"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

Thus begins the Gospel According to John, an account of Jesus' life and ministry that differs in many ways from the other "synoptic" Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. In contrast to those accounts, John's Gospel contains no parables, no exorcisms, no sermon on the mount, no Lord's Supper, no Lord's Prayer, and little talk of the coming "Kingdom of God."

The author of John's Gospel focuses heavily on the divinity and eternity of Jesus Christ, making the case that he was indeed an eyewitness to Jesus' ministry, focusing on the Jewish rejection of Christ, and providing a number of miraculous "signs" that (according to the author) proved conclusively Jesus was co-equal with God the Father.