Why is the book of John so different from the rest of the Gospels?

Question

Why is the book of John so different from the rest of the Gospels?

Answer 1

The Gospel of John was written later than the other Gospels. In it, the Apostle John is emphasizing the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. The other Gospels are emphasizing other aspects of Who Jesus is. For instance, Matthew is showing that Jesus is the promised Messiah, the King of the Jews.

John, more than the others, is revealing the divinity of Jesus. That is why it begins with "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

This is also why John emphasizes Jesus' final teachings to believers before He went to the cross as well as the prayer He prays, not only for those who heard Him at that time but for all who will ever believe in Him. The other Gospels, if you notice, do not include either the teaching or the prayer. He included it to emphasize that Jesus is the eternal Son of God and Savior of the world.

There is more to it than this, of course.

Answer 2

John provided the most detail into Jesus' life.  

Answer 3

Here is what I found at the beginning of the book of John in the New Living translation of the Holy Bible. It explains the content:

"Each Gospel was written with a different agenda in mind, but only John, 'the disciple Jesus loved' (21:20), made his agenda explicit: 'But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life' (20:31). Because of this goal, John's Gospel has a different flavor than the other three Gospels. John was less concerned with Jesus' actions than with what his actions said about him. John speaks of Jesus' miracles as 'signs,' and he records lengthy teachings of Jesus, including seven 'I am' statements about himself. John opens his Gospel with an account of the preexistent Christ-'the Word,' the unique Son of God-who became human and made God the Father known to us. After recounting some details of John the Baptist and his ministry, John describes Jesus' baptism. At this point the general outline of John's Gospel breaks sharply from those of the other three Gospels, rearranging some of the events and including different material. For instance, John's Gospel records more than one trip to Jerusalem by Jesus, unlike the other Gospels. After a lengthy description of Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples, John's Gospel records Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. The book closes with some encounters between Jesus and his disciples."

Hope this helps. If I made any spelling mistakes I'm sorry. The spell check on the side sucks and my hand is cramping.