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A HARMONY OF THE GOSPELS
FOR STUDENTS OF THE
LIFE OF CHRIST
in the Revised Version
A. T. ROBERTSON, M.A., D.D., LL.D., LITT.D.
SOUTHERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY
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NEW YORK AND LONDON
BY HARPER & BROTHERS
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
ELIZA S. BROADUS
ELDEST DAUGHTER OF JOHN A. BROADUS
AN ELECT LADY BELOVED IN MANY LANDS
PREFACE
It is now just thirty years since one day his young assistantsuggested to Dr. John A. Broadus that he prepare a harmony of theGospels that should depart from the old plan of following the feastsas the turning points in the life of Jesus. He acted on the hint andled the way that all modern harmonies have followed. The book hasgone through a dozen large editions and has become the standardharmony for many thousands of students all over the world. Broaduswas concerned to bring out "the inner movements of the history,towards that long-delayed, but foreseen and inevitable collision, inwhich, beyond all other instances, the wrath of man was made topraise God." This he succeeded in doing with marvelous power.
A generation has passed by and it is meet that the work of Broadusshould be reviewed in the light of modern synoptic criticism andresearch into every phase of the life of Christ. So I have made a newanalysis that preserves Broadus's real purpose, but with new sectionsand new notes. The notes at the end of the old volume, written by mefor the first edition, have been thoroughly revised and brought up todate. The Old Testament passages referred to in the Gospels are givenin the text. The Gospel of Mark appears in the first column, thenMatthew, Luke, and John. It is now known that Matthew and Luke madeuse of Mark for the framework of their Gospels. This changesimplifies amazingly the unfolding of the narrative.
There is still dispute concerning the historical worth of the Gospelof John, but the Johannine authorship is not disproved. It stillholds the field in my opinion. Dr. C. F. Burney's theory of anAramaic original is already giving a new turn to Johannine criticism.
A harmony of the Gospels cannot