How does the Gospel of John Differ from the Synoptic Gospels?

            You may find yourself questioning what exactly a gospel is, and how do we, as readers, decipher the truth between them. A gospel is known as a record of Jesus’ life, death, and teachings. A gospel is not to be confused with a biography of Jesus’ life for it can be thought of as the sharing of the “good word.” The unique encounters with the impeccable Jesus Christ are all recorded in the first four books of The New Testament. Those four gospels, in order, are: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Three out of those four make up the synoptic gospels. Synoptic, simply meaning sharing a similar view or interpretation. Matthew, Mark, and Luke describe the sights and encounters of Jesus during his ministry in Gailee. Although the three share a lot of similarities within their recording of events, they differentiate in a number of ways. One of the most known differences being their target audiences. It is most likely that Mark was used as the primary source for both Matthew and Luke’s gospel. John on the other hand, chose to write his completely independent and without a source. He wrote with a different style than the others and his chronological order of events were not parallel. Although they all vary, they share a common objective to convey their interpretation of Jesus’ purpose.

            The author of the gospels direct their messages to four different audiences. Matthew writes to a Jewish audience, Mark for a Roman audience, Luke to a gentile audience, and John, in Ephesus at the time, wrote to churches in that region. The Synoptic gospels record Jesus’ birth as the first major event, whereas John begin with the creation of the universe. John states that Jesus became the son of God the moment that God created the world. The synoptic gospels oppose that belief, and they all state that Jesus became the son of God at the time of his birth. John completely leave out any mentioning of Jesus’ baptism. According to the synoptic gospels, Jesus’s baptism was considered the ultimate sacrifice to the fulfillment of righteousness. The primary focus of the synoptic gospels was on Jesus’ morality and humanity, while John focuses more on Jesus’ position as the Supreme Being and his deity. In John we often see Jesus use the phrases “I am” when he refer to himself. Jesus strays away from referencing himself in the synoptic gospels. He does not necessarily discredit himself, he just shares the good in a sense. Both the synoptic gospels and in the book of John we are taught that salvation must be earned and not given. The requirements to receive salvation are not the exact same but they both entail the follower of Christ to perform an act. In the synoptic gospels it states that one can receive salvation through performing good deeds for neighbors, that includes giving assistance to the sick, the poor, and/or those in need. Jesus made it a priority to take care of those suffering financially or from sickliness in the synoptic gospels. In contrast, John states that the only necessary act needed in order to receive salvation is to, without a doubt, believe that Jesus Christ is the beloved Son of God.

Being that Jesus was the Son of God, he was given a magnitude of power and strength. He was truly incomparable in all aspects, from his notable physical acts to his teachings.  We learn in the synoptic gospels that his teaching methods didn’t always come easy. Along the way, he faced scribes that went against his messages as they focused more on the law. As documented in John, we can grasp that the overall theme focuses on Jesus Christ. John intended for his audience to become more knowledgeable about the truths of Jesus. He wanted to make them aware that they were the brothers and sisters of Christ, and children of the mighty father. The synoptic gospels, slightly implying the same thing, focused more on the kingdom of God. The forewarned their audiences on what was coming during the end times and how to properly apply themselves. The exact accounts leading up to the crucifixion of Christ fluctuate among the gospels. As Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John recall the last supper we begin to see variations in the date and the royal event itself. John 13 describes the event as a foot washing that takes place the night before Passover eve. In the synoptic gospels, the trio all agree that Jesus partakes in a public style supper on Passover eve. Not the day before. Passover is a Jewish festival celebrating the exodus from Egypt and the Israelites’ freedom from slavery to the Egyptians; usually celebrated with a feast. On the journey to the sight of Jesus’ crucifixion we are told that Jesus carried his own cross, John 19:17 states "They took Jesus therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha." In contrast, in the synoptic gospels we are told that Christ was too weakened to carry his own crossbar, in Matthew 27:31-32 "And after they had mocked Him, they took His robe off and put His garments on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him. And as they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they pressed into service to bear His cross." After the brutal death of God’s only begotten son, he is resurrected days later. That is a consistent similarity shared between all four authors. We know that Jesus was resurrected, but where did he actually return to his disciples? John tells us that Jesus came and made his first appearance back in Jerusalem, whereas the synoptic gospels mutually agree that this took place in Galilee.

In conclusion, the four gospels do a great job of describing the great works in the life of Jesus Christ. All four gospels inform the readers on the life, death, and the resurrection, just a tad bit contrarily. We learn of Jesus’ capability to transform his followers through a variety of messages and teachings. The synoptic gospels made up of Matthew, Mark, and Luke all share common views on what actually took place from the birth to the resurrection of Christ. Most scholars believe that Matthew and Luke referred to Mark’s writing and other similar sources as they began to write. John documented his perception of the life of Christ strictly from his own knowledge. Matthew’s gospel was an announcement of Jesus as the promised messiah of Kingdom of God. Mark presented Jesus as savior of the world, he displayed him as mighty in deed and word. Luke shows representation of Christ as the “savior of sinners.” John presents Christ as the Son of God in whom deity and humanity become one. Although the theme within each gospel varied, the aim to make people more knowledge about God was accomplished.