New Testament
John
Slower, deeper, stranger — the gospel of light and love.
Gospel · 21 chapters · About 1.75 hours
c. AD 85–95
Overview
John tells fewer stories than the other gospels and lingers longer over each. Seven signs, seven 'I am' sayings, long conversations at wells and in the dark.
Where Matthew argues from Scripture, John begins before Scripture: 'In the beginning was the Word.' The eternal becomes flesh and moves into the neighbourhood.
Chapters 13–17, spoken the night before the crucifixion, are among the most intimate pages in the Bible.
What it keeps returning to
Light and darkness
A running image from the first paragraph to the empty tomb at dawn.
Abiding
The vine and branches: fruitfulness comes from staying, not striving.
Love
'As I have loved you' becomes the only new commandment.
Start here
John 1:1–18
The prologue — read it three times.
John 15:1–17
Abide in me.
John 20
Mary in the garden; Thomas and the scars.
Go deeper in John
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.”