The Gospel of Jesus

Loraine Boettner

Reviewed by: Christopher B. Cashen

The Gospel of Jesus: The Four Gospels in a Single Complete Narrative, by Loraine Boettner. P&R, 2023. Hardcover, 224 pages, $29.99. Reviewed by OP pastor Christopher B. Cashen.

What is a “diatessaron”? That question pops up as one opens The Gospel of Jesus, a republication of Loraine Boettner’s 1933 book. The original version was more appropriately entitled A Summary of the Gospels. “Diatessaron” is an English transliteration of two Greek words, meaning, according to the editor, “out of four.” Here it is used to reference the four gospel accounts. Boettner’s work was a product of his teaching at Pikeville College in Kentucky where he brought together all four gospels into a single account of Jesus’s earthly ministry. The “book” then is a “cut and paste” of Scripture, humanly reorganized to string together the four into one chronologically ordered account. Boettner notes that “the Summary . . . differs from the ordinary ‘harmony’ of the gospels in that the separate accounts are not printed in full parallel columns, but are woven into one unified story.”

This republication differs from the original. Obviously, the title has been changed. When first published, the 1901 American Standard Version was used. The 2023 P&R version uses the Christian Standard Bible. Additionally, some of the headings and dates that Boettner assigned to events have been changed, along with a bit of his chronological arrangement.

While both the new publisher and Boettner rightly note that this book is no substitute for reading through the four gospel accounts as given by the Holy Spirit, it does serve significant purposes. First, the book provides a notably different reading experience. Gone are chapter and verse numbers from the text (marginal notes only). It reads like a novel, flowing in a way that differs from the individual books. Second, jumping between gospel accounts to obtain the full picture of a particular event is not necessary. Boettner brings them all together. Third, readers may find details that they had previously overlooked. Take for example the account of Jesus’s baptism. Here, Boettner uses Matthew’s account as his “base” text. He then adds to it (in parentheses) one single word from Luke’s account: “When Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water (praying)” (Matt. 3:13–17; Luke 3:21). Jesus went up praying? How did I miss that? Well, that is one of the benefits that can be gleaned from Boettner’s work. It tends to highlight certain lesser known or underappreciated aspects of Scripture.

Families might consider this volume for a season of family worship. Or, this work could be a blessing to any who are looking to dig deeper into the good news as presented by the four Evangelists. While it has been rearranged according to human wisdom, it is pure Scripture, which will always be profitable for growth “in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet 3:18).