Week Forty-Four Reading Assignment:
Luke 17 - John 15

"Did you say you know the Book?  I am glad.  Lay it to heart.  Did you say you know the law?  I am glad.  Live in its light."

(William Sangster, Why Jesus Never Wrote a Book)

This Week's Teaching Video: The Kingdom of God

charting our progress

The Other Gospel

We have read Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Now we come to John.  And we discover that John is the other Gospel.  

Students of the New Testament will sometimes refer to Matthew, Mark, and Luke collectively as the "synoptic Gospels," which simply acknowledges the fact that they can be viewed side-by-side. Their organization is similar.  They follow the same basic outline.  And they share much content in common.

John, on the other hand, is different.  You cannot easily set John's outline next to the other three. And John has a good deal of material that is unique to his Gospel. 

We will explore in more detail in the adjacent column one of the distinctive characteristics of John. In addition, watch for these other features, as well... 

  • While the other Gospel writers report countless miracles performed by Jesus, John is more selective. He reports just a few, and it's clear that John understands that each one is significant inasmuch as it reveals something about who Jesus is.
  • John has the longest Last Supper scene.  For the other three, it takes up less than a chapter. For John, it is the longest single episode in the book.
  • John is famous for its collection of "I Am" statements by Jesus. These are key declarations about who and what He is -- the Resurrection and the Life, the Good Shepherd, the Vine, and more. 
  • The synoptic Gospels devote more attention to Jesus' Galilean ministry, while John's focus is primarily on Jesus' activity in Jerusalem. 
  • We might say that John's Gospel is the most overtly theological.  That is to say, Matthew, Mark, and Luke begin telling their stories in more conventional places, while John begins with the big-picture focus on the pre-existent Word of God. 
 
For all of these reasons, you see, we experience John as different -- the "other" Gospel.  And it is for some of these very reasons that many Christian identify John as their favorite. 

Jesus Up-Close-and-Personal 

As we have noted, John's Gospel is quite different from the other three -- the "synoptics" -- Matthew, Mark, and Luke. And one of the chief differences comes in the kinds of people-contact that the four Gospel writers portray.  

In the first three Gospels, we commonly see Jesus in the context of a crowd. John, however, does us the great favor of showing us Jesus in a series of one-on-one kinds of encounters. 

At the end of chapter 1, John gives us the unique account of Jesus' one-on-one contact with Nathanael. John 3 records the famous conversation with Nico-demus. Chapter 4 reports the important encounter with the woman at the well. Chapter 5 features the lame man by the pool, chapter 8 the woman caught in adultery, chapter 9 the man born blind, and chapter 11 Martha followed by Mary. John's account of the resurrection also has a uniquely personal quality to it, including both the one-on-one with Mary and later with Thomas in chapter 20. Finally, chapter 21 includes an important private conversation between Jesus and Peter. 

Other meaningful, though briefer, encounters are also found in John, but the point is amply made by the major examples above. John's Gospel is unlike the others in many ways. And one of the most significant and appealing is its personal quality. We welcome these one-on-one encounters with Jesus, for they resonate with our own experience with Him. 
"Anyone who attempts to read the Bible should begin with a genuine respect for God. Then there needs to be a firm desire to reform one's life according to its teaching. If you will be a sober and fruitful hearer and learner, then you will one day be able to teach. Your teaching will not be done with your mouth, but with holy living and good example."

(Thomas Cranmer)
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