Religion Study Notes: John's Gospel Vs. Matthew, Mark and Luke

The Gospel of John and those of the Synoptics (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) are fundamentally concerned with the same thing: the life, ministry, and character of Jesus and their implications for the reader. However, many of the similarities stop there. While the Synoptics obviously share a dependency amongst themselves, the Gospel of John stands alone, and it is still hotly debated today whether or not its author, John, even had access to the Synoptic Gospels. One can therefore expect to find major differences in their principle aspects: ministry, miracles, and message.

Jesus' ministry in Matthew, Mark, and Luke's accounts took place almost entirely within Galilee with a trip to Jerusalem only at the very end. However, John presents Jesus as traveling throughout diverse locations. He mentions four journeys of Jesus to Jerusalem and a period of preaching in Judea as well as in Galilee. Also, John is where the idea of Jesus' three years of ministry comes from. The Synoptics portray Jesus' ministry in a span of only one year culminating with one Passover. But because John mentions three Passovers separately, Jesus' ministry (according to John) must have been at least slightly more than two years and possibly three and a half. However, the chronology of John is debated because it is obvious that his primary concern was theology and not history. The fact that he places the Temple cleansing story near the beginning of the Gospel in contrast with its placement just before the Crucifixion as it is found in the other Gospels presents one of the largest problems of unifying the chronology between John and the Synoptics.