Question: Why did Matthew and Luke include some common passages that Mark also had, but omit other common passages that he left out?
Far from contradictory or in need of harmony, the diversity in the Gospels is really nothing more than God reaching out to diverse people with the message of unconditional love. (Google)
The four gospels all tell a unique perspective of the same story. They all claim Jesus is the Jewish Messiah who fulfils the Hebrew Scriptures. Mark is widely considered to be the oldest Gospel. The genealogies at the start of Matthew have hidden design patterns in them that unify the Old and New Testaments.
The reason is much more telling. From at least sometime around the middle of that century, if not before, four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—are viewed as forming a natural unit, to be read and interpreted together as a group, all ultimately coming from God.
John's Gospel differs from the Synoptic Gospels in several ways: it covers a different time span than the others; it locates much of Jesus' ministry in Judaea; and it portrays Jesus discoursing at length on theological matters.
Mark is the earliest Gospel written, probably, shortly after the war that destroyed the Temple, the war between Rome and Judea. And Mark presents one type of Jesus with a particular narrative where Jesus begins in the Galilee and he ends his life in Jerusalem.
Unlike the other three Gospels, Mark is not concerned with details, but centres on one's personal choice to act. Ultimately, Mark concludes with an implicit call to action. This Gospel tells a powerful story with a challenge that essentially asks believers what they will do with what they now know.
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