Editorial Notes and Verse Index
← 183 Life in His Name · The Saints Gospel: all scenes
Source and scope
The running source is the Saints Translation published at vincentmelli.com. All 90 relevant chapter pages were retrieved: Matthew 1–28, Mark 1–16, Luke 1–24, John 1–21, and Acts 1. They were compared with the supplied Saints Translation recovery checkpoint. Current website wording takes precedence, including Mark 4:21, Luke 11:33, John 10:11, and John 20:16.
The supplied translation records its Greek base as Michael W. Holmes, editor, The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition (2010), copyright Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. This manuscript adapts the Saints English translation by combining parallel accounts, adjusting connective wording, and arranging scenes; it does not represent a newly collated Greek edition.
SBL Greek New Testament · Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
How the harmony is arranged
The narrative follows a broad Gospel sequence rather than claiming an independently established day-by-day chronology. Matthew and Luke’s different genealogies remain intact; no unrecorded explanation of their relationship is imposed. The two temple actions, distinct anointing settings, repeated teaching occasions, and both great feedings remain distinct. Some parallel calling, healing, and commissioning accounts are combined; the notes identify consequential choices.
Luke’s dedication to Theophilus and John’s first-person testimony remain the testimony of their source authors. The birth narrative places the presentation before the Magi and the flight to Egypt, then joins Luke’s return to Nazareth to Matthew’s return; this order is a harmonistic arrangement. Levi and Matthew are identified according to the traditional reading of the parallel calling narratives, while their respective source names are preserved. Joseph and Joses are retained as name forms; the distinct Gospel names for the women at the cross are listed without requiring an identification not stated in the text.
Textual inclusion
The source edition has no running verse entry at Matthew 17:21, 18:11, 23:14; Mark 7:16, 9:44, 9:46, 11:26, 15:28; Luke 17:36, 23:17; or John 5:4. These eleven numbering gaps are inherited from that edition. No wording from a different Bible translation has been inserted to fill them. Verse completeness in this manuscript means coverage of every actual entry of the specified Saints source, except for Mark’s shorter ending, which has been removed at the translator’s request.
John 7:53–8:11, Mark 16:9–20, and the source’s bracketed wording at Luke 22:19–20 and 24:40, 51–52 are retained. Brackets have been removed from the reading prose for continuity; their source status is recorded here and in the scene notes. All other actual source entries, including Luke 22:43–44 and 23:34, are also retained. Bracket removal is an editorial presentation choice, not a claim that textual questions have disappeared.
Words of Christ in red
Words spoken by Jesus Christ are printed in red: His teaching, dialogue, parables, and prayers, before and after the Resurrection, including Scripture that He reads or cites within His own speech (as at Nazareth, scene 26) and the Evangelists’ translations of His Aramaic words. Where the narrator or a disciple repeats a saying of His word for word (as when Peter remembers, scene 154, and at John 21:23, scene 178), that also is red. Not red are the Father’s voice from heaven, the words of angels, prophecies cited by the Evangelists, and sayings attributed to Him by accusers, mockers, or others within their own speech. The coloring follows the quotation marks of the Saints Translation. It is an editorial aid and not part of the translation.
Revision of 20 September 2026
This revision follows an audit of the first edition against the Saints Translation chapter pages. Direct speech has been restored where the first edition reported it in the narrator’s voice (scenes 62, 64, 81, 110, 115, 120, 123, 125, 154, and 159). Wording found in no Gospel has been replaced with the Gospels’ own (scenes 14, 65, 71, 116, 162, 167, 169, and 180). Quotation marks have been corrected: a speech that runs over a paragraph break now stays open at the end of the paragraph and is reopened at the next, as in the source, and marks that were misplaced or missing in scenes 51, 95, 102, 108, and 149 have been set right. No verse has been added or removed; the verse index is unchanged.
Notes on individual scenes
Scene 14 The Beloved Son at the Jordan
Matthew records the heavenly declaration as “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Mark has the Spirit descending “into Him”; Matthew and Luke have “upon Him.” Luke renders the Father’s delight as “in You I have taken delight.” The narrative brings these witnesses together without treating their precise formulations as identical.
Scene 16 The Testing in the Wilderness
Matthew’s ordering of the final two temptations guides this scene. Luke places the temple temptation last; his singular “this stone” is represented by Matthew’s plural “these stones.” No additional temptation or journey is inferred from the difference.
Scene 28 They Left Everything and Followed Him
Luke’s miraculous catch and the shore calls in Matthew and Mark are woven into one calling scene. This is an editorial arrangement; the accounts do not explicitly identify every moment as the same occasion.
Scene 39 The Twelve Apostles
The traditional identification of Thaddaeus with Judas son of James is used while preserving both names. Both apostolic lists remain traceable in this scene.
Scene 43 Be Merciful as Your Father Is Merciful
The mountain sermon and Luke’s teaching on a level place are retained as successive teaching scenes. Their shared sayings remain where their different settings and emphases give them a distinct literary function.
Scene 44 I Am Willing Be Cleansed
“Becoming angry” preserves the Saints Translation’s Mark 1:41.
Scene 45 Only Speak a Word
Matthew presents the centurion’s appeal directly; Luke describes his elders and friends carrying it. This scene follows Luke’s messengers while retaining Matthew’s dialogue and declaration.
Scene 58 Go Home and Tell What the Lord Has Done
Matthew names the district the country of the Gadarenes; Mark and Luke call it the country of the Gerasenes. Both geographical forms are retained here in the source note. Matthew’s two men remain in the narrative, while Mark and Luke’s detailed account centers on one.
Scene 59 Daughter Your Faith Has Saved You
Matthew compresses the ruler’s first appeal into “My daughter has just died. But come, lay Your hand upon her, and she will live.” Mark and Luke’s unfolding report of her death guides the narrative; Matthew’s wording is retained here rather than made into an additional speech.
Scene 62 The Harvest and the Sending of the Twelve
The mission instructions differ in their treatment of equipment. Matthew 10:9–10 says not to acquire gold, silver, copper, a bag, two tunics, sandals, or a staff; Luke 9:3 says to take neither a staff nor bag nor bread nor silver nor two tunics. Mark 6:8–9 permits “a staff alone” and sandals while forbidding bread, bag, copper money, and two tunics. The narrative preserves Matthew’s extended charge, with Mark’s permissions and Luke’s formulation recorded here. These differences are not silently recast as the same instruction. Mark 6:10 gives the lodging instruction as “Wherever you enter a house, remain there until you leave that place”; the narrative carries it in Matthew’s form.
Scene 65 It Is I Do Not Fear
Mark describes the instructed direction as “toward Bethsaida”; John describes the disciples’ crossing as toward Capernaum. Both are retained without adding an unrecorded itinerary to explain them.
Scene 71 Seven Baskets of Abundance
Matthew calls their destination “the territory of Magadan”; Mark calls it “the district of Dalmanutha.” Both names stand side by side in the narrative, without asserting a geographical equivalence.
Scene 72 The Signs of the Times
Mark’s refusal reads, “Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.” Matthew records the exception of the sign of Jonah; both formulations are preserved.
Scene 76 Take Up Your Cross and Follow Me
The source formulations “after three days” and “on the third day” are brought together using the latter in the narrative; the former is retained here from Mark 8:31.
Scene 77 His Face Shone Like the Sun
Luke gives “about eight days,” while Matthew and Mark give “after six days”; these are retained as their respective descriptions rather than asserted to use identical counting. Luke’s heavenly voice says, “This is My Son, the chosen One; listen to Him.”
Scene 79 The Son of Man Will Be Handed Over
Mark 9:31 again gives “after three days.”
Scene 81 The Least and the Greatest
Matthew’s form of the sayings on the hand, the foot, and the eye guides the narrative, with Mark’s “where their worm does not die and the fire is not extinguished” joined to it. Mark 9:43 has “go away into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire,” and Mark 9:47 has “enter the kingdom of God with one eye”; both are recorded here.
Scene 86 Neither Do I Condemn You
John 7:53–8:11 is included from the Saints Translation, whose underlying edition marks it with double brackets. Its distinct textual status remains recorded here; no part of the passage is removed.
Scene 114 We Are Going Up to Jerusalem
Mark 10:34 has “after three days”; the narrative uses Matthew and Luke’s “on the third day.”
Scene 116 Lord That Our Eyes May Be Opened
Matthew and Mark place the healing as Jesus leaves Jericho; Luke places it as He approaches. This scene retains the encounter at Jericho without inventing two cities or an extra healing to settle the difference. Matthew records two men; Mark names Bartimaeus, and Luke concentrates on one. Bartimaeus is taken, with the traditional reading, as one of Matthew’s two men; this identification is editorial and is not stated by any Gospel.
Scene 119 The Fragrance of the Anointing
The Bethany anointing is placed according to John’s explicit “six days before the Passover.” Matthew and Mark recount it near the two-day Passion notice. Their anointing of the head and John’s anointing of the feet are both retained. John 12:7’s “so that she may keep it” remains alongside the burial interpretation rather than being discarded as a difficulty.
Scene 122 A House of Prayer for All Nations
Matthew describes the fig tree as withering immediately and places the temple action before it; Mark narrates the tree, then the temple, then the discovery of the withering next morning. Mark’s sequence guides these scenes; Matthew’s immediacy is retained in the disciples’ question.
Scene 125 The Stone the Builders Rejected
Matthew and Luke put the casting out before the son’s killing; Mark says they killed him and cast him out. The former order guides the narrative, with Mark’s wording preserved here as a source difference.
Scene 142 This Is My Body and My Blood
Luke 22:19b–20 is bracketed in the Saints source and is retained in full here. The bread and cup sayings combine the distinct formulations of the three Synoptic accounts. Matthew and Mark place the betrayal announcement before these sayings; Luke places it after them. Luke’s order guides the next scene without claiming to settle the meal’s exact internal sequence.
Scene 145 I Have Prayed for You
Mark specifies two crowings; Matthew, Luke, and John give the warning simply as before a rooster crows. Mark’s fuller sequence is followed. Matthew and Mark locate the warning on the way to Olivet; Luke and John place it in the supper conversation. It is combined here once.
Scene 152 Before Annas
John 18:17–18’s first denial and fire setting are included across this scene and the denial scene below; the reference index follows the location of their actual narrative treatment.
Scene 154 Peter Wept Bitterly
The accounts name different questioners and locate their remarks differently. Their accusations are grouped around the three denials; this arrangement does not establish an exact transcript or sequence of every remark.
Scene 157 My Kingdom Is Not from This World
The Synoptic meal is explicitly Passover; John places the authorities’ concern to eat Passover after the supper and calls the sentencing day the Preparation of the Passover. These source descriptions are retained, without imposing an unproved calendar solution.
Scene 160 Behold the Man
Matthew calls the cloak scarlet; Mark and John call it purple. The narrative uses purple and preserves Matthew’s color here. John places the scourging and mockery before the final sentence; that order guides this scene.
Scene 161 Handed Over to Be Crucified
John 19:14 places the sentencing at “about the sixth hour”; Mark 15:25 places the crucifixion at “the third hour.” Both times are preserved in this edition. No alternative timekeeping system is asserted to reconcile them.
Scene 162 The Way to the Place of the Skull
Matthew describes wine mixed with gall; Mark describes wine mixed with myrrh. The combined wording retains both descriptions without specifying an otherwise unrecorded recipe.
Scene 163 Father Forgive Them
The inscription appears in shorter forms in the Synoptics: Matthew, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews”; Mark, “The King of the Jews”; Luke, “This is the King of the Jews.” John’s fuller naming guides the narrative. Matthew and Mark speak of both criminals’ reproaches; Luke records one rebuking the other and turning to Jesus. Both witnesses are retained without supplying an unrecorded explanation for the change.
Scene 165 It Is Completed
Mark gives the cry as “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” and translates it “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Matthew’s “Eli” guides the narrative. John’s hyssop and the Synoptics’ reed are both retained, without specifying an unrecorded construction. Luke places the torn curtain before the final cry; Matthew and Mark place it after the death. The final sayings are arranged here without claiming an exact inter-Gospel order.
Scene 169 The Stone Was Rolled Away
John describes Mary arriving while it is still dark; Mark says the sun had risen when the women came; Matthew and Luke describe dawn. The scene preserves these descriptions without inventing a timed itinerary. Matthew’s angel on the stone, Mark’s young man inside, and Luke’s two men are all retained. Their changing positions are not reconstructed as a documented sequence. Luke’s two men and Matthew’s angel speak in turn, each in his own words; the words of Mark’s young man (“the Nazarene,” “and Peter,” “just as He told you”) are woven into the angel’s speech, and his “Do not be alarmed” and “Look, the place where they laid Him” are recorded here. Mark’s silence and the other accounts’ reports remain side by side; the text does not supply the duration of the silence.
Scene 174 Known in the Breaking of the Bread
Luke records the gathering’s announcement that the Lord had appeared to Simon; Mark records disbelief toward the two travelers’ report. Both responses are preserved without making the assembled disciples’ reactions uniform.
Scene 175 Peace to You
Mark calls the gathering “the Eleven”; John expressly says Thomas was absent on this evening. The collective designation is retained in the source index and is not turned into a claim that all eleven were present. The placement of Mark’s rebuke here is editorial.
Scene 179 All Authority in Heaven and on Earth
Matthew locates the commission on a mountain in Galilee. Mark’s commission is joined here as the shared mission charge; Mark does not specify that mountain as its setting. Both commissions and all the signs in Mark 16:17–18 are included.
Scene 180 The Promise of the Father
Acts 1:1–3 stands in the narrative in Luke’s own first person, as his dedication to Theophilus does in scene 1; it remains the testimony of its author. Acts supplies the forty-day span over which the resurrection scenes are arranged. The order of every appearance within it is not fully specified by the sources.
Scene 182 A Witness of His Resurrection
Acts’ account of Judas’s field and death remains in Peter’s succession setting, alongside Matthew’s account of the returned silver, hanging, and purchase of the field in Part Three. No broken rope or other unrecorded mechanism is added to reconcile them.
Scene 183 Life in His Name
Mark’s shorter ending has been removed from this harmony at the translator’s request. Mark 16:9–20 remains included; its missionary summary in verse 20 opens this closing scene as a forward-looking conclusion. The main sequence of Acts ends at 1:26; the narrative does not claim to retell Acts 2 onward. John’s closing references to his witness and book remain the Gospel’s own testimony, not a claim that the compiler of this harmony was an eyewitness.
Verse index
Each entry gives the source verse or range followed by the numbered scene where it is represented, either in the continuous narrative or in the associated note where source wording cannot be combined without concealment. Parallel verses may converge in one passage. Numbering coverage was checked against all 3,795 source entries; this check establishes reference coverage and does not replace close editorial judgment about the wording of a harmony.
Matthew
Matthew 1 1–17 → 2; 18–24 → 7; 25 → 8
Matthew 2 1–12 → 10; 13–23 → 11
Matthew 3 1–12 → 13; 13–17 → 14
Matthew 4 1–11 → 16; 12 → 24; 13–16 → 27; 17 → 24; 18–22 → 28; 23–25 → 31
Matthew 8 1–4 → 44; 5–13 → 45; 14–17 → 30; 18 → 57; 19–22 → 84; 23–27 → 57; 28–34 → 58
Matthew 9 1–8 → 32; 9–13 → 33; 14–17 → 34; 18–26 → 59; 27–34 → 60; 35–38 → 62
Matthew 10 1–4 → 39; 5–42 → 62
Matthew 11 1 → 62; 2–19 → 47; 20–30 → 48
Matthew 12 1–8 → 36; 9–14 → 37; 15–21 → 38; 22–37 → 51; 38–45 → 52; 46–50 → 53
Matthew 13 1–23 → 54; 24–53 → 56; 54–58 → 61
Matthew 14 1–12 → 63; 13–21 → 64; 22–33 → 65; 34–36 → 66
Matthew 15 1–20 → 68; 21–28 → 69; 29–31 → 70; 32–39 → 71
Matthew 16 1–4 → 72; 5–12 → 73; 13–20 → 75; 21–28 → 76
Matthew 17 1–13 → 77; 14–20 → 78; 22–23 → 79; 24–27 → 80
Matthew 18 1–10 → 81; 12–35 → 82
Matthew 19 1–12 → 110; 13–15 → 111; 16–30 → 112
Matthew 20 1–16 → 113; 17–19 → 114; 20–28 → 115; 29–34 → 116
Matthew 21 1–9 → 120; 10–11 → 121; 12–19 → 122; 20–22 → 123; 23–32 → 124; 33–46 → 125
Matthew 22 1–14 → 126; 15–22 → 127; 23–33 → 128; 34–40 → 129; 41–46 → 130
Matthew 23 1–13 → 131; 15–39 → 131
Matthew 24 1–14 → 134; 15–31 → 135; 32–51 → 136
Matthew 25 1–30 → 137; 31–46 → 138
Matthew 26 1–5 → 139; 6–13 → 119; 14–16 → 139; 17–20 → 140; 21–25 → 143; 26–29 → 142; 30 → 150; 31–35 → 145; 36–46 → 150; 47–56 → 151; 57 → 153; 58 → 152; 59–68 → 153; 69–75 → 154
Matthew 27 1–2 → 155; 3–10 → 156; 11–14 → 157; 15–23 → 159; 24–26 → 161; 27–30 → 160; 31 → 161; 32–34 → 162; 35–44 → 163; 45–56 → 165; 57–61 → 167; 62–66 → 168
Matthew 28 1–8 → 169; 9–10 → 172; 11–15 → 173; 16–20 → 179
Mark
Mark 1 1–8 → 13; 9–11 → 14; 12–13 → 16; 14–15 → 24; 16–20 → 28; 21–28 → 29; 29–34 → 30; 35–39 → 31; 40–45 → 44
Mark 2 1–12 → 32; 13–17 → 33; 18–22 → 34; 23–28 → 36
Mark 3 1–6 → 37; 7–12 → 38; 13–19 → 39; 20–30 → 51; 31–35 → 53
Mark 4 1–20 → 54; 21–29 → 55; 30–34 → 56; 35–41 → 57
Mark 6 1–6 → 61; 7–13 → 62; 14–29 → 63; 30–44 → 64; 45–52 → 65; 53–56 → 66
Mark 7 1–15 → 68; 17–23 → 68; 24–30 → 69; 31–37 → 70
Mark 8 1–10 → 71; 11–13 → 72; 14–21 → 73; 22–26 → 74; 27–30 → 75; 31–38 → 76
Mark 9 1 → 76; 2–13 → 77; 14–29 → 78; 30–32 → 79; 33–43 → 81; 45 → 81; 47–50 → 81
Mark 10 1–12 → 110; 13–16 → 111; 17–31 → 112; 32–34 → 114; 35–45 → 115; 46–52 → 116
Mark 11 1–10 → 120; 11 → 121; 12–19 → 122; 20–25 → 123; 27–33 → 124
Mark 12 1–12 → 125; 13–17 → 127; 18–27 → 128; 28–34 → 129; 35–37 → 130; 38–40 → 131; 41–44 → 132
Mark 13 1–13 → 134; 14–27 → 135; 28–37 → 136
Mark 14 1–2 → 139; 3–9 → 119; 10–11 → 139; 12–17 → 140; 18–21 → 143; 22–25 → 142; 26 → 150; 27–31 → 145; 32–42 → 150; 43–52 → 151; 53 → 153; 54 → 152; 55–65 → 153; 66–72 → 154
Mark 15 1 → 155; 2–5 → 157; 6–14 → 159; 15 → 161; 16–19 → 160; 20 → 161; 21–23 → 162; 24–27 → 163; 29–32 → 163; 33–41 → 165; 42–47 → 167
Mark 16 1–8 → 169; 9–11 → 171; 12–13 → 174; 14 → 175; 15–18 → 179; 19 → 181; 20 → 183
Luke
Luke 1 1–4 → 1; 5–25 → 3; 26–38 → 4; 39–56 → 5; 57–80 → 6
Luke 2 1–21 → 8; 22–38 → 9; 39–40 → 11; 41–52 → 12
Luke 3 1–18 → 13; 19–20 → 24; 21–22 → 14; 23–38 → 15
Luke 4 1–13 → 16; 14–15 → 24; 16–30 → 26; 31–37 → 29; 38–41 → 30; 42–44 → 31
Luke 5 1–11 → 28; 12–16 → 44; 17–26 → 32; 27–32 → 33; 33–39 → 34
Luke 6 1–5 → 36; 6–11 → 37; 12–16 → 39; 17–49 → 43
Luke 7 1–10 → 45; 11–17 → 46; 18–35 → 47; 36–50 → 49
Luke 8 1–3 → 50; 4–15 → 54; 16–18 → 55; 19–21 → 53; 22–25 → 57; 26–39 → 58; 40–56 → 59
Luke 9 1–6 → 62; 7–9 → 63; 10–17 → 64; 18–21 → 75; 22–27 → 76; 28–36 → 77; 37–43 → 78; 44–45 → 79; 46–50 → 81; 51–56 → 83; 57–62 → 84
Luke 10 1–24 → 90; 25–37 → 91; 38–42 → 92
Luke 11 1–13 → 93; 14–23 → 51; 24–26 → 52; 27–28 → 53; 29–36 → 52; 37–54 → 94
Luke 13 1–9 → 96; 10–21 → 97; 22–35 → 98
Luke 14 1–24 → 100; 25–35 → 101
Luke 16 1–18 → 103; 19–31 → 104
Luke 17 1–10 → 105; 11–19 → 107; 20–35 → 108; 37 → 108
Luke 18 1–14 → 109; 15–17 → 111; 18–30 → 112; 31–34 → 114; 35–43 → 116
Luke 19 1–10 → 117; 11–28 → 118; 29–40 → 120; 41–44 → 121; 45–48 → 122
Luke 20 1–8 → 124; 9–19 → 125; 20–26 → 127; 27–40 → 128; 41–44 → 130; 45–47 → 131
Luke 21 1–4 → 132; 5–19 → 134; 20–28 → 135; 29–38 → 136
Luke 22 1–6 → 139; 7–18 → 140; 19–20 → 142; 21–23 → 143; 24–30 → 141; 31–38 → 145; 39–46 → 150; 47–53 → 151; 54–55 → 152; 56–62 → 154; 63–65 → 153; 66–71 → 155
Luke 23 1 → 155; 2–5 → 157; 6–16 → 158; 18–23 → 159; 24–25 → 161; 26–33 → 162; 34–43 → 163; 44–49 → 165; 50–56 → 167
Luke 24 1–8 → 169; 9–11 → 172; 12 → 170; 13–35 → 174; 36–43 → 175; 44–49 → 180; 50–53 → 181
John
John 1 1–18 → 1; 19–34 → 17; 35–51 → 18
John 4 1–42 → 23; 43–45 → 24; 46–54 → 25
John 6 1–15 → 64; 16–21 → 65; 22–71 → 67
John 12 1–11 → 119; 12–19 → 120; 20–50 → 133
John 13 1–20 → 141; 21–30 → 143; 31–35 → 144; 36–38 → 145
John 18 1–2 → 150; 3–12 → 151; 13–16 → 152; 17 → 154; 18–24 → 152; 25–27 → 154; 28–38 → 157; 39–40 → 159
John 19 1–15 → 160; 16 → 161; 17–18 → 162; 19–24 → 163; 25–27 → 164; 28–30 → 165; 31–37 → 166; 38–42 → 167
John 20 1–2 → 169; 3–10 → 170; 11–18 → 171; 19–23 → 175; 24–29 → 176; 30–31 → 183
John 21 1–14 → 177; 15–23 → 178; 24–25 → 183
Acts
Acts 1 1–8 → 180; 9–14 → 181; 15–26 → 182
Saints Translation · The Saints Gospel · a harmony of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts 1 · words of Christ in red · working draft awaiting specialist review.