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  • Essay / How the Gospel of John Differs from the Style of the Synoptic Gospels

    The Gospel of John, the last of the four gospels of the Bible, departs radically from the simple style of the synoptic gospels. It is the only one that does not use parables to show how Jesus taught, and it is the only account of several events, including the resurrection of Lazarus and Jesus' turning of water into wine. Although the Gospel is mostly written anonymously, many scholars believe it was written by the Apostle John between the years 85 and 95 CE in Ephesus. The basic story is that of a testimony from one of the Apostles and his version of the ministry of Jesus. It begins by recounting the divine origins of Jesus' birth, then proves that he is the Son of God because of the miracles he performs, and finally describes the death and resurrection of Jesus. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayOf course, the most important part of the Gospel is the miracles. A number of miracles described in John are not mentioned at all in the other three Gospels. For example, the aforementioned resurrection of Lazarus. In this miracle, Jesus goes to the tomb of one of his disciples who was stoned. Once he sees that Lazarus has been buried for four days, he removes the stone from the entrance to the cave and commands “Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:43). It is one of the most famous miracles, but it only appears in one Gospel. Another example of a well-known miracle that is only present in John is his ability to turn water into wine at the wedding at Cana. This is a story about how Jesus was able to take not only water, but also low-quality wine and turn them into high-quality wine. This is also a very interesting passage because in this passage Jesus encourages drinking and drunkenness at a party. Other major gospel topics include a first-hand account of Jesus' ministry. With phrases like "We beheld His glory" (1:14) and knowing the number of pots at the wedding at Cana (Malick, 1996), it is well established that this is an eyewitness account of the event, although some scholars place John's authorship as early as 270 BCE. Most of the evidence that points to the "eyewitness testimony" theory is minor details that would have been left out if the author had not been present. These details include specific numbers (six jars of water [2:6], 100 miles [6:19], 153 fish [21:11] [Malick, 1996]) and names that would normally have been forgotten such as Nicodemus, Lazarus (as shown by the absence of his story in the synoptic gospels) and Beth-zatha. It is also interesting to note that although John makes it very clear that the author is Jewish, the Gospel is written primarily for a Greek audience. Because of his knowledge of the Old Testament, which he continually quotes, his understanding of Jewish ritual and culture, and the prophecy of the coming Messiah, there is no doubt that John was himself Jewish or that he studied Judaism very well. However, the lack of concern to prove the prophecies contained in the book of Isaiah supports the evidence that it was not a testimony intended for a Jewish audience. Throughout the Gospel, Jesus is presented as both fully God and fully human, a concept more synonymous with Greek culture. Also, the very beginning of John states that Jesus was with God from creation: “He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made” (1:2-3). ). This places Jesus as a very cosmic and powerful being, as opposed to the suffering servant he is portrayed as.