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John’s gospel doesn’t even give the appearance of trying to be based on historical fact. In fact, the gospel doesn’t really seem to focus in history at all. It focuses mainly on the story and actions of Jesus, and less on his movements. This gospel was meant to tell his story in a spiritual, glorifying way, not the dry, historical method of the synoptic gospels. This method was completely unique to John, as it had not been seen anywhere else in the gospels. The addition and deletion of certain stories, including the deletion of the speech at the last supper, illustrate that the writer of John had a very different story to tell than that of Mark, Matthew, or Luke. Instead of the one year story of Jesus’ teachings, John “reveals” that he not only taught for three years, but often traveled from Galilee to Jerusalem and back. The other gospels only speak of a single trip, the last one before he dies. John’s gospel also speaks a bit more about who sees the risen Jesus, claiming that Mary (not quite clear which Mary is spoken of) was the first one to notice the tomb was empty, then ran to find the disciples and sees Jesus, mistaking him for the gardener. This differs from the other accounts, in which the disciples see him first, but much later in the story. John doesn’t seem to beat around the bush with Christ’s teachings and beliefs. He puts it rather plainly that Jesus was the messiah, knew it, and instructed his followers to believe such. There was no gray area. He was the savior of the human race, he was God’s wisdom in human form, and people can only know God through him. This was a huge revelation against the synoptic gospels, in which Jesus taught the kingdom of God, and people were left to believe he was the messiah. This gospel is much more direct, and puts it rather bluntly that it was made to glorify Jesus as the Christ, as the messiah, and as the salvation of man. This writer had his own special agenda and told it in a firm, though somewhat inaccurate, way. It was simply a different method of getting the point across that Jesus wasn’t just a man, he was the man. Early Christianity needed a biased book to really get the cult off the ground, and John’s gospel fulfilled that purpose. The writer of John wrote it in such a way that would strengthen people’s bond with their community, their beliefs, and alleviate a bit of their hostility towards the belief for causing so much hurt and sacrifice. In the end, he made it worth their while to be Christian, and answered many questions about the power of Jesus and the power of God that simply couldn’t be answered by historical means. It fulfilled the purpose the author set out to achieve. It told the story in a way the people of his community, and eventually the world, needed to hear it. It gave Christians the very foundations of the belief systems that became the Christian denominations. It encompasses most of Christian ideal and understanding. In closing, the book that contributed most to Christianity is simply the most historically inaccurate.
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