When we read the Gospels, the overwhelming impression is how similar they are to each other. There are, however, a number of places where the gospel records appear to say different things. Of course, most of these differences are so minor that they cannot, with any degree of seriousness, be called contradictions. A few, however, do trouble some readers. That is why it’s important for us to look at a few of the most significant kinds of apparent difficulties.

Some of the most common differences relate to chronology, the order in which events are described in the various gospels. Rather than following strictly chronological priorities, the Gospels sometimes order their episodes according to theme or geography. For example, Mark told the story of Jesus being rejected in his hometown in Mark 6:1-6. But Luke placed it sooner in the narrative, in Luke 4:14-30, so that it was the first story in Jesus’ public ministry. Luke’s gospel gives the story more prominence than Mark’s does. And it even tells a longer version of the story to emphasize the theme of rejection.

A second type of difference is the omission of material in one or more of the Gospels. For example, John does not mention the institution of the Lord’s Supper in his gospel. Omissions like this may result simply from different writers’ emphases. Or they may also result from later gospel writers not feeling the need to repeat portions of what appeared in the books of earlier gospel writers. Scripture does this explicitly from time to time. For instance, in 2 Chronicles 9:29, the chronicler explicitly said that he was omitting details that had already been recorded by other writers.

A third common type of apparent difficulty results from similarities between different events that occurred in Jesus’ ministry. That is to say, at times two gospels seem to describe the same event in different ways, but they may actually be describing two similar but different events. It’s important to remember that Jesus was an itinerate preacher. That is, he moved around from place to place. He also performed many of the same types of miracles in different places, healing many who were blind or lame. And of course, Jesus answered many of the same questions and challenges over and over again. Consider the accounts of Jesus being anointed in Luke 7:36-50 and Mark 14:3-9. In Luke, Jesus is in the house of a Pharisee, but in Mark, he’s in the house of Simon the Leper. These are not two contradictory reports of the same event; rather they are reports of two different events.

A fourth type of apparent difficulty is confusion caused by different speeches that had similar content. One of the best-known examples of this is Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5:1, we are told that it took place on a mountainside. But in Luke 6:17, we are told that it took place on a level place. There are at least three ways to approach this problem.

First, both Matthew and Luke may be talking about the same sermon given at the same time and place. The Southwestern side of the Sea of Galilee is not a rugged mountainside but rolling hillsides rising from the sea. This elevated area also has many smaller areas that are relatively flat, so the same geography could be called both a mountainside as in Matthew and a level place as in Luke.

In the second place this may be an example of the ancient practice of creating a composite speech — putting together into one sermon things that Jesus spoke on different occasions. This is a technique used by ancient historians and raises no questions about integrity or reliability.

In the third place, it’s also possible that Jesus preached two very similar sermons on two different days, in two different settings: one on a mountainside and one on a plain. Because of the style of Jesus’ ministry, it’s certainly reasonable to assume that Jesus would repeat many of his teachings to new audiences who were unfamiliar with them. By observing the variety of ways the differences in the Gospels can be harmonized, we can be assured that their united witness to Jesus’ life and ministry is true.