Distinctive aspects of St John's Gospel i.e.

not shared by the Synoptic Gospels

There is in John no account of a miraculous or virgin birth. It is inconceivable to me that at least the
last author or editor of John had not heard of this story, since it has been introduced into the Jesus tradition
some 10-15 years earlier. So we have to wonder why there is no allusion to it. Not only is there no
supernatural birth story in John's gospel, but on 2 occasions (John I :45 and John 6:42) Jesus is referred to
in a rather matter-of-fact way as "the son of Joseph".

In the 4th gospel, John the Baptist never baptises Jesus as he does in the first 3 gospels. All he
does in john is bear witness to Jesus.

There is no account of the temptation of Jesus in the Wilderness and no account of the
transfiguration of Jesus when he spoke to Moses and Elijah.

There are no provocative sayings of Jesus, no parables and no version of the Sermon on the Mount.
Instead, Jesus is portrayed as uttering long, sometimes convoluted theological dialogues or monologues.

The story of the cleansing of the temple is not associated with the final week of Jesus' life as it is in
all the other gospels. It occurs rather in Chapter 2, near the beginning of his public ministry.

The setting is mostly Jerusalem, with Jesus retreating to Galilee only to escape the hostile presence
of the Judean authorities. In the 3 earlier gospels, Jesus goes to Jerusalem only once, and that is for the
Passover, at which time he is crucified. He is in Jerusalem for 3 Passovers in John.

There is no description of the last supper. Nowhere in this gospel does Jesus share the Passover
meal with his disciples in an upper room. In place of the institution of the last supper, this gospel tells us of
the foot-washing ceremony and attaches all of Jesus' teaching about the Eucharist to the story of the
feeding of the five thousand in Chapter 6.

Miracles are transformed into 'signs' in Chapters 2 11. These were probably taken from a
manuscript called the Book of Signs, thought to pre-date the Synoptic Gospels. In Johns gospel, these
describe a dramatic truth that is breaking into human consciousness in Jesus. Most of the signs correlate
very poorly with earlier miracle stories.

The famous story of the woman taken in adultery (also in Lukes Gospel) is not considered by
scholars to be an authentic story.

There is no anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane and no prayer in which Jesus asks to be spared
his fate. Instead, Jesus is recorded as rejecting that synoptic tradition and saying that he was born for the
purpose of being crucified (john 12: 27).

Jesus' glorification is portrayed to be the moment of his crucifixion. It is when Jesus is lifted up on
the cross that he draws all people to himself. It is not a suffering Christ who is seen on the cross but a
glorified Christ whose work is somehow completed in his death.

A host of memorable characters are introduced who are mentioned nowhere else in the New
Testament. This parade of characters begins in Chapter I with a man named Nathaniel and concludes with a
character known as the 'beloved disciple', who is introduced in the Farewell Discourses and who then plays
a major role in the story of the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus. To understand this Gospel we must deal
with these Johannine creations.

This author also gives content and even personality to several other people who have appeared
previously in the tradition, but without any of the defining characteristics which John attached to them.
Among them are Andrew, the mother of Jesus, the brothers of Jesus, Philip and Thomas.

Chapters 20/21 contradict each other, suggesting more than one author.

There are 3 distinct stages of Johns Gospel:

1. The synagogue stories of the mid 70s CE
2. The split between the synagogue leaders and the new church; the fall of the temple shown in
the many negative references to the Jews. The eventual expulsion of the new church
members from the synagogue is thought to be the main root of Christian Judeophobia.
3. Latterly, the faith is newly defined as distinct from Judaism.