All About Jesus: The Single Story from Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John

by Roger Quy (Compiler)

Who was Jesus? What did he say? What did he do? This book is all about Jesus. It puts together the story of Jesus' life and message told by the people who knew him best--his disciples and friends--as recorded in the four Gospels of the Bible. Although the words were written over 2000 years ago, his message of peace, hope, love, and forgiveness still resonates with people of all races, nationalities, educational, and economic backgrounds. Some like what he said, while others disagree, but almost everyone finds him compelling. The story of Jesus comes to us from four different authors, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, written over a period of nearly seventy years. The message and uniqueness of Jesus remain the same, but each author tells the story from his perspective and for his purpose. Some writers wrote more; others wrote less. But what if we could read it as one single story from beginning to end? This book does just that by combining the four reports of Jesus' life into a single chronological story, using the easy-to-read text of the NIRV Bible. Take a new look at Jesus-- his life, his miracles, and his teachings--and to come to your own conclusions about the carpenter from Nazareth. Produced in cooperation with Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society).

Genres: Christian, Religion, Nonfiction, Faith, Spirituality, Biography, Christianity

246 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Moon Rose (M.R.) · Rating 3 out of 5]

“If someone proved to me that Christ
is outside the truth, and that in reality the truth were outside of Christ, then I should prefer to remain with Christ rather than with the truth.”

---Fyodor Dostoevsky

As a child, I was fascinated early on with the story of Jesus Christ including all the people surrounding Him in the Bible. It was perhaps because I was brought up a Catholic and sent by my parents as well to a Catholic school until I was in my 4th Grade. Even though, I was transferred the next year to a Chinese school, the rudiments of what were necessary to develop a certain level of religiousness in me was quite instilled even only for the time being. This is not to say that I was completely stainless as a child since I was quite mischievous as well, but the influence I got was definitely there.

I remember when I was quite young, I always told my mother I would like to be a part of the church when I grow up. Whenever I used to go to Baclaran Church with her every Wednesday, I never failed to ask her to buy me a sacred icon from the stalls that surrounded the vicinity of the church and with it, I was also trained to say my prayers everyday that included praying the rosary, which due to innumerable repetitions through the years, I had memorized the prayer book from cover to cover.

Yet, despite all that, I still grew up a broken person...

Whatever I learned as a child did not help me in my maturity as life started to turn cruel. All my religiousness evaporated in the air, all the prayers forgotten, all my faithful church visitations gone as if it never happened. I was easily swept away by the world in its whirlwind motion of constant change and with it, the belief in my heart as a child that Jesus Christ as an embodiment of salvation and happiness smashed to the ground without any hope of resurrection.

My life was filled with darkness with no love to bring the promise of light. It was as if death alone could be my only redemption. All the years of struggling against my fate and destiny brought me into the comfort of my own isolation seemingly without a God to look after me and my faded dreams. I guess at that time, I reached a point, even though I will never admit it that I already accepted in my heart there was really no God. We were just floating souls left alone on our own, left to suffer in life and to die with only hopelessness in its midst.

But it was when I was totally enveloped by darkness secluded from the blinding light of the rest of the world that the silver lining of hope appeared like a blast that exploded into my consciousness.

I believe that it was God, who made an intervention in my life at that period of my utter desolation and displayed His bountiful mercy for a soul taunted by the meaning of life despite the existing wickedness that gradually took hold of my heart. He made use of the written words, works of old masters to bring a spark of understanding in my beggared mind that led me to see with a new pair of eyes the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

It appeared like an abrupt flash of lightning that looks more vivid in the dark of the night, the words of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy penetrated my soul with a sudden illumination of realization, opening my mind to a broader prospective of life, of an existence naturally habituated by suffering that to live this life is to know suffering at its very core, allowing it to seep through our senses and somehow learn to embrace it with a direct sublime submission. From it, the seed of knowing is planted in our hearts that eventually grows into the wisdom of life, the truth hidden from material happiness as it bears its sweet fruits in the form of love, of the truest form of love. A love that is only akin to the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Reading the Greatest Story Ever Told over again made me realize further that Jesus Christ is indeed a God epitomized into a Man, a Man who became a God by tapping through the complex realm of human suffering. That salvation lies not only in Him by by being Him. It is not only following His teachings, which have become dogmatic in an institutionalized manner by the church, but by treading the same path he made towards His death, by living one′s life with perfect surrender to God, with complete trust despite the conspicuous and obvious disregard of the rest of the world. That God is not supposed to be feared, but to be loved with all our heart, for God is truly the God of Love. ☾☯

[Seon Ji (Dawn) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.

How ashamed I am about my prior review (now deleted).

This is a great book for those who have an interest in the life of Jesus and have had a hard time getting through the bible.

My former "bad review" was written because I did not understand. Or as Jesus said "you are hearing but not listening!"

This books only goes into the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

I am inspired to attempt the bible again, and would love to try the old testament first.

Forgive me Lord for my last review, for I knew what I was reading.

[The Book Man · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roger Quy brings together all the details from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in one place. This book is meant for those who would like to find out more about Jesus. It is ideal for someone who is new to the Bible, but readers who already know the Bible may find that it helps them learn more about the life and message of Jesus.

~ “He must become more important. I must become less important.”
~ ”Everyone who believes has life FOREVER.”
~ ”And anyone who does not pick up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Anyone who doesn’t carry his cross and follow me can’t be my disciple.”

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great tool for someone just stating their journey in Christ.... High recommended

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Recap

As the author says this is no substitute for the Bible (the Gospels of the New Testament) but it is a great recap of all four books -- Matthew, Luke, Mark, John -- as a single comprehensive document of the accounts of Jesus' life. I only wished that the redundancies were reduced a bit further for better flow. Overall, still a worthy read for Christians and non-Christians alike. Very easy to read (taken from everyday common English language version of the Gospels).

[Constance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read...cleared some gray areas

The single story of Jesus made understanding and appreciating his story to a deep degree. I am a new babe in Christianity and this read as one story fill in a lot of missing pieces and gray area in my interpretation of Christ's life and sacrifice.

[Cynthia Schermerhorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

This book is well written and makes the history of Jesus easy to read. Using all the gospels he writes a book that details the life of Jesus. At the end he has many references to his bible quotes and people references. Also has bible verse references done in a chart style.

[Lonny Sanford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed description of Jesus' life. I liked this one better than bill oreily's version. Much more detailed. This is Jesus' life in a nutshell. Tells a Christian's point of view of what happened and when it happened. Would like to read more books by the author. Very readable and I enjoyed it very much.

[peanut butter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just what I needed

Not a professional writer or reader at that,but found this book felt inspired to read it. It helped during a time in my life I was looking for answer for that I am gratefull

[Steve Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book for those who want to get to know who Jesus is without delving into extra biblical opinions. This is straight from the Bible, albeit from the New International Readers Version, which is aimed toward younger readers and features short, rather choppy sentences.

[Brenda Roberson · Rating 5 out of 5]

ALL ABOUT JESUS is a book that combines all the gospels' versions of Jesus' life into one story. What impressed me the most is that the author used quotations from Scripture with very little of his own personal comments. If you want to read all of Jesus stories as one story, this is the book for you. It is hard to read it in one sitting because it is filled with so much information. It is like a good meal that you want to savor, hoping that you will never come to the end of it.

It is written in easy-to-understand modern English (no slang). I was learning about Jesus in a new way that was inspiring and enlightening. This book brought back to my mind lessons I had learned long ago but had forgotten about. This book organized Jesus' story in a very logical way with no "rabbit trails". It was more like a biography than a novel. Also interesting was reading about people's reactions to things Jesus said that you don't get in reading the Bible. Jesus also says some startling things as well like how we will all have to account for every careless word we say. Sometimes Jesus seems rather strict and at other times extremely loving.

I recommend this to people who have read the biblical accounts as well as those who have never read the Bible. It will put Jesus in a whole new light and may just wet your appetite for gaining more knowledge of Him. You may still learn something new. Excellent read and I highly recommend.

[I. Madreia S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I love to read about God before and after Christmas because it brings a good feeling and although I was critical of this one, I am still glad that I read it.

[Donna Peake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never knew that the Dead came from their graves when Jesus died. I know there was an earthquake, an eclipse and people were afraid.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book.I learned alot. It. Was very helpful.

[Cidney · Rating 2 out of 5]

the story of Jesus was written down around 70-100 years after his death, I'm not sure who would have been around then as they didn't live very long lives, probably the sons of the people who knew him earlier and could remember some of the stories they had been told by their elders. John didn't meet Jesus he had died long before that, he is telling it from the words spoken from those whose parents and friends had known him. The term christians came about after his death as people then were jews. In the 21st century it is a little dfficult to make sense of it in parts, as this is a modern version it would have been helpful to have more maps of the places mentioned and even maybe stretch that to colour photos too, just to give it some grounding.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Journey with Jesus

This is not my first time reading this book, All About Jesus journeyed with me through some very difficult moments of my life, and at a new faze in my life, it is time for me to read it again and mature even further in such a beautiful and impactful account of the life of our lord savior brother and friend. I love and thank you for your sacrifice.

[Ed Barton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well Woven Cloth

The Old Testament forbids weaving different types of cloth together. This book attempts just that by combining the four Gospels into on-ramp narrative. It is candidly well done, with all the major elements intertwined well. A good read if you want to move out of a Bible and into a more integrated perspective.

[Andy Tesluk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, pretty good!

This being written in the NIrV language is actually somewhat more confusing having been reading and raised on original books of the bible. I found some areas to be repetitious which caused some confusion.

I think it was a good effort in trying to marry the four gospels together. It may be a good read for those who have not read the actual gospels before.

[rose letourneau · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book

I really enjoyed reading this book, so easy to read and understand. I highly recommend it to anyone whether you have been a follower of Jesus for a long time or just beginning your journey. Enjoy.

[Janice Goll · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great single story about Jesus from the Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I highly recommend anyone wanting to know more about Jesus to read this book. Very easy to read and follow along and the ending gives you additional information to find where he got the information.

[Eileen Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book

I really enjoyed this book as it went through the life of Jesus using all the gospels. Had many references notes to help you find exactly where in the Bible the information was at

[Michael Christian Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read

Enjoyed the translation and chronological presentation - got lots out of it. Good for study and devotional read as well.

[Lester Bauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of Jesus

Excellent easy to read story of the four gospels. One chapter a day makes for great reading enjoyment. I wonder if anyone put the old testament in this form.

[Randy Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just a rewrite of all four gospels.

This was just all for of the gospels from the new testament. Not a very good read in my option.

[Lady Safari · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 in 1!

I loved how all 4 books of the gospel were combined into one book. It brought fresh insight and new (old) passages opened my eyes and spoke to my soul.

Very well done!

[Jack L. Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book

I enjoyed reading this book. Not just informative but easy to read and understand. I would recommend to all people.

[Tom Bolton]

This is a fun and inspiring read about Jesus’s life. It pulls material from all the Gospels. Great devotional time read!

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simply put, this is a harmony of the Gospels in story format. Might have been useful to me back when I attended Bible college. I would recommend this for young Christians—either young in age, or new to the faith.

[chad webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

For knowledge thirsty readers

Great read, learned so much about our wonderful Savior. The author referenced passage through out. Recommend for new believers and seasoned Christians.

[Suz Manning · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a good book for a Christian who is just learning that little more of their faith and is good for those who have just heard the story's so much we need to stop and say hey I'm not listening anymore