THE HARMONY

No, not a barbershop quartet.

I just finished a book I've been wanting to read for some time now. It's actually four books in one. Technically six, but mostly four.

What am I talking about? A Harmony is a book of the four gospels--plus a few lines out of Acts and 1 Corinthians--lined up so you can read the life of the Christ chronologically. When the same part of the story is told by multiple authors, the Harmony will print them side by side. In some places, all four gospels are printed in four columns down the page.

This gives the reader a new insight in multiple facets.

1. The Timeline. Unless you're in seminary or some other study program, it's hard to understand when Jesus did what. This puts it all in order for you.

2. Continuity. A Harmony shows how much the different gospels are in agreement.

3. Differences. In no place do the gospels contradict one another. I checked, though you do have to think about it in a few places. But they do tell parts of the story from different perspectives, which was interesting to me. Each gospel was written for a different audience.

4. Characters. I got a better feel for side characters (using a literary term. I'm aware they were real people.) Mary Magdelene, the "other Mary," the different Herods, etc.

5. Geography. I followed along on Google Maps, tracing out routes and towns. Now I really want to go visit Isreal. Maybe someday.

There's more, of course. But that's enough for today.

I read it in NIV, which I used for decades, beginning back in 1980 something when the NIV was new. Today, I read in the ESV, so I wish I had one in that version, but the NIV did just fine for the purpose. Here's the one I read: https://a.co/d/cIf1QFr

I write all this just so you might consider trying a Harmony. It's a great perspective and worth the read.

Tripp<