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, Christianity

266 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2022

Reviews

[Kathleen]

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]

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!

[Marla Schwartz]

I absolutely love this book! I listen to the Daily Audio Bible and I’m in my 18th year of going through the Bible with their app so I’ve gone through the Gospels 18 times (more actually). I always got confused because all of them seemed to tell the same story but a somewhat different version (not really John though). They added another channel that goes through the Bible chronologically which helped my confusion a little bit. Now I find this book and now it all makes sense! I started the 40 day devotional (I’m on book 5) so when I saw this book I knew I had to read it. Whenever I finish a devotional I pass it along to a friend/brother from church and when he finishes, he passes it on. As soon as I started this book I knew I wasn’t going to pass it on because I planned on reading it again and again (and because I love it so much). I felt pretty bad so I decided to purchase one on Amazon and had it shipped to his home. He was very surprised and thankful. Every time I see him he would tell me where he was in this book so far (haven’t seen him for a couple of weeks 🥺). I plan on buying another one to ship to my best friend. I’m pretty sure, knowing me, I’ll be purchasing more to ship to my church friends. I can’t recommend this book 📕 enough. I love the way Dallas and the writers combined and took parts from each Gospel! I knew I was going to love the book based on the show 🥰 and I did! Yep, this book will be on a loop for the foreseeable future 😻✝️😍🙏
(Also when reading it, The entire show ran through my mind, except season 6-I was able to watch the entire show again 😹

[SusanwithaGoodBook]

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]

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.

[Joshua Riding]

Books and efforts such as these I find incredibly ironic. "The Chosen"'s team offering a book that proves exactly why their own show is superfluous and redundant at best, and actively keeps people from truly knowing Christ at worst. Steve Laube did an excellent job presenting the Gospels in such a manner than one could read about Jesus of Nazareth as though reading a historical biography. His use of the Christian Standard Bible to directly copy from was also very wise, as it is readable without any meaning or impact lost. His organization into 40 daily readings was also well done, and he included scripture references to each section of the readings so that you could check his work with any Bible.

This book pleasantly surprised me, and I'm glad I gave it a try despite my personal opinions about "the Chosen". I would actually recommend this to most anyone to read instead of watching the TV Show, and this will likely stay in my collection.

[Shannon]

I have never read a blended harmony of the Gospels before so I was eager to dive into this one. I found it extremely helpful to see the gospel accounts in this way. I followed the daily reading plan and kept one bookmark in the day to day portion of the book and one bookmark in the Scripture Index. After each days reading I would reference the Scripture Index to see which gospel author referenced each story. It was helpful to me to consider the author(s) and what they included in their gospel accounts and what they didn’t include. It laid a foundation for me for further study of the eye witnesses to Jesus’ life and ministry. I highly recommend this book as another component to study God’s word.

[Brock Casselman]

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]

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]

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.

[Logan Quiring]

This can be a great mode of exploring the gospels every once in a while but shouldn’t replace reading the gospels individually as they appear in the New Testament.

The gospel writers masterfully shaped and edited their accounts with purpose, and so we shouldn’t think we can fix their accounts by chronologically consolidating them all together. Thinking we can do so, is chronological snobbery at its finest and will likely mislead us from understanding them in their fullness and what they really are.

[Tina]

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]

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]

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.

[RichardEdwards]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

❤️❤️❤️!!!

[Laurie Larsen]

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]

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

[Ron]

Buy it. Read it. BELIEVE.

[Scott Fabel]

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]

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]

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