Describe, in your own words, ways in which John’s gospel is different from the Synoptic Gospels. Why are these differences important? How would our view of the Christ’s life and work be different without the gospel of John?

[Austin]

Although John’s record of Jesus feeding the five thousand and walking on water parallels the Synoptic Gospels, the rest of his material is unique. He does not include parables, but he chooses to narrate certain miracles as “signs”, and everytime follows up with some discourse or sermon to explain the significance of the sign.

John gives very clear clues of Jesus’ ministry as lasting about three years, because he takes pains to record every time Jesus went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover. The other Gospels, in organizing some material according to themes, do not portray this time frame so clearly.

While Matthew and Luke present very early in their books the human genealogy of Jesus, John starts his gospel with his divine genealogy, so to speak. He declares that the Word existed right from the beginning with God. Although all the gospels did present Jesus as Son of God, John did this most clearly and drew the implication that Jesus was in fact God, most frequently – such as in Jesus “I am” statements and his controversies with the Jewish leaders.

Of all the Gospels, John spends the largest proportion on the Passion Week, filling in many discourses of this week that the other writers omitted – such as Jesus washing the disciples’ feet and praying for them, abiding in the Vine, and the promise of the Paraclete.

These differences are important because they fill in omitted material, which would have been lost for good when all the Apostles have passed away, if this had not been penned. The heavier emphasis on Jesus’ identity and deity also helped to ward off the Gnostic cult that was to come in John’s last days. The material even helped to clear up the Arian-Athanasian controversy over the Trinity as late as the fourth century. Finally, John’s inclusion of his Master’s heart-felt discourses during the Passion Week helps us see some of the foremost issues on our Lord’s heart. It gives us keys – such as abiding in Christ and relying on the Paraclete – to surviving the tumultuous centuries as we wait for his coming again.

#John

[Austin]

John’s gospel takes time to fully develop Jesus time in ministry, and show Jesus’s own self-awareness and declarations of his own divinity. Without Johns gospel it would seem as though Christ time of ministry was far shorter than it actually was. John also is able to bring in various pieces of Jesus’s ministry that is left out of other Gospels. John showed how Jesus continued to preach and show that he was the Son of God despite the fact that he knew it would ultimately lead to his own death. We can look to John to learn more of who Jesus truly is, and to gain bravery in our own beliefs and ability to speak the truth to others.

[Austin]

John did not repeat information that was already told in the Synoptic Gospels, however, John more so focuses attention on the details pf Christ’s life that were not told by Matthew, Mark and Luke. He specifically more so gives readers a more in depth description of who Jesus Christ is, His travels (up to when He was in Jerusalem), controversies He had with certain leaders, and tells us of Jesus Christ identity more descriptively. Giving us deeper revelation, more insight with scripture references of who Jesus says He is.

[Austin]

The differences are significant in that John seemingly highlights, for him, more relevant and important facts, that matter to our deeper understanding.
I believe this Gospel, of John, more than compliments the Synoptic Gospels. A complete picture of Jesus’ life is portrayed.

[Austin]

John does not repeat similar events as represented in the Synoptic Gospels but focuses on sermons and “I Ams”. He did not want to show that the time involved was short but to elaborate on added events to show that Jesus showed his power for 3 years while on earth. We would read the other gospels and believe that the time Jesus spent going about His father’s business to be less, however Jesus had a 3 year ministry.