Q.
86
Why is the gospel of John so different from
the other three gospels?
David J. Lose
Who is...
?
David J. Lose
I love almost anything that combines
peanut butter and chocolate.A.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke are like siblings—while they may have
distinct features and different temperaments, they still look a lot
alike. John, on the other hand, is more like a distant cousin. He
knows a few stories about Jesus like those in the other gospels, but largely
relies on other material. Why? John was probably writing to a different early
Christian community with different questions and concerns.
It seems likely that John’s community was made up of Jewish followers
of Jesus who had been kicked out of their synagogue for their beliefs. John
therefore encourages his listeners to believe in Jesus even if they suffer perse-
cution. John explains how and why Jesus really is the Jewish messiah, and so
regularly points out how what happens to Jesus fulfi lls the scriptures.
Similarly, John regularly names as “signs” what we would call miracles—
they are clues to Jesus’ identity. After each sign, Jesus usually makes a long
speech using different images (vine, light, good shepherd, bread, etc.) to
describe who he is. In John’s gospel, Jesus is both confi dent (he knows he is
doing his Father’s work) and powerful (he seems hardly to suffer during his
crucifi xion) and so serves as an example to John’s audience.
Jesus also tells his disciples that he is going away, that they will be per-
secuted, and that he will send them help in the form of the Holy Spirit, all of
which was undoubtedly comforting to John’s outcast community.
John, at heart, is less a historian or a storyteller than he is a theologian.
(The symbol for John is the eagle because, according to St. Augustine, his
theology soars above the other gospels.) John very much wants his audience to
understand the theological signifi cance of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah and to
believe in him.