When reading the gospels of the New Testament, it becomes evident that the personality of each of the authors affected their understanding, interpretation, and impression of Jesus and his works. In John, the gospel that I chose to read for this paper, Jesus is portrayed in a more godlike, omnipotent manner. This could be evidence that John was actually more awe-inspired than his other gospel-writing counterparts, or that he was simply trying to fully express the mood of the people that witnessed what was happening before their eyes. Realistically, even today with all of our “advanced technology,” people would surely be dumbfounded by the incredible works that Jesus performs in the gospels. There would be few, if any people (save scientists) that would be able to view the events described in these books and not turn to the supernatural for answers. When the language and tone of John is examined in this light, it seems more likely that given the limited technical understanding that existed 2000 years ago, this may in fact be the more historically accurate depiction of the life of Jesus, at least from a sociological perspective. As for detail of events or other minutia, this may not be the case. Either way, when added to the depiction of Jesus in the other gospels, John plays an important role in our more complete understanding of not only the life of Christ, but the immediate effects that his life had on those who came into contact with him throughout it. ...
