesus from the 4 Gospels:
Matthew, Mark, Luke & John
1. Birth and childhood
6–4 BC to AD 8
Only Matthew and Luke narrate the birth and infancy. John opens with the eternal Word, and Mark begins at the Jordan.
| Event | Matthew | Mark | Luke | John |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The eternal Word becomes flesh | – | – | – | 1:1-18 |
| Genealogy of Jesus | 1:1-17 | – | 3:23-38 | – |
| Gabriel announces John’s birth to Zechariah | – | – | 1:5-25 | – |
| Gabriel announces Jesus’ birth to Mary | – | – | 1:26-38 | – |
| Mary visits Elizabeth | – | – | 1:39-56 | – |
| Birth of John the Baptist | – | – | 1:57-80 | – |
| Joseph’s dream; Jesus conceived of the Holy Spirit | 1:18-25 | – | – | – |
| Birth in Bethlehem; shepherds visit | – | – | 2:1-20 | – |
| Circumcision and presentation at the temple | – | – | 2:21-38 | – |
| Magi visit and worship | 2:1-12 | – | – | – |
| Flight to Egypt; Herod kills the infants | 2:13-18 | – | – | – |
| Return and settling in Nazareth | 2:19-23 | – | 2:39-40 | – |
| Boy Jesus in the temple at age 12 | – | – | 2:41-52 | – |
2. Preparation and early ministry
AD 26–27
All four Gospels meet at John the Baptist and the baptism. After the temptation, John alone records the first disciples and a ministry in Judea and Samaria before Jesus settles in Galilee.
| Event | Matthew | Mark | Luke | John |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John the Baptist preaches in the wilderness | 3:1-12 | 1:1-8 | 3:1-18 | 1:19-28 |
| Jesus is baptized; the Spirit descends and the Father speaks | 3:13-17 | 1:9-11 | 3:21-22 | – |
| John testifies: “Lamb of God” | – | – | – | 1:29-34 |
| Temptation in the wilderness | 4:1-11 | 1:12-13 | 4:1-13 | – |
| First disciples: Andrew, Peter, Philip, Nathanael | – | – | – | 1:35-51 |
| Water turned to wine at Cana | – | – | – | 2:1-11 |
| First cleansing of the temple at Passover | – | – | – | 2:13-25 |
| Nicodemus visits by night | – | – | – | 3:1-21 |
| Jesus and John both baptizing | – | – | – | 3:22-36 |
| John imprisoned; Jesus withdraws to Galilee | 4:12 | 1:14 | 3:19-20 | 4:1-3 |
| Samaritan woman at the well | – | – | – | 4:4-42 |
| Healing of the official’s son at Cana | – | – | – | 4:43-54 |
3. Jesus' Galilean ministry
AD 27–29
The Synoptic Gospels center on Galilee, with Capernaum as Jesus’ base. John steps in for the Jerusalem feast of John 5, and for the feeding of the 5,000 and its sequel in John 6.
| Event | Matthew | Mark | Luke | John |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rejected at Nazareth; settles in Capernaum | 4:13-17; 13:53-58 | 6:1-6 | 4:16-31 | – |
| Calls the first fishermen | 4:18-22 | 1:16-20 | 5:1-11 | – |
| Casts out a demon in the synagogue | – | 1:21-28 | 4:31-37 | – |
| Heals Peter’s mother-in-law | 8:14-15 | 1:29-31 | 4:38-39 | – |
| Cleanses a leper | 8:1-4 | 1:40-45 | 5:12-16 | – |
| Heals a paralyzed man | 9:1-8 | 2:1-12 | 5:17-26 | – |
| Calls Matthew (Levi) and eats with sinners | 9:9-13 | 2:13-17 | 5:27-32 | – |
| Heals at Bethesda on the Sabbath (Jerusalem feast) | – | – | – | 5:1-47 |
| Lord of the Sabbath; withered hand healed | 12:1-14 | 2:23-3:6 | 6:1-11 | – |
| Appoints the Twelve | 10:1-4 | 3:13-19 | 6:12-16 | – |
| Sermon on the Mount (Luke: on the Plain) | 5:1-7:29 | – | 6:17-49 | – |
| Heals the centurion’s servant | 8:5-13 | – | 7:1-10 | – |
| Raises the widow’s son at Nain | – | – | 7:11-17 | – |
| Parables of the kingdom (the sower) | 13:1-52 | 4:1-34 | 8:4-18 | – |
| Calms the storm | 8:23-27 | 4:35-41 | 8:22-25 | – |
| Gerasene demoniac | 8:28-34 | 5:1-20 | 8:26-39 | – |
| Jairus’ daughter; the woman with bleeding | 9:18-26 | 5:21-43 | 8:40-56 | – |
| Sends out the Twelve | 10:5-42 | 6:7-13 | 9:1-6 | – |
| Death of John the Baptist | 14:1-12 | 6:14-29 | 9:7-9 | – |
| Feeds the 5,000 | 14:13-21 | 6:30-44 | 9:10-17 | 6:1-15 |
| Walks on the water | 14:22-33 | 6:45-52 | – | 6:16-21 |
| Bread of Life discourse; many disciples leave | – | – | – | 6:22-71 |
| Syrophoenician woman’s faith | 15:21-28 | 7:24-30 | – | – |
| Feeds the 4,000 | 15:32-39 | 8:1-10 | – | – |
| Peter’s confession at Caesarea Philippi | 16:13-20 | 8:27-30 | 9:18-21 | – |
| First prediction of his death and resurrection | 16:21-28 | 8:31-9:1 | 9:22-27 | – |
| Transfiguration | 17:1-13 | 9:2-13 | 9:28-36 | – |
| Heals the boy with a demon | 17:14-21 | 9:14-29 | 9:37-43 | – |
4. Jesus' ministry and journey to Jerusalem
AD 29–30
Luke’s long travel narrative (9:51-19:27) and John 7-11 supply most of this period. Matthew and Mark rejoin Luke for the final stretch through Perea and Jericho.
| Event | Matthew | Mark | Luke | John |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sets his face toward Jerusalem | – | – | 9:51-56 | – |
| Feast of Tabernacles: teaching in the temple | – | – | – | 7:1-52 |
| Woman caught in adultery (absent from the earliest manuscripts) | – | – | – | 7:53-8:11 |
| Heals the man born blind | – | – | – | 9:1-41 |
| Good Shepherd discourse | – | – | – | 10:1-21 |
| Sends out the seventy-two | – | – | 10:1-24 | – |
| Parable of the Good Samaritan | – | – | 10:25-37 | – |
| Mary and Martha | – | – | 10:38-42 | – |
| Feast of Dedication | – | – | – | 10:22-42 |
| Parables of the lost sheep, lost coin, and prodigal son | 18:12-14 | – | 15:1-32 | – |
| Rich man and Lazarus | – | – | 16:19-31 | – |
| Raises Lazarus at Bethany | – | – | – | 11:1-44 |
| Plot against Jesus; withdraws to Ephraim | – | – | – | 11:45-57 |
| Heals ten lepers | – | – | 17:11-19 | – |
| Teaching on marriage and divorce | 19:1-12 | 10:1-12 | – | – |
| Blesses the children | 19:13-15 | 10:13-16 | 18:15-17 | – |
| Rich young ruler | 19:16-30 | 10:17-31 | 18:18-30 | – |
| Third prediction of his death and resurrection | 20:17-19 | 10:32-34 | 18:31-34 | – |
| James and John ask for places of honor | 20:20-28 | 10:35-45 | – | – |
| Heals blind Bartimaeus near Jericho | 20:29-34 | 10:46-52 | 18:35-43 | – |
| Zacchaeus the tax collector | – | – | 19:1-10 | – |
| Parable of the ten minas | – | – | 19:11-27 | – |
5. The Passion Week
AD 30 or 33
All four Gospels slow down here, and John gives nearly half its chapters (12-21) to the final week and its aftermath. Mark’s day markers fix Sunday through Tuesday. Wednesday is an inferred quiet day before the Passover meal on Thursday evening.
| Day | Event | Matthew | Mark | Luke | John |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat | Anointed at Bethany (Matthew and Mark place the story two days before Passover) | 26:6-13 | 14:3-9 | – | 12:1-11 |
| Sun | Triumphal entry into Jerusalem | 21:1-11 | 11:1-11 | 19:28-44 | 12:12-19 |
| Mon | Curses the fig tree | 21:18-19 | 11:12-14 | – | – |
| Mon | Second cleansing of the temple | 21:12-17 | 11:15-19 | 19:45-48 | – |
| Tue | Fig tree withered; authority questioned | 21:20-27 | 11:20-33 | 20:1-8 | – |
| Tue | Parables of the two sons, the tenants, and the wedding feast | 21:28-22:14 | 12:1-12 | 20:9-19 | – |
| Tue | Questions on taxes, resurrection, and the greatest commandment | 22:15-40 | 12:13-34 | 20:20-40 | – |
| Tue | Woes on the scribes and Pharisees | 23:1-39 | 12:38-40 | 20:45-47 | – |
| Tue | The widow’s offering | – | 12:41-44 | 21:1-4 | – |
| Tue | Greeks seek Jesus; the hour has come | – | – | – | 12:20-50 |
| Tue | Olivet Discourse on the end of the age | 24:1-25:46 | 13:1-37 | 21:5-38 | – |
| Wed | Plot against Jesus; Judas agrees to betray him | 26:1-5, 14-16 | 14:1-2, 10-11 | 22:1-6 | – |
| Thu | Preparing the Passover meal | 26:17-19 | 14:12-16 | 22:7-13 | – |
| Thu | Washes the disciples’ feet | – | – | – | 13:1-20 |
| Thu | Last Supper; betrayer named | 26:20-29 | 14:17-25 | 22:14-30 | 13:21-30 |
| Thu | Peter’s denial foretold | 26:31-35 | 14:27-31 | 22:31-34 | 13:36-38 |
| Thu | Upper Room discourse and prayer | – | – | – | 14:1-17:26 |
| Thu | Gethsemane | 26:36-46 | 14:32-42 | 22:39-46 | 18:1 |
| Thu | Arrest | 26:47-56 | 14:43-52 | 22:47-53 | 18:2-12 |
| Thu–Fri | Examined by Annas and Caiaphas; the Sanhedrin condemns him | 26:57-68 | 14:53-65 | 22:63-71 | 18:12-24 |
| Thu–Fri | Peter denies him three times | 26:69-75 | 14:66-72 | 22:54-62 | 18:15-18, 25-27 |
| Fri | Judas’s remorse and death | 27:3-10 | – | – | – |
| Fri | Trial before Pilate | 27:11-26 | 15:1-15 | 23:1-5, 13-25 | 18:28-19:16 |
| Fri | Sent to Herod Antipas | – | – | 23:6-12 | – |
| Fri | Mocked and scourged by soldiers | 27:27-31 | 15:16-20 | – | 19:1-3 |
| Fri | Crucifixion and death | 27:32-56 | 15:21-41 | 23:26-49 | 19:17-37 |
| Fri | Burial in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb | 27:57-61 | 15:42-47 | 23:50-56 | 19:38-42 |
| Sat | Tomb sealed and guarded | 27:62-66 | – | – | – |
6. The Resurrection, appearances, and ascension of Jesus
AD 30 or 33
Jesus rises on the Sunday after the crucifixion and appears to his followers over forty days (Acts 1:3). Mark 16:9-20 is absent from the earliest manuscripts, so those passages carry an asterisk.
| Event | Matthew | Mark | Luke | John |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The women find the empty tomb; angels announce the resurrection | 28:1-8 | 16:1-8 | 24:1-12 | 20:1-2 |
| Peter and John run to the tomb | – | – | 24:12 | 20:3-10 |
| Appears to Mary Magdalene | 28:9-10 | 16:9-11* | – | 20:11-18 |
| Guards bribed to spread a false report | 28:11-15 | – | – | – |
| Appears to two disciples on the road to Emmaus | – | 16:12-13* | 24:13-35 | – |
| Appears to the disciples in the locked room | – | 16:14* | 24:36-49 | 20:19-23 |
| Appears to Thomas a week later | – | – | – | 20:24-29 |
| Breakfast by the Sea of Galilee; Peter restored | – | – | – | 21:1-25 |
| The Great Commission on a mountain in Galilee | 28:16-20 | 16:15-18* | – | – |
| Ascension to heaven | – | 16:19-20* | 24:50-53 | – |
Events follow the order most Gospel harmonies use. Mark and Luke often arrange material differently from Matthew, and John supplies the Judean ministry the other three skip.