The Parable of Jesus

It is important to understand that the biggest reason the Gospel of John is so different from the other Gospels, is that John is doing something different. The Gospel of John is not providing a retelling of the history of Jesus, but is a theological treatise about Christ. The author is describing 65 years of theological reflection about Christ in this work, and in so doing is basically telling one big parable with Jesus as the main character. This big parable provides an accessible way for the reader to understand the theology John is trying to present.