Gospel Of John Vs. The Gospel Of John

The Gospel of John is significantly different from the Gospel’s of Matthew, Mark, and Luke in the setting, omissions, sequence of events, and focus on its teachings (Wilcox, 2014). The focus of the setting of Jesus’ ministry was the area around Galilee in the Synoptic Gospels, but John emphasizes Jesus’ travel to and from Jerusalem. Moreover, the writer of John omits the birth account of Jesus, does not refer to Jesus casting out demons, and does not refer to problems between Jesus and His family (Harris, 2014). Additionally, John never depicts Jesus reinterpreting the Jewish law, nor the prophecies of Jerusalem’s eventual downfall.

Also, the sequence and duration of Jesus ministry are depicted differently in John than the Synoptic Gospels

(Wilcox, 2014). Therefore, John’s version of Jesus throwing the money changers out of the Temple was at the onset of his ministry, while the Synoptics place it at the end (Harris, 2014). While Matthew, Mark, and Luke refer Jesus only ministering a year, the book of John alludes to three years. Furthermore, the dates of Jesus last supper are dated contrarily then in John than in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

Finally, the theological variations in the book of John separate it from the Synoptic Gospels. First, John’s account portrays Jesus work as complete, and that the Holy Spirit resides with Christians after accepting Jesus as their Savior (Harris, 2014). Secondly, the Synoptic Gospels often referred to the God’s eventual return and being accepted into his future Kingdom (Wilcox, 2014). However, John believed in eternal life, and chose to view that eternal life as starting at salvation; therefore, John depicted a present salvation, while the Synoptic presented a future deliverance. These are just a few of the differences between the Gospel of John and the Synoptic Gospels.