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The writer of this book is John, brother of James
and son of Zebedee, a Galilean fisherman. He was called by
Jesus to be a follower and, though he does not mention his
own name in this book, he is described as "the disciple
whom Jesus loved" (13:23; 19:26; 20:2).
John also wrote three letters (epistles) which are contained
in the New Testament (1, 2, and 3 John) as well as the book
of Revelation.
John writes that Jesus is the Son of God. He is the
"word made flesh" - that is, God's word or plan
was made known and shown in the person Jesus Christ. (God's
plan is to fill the world with people like Jesus.)
John focuses on certain miracles of Jesus and calls them
"signs". They each signified or represented Christ's
authority in spiritual matters and they each underline the
authority Jesus held as the Son of God. They also serve as
reminders of our need for healing from spiritual sickness
and blindness.
John records some of the close, personal experiences of Jesus,
such as the lovely prayer Jesus offered (chapter 17) and records
the Lord's wonderful discourses on deep spiritual themes with
his 'inner' group of disciples - lessons, for example, on
the bread of life, the living water, the good
shepherd, the true vine (chapters 6,7,10,15).
Most of John's gospel is concerned with events which took
place in Judea, rather than Galilee. He mentions seven visits
of Jesus to Jerusalem.
• Chapters 1-6 deal with the earlier part of Christ's
ministry,
• Chapters 7-11 belong to the last few months, and
• Chapters 12-21 belong to the last week of Christ's
preaching.
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