Why Does Jesus Sound So Different in John’s Gospel?
Andrew Wilson Anyone who has ever read the Gospels will have wondered how to square Jesus's language and style in John with his language and style in the Synoptics. Did Jesus talk — to his disciples, his opponents and his Father — like he does in John, or like he does in Mark? There are obvious points of overlap, not least the shared miracle stories, the passion and resurrection narratives, the emphatic speech ("truly, truly"), and the so-called "Johannine thunderbolt" of Matthew 11:25-30. And there are numerous contextual factors that account for some of the change of style. The Synoptics have a different focus to John when it comes to geography (Sea of Galilee vs Jerusalem), timing (all year round vs major festivals), mood (support vs opposition) and audience (generic crowds vs specific individuals), all of which would naturally affect the choice of words and the structure of conversations. But even so, there remains a marked difference between the wa...