Parallel Gospel Reader

The birth of Jesus as told in Matthew and Luke.

Jesus is baptised by John in the Jordan.

Satan tempts Jesus after his forty-day fast.

Jesus calls his first followers.

Jesus's great ethical discourse.

A Roman centurion's faith amazes Jesus.

Jesus stills a storm on the Sea of Galilee.

Jesus feeds a multitude with five loaves and two fish.

Jesus walks on the Sea of Galilee.

Peter declares Jesus to be the Christ.

Jesus is transfigured on the mountain.

A rich man asks what he must do to inherit eternal life.

Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey.

Jesus drives out the merchants and money changers.

Jesus teaches about the end times on the Mount of Olives.

Jesus shares a final meal with his disciples.

Jesus prays in anguish before his arrest.

Jesus is arrested in the garden.

Jesus stands trial before the Roman governor.

Jesus is crucified at Golgotha.

Jesus is laid in a tomb.

The women find Jesus's tomb empty on the first day of the week.

The risen Jesus sends his disciples to all nations.

A parable unique to Luke about loving one's neighbour.

A parable unique to Luke about a father's radical forgiveness.

Jesus declares himself the bread of life (John only).

Jesus describes himself as the good shepherd (John only).

Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead (John only).

Jesus teaches that he is the true vine (John only).

Jesus prays for his disciples and future believers (John only).

A farmer sows seed on four types of soil: the path, rocky ground, thorns, and good soil. Jesus explains that the seed is the word of God, received differently by different hearts.

An enemy secretly sows weeds among good wheat. At harvest the two are separated — the weeds burned, the wheat gathered into the barn.

The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed — the smallest of all seeds — that grows into a great tree where birds come to nest in its branches.

The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman mixes into three measures of flour until the whole batch is leavened.

A man discovers treasure hidden in a field. Overjoyed, he sells everything he owns and buys that field.

A merchant searching for fine pearls finds one of extraordinary value and sells everything he has to obtain it.

The kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that catches all kinds of fish. At the end of the age, the wicked are separated from the righteous.

A shepherd leaves his ninety-nine sheep to search for the one that is lost. When found, he rejoices more over it than over those that never strayed.

A king forgives a servant's enormous debt, but that servant refuses to forgive a fellow servant a small one. The king revokes his mercy.

A landowner pays all workers — hired at dawn or at the final hour — the same daily wage, illustrating that God's grace is not based on earned merit.

One son refuses his father's request but later obeys; the other agrees but does not act. Jesus asks which one did the father's will.

Tenants of a vineyard beat the owner's servants and kill his son. The owner will destroy them and give the vineyard to others who bear fruit.

Invited guests refuse the king's banquet with flimsy excuses. The king fills the hall with strangers; one without proper attire is cast out.

Ten bridesmaids await the bridegroom. Five bring extra oil and are ready when he arrives; five do not and find the door shut.

A master entrusts servants with money before a journey. Those who invest and grow it are rewarded; the servant who buries it has it taken away.

At the final judgment, the Son of Man separates people as a shepherd separates sheep from goats — by whether they cared for "the least of these."

A man scatters seed and sleeps; it sprouts and grows though he does not know how. The earth produces grain by itself, until harvest comes.

A man beaten by robbers is ignored by a priest and Levite but rescued by a despised Samaritan. "Which of the three was a neighbor to this man?"

A man wakes his neighbor at midnight for bread. The neighbor rises — not out of friendship but because of the man's persistence. Ask; seek; knock.

A wealthy man tears down his barns to build larger ones for his abundance. That very night his soul is required of him: "Whose will these things be?"

A fig tree bears no fruit for three years. The owner wants to cut it down; the gardener asks for one more year to dig and fertilize it.

A man's invited guests make excuses. He tells his servant to bring in the poor, crippled, blind, and lame — and still there is room.

A woman loses one of her ten silver coins and sweeps the whole house searching for it. When found, she calls her neighbors to rejoice with her.

A son demands his inheritance, wastes it, and returns in shame. His father runs to meet him and throws a party. The older son resents it.

A manager about to be dismissed reduces his master's debtors' bills to secure friends for himself. Jesus commends his worldly shrewdness.

A rich man feasts lavishly while Lazarus begs at his gate. Both die; Lazarus rests in Abraham's side while the rich man suffers in torment.

A widow keeps pressing an unjust judge until he grants her justice. If even he relents, how much more will God answer those who cry to him day and night?

A proud Pharisee lists his virtues before God; a tax collector simply beats his chest and asks for mercy. The second goes home justified, not the first.