The Chosen Presents: A Blended Harmony of the Gospels

by Steve Laube, Amanda Jenkins, Dallas Jenkins

Four Gospels. One Jesus.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John: The different details, timelines, and emphases of each Gospel can make it difficult to picture the whole narrative. And The Chosen TV series acknowledges its own timeline for the unique purposes of the show. That’s why we’ve created The Chosen Presents: A Blended Harmony of the Gospels. We want you to see the factual accounts in one chronological story. You’ll experience:
· the story of Jesus in one seamless narrative,
· section divisions for forty daily readings,
· a preface by Dallas and Amanda Jenkins, and
· an index detailing the Scripture references of each passage.
Immerse yourself in the greatest story ever told.

Genres: Devotional, Christian Non Fiction

266 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2022

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book isn't going to replace your regular bible studies and daily readings but what it does is clearly and concisely blends the four gospels into 40 chapters that could be used as a 40 day deeper walk into the gospels, perfect for the Lenten season or anytime one wanted to have a set apart time for this reading.

This book also works for just a sit down reading straight through of it. It is not limited to short daily readings.

Another thing I like about it is it's fairly compact size that fits in a purse easily and your hands don't get tired holding it.

[Taylor Chitwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this and I liked being able to go into the back to find the correlating scriptures after each day. This was cohesive and easy to read and great for someone struggling to get into the gospels due to the format and repetition!

[SusanwithaGoodBook · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful blend of the four gospel accounts. The chapters are sectioned off by event, so if you just want to read about one thing you can do that easily. The references are all found at the back, which keeps them from distracting you as you read.

I have a few quibbles with some of the choices they made for the timing of some events. The gospel writers weren't always clear about chronology (that wasn't their focus), so some choices have to be made, but overall I feel like they did a great job blending and making the story flow.

This is NOT a commentary. There are no editorial notes or inserted opinions. This is just word-for-word from the Bible, but blended, so if you're a serious Bible student you'll find it all very familiar. If you're a casual Bible reader this would be a good start to help you see how each of the gospel accounts correspond and blend. Then you can go back to each gospel separately to read the details and see the differences each author noted. We have to remember, that one event can be seen differently by different people. They notice different things, they remember different details. That doesn't mean the event isn't real or that what they remember isn't accurate. It just means that they're focused on something someone else isn't.

I've read several harmonies of the gospels and "chronological" Bibles and they each have good points, but I highly recommend this little book for its accessibility and readability. I loved it!

[A Clay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I mentioned to my sister in law that while I love reading the gospels, it’s hard to figure out how they all weave together from each point of view of Jesus’ life. I said I wished they had a chronological telling just to get a better idea of how it all fits together. For my birthday she got me this book. (This sister in law will forever win the title of most thoughtful gift giver - she forgets nothing!!!)

As I thought, I enjoyed reading this in order. As a Catholic we read the gospel at every Mass, but I often forget what came first and what came next. (Example, Jesus helping the eleven bring up the huge net of fish? Totally didn’t know that was after the resurrection until this book.)

It’s a nice little devotional set across 40 days, so it would be perfect to read during Lent to reconnect with the gospel. While there is obviously still purpose in reading the gospels separately and not in sequence, I think returning to this from time to time may help my greater understanding of God’s message revealed.

[Brock Casselman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each year, I try to spend December focusing on the life of Christ. I stumbled on the audiobook of this gospel harmony and was not disappointed. I appreciated the presentation of the story of Christ as a single narrative.

The harmony based on the Christian Standard Bible, which was a refreshing change from the King James Version that I usually study. The text was accessible and engaging, and the translation of certain words helped me better understand the archaic language I’m used to.

The narrator was a little rough, especially when portraying dialogue from women.

Definitely recommended.

[Bob Garrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

To use a modern term, this was a mashup of the 4 books of The Gospels. A daunting task given the varying stories, interpretations and time lines, not to mention the historical challenges involved in the original New Testament translation from Greek, which has been discussed for several millennia. That said, it is the most assessable version I could imagine. For those wishing to understand the beginnings of Christianity, and the many parables and teachings of Jesus, this is one very practical source.

[Chelsea Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great read, especially if you're wanting to dip in and out, to get a refresher course if you will on the Gospel stories and the accounts of Jesus, in a more linear and chronological order. It's arranged into bite sized chunks, so you can read through it, if you want, within the space of a month. Great for new Christians especially. The only downside is that it doesn't give you the scripture reference on the page itself, but it's easy enough to flick to the back and find where the actual passages can be found in a bona fide Bible.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not being a Catholic version, I’m unsure of the translation as it is new to me. However, given it is a version put together by evangelical, conservative Christians, I wonder how sound for my needs the version is. However, it was a nice little read to have all of the writings compiled. I still got much more study-wise out of simply reading my Bible (especially paired with Ascension Press’s The Bible in a Year companion books, which were second to none for my studies!).

[Kimberlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This devotional is divided into 40 daily readings. It combines the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) into one chronological telling of the story of Jesus. I loved the way the story is woven together between what is happening and Jesus' teachings. I learned things that I had not remembered reading before. Reading it with a friend was so good too as we could share what was being revealed to us through each reading. Well done again, Chosen team.

[Wesley Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to do something special for Lent, read this book. It combines the four Gospels into a day by day, event by event, calendar, following Jesus on His Mission to the Cross and to the Resurrection and beyond. When I started it, I didn't realize how it was going to guide me towards Easter, and although you could read it anytime, doing it as a Lenten focus brings you to Easter on a high that is unusual and wonderful. Blessings to all that were a part of assembling this book.

[Kara Ausere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the way the wove the story of Christ in the gospel accounts together and broke it up into days for easy reading. The one thing I would have liked is for the scriptural references to be at the end of each day instead of at the back of the book. It's easier reference for me, I didn't see the scriptural references until I was almost 20 days in.

[RichardEdwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

you can not not love this book

The blended harmony of the gospel gives us a great chronologically accurate story of the life of Jesus. Reading this book was like watching a tv show. Loved reading it.

[Michaela Bush · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first "blended gospel" version I've read, so it was eye-opening and fun to dig deeper into. (And if you want to, it's split into 40 days, so it's a great read over Lent. I "accidentally" read ahead. Oops. Sorry not sorry, it's that good.)

[Sue Wager · Rating 3 out of 5]

We were supposed to go through this book for a small group I’m in, but no one really got into it (myself included). It’s written to tell the gospels in literary or story form, but in my opinion, just read the Bible-it’s better!

[James Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book to read for new Christians as well as matured. The reference of the story to the scripture is an awesome tool. 43 years a Christian and still discovered passages didn’t know existed. Will be reading this book many times.

[Sarah Dixon Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best story ever told! Not having the verse and chapter numbers made it read like a story, and all references are listed in the back if you want to find them in your Bible. I enjoyed this read and gifted it to a friend.

[Thomas Whitson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Understanding the Gospels

This book is written in easy to understand modern English. It has organized the gospels so that they can be read like an easy to read modern novel. it is a very good document for the new and experienced Bible reader.

[Elaine de Jong · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reads like a devotional. It’s a blending of the gospels arranged in forty day sections. After reading this, I am so excited to be reading the gospels in their specific order as they were intended to be read. This booklet enriches my devotional time and encourages me to dive deeper.

[Carol Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Favorite Chronological Version of the Gospels

I hope the Chosen will do more chronological Bible stories like this because I think this is the best way to hide the word in your heart so you can share it also.

[Lisa Huettl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how they took stories from each of the Gospels and put them in order. Also, the fact that instead of chapters it is divided into days.

[Cheryl Faulkner · Rating 5 out of 5]

❤️❤️❤️!!!

[Laurie Larsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A smooth, seamless blending of the stories in the four gospels. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, it aided my learning and made me thirst to learn more.

[Matt Redmond · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve wanted something like this for a long time.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buy it. Read it. BELIEVE.

[Scott Fabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good blended harmony of the Gospels. That being said, there are four Gospels for a reason. Trying to mash them together will always fall a bit short of the four independently.

[Linda Pershing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reflection on bible stories. I enjoyed reading this book and watching The Chosen series. The characters are brought to life in both, yet the stories are true to the written words of the bible.

[Pam Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pleasantly paced rereading and reflecting on all the four gospels- in this order, learned more about His life.

[Jake Steinberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

From what I can tell this was a great synopsis of the gospels. The religion seems silly but I learned something.

[Tim Hamrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

broken down in to 40 daily reads

broken down in to 40 daily reads
A way to read a blend of all the gospels blended together as one continuous story.

[Anita Manley · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's a summary of the Gospels, but it isn't any easier to read than the Bible. I still need some type of guide to help me understand.
DNF