Introduction

While the Gospel of John bears some similarities to the Synoptic Gospels, as Barrett (1974) points out, it also sets itself apart in several unique ways by focusing on the mystical nature of Christ and the importance of the Church. Even the Synoptic Gospels offer differing details of the life and teachings of Christ, and in many instances, John agrees or is more in line with Mark, while Mark differs from Matthew and Luke. Still, Barrett (1974) affirms that “John’s aim was not literal accuracy, and he therefore cannot be expected to show detailed respect for the wording of any source” (p. 228). John’s aim, rather, was to illustrate the divine nature of Christ in a way that showed how the Son of God was infinitely unique in the history of the world—and how that uniqueness was to stay with the world through the sacraments of the Church.

The Synoptic Gospels

The gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke are known as the Synoptic Gospels because they generally share the same synopsis of the life and teachings of Christ: they emphasize the same historical story, commonly in the same order of events, and they were all three composed in the Greek language—but so too was the Gospel of John (Brown, 1997). The Synoptic Gospels (and even John at times) cover the same stories, the same miracles; for instance: there are descriptions of John the Baptist and the Transfiguration, in which Christ’s divine nature is manifested (Mt 17:2; Lk 9:28-36; Mk 9-23); the calming of the storm (Mt 8:23-27; Lk 8:22-25; Mk 4:35-41); the expulsion of the money changers from the temple (Mt 21:12-17; Lk 19:45-48; Mk 11:15-19)—and all four Gospels describe the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 (Mt 14:13-21; Lk 9:12-17; Mk 6:31-44; Jn 6:1-14). The Synoptic Gospels also focus on the childhood of Christ and even on His earthly lineage (being descended from the House of David). The Gospel of John, however, focuses on a different lineage—a spiritual lineage as it were: John describes how Christ was there in the Beginning: “In the Beginning was the Word (Jn 1:1). As John was the only apostle to be by Christ’s side at the crucifixion, it is understandable that John would have a more mystical sense of Christ, one that was rooted deeply in the spiritual love that Christ as God had and has for His people and His Church. The Synoptic Gospels do not avoid this mystical side of Christ, but it also is not their overall focus. For John it most certainly is—which is why his Gospel soars to such sublime heights, especially in the beginning.

The Synoptic Gospels also differ from John in terms of their respective audiences. Each was written for a unique readership, whereas the Gospel of John has a universal audience. Matthew’s intended readership was primarily the Jews (which is why he includes so many references to the Old Testament in his Gospel); Mark’s Gospel was oriented mainly toward the Roman Gentiles, emphasizing Christ as God above all else;... At the center of the cosmos is the Logos—the Word. The Word is God—as John describes—and the Word is Christ. Thus, John connects Christ to Eternity and to Divinity at the very outset—thematically representing Christ as the spiritual thread that weaves through all of life, all that is good in the eyes of God. God is the Light and the Life, and Christ is this same God. John erects a spiritualized framework that elevates the reader to the level of God and lets the reader see the world from God’s perspective, in a sense. This desire to show all who God is relates to the “I AM” sayings found in John. The “I AM” sayings are unique to John’s Gospel and build on the thematic conception of God as Yahweh, “I AM Who AM.” Indeed, this expression “I AM” was very important to the Jews and was not even supposed to be uttered, because it was the sacred name of God given to Moses. When Christ self-identified as “I AM” to the Pharisees, they were outraged and considered Him a blasphemer—but in truth as John shows Christ was simply asserting His Divinity as the Logos. As Towns (2002) notes, Christ was distinguishing between Himself and the Pharisees, telling apart “His reality and genuineness from that which is false” (p. 150). Christ tells those around Him alternatively, “I am the true vine” (Jn 15:1) and offers numerous other ways to think about Who He Is: the Way, the Truth and the Life (Jn 14:6), the Bread of Life (Jn 6:35), the Light of the World (Jn 8:12), the Good Shepherd (Jn 10:11).
Thus, John uses Christ’s own allegorical conceptions of His Divine Self to communicate the Man as Logos as God. This connects to John’s overall framework for the Gospel, which is established in what serves as the Gospel’s cosmic prologue, wherein Christ is described as the Logos, the Lamb of God, and the Son of God. This prologue is then followed by an examination of the many signs that Christ gives to prove His Divinity—from the miracles (such as the wedding feast at Cana, wherein the sacrament of matrimony is situated) to the raising of Lazarus from the dead.

John’s Gospel also tells the story of the conversion of Nicodemus, who was a Pharisee and one of the Sanhedrin, who comes to Christ during the night to discuss in more detail the meaning of Christ’s teachings (Jn 3:1-21). John devotes much time to telling Nicodemus, showing how he urged the Jews to be fair and allow Christ to present his case (Jn 7:50). John even shows how Nicodemus is there to help in burial of Christ…