The Bible 's New Testament consists mainly of the four gospels, telling four different authors' versions of the life of Jesus . John's gospel is very different from the other three, written by Matthew, Mark and Luke. These three are known as the synoptic gospels – synoptic meaning 'seeing together' – as they are similar in style, purpose and theology. The author of John's gospel, traditionally taken to be the Apostle John, approached things from a different angle, however.

This Entry will not be a direct step-by-step comparison between the synoptic gospels and John's gospel, but instead it will describe the main ways in which Jesus is presented in John's gospel, while pointing out some of the ways in which this presentation differs from that in the synoptic gospels.