Gospel of John
The fourth canonical Gospel recounts Jesus’s life and teachings with a distinctive emphasis on his identity as the Son of God.
Gospel: An early Christian narrative or proclamation centered on Jesus’s life, death, and significance. John belongs to the four canonical accounts that shaped Christian memory of Jesus.
Johannine signs: Selected miraculous acts in John that reveal Jesus’s identity and provoke belief or opposition. The Gospel presents these acts as evidence pointing beyond the miracles themselves.
Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke, whose overlapping narratives can be viewed side by side. Their shared material and narrative style differ markedly from John’s presentation.
John the Evangelist: The traditional name for the author associated with the Gospel of John. Tradition attributes the Gospel to John, while modern scholarship distinguishes authorship from attribution.
Johannine theology: The theological themes shared by the Gospel and letters associated with John, including life, truth, and mutual abiding. The Gospel became a major source for Christian reflection on Jesus’s identity and relation to God.
Logos: A Greek term meaning word, reason, or ordering principle, given a distinctive role in John’s opening passage. The prologue identifies Jesus with the Logos, a claim that frames the Gospel’s theology.
I Am sayings in John: A series of sayings in which Jesus uses images such as bread, light, and the vine to describe himself. These sayings make John’s claims about Jesus concrete through recurring metaphors.
Gospel of Mark: The earliest canonical Gospel, portraying Jesus through a brisk narrative of ministry, conflict, and death. Mark’s shorter, more compressed account offers a clear comparison with John’s extended discourses.
Johannine community: A proposed early Christian community associated with the traditions and theology found in John’s writings. Community models attempt to explain the Gospel’s distinctive voice and internal tensions.
Trinitarianism: Christian doctrine that God is one being in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. John’s language about the Father, Son, and Spirit became central to later Trinitarian interpretation.