FOLLOWING THE SEQUENCE OF JESUS' LIFE AND MOVEMENTS THROUGH THE FOUR GOSPELS PUBLISHED IN 1999     These four woodcut book cover panels from the fifth century depict the ancient Christian symbols of the four evangelists Matthew - The Angel     Mark - The Lion Luke - The Ox              John - The Eagle       1. Introduction A. Purpose B. Authorship and Dating of the Gospels C. Chosen Translation and Reasons D. Method             E. Division into Six Parts   A. Purpose: Following the sequence of Jesus' life and movements, through the four gospels when combined into one fourfold gospel, improves comprehension of his ministry. Most Christians are familiar with pieces of Jesus' teachings and works through reading the New Testament, from homilies and through discussion groups. However, to understand the actual sequence of events, and to read the best presentation of those events, brings clarity to Jesus' revelation.                   In order to facilitate understanding of the where and when of Jesus' ministry, the fourfold gospel is coupled with dating, as a means to better grasp the whole, and the logic of each campaign during hiss ministry on earth: wherein He introduced the nascent Kingdom of God.     B. St. Matthew's Gospel was written by the Apostle Matthew (Levi) in approximately 41 AD. This date is validated by (1) testimony of the early Church Fathers, (2) by internal and external evidence and (3) has been accepted by the Roman Catholic Church for nearly two millennia.       St. Mark's Gospel was written by John Mark, companion, scribe and translator to St. Peter; in Rome about 45 AD. Mark recorded events as spoken by Peter to the Romans. As in the case of St. Matthew's Gospel, this approximate date is verified by internal and external evidence, by testimony of the early Church Fathers and for 2,000 years by the Roman Catholic Church.       St. Luke's Gospel was written in Palestine between 58-60 AD where Luke resided as a companion of St. Paul during the latter's two year imprisonment in Caesarea by the Sea. This imprisonment occurred during the Procuratorship of Felix and Pontius Festus. The date is corroborated by the dating of St. Luke's later account - The Acts of the Apostles - and is so recognised by the Roman Catholic Church.       St. John's Gospel, the last of the four, was written by the beloved disciple, John, eyewitness and companion of our Lord. The dating is less certain. Some internal and external evidence and early testimony, indicates the Gospel was written during the late 60's at Ephesus. This is a minority opinion.                C. Selected Translation: The Douay Rheims English Revision of St. Jerome's Latin version (the ''Vulgate”) translated from Greek in 390-405. St. Jerome, a renowned scholar, was fluent in both Greek and Latin, learned Hebrew and used many ancient manuscripts (subsequently lost) to perform his translation into Latin. This he accomplished on location in Palestine and did so much closer in time to the actual events described in Jesus' life. The English translation comes to us from English monks fluent in Latin in the late 1500's and is endorsed by the Roman Catholic Church. The later King James Version relied much on the Douay Rheims Version.               D. Method: No individual evangelist had a perfect memory or comprehension: therefore, this study takes the liberty of selecting from each of the four Gospels the order of events and presentation of each event and teaching that most accurately represents the Way and ministry of Jesus, the Savior.                E. Six Parts of Division are created to correspond to the chronology of each campaign of Jesus' life and ministry. They include:   1. Birth to the Start of the Galilean Ministry 2. Galilean Ministry 3. Long March (from Galilee to Second Tabernacles) 4. Judean Ministry (from Second Tabernacles to Triumphant Entry) 5. Passion Week (Entry into Jerusalem to Burial) 6. Resurrection to Ascension   A synthesis created by: Bill Hallinan John Jakobs 602-263-3805 PO BOX 45300 Phoenix, AZ 85064 Full authorization and universal permission for unlimited download and distribution, providing no alterations to the text are made.

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