Iesha Javed

[Student’s Full Name] [Instructor Name] [Course Number] [Date] The Influence of the Gospel of John on later Interpreters The Gospel of John is set apart from the other three Gospels, also known as the synoptic Gospels, by the fact that its style of narration greatly differs from the descriptive tone of the other three Gospels which provide a more historically detailed narrative of the life of Jesus. The Gospel of John on the other hand has a reflective tone when narrating the life of Jesus, his ministry, his crucifixion and resurrection. It is due to this element of reflection that the gospel of John succeeds at arriving at several metaphorical and allegorical meanings from the events of the life of Jesus, which can only be arrived at from hind sight. Such a reflective reading of the events or the ‘post-resurrective’ view point has been greatly influential in later Christian literature as well as venerative art. In fact, the Christology that gained the most acceptance in popular belief among later Christians is the higher Christology of the Gospel of John which is based on its opening paragraphs that are dedicated to the introduction od Jesus’s pre-eternal existence and his divinity. Several specific instances of the Gospel’s influence on later interpreters can be found. For instance, the gospel of John is the only one that mentions Jesus’s encounter with the prostitute, his resurrection of Lazarus (John 11: -44), his detailed conversation with the disciples at the last supper (John 13, 14), Joseph of Arimathea assisting his descent from the cross (John 19:38), the letting of water and blood from his sides after being pierced by the guard (John 19:35) etc. All of these instances found primarily in John have been greatly influential to later interpreters in their understanding of faith in Christ, the Eucharist, the confirmation of his death and resurrection, etc. As a contrast, we find films on Jesus’s life such as Passion of the Christ to be more influenced by the synoptic gospels particularly the Gospel of Luke. This is apparent since the movie begins at the court of Herod, a description only found in Luke.