Why You Should Read the Four Gospels in Chronological Order

There is great benefit in studying the Gospels in chronological order.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John sometimes describe the same event, but each writer may include details that the others leave out. When you put all four accounts together, you get a much fuller picture of what happened.

The feeding of the five thousand is a good example. It is one of only a few events recorded in all four Gospels. If you read only one account, you will get the truth. But when you read all four accounts in their proper order, you begin to see the setting, what had just happened, why Jesus and His disciples went away, and how the multitude found them.

That background makes a difference.

Matthew 14 begins with Herod hearing about the fame of Jesus. Herod said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him” (Matthew 14:2).

Matthew then goes back and explains why Herod said this. Herod had arrested John the Baptist because John told him it was unlawful for him to have Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. Herodias eventually arranged for her daughter to ask for John’s head, and Herod had John beheaded in prison.

If you do not pay attention to the chronology, you might think John was beheaded at the exact point where Matthew tells the story. But Matthew was giving a flashback. John had already been killed. Herod had now heard about the miracles of Jesus, and his guilty conscience made him think John had risen from the dead.

Mark gives us more information about Herod’s relationship with John. Mark 6:20 says, “For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.”

That is quite a statement. John had confronted Herod about his adultery, but Herod still recognized that John was a just and holy man. He listened to him gladly and even did many things because of what John said.

People sometimes present John as though he were a wild man who did nothing but expose people’s sins. Certainly, John was bold. He stood before a king and told him that what he was doing was wrong. There are not many people who would do that.

But Mark shows that John must have spoken in a way that reached Herod. Herod did not like everything John said, but he kept listening to him.

This is an important example for us. We need to speak the truth, and we need to do it in love. Living under the new covenant does not mean that sin no longer exists or that it should be swept under the rug. It means that because of Jesus, any sin can be forgiven when a person turns to Him in faith.

When we tell someone that what they are doing is wrong, we also need to tell them about the love of God. We need to make it clear that forgiveness and freedom are available through Jesus Christ.

Herod heard the truth, but he did not act on it. When Herodias’s daughter asked for John’s head, Herod was “exceeding sorry” (Mark 6:26). Yet he was more concerned about his oath and the people sitting with him than he was about doing what was right.

Later, when Herod heard about Jesus, his guilt immediately brought John back to his mind. Mark records Herod saying, “It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead” (Mark 6:16).

Luke gives a shorter account. Luke 9:7 says Herod “was perplexed” because some people were saying that John had risen from the dead. Herod said, “John have I beheaded: but who is this, of whom I hear such things?” Then Luke adds that Herod desired to see Jesus.

When you put Matthew, Mark, and Luke together, the picture becomes clear. Matthew tells us what happened to John. Mark gives us more detail about Herod’s attitude toward John. Luke shows how perplexed Herod was when he heard about Jesus. Herod knew he had killed a godly man, and his own guilt was troubling him.

The Gospel accounts then move from the death of John the Baptist to Jesus and His disciples going into a desert place. Again, each writer supplies part of the picture.

Matthew 14:13 says, “When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart.” The words “when Jesus heard of it” refer to the death of John the Baptist.

Mark gives another reason they went away. The disciples had returned from being sent out to minister. They told Jesus what they had done and what they had taught. Jesus then said, “Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while” (Mark 6:31).

Mark explains that there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and the disciples did not even have time to eat.

Luke 9:10 adds that Jesus took the disciples privately into “a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.” John tells us that they crossed the Sea of Galilee, which is also called the Sea of Tiberias.

Look at how much clearer this becomes when the accounts are read together. Jesus had heard about John’s death. The disciples had just returned from a demanding time of ministry. People were coming and going continually, and the disciples did not have enough time even to eat. So Jesus took them across the sea to a private place near Bethsaida where they could rest.

You do not get all of that from one Gospel account. You get it by letting Scripture interpret Scripture and placing the events in chronological order.

There is also a practical lesson here. Jesus told His disciples to come apart and rest awhile. Some people are so on fire for God that they never rest. They are burdened to see people’s lives changed, and that is good. We should be motivated. We should be willing to work and put ourselves out for other people.

But ministry is not a sprint. It is a marathon. You need to pace yourself.

Jesus did not rebuke the disciples because they were tired. He did not tell them that resting showed a lack of commitment. He was the One who told them to get away from the crowd and rest.

If you wear yourself out after a few years, you will not reach as many people as you could through sixty or seventy years of faithful ministry. Rest can be part of obeying God. There are times when you need to come apart and rest awhile.

The people, however, saw where Jesus was going. They traveled on foot and arrived ahead of Him. Matthew 14:14 says, “And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.”

Jesus had gone to a private place, but when He saw the people, He was moved with compassion. He healed their sick.

John 6:2 says, “And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.” Jesus preached the Word, but He also performed miracles. The miracles drew people to Him.

Some ministers seem to think that miracles are no longer needed. But Jesus used miracles to draw a crowd. People saw the sick healed, and they followed Him. The power of God opened their hearts to hear what He had to say.

It was in this setting that Jesus fed the five thousand. The feeding of the multitude did not happen as an isolated event. It followed the death of John the Baptist, the return of the disciples from ministry, Jesus’ instruction to rest, the gathering of the multitude, and the healing of the sick.

Chronological study lets you see those connections.

When you read Matthew, you learn one part. Mark may tell you what someone was thinking or give additional details about what happened. Luke may help establish the location or order. John may supply information that the other writers do not mention. Put them together, and things that may have seemed disconnected begin to make sense.

The Bible does not contradict itself. The Gospel writers were describing the same events from different perspectives. One account may be brief while another gives more detail. Reading them together helps us understand what the Holy Spirit is showing us through each writer.

Do not rush through the Gospels as though these were familiar stories with nothing more to teach you. Slow down. Compare the accounts. Notice what happened before and after each event. Pay attention when a writer moves backward to explain something that had already happened.

There is a lot in the Word that you will miss if you read only one passage and never compare it with the others. But when you study the Gospels in chronological order, the pieces begin to fit together. You see the events more clearly, understand the people better, and receive more of what God has placed in His Word.