The four Gospels are the inspired record of the three years of Jesus’ public ministry. They focus on the last week, with almost one third of the narrative dealing with the last week, from Palm Sunday to Easter. But John’s Gospel is quite unique among the four. It was probably written almost 60 years after the synoptics ((Matthew, Mark, and Luke). It includes far fewer specific events in Jesus’ life, and far more of Jesus’ teaching. In fact, while red letter Bibles are not a particularly good idea, if we were to look at one of those in the Gospel of John, we would find that almost half of the Gospel text is in red!
John’s Gospel gives us much more in the way of doctrinal explanation of Jesus’ person and work: who He is and what He did and why He did it. John only includes seven of Jesus’ many miracles, calling them “signs.” And He includes the seven “I AM” statements that Jesus made. These have been the subject of numerous books explaining their significance, and have also lent themselves to sermon series. Each of them connects Jesus with a huge spiritual need in our lives, showing how He is able to meet that need for those who have placed their trust in Him.