The Gospel of John
The author
• As with all of the gospels, John’s is
anonymous. The author refers to himself in the
third person as “the disciple whom Jesus
loved” (13:23–26; 19:25–27; 20:1–10; 21:7,
20–24; see also 3 Nephi 28:6; D&C 7:1–8).
• The author of John’s gospel is widely believed
to be John the apostle, son of Zebedee and
brother of James. He could also have been a
disciple of John, writing on his behalf.
Date
• The generally accepted date for John is the
early 90s A.D., making it the last of the four
gospels to be written.
• It’s also possible that that it was written in the
early 60s, before the destruction of the
Jerusalem Temple. If so, then John would
actually be the earliest of the four gospels.
Differences with the other gospels
• Over 90% of the material in John’s Gospel is
unique, and not found in the Synoptic Gospels.
• John’s chronology of the ministry of Jesus is
different from Matthew, Mark, and Luke:
Jesus’ ministry is longer and John changes the
order and dates of key events. His approach
seems to be thematic rather than chronological.
• John has no parables or short sayings. Instead,
Jesus gives long discourses full of contrast and
irony.
Themes
• Jesus as God’s incarnate, divine Word. John
presents Jesus as the only begotten Son of God
who is himself divine and preexistent (1:1–18).
• Jesus as the I AM. Seven times Jesus uses the
phrase “I am” to declare his identity and
relationship to the world (6:35, 51; 8:12; 10:7–
9; 10:11–14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1–5) and once in a
way that indicates he is the God of the Jews
(8:56–58; cf. Exodus 3:14).
• Jesus came to save the world, but he is not of
this world, so the world rejected him. He was
in the world, but the world didn’t know him
(1:10). God so loved the world that he gave his
only Son that the world might be saved (3:16–
17). Jesus gives light and life to the world (1:9;
6:33; 8:12; 9:5; 12:46). Jesus’ kingdom is not of
this world (18:36).
• Light vs. darkness. One of the recurring
contrasts in John is the competition between
light (brought by Jesus) and darkness (which is
of the world) (1:4–9; 3:19–21; 5:35; 8:12; 9:5;
11:9–10; 12:35–36, 46).
Structure
John’s gospel begins with a prologue, followed by a
description of Jesus’ public ministry, a description of
his private ministry (at the Last Supper), and an
account of Jesus’ suffering and glory.
Prologue: The Word of God made flesh (1:1–18).
• Jesus was God (1:1–5).
• Jesus was human (1:6–18).
Jesus’ public ministry: The Book of Signs (1:19–
12:57).
• John’s testimony and the first disciples;
the first sign: Water to wine (1:19–2:11).
• Cleansing the Temple, being born again, and
the Samaritan woman; the second sign:
Healing the official’s son (2:12–4:54).
• The third sign: Healing at the Pool of Bethesda
(5:1–15).
• The Jews plot against Jesus, and Jesus teaches
on the giving of life and the testimony of the
Father; the fourth sign: The feeding of the
5,000 (5:16–6:15).
• The fifth sign: Walking on the water (6:16–24).
• Jesus discourses on the bread of life, the living
water, and the validity of his claims; the sixth
sign: Healing a man born blind (6:25–9:41).
• Jesus teaches he is the Good Shepherd; the
seventh sign: Lazarus is raised from the dead
(10:1–11:57).
• Jesus is anointed, enters Jerusalem in triumph,
and predicts his death (12:1–50).
Jesus’ private ministry: The Last Supper (13:1–
17:26).
• Jesus washes the disciples’ feet (13:1–17).
• He predicts Judas’ betrayal (13:18–30).
• A new commandment: “Love one another”
(13:31–35).
• He predicts Peter’s denials (13:36–38).
• Many mansions in the Father’s house (14:1–4).
• Jesus is the way to the Father (14:5–14).
• The sending of the Comforter (14:15–31).
• The vine and the branches (15:1–17).
• The hatred of the world (15:18–16:4).
• The mission of the Holy Ghost (16:5–16).
• The grief of the disciples (16:17–33).
• Jesus’ great intercessory prayer (17:1–26).
The Son of God’s suffering and glory (18:1–20:31).
• Jesus is arrested (18:1–11).
• He is tried before the high priest (18:12–27).
• He is tried before Pilate (18:28–19:16).
• He is crucified and buried (19:17–42).
• He appears in glory to Mary Magdalene, to his
disciples, and to Thomas (20:1–31).
• He appears at the Lake of Tiberias,
commissions Peter, and promises that John
will tarry (21:1–25).
Adapted from Robert Kysar, “John, Gospel of: Authorship,”
The Anchor Bible Dictionary 3:919–20; Daniel B. Wallace,
“The Gospel of John: Introduction, Argument, Outline,”
http://bible.org/seriespage/gospel-john-
introduction-argument-outline