Differences
(i) In John's gospel
events within the shared traditions are often presented differently, with
different emphases or detail and sometimes in a different order.
(ii) The Messiahship of
Jesus is presented openly right from the beginning of the gospel, in contrast
to Mark's Messianic secret. Jesus is declared to be the Messiah twenty one
times in John's gospel.
(iii) The teaching of
Jesus is given a different kind of presentation characterized by discourses
which sometimes develop from an incident during which a saying of Jesus is not
understood by those present, which then leads to Jesus speaking at greater
length. There are also sayings of Jesus and brief parables (3 :29, 3 :8, 4
:35-38, 10: 1-5, 11 :9-11, 12 :24, 15: 1-2 are examples), and the use of allegory.
(iv) There are more
indications of time in John's gospel than in the gospel of Mark and it is
possible to calculate that the ministry of Jesus lasted for about three years.
(v) The ministry of
Jesus takes place not only in northern Palestine but also in Judaea and
Jerusalem; according to John, Jesus went to Jerusalem several times before his
final Messianic entry into the city.
(iv) There is a
different approach to God's judgement in John's gospel
(3:18-19,5:22-24,12:48,16:6-11) and no apocalyptic passages such as we find in
Mark 13.
(vii) The Kingdom of
God is referred to only once in John's gospel (3 :3) but instead the phrase
'eternal life' or 'life' is used and clearly means the same (compare Mark 10:17
and 23).
(viii) There is a
different presentation of the miracles of Jesus. Seven 'signs' are selected
which witness to who Jesus is and lead to belief in him by those who recognize
him as Messiah. However, the miracles of Mark's gospel and the signs of John's
gospel are both understood by each writer as being an essential part of God's
saving activity in Jesus Christ. Some of the signs of John's gospel are
essentially related to discourses which follow on from them.
(ix) John mentions
people not referred to by Mark, and vice versa.
(x) There is no mention
in John's gospel of the Temptations, the Trans-figuration, the preaching
mission of the Twelve, the Gentiles, or exor¬cisms of demons by Jesus.
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