The Gospels in Four Part Harmony | Page 5

is somewhat obscured due to their
non-chronological sequence). Thus Mary Magdalene plays a major role
in the account of Jesus which is implied by many ancient sources such

as the gospel of Thomas but not highlighted by the canonical gospels in
their present sequence. The same is true for the significance of John the
Baptist in Jesus' ministry. In the PGH sequence, John the Baptist is
portrayed as an important ally of Jesus' ministry and his arrest and later
death are both pivotal moments in Jesus ministry as portrayed by the
PGH sequence. The importance of John the Baptist in the ministry of
Jesus is implied by many ancient sources and that importance is vividly
depicted in Jesus' ministry using the PGH sequence of the canonical
gospels.
Moreover, the PGH is the only manuscript in existence which depicts
an error free chronological sequence for the events in the life of Jesus
as portrayed in the four canonical gospels. The four canonical gospels
make no claim to being written in chronological sequence. There are
historical/traditional accounts that indicate that the four canonical
gospels were not written in chronological order. For instance, Papias
(AD 135) indicated that Mark was not in any particular order. An
engineered reconstruction of the chronological order of the gospels
indicates that while several sequences are possible -- the sequence of
the modern gospels is not in chronological order. For instance, the
passage in Mark 3:13-19 not only precedes the passage in Mark
3:20-31 by over a dozen events but in fact several passages in Mark
actually occur between Mark 3:13-19 and Mark 3:20- 31.
Also, while there have been many modern attempts to reconstruct the
sequence of the events of Jesus life as narrated in the four canonical
gospels none of these reconstructions has as many parallels to the
theoretical "Q" text as the PGH. Furthermore the theory for the "Q" text
was first proposed in the 1800's and the PGH manuscript predates the
"Q" text theory by 400 years. Thus the best candidate to date for the
"Q" text sequence is the PGH manuscript.
More importantly, the best manuscript for a chronological depiction of
the actual sequence of events in the life of Jesus is The Pepys Gospel
Harmony MS 2498.

Acknowledgements
The biblical text for this book is from The Common Edition of the New
Testament by T. E. Clontz and I would like to thank my brother for
allowing me to use his book.

Many of the section headings for this book come from The Pepysian
Gospel Harmony, 1922 Oxford edition; Margery Goates, Editor. I am
also deeply indebted to Margery Goates for her invaluable analytical
summary of the Pepys Gospel Harmony. Her analytical summary of the
entire work showing the parallel passages from the canonical gospels
made this book possible.
I would also like to thank Yuri Kuchinsky -- author of The Magdalene
Gospel and the moderator for [email protected], an email group
devoted in part to discussing the Pepys Gospel Harmony. Yuri's
herculean efforts in maintaining a web site for the Pepys Gospel
Harmony first brought my attention to the existence of this priceless
manuscript and the marvels of its contents.
And finally, I would like to thank the unknown author of the Pepysian
Gospel Harmony MS 2498 for bringing me joy.

About the Author
J. Clontz is an award winning writer and speaker who has been
published in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Clontz is listed in Marquis Who's Who in America and A Directory of
American Poets and Fiction Writers.
Previous publications include: C. S. Lewis's Grief After the Death of
Joy, 1998 Women and the Cross, 1997 Karl Barth's Moment, 1997
New Psalms, 1996 Karl Barth's Pontius Pilate, 1996

Table of Contents
Part 1 - IN THE BEGINNING
1.10 The Gospel LK 1:1-4 1.20 God Became Man in Jesus Christ JN
1:1-18 2.10 Gabriel appears to Zechariah LK 1:5-25 2.20 Gabriel visits
the Virgin Mary LK 1:26-38 2.30 Mary Visits Elizabeth LK 1:39-56
2.50 Joseph is Reassured in a Dream MT1:18-25A 2.60 The Birth of
John the Baptist LK 1:57-80 3.10 Joseph and Mary go to Bethlehem,
Jesus is born, Angels Appear to the Shepherds LK 2:1-21 3.20 The
Genealogy of Jesus Christ MT 1:1-17 3.30 The Visit of the Magi MT
2:1-12 4.10 Simeon and Anna's blessings LK 2:22-39 5.10 The Flight
into Egypt MT 2:13b-23 5.20 Jesus Grows in Stature LK 2:40 6.10
Jesus among the Teachers LK 2:41-52

Part 2 - BAPTISM
7.10 John the Baptist Preaches Repentance MT 3:1-17 MK 1:1-11 LK
3:1-18, 21-22 JN 1:19-28 8.10 The Fasting and Temptation of Jesus
MT 4:1-11 MK 1:12-13 LK 4:1-13 8.20 The Genealogy of Jesus Christ
LK 3:23-38 9.10 John the Baptist's Witness - Behold the Lamb of God!
JN 1:29b-51 10.10 The Marriage