Remember two things when you run into this: first, Jesus taught as an itinerant rabbi, which meant that He often repeated the same teaching in different places to different people. Second, being influenced by their Hebrew culture, Matthew and Mark put a greater emphasis on the meaning of an event rather than on the exact chronology of an event. When you take the fact that Jesus’ parables were spoken at different times during His three year ministry and add to it the author’s interest in conveying meaning more than exact chronology the differences you find within the synoptic gospels become understandable.
Scholars have attempted to create a harmonized gospel that satisfies our Western hunger for chronological order for centuries, but there is no way we can prove the actual sequence of every event. When you run across one of those “wrinkles” in the story, I suggest you ask the Holy Spirit to reveal His reason for placing that story where He did in that particular gospel. We should be seeking the meaning of the event more than where it fits in the timeline.
John’s gospel is not synoptic; it stands on its own. John was the oldest surviving apostle and his disciple, Polycarp (69-155 AD), said that John was moved to write “a different sort of gospel.” His focus is clearly on Jesus’ identity as God and the teaching He offered in the last week of His earthly ministry. John gives us a glimpse into our Lord unlike any other gospel writer. With the seven “I Am” statements and the seven signs, it truly is a different sort of gospel.
When it comes to reading Mark, I want to offer you an interpretive hint. Mark uses a literary device where he makes a sandwich out of two stories. He begins with one story, interrupts it with another then returns to finish the first story once that second story concludes (it is called intercalated pericope, but you won’t be tested on that). For instance, in Mark 6:7-13, Jesus sends out His 12 disciples to preach and demonstrate the presence of God’s kingdom. Mark 6:14-29 is all about the beheading of John the Baptist, which is then immediately followed by the conclusion of the disciple’s preaching journey. Mark makes this sandwich to show that there is an important connection between John’s demise and the disciples beginning their ministry. One sheds light on the other. See how many you can identify and ask the Lord to give you insight into what was on Mark’s mind as he penned these words.
I encourage you to spend time getting to know Jesus through these stories and His teachings. We are, after all, His disciples who seek to become like Him. What better way than to spend time with Him in the gospels?
Rob
