Matthew, Mark, and Luke are similar in many ways, but the Gospel of John is quite different. It is the same Jesus, of course, but John knows those stories are well known to the churches and his readers, and so he chooses other stories. His main point: Jesus is God. In the first part of the book, John writes of many signs that Jesus did that pointed to his identity as the Son of God. Notice too that Jesus keeps saying, “My time has not yet come.” But watch for when he says, “My time has come.” Another unique thing of this book is the “Upper Room Discourse,” where Jesus tells his disciples many important things the night before he died.
[The following was not in my original guide to my son, but is included here as a supplement to the rather thin entry above. It is taken from my recent “argument” of the book.]
The Gospel of John consists of two primary parts. The first half describes the signs that Jesus did which pointed to his true identity. Along the way, Jesus explained the meaning of these signs and revealed how he was the fulfillment of the Old Testament Scriptures and festivals. The book turns with his decisive rejection by the Jewish leadership following the seventh sign.
The second half is thus concerned with the crucifixion, including Jesus’s preparation of the disciples, his true testimony before the officials, the completion of his mission in his death, and his resurrection appearances to his disciples. The book begins with a prologue that prepares the reader for the unfolding of Jesus’s ministry and it concludes with an epilogue which points to the future ministry of two of his disciples.
John is doing more than just recording a life of Jesus; he is reflecting on the identity and character of his Savior in order to present him as one fully worthy of complete faith. He understands the stakes of the decision that his readers must make is nothing short of life and death.