There are four gospel accounts of Jesus Christ in the Bible. Of the four, only John was written for a universal audience. Matthew presents Jesus as the promised Messiah or King who fulfilled Old Testament prophesies. Mark, the plainest and the most human of the gospels, presents Jesus as the Servant who ministers to the needs of the people. Luke saw Jesus as the universal sacrifice for all mankind - the Perfect Man who came to seek and save the lost. In contrast, John was written for everyone and presents Jesus as the Son of God and takes us into the very mind of God.

The first three gospels are known as the synoptic gospels because they describe many of the same events in the life of Jesus and are written in a similar style. John is referred to as the supplemental gospel because much of the material is unique and written with a clear Spiritual purpose.

"But these things are written that you may believe

that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,

and that believing you may have life in His name."  - John 20:31

 All gospel accounts are useful and equally inspired, but John is ideal for understanding God's plan of Salvation through faith in Jesus. For example, all four gospels give an account of the feeding of 5,000 with five loaves and two fish; but only John presents the purpose of that miracle. The crowd of people had followed Jesus the day after the miraculous feeding; and yet, when Jesus challenged them to believe in Him, they demanded a sign: "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do?" - John 6:30

They had just seen over 5,000 people fed with five loaves and two fish, but now they wanted more!  Jesus responds to the crowd by teaching that He is the Bread from Heaven: "I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger."  - John 6:35  The purpose of the feeding was not just to provide a free lunch, it was to point to Himself as the Bread of Life in whom all hunger is satisfied.  So as we begin to look at this Gospel, let's do so with a hungry heart. Let's hunger to know Jesus, and hunger for true life through belief in who He is and all He has done.