The Gospel of John is usually the first book new converts are advised to read. John himself explains why he wrote his gospel that is so different from the other three gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In John 20:31, the writer says, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name."
While the other gospels record the events surrounding Jesus’ birth and His deeds, John shares that Jesus was the Word and give reasons why He came to earth in the flesh.
John is NOT a synoptic gospel like Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Those three gospels tell about the DEEDS of Jesus. John writes about the PERSON of Jesus. His gospel is more personal and intimate. Even though some of the deeds of Jesus are included, John focuses on Jesus and His relationship with His Father. Jesus mentions His Father throughout the gospel of John.
John was the "beloved disciple of Jesus." He was the one he left in charge of His mother at the cross just before He was crucified. John was part of Jesus' inner circle along with Peter and James.
To Whom the Book Written?
The gospel was written to those who had not seen. That included non-Jewish people who were followers of Jesus, especially those struggling with Greek philosophy based on knowledge of Jesus being divine but not truly human.
What to Look For in the Gospel
John focuses a lot on Jesus’ dialogues, prayers, sermons, teachings, and one-on-one conversations. John gives insight into Christ’s conversations with people such as the Samaritan woman and Nicodemus.
It is in this gospel that we get John 3:16 that most disciples of Christ know: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
It’s from John 14:6 that we get Christ’s famous claim, “I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
There are many other familiar scriptures in the Gospel of John.
In order to understand and get the full knowledge of the book, make sure you look for the following things: seven miracles, sermons not found in other gospels, metaphors, and illustrations
Keywords
"Father" is used over 100 times.
"Word" is used several times in the first chapter and in other places.
"Love of God" is a recurring expression.
The words "believe" and "belief" are used 90 times in John, and only 29 times in Matthew, Mark, and Luke combined.
The word “life” appears a total of 36 times in John. That’s more than twice as many times as it appears in all the other gospels. It is found only 14 times in Matthew, Mark, and Luke combined.
Jesus gives seven "I am" statements about Himself by using familiar metaphors such as light, door, resurrection, way, truth, life, vine, and branches. Be able to identify them when you see them in the chapters.
Feasts
John places great emphasis on the Jewish feasts.
1. Three Passovers (2:23; 6:4; 13:1)
2. Feast of Tabernacles (7:2)
3. Dedication (10:22)
4. Unnamed festival (5:1)
Themes
Emphasis throughout the book include themes such as love, the Word of God, born again, the Holy Spirit, belief, life, and love.
Time Frames
John keeps readers up to date by using words such as "next, then, now, again, first, finally, etc. Notice them because these words appear throughout the entire book.
Unlike Others Gospels
Matthew and Luke record the birth of Jesus. John goes back even further to the time when Jesus was God and with God. He came as the Word wrapped in flesh (John 1:1).
In the other gospels, Jesus called His disciples. Only in John, some of His disciples bring their friends and family to meet him and become disciples. Andrew brings his brother Simon Peter (John 1:41), and Philip introduces Jesus to Nathanael (John 1:45).
Titles for Jesus
John uses 36 different titles for Jesus. Watch out for them as you read the book. Jesus refers to Himself by one of His favorite titles: Son of Man. Notice, the different titles others call Jesus.
John's Other Books
John wrote five books of the Bible.
1. Gospel of John
2. First John
3. Second John
4. Third John
5. Book of Revelation
Now That You Know
Now that you know much about the overview of the Book of John, you are ready to take a quiz based on this Overview. Then explore what is written in each chapter. Go over each chapter and be able to answer the questions in each section. Take the Chaper Quiz before proceeding to the next chapter.
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