Synoptics John

Should one fully read the opening four Gospels of the New Testament, he or she can find many similar patterns of literature and themes affording much attention to detail and study. This is what someone such as Merriam Webster would define as the ?Synoptic Gospels?. So, what are and how can we explain the differences and similarities among synoptic authors Matthew, Mark, Luke, and the gospel, John? Which Book was written first? To what extent did the Evangelists depend on oral tradition, written sources, or each other? The phenomenon and mystery of these similar but unique Synoptic Gospels has for centuries challenged some of the best minds of academia and the church, stirring up much scholarly

The post presents a clearly defined explanation of Jewish traditions and culture in the Book of John. Correctly stated, the use of the term “the Word” plainly displays an entity that is more than just mortal. Jewish scripture accurately predicts a messiah that was eternal. John’s explanation of “the Word” plainly lays out the fact that He was existent from all eternity. (TOWNES X). Furthermore, in John’s Gospel care is taken to provide chronological timeline by identifying Jewish holidays. Especially unique is John’s mention of the Feast of Tabernacles. Customs such as the wedding at Cana and the agrarian references to sheepherding assume the reader would be familiar with a particular way of life. Continuing, the notice of John’s

Johannine literature has a number of underlying themes and uses its many symbols to express to the believer how one is able to obtain the Truth and gain sight in order to experience God. One theme which uses symbols with the expressed goal of bringing people closer to God is discipleship. Disciple is found through the totality of John’s writing and incorporates symbols, biblical figures, and divine instruction in order to bring people into relationship with God. The Gospel of John, the Epistles, and the Book of Revelation make present the theme of discipleship in their own specific and distinct ways. Discipleship in the Gospel of John is elaborately described and acknowledges that one is only a disciple by divine initiative. The Epistles

The Gospel of John, the last of the four gospels in the Bible, is a radical departure from the simple style of the synoptic gospels. It is the only one that does not use parables as a way of showing how Jesus taught, and is the only account of several events, including the raising of Lazarus and Jesus turning water into wine. While essentially the gospel is written anonymously, many scholars believe that it was written by the apostle John sometime between the years 85 and 95 CE in Ephesus. The basic story is that of a testimonial of one of the Apostles and his version of Jesus' ministry. It begins by telling of the divine origins of the birth of Jesus, then goes on to prove that He is the Son of

John presents a very different Jesus compared to the synoptic gospels. It is clear that for John Jesus has many complex elements to his personality and without all of these the picture is not complete. The above quote by Käsemann suggests that in the gospel of John Jesus’ divinity is definite and his presence is felt on the entire world through his words and actions. This allows for the human Jesus but implies the divine Jesus is imperative.

John’s Gospel contains more poetic language and almost ninety percent of its material cannot be found the Synoptic Gospels. John’s depiction of the Last Supper also differs from what is written in the Synoptic Gospels. While John’s account also takes place during the Passover, it does not depict the meal in the same way that Luke’s Gospel does. Unlike Luke’s Gospel, John’s Gospel does not describe the actual Passover meal. Rather, it takes place after the meal has finished and the group is still at the table. John’s Gospel describes Jesus as washing the disciples’ feet, a moment that was shocking to the disciples. At this moment, Jesus acts similarly to that of a servant washing the feet of their master. Jesus, rather than acting as a religious superior, humbles himself to become a servant to his friends. In doing so, he encourages them to become vulnerable in his

The two Gospels that I 've decided to compare are Luke and John. Luke is considered a Synoptic Gospel and presents the human side of Jesus. Luke takes us through the longer version of his birth and his childhood and focuses on the humanity of Jesus. There was a debate in this story whether or not Jesus was human and raised many question to potential followers. Many said that Jesus was just a spirit but by reading Luke, there was great detail of his humanity. Luke directed this book directly to Gentiles and focused more on the teachings and miracles that Jesus created rather than the law. Stated in the text, Luke’s Gospel also depicts more clearly the way in which the proclamation of the kingdom of God and the accompanying mighty works of Jesus brought the benefits of salvation to marginalized people. Luke also highlights the concern of Jesus for the materially poor, and the duty of his followers to be free from love of possession and to give generously to those in need. John was considered a different story in the Bible and in the Gospel. It was the last story of the Gospels and does not repeat any of the other stories from Matthew, Mark, or Luke. John had the opportunity to see the gospel and its affect it had and based that off the

In the Men of the Word video L4.1 (2013) Rick Yohn broke down the Gospels, with Matthew representing Jesus as King of the Jews or the Son of David, in Mark as a servant, in Luke as the Son of Man, and in John as God (CCU CAGS). In Matthew, the idea of Jesus as the King of the Jews was to establish His royal lineage and let the Jews know that He is the Messiah who will occupy David’s throne. The style of Mark focused more on Jesus’ deeds to represent His servant-like attitude to live out His Father’s will. Gundry (2012) mentioned how His miracles demonstrated the power over nature, the demonic world, and death (p. 162), possibly to reiterate to the Romans His authority. The use of parables in Luke offered a literary means for people to better understand Jesus’ role as a human, in that He could relate to everyone. Gundry (2012) illustrated this by stating, “Luke thus portrays Jesus as a cosmopolitan Savior with broad sympathies, one who mingles with all sorts of people…” (p. 239). As for John, he aimed to show the omnipotence of Jesus, For He was the eternal God. His Gospel right away established Jesus’ connection to God when it stated, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1, NKJV). Jesus’ different roles were indicative of the different characters of God, and gave just a glimpse at who our Heavenly Father

Though the gospels are similar, the gospel John is very distinct from the others. One way that it is different was that He (John the writer) was writing to both believers and nonbelievers- so everybody. Also, he wasn’t writing about Jesus’ life mainly, but how people will have eternal life if people believe in him. While the other Gospels have said multiple times “Kingdom of God”, John used “eternal life” more. Another way that the gospel John is very distinct from the others is that John includes a lot more of Jesus’ ministry. For instance, all of John 2-4 is for the most part out of the other three gospels. This is the part where Jesus is ministering in Galilee. Lastly, another difference that I noticed was in the beginning of the three gospels, it starts our roughly with Jesus’ birth, but the gospel of John does not. Instead, it starts out with the creation of the

With the changing of tides shortly after Jesus’ ascension, the death of the all the disciples but John and the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, a new way of sharing the Gospel was needed. The reason for this new means of communicating the Gospel was because no one was left who had actually walked with Jesus. Therefore, John the disciple throws a “rummage sale” in writing his account of Jesus; which was so much different than the other three Gospel writers. His purpose was for people to know what it means to follow Jesus without him being physically present as he was for the twelve. Specifically, John focuses on the personal conversations of Jesus and others (Peterson 2); so much so that 90% of John’s book is unique, contains no parables

John focused on the fact that Jesus is Divine turned to flesh so that we could see the sacrifice that God made to send down His son to save our sins. John 3:16 (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) represents John’s emphasis on Jesus’ divinity by showing the complete sacrifice of what God did.

“The gospel gives away more to as who Jesus was as person and telling of his teachings in the ministry. John takes us behind Jesus’s ministry, where we get a glimpse of what it means to believe in Jesus as flesh of the eternal and living God, as the source of light and life, and for a believer to be a ‘Son of God.” (Sparknotes

Johannine literature truly portrays Jesus as God, with the theme of His deity interwoven throughout numerous passages. In this respect, John’s style differs from the other four gospels, as Bickel & Jantz (1998) point out that the other three had been written prior to John’s gospel, therefore, “he wasn’t interested in just retelling the events” (p. 222). Since Jesus is the focal point of Scripture, a scholar of the New Testament with uncertainty concerning Jesus’ oneness with God will fail to perceive the crux of Christianity. Therefore, in spite of its importance, John does not focus on Jesus’ entrance into the

The Gospel of John differs in many key areas to the Synoptics,and I will address some differing lines of thought.

The gospel of John does not have the birth story of Jesus as it is documented in the Synoptic gospels instead refers Christ as eternal word which became flesh. Gospel of John lacks records of Jesus’ Baptism by John the Baptist but instead records his baptism activities hence contradicting role of John the Baptist in Jesus’ Baptism. Another difference of gospel of John from the synoptic gospels is that there is no indication of temptation of Jesus by Satan but records that Jesus could not be tempted because of his unity with the Father. John indicates that Jesus taught without parables something contradicts synoptic gospels. There is no accounts of apocalypse in the gospel of John but instead indicates that Jesus completed his messianic role (Harris, 2014).