Reflect prayerfully on the Scripture reading as you listen.

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of [his] disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may [come to] believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name. 

John 20:30-31

Lord Jesus, you performed many signs so that we might believe that you are the Messiah and the Son of God. Help us today to continue to believe in you and your promises to us of eternal life and to live our lives in a way that shows our belief to all we meet. 

Our Father... 

John’s Gospel is very unlike the other three Gospels. In fact, the other three Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) present the story of Jesus’ life in such similar ways that we call them the Synoptic Gospels. The word synoptic means “seen together.” Matthew, Mark, and Luke see the story of Jesus’ life “together” and tell the story in much the same way, including their own details and emphasis wherever necessary. John’s Gospel, however, is very different. The author of John’s Gospel assumes that his audience has read the other Gospels and knows their version of the story. Therefore, John’s Gospel leaves out many details and stories the other three present and instead spends a lot of time with certain important teachings and monologues of Jesus’, deepening our theological understanding of the mystery of Christ. One could say that John’s Gospel fills in the spaces left by the other three Gospels.