The four gospels are our most direct insight to who Jesus was as He walked on Earth. Jesus brought radical teaching that shook the Israelite nation. To understand how each writer represented Jesus' message, it is important to know them each a little more. Each of their accounts are both unique and amazingly similar to the three others. This is proof that what they tell is truth, God's Truth.
John the apostle was an eyewitness to Jesus’ life. The gospel of John was written after the others and makes a powerful case to prove that Jesus is the Son of God and all who believe in him will have eternal life. This is the truth that John focuses on more than Jesus’ life.
John opens the gospel with his argument that Jesus is the Son of God, “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.” John 1:1-3
John continues the theme and proves his argument throughout his gospel.
John chooses eight miracles, which he witnessed first-hand, during Jesus’ ministry to prove Jesus’ divinity:
- Turning water to wine (2:1-11)
- Healing the official’s son (4:46-54)
- Healing the lame man at the pool of Bethesda (5:1-9)
- Feeding the 5,000 with a few loaves of bread and fish (6:1-14)
- Walking on the water (6:15-21)
- Restoring sight to the blind man (9:1-41)
- Raising Lazarus from the dead (11:1-44)
- Giving the disciples an overwhelming catch of fish (21:1-14)—This was after his resurrection.
John describes Jesus as the “I am” to affirm Jesus’ divinity:
- I am the light of the world (8:12, 9:5)
- I am the gate (10:7)
- I am the good shepherd (10:11,14)
- I am the resurrection and the life (11:25)
- I am the way, the truth and the life (14:6)
- I am the true vine (15:1)
The greatest sign of Jesus’ divinity is the resurrection. John also provides an eye-witness account to finding Jesus’ empty tomb and records Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances.
John’s gospel has the most unique information in comparison to the other three gospels; approximately 90 percent only appears in the gospel of John. This includes 6 of the 8 recorded miracles and the Upper Room discourse, which are unique to John’s gospel. John does not mention any genealogies, Jesus’ birth, childhood, temptation, transfiguration, appointment of the disciples, or any of his parables.
Of course, the most well-known scripture of the bible is in the gospel of John. And once again affirms Jesus’ divinity and that he is the way to eternal life with God: “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16.
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