The Gospel according to St John

Have you ever heard of a name St John? There are many people in the bible
with the name John. We know John the Baptist, John the Apostle etc. It is believed
that St John, the Apostle has written many books of the New Testament. He has
written five books of the New Testament. Can you name them? They are the
Gospel according to St John, three epistles written by St. John and the Book of
Revelation.

The Gospel of John is one of the four "gospels" at the beginning of the New
Testament. The four gospels tell the life of Jesus. The Gospel of John is the fourth
book of the New Testament and it is a unique perspective of the life of Jesus
Christ. It varies from the other three gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke (also
known as the synoptic gospels), by focusing more on spiritual themes rather than
historical events.

In the gospel, it is said that the book was written by "the disciple whom
Jesus loved". It is believed that John the Apostle, one of the twelve disciples that
followed Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry and the son of Zebedee, wrote
the gospel. He was probably the youngest of the twelve apostles of Jesus. Perhaps
this explains the uniqueness of John's record of the life of Jesus. The book is filled
with firsthand accounts of experiences with Jesus Christ that occurred during
Christ's 33 years of life on earth. It is generally accept that the Gospel of John was
written between 50 and 85 A.D. John lived a long life and was imprisoned on the
Island of Patmos in his old age and it is believed that from this place he has written
the last book of the New Testament, called the "Book of Revelation".
 The Gospel of John is organized into 21 chapters. The Gospel begins by
calling Jesus as “Logos” or "the Word". It says "In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God and the Word was God." The accounts of Christ's life
begin in chapter one with John the Baptist confirming prophecy and identifying
Jesus as "the lamb of God. In the first chapter, Jesus also calls His first disciples to
follow Him. The Gospel of John tells many of the stories of Jesus' life that are in
the other three gospels, but also contains a lot of different information.

Have you heard of the famous wedding at Cana where Jesus turned water to
Wine? It is in the second chapter of the Gospel of John that it is said that Jesus
performed it as the first miracle. The book contains brilliant lessons and
instructions from Jesus Christ on how to live according to God's will. According to
the gospel, the accounts are written so that the reader "may believe that Jesus is the
Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name".
(John 20:31)

The gospel can be divided into four sections: a prologue (1:1-18); an account
of the ministry, often called the "Book of Signs" (1:19-12:50); the account of Jesus'
final night with his disciples and the passion and resurrection, sometimes called the
"book of glory" (13:1-20:31); and an epilogue (Chapter 21)

There is not a real parable in the whole of the Fourth Gospel. Nor does he
give the sermon on the Mount, the Prayer taught to the disciples, nor an account of
the institution of the Lord's Supper, or of Christian Baptism, or of the Ascension of
our Lord. At the same time he presents the spiritual significance of both baptism
(chapter III.) and of the Supper (chapter VI.); nor does he give a list of the Twelve,
though he often alludes to them. The number seven is given utmost importance in
the epistle. There are seven "signs" culminating in the raising of Lazarus , and
seven "I am" sayings and discourses.

The seven I am Sayings are really interesting

I AM the Bread of Life (John 6:48-51

I AM the Light of the World (John 8:12))

I AM the Gate for the Sheep (John 10:7-9)

I AM the Good Shepherd (John 10:14-16)

I AM the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25-26)

I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6?

I AM the True Vine (John 15:5)

John’s Gospel forms a glorious conclusion of the happy message of the Eternal
Word. For all time it remains for the Church the most beautiful testimony of
her faith in the Son of God, the never-ceasing source of her devotion to her Master,
Who loves her even to the end.