ef,pithy utterances, but more discourses; but even here some major discourses foundin the Synoptics (e.g. the Olivet Discourse) are not found in John. Although Jesus'.Page 2 IntroductionSecond, John includes a fair amount of material of which the Synoptists makeno mention. All of the material in John chapters 2 thru 4, for instance, including Hismiraculous transformation of water into wine, His dialogue with Nicodemus and Hisministry in Samaria, find no Synoptic counterpart. Further, the resurrection ofLazarus, Jesus' frequent visits to Jerusalem, and His extended dialogues or dis-coursesin the Temple and in various synagogues, not to mention much of His privateinstruction to His disciples, are all exclusive to the Fourth Gospel.No less striking are the forcefully presented themes that dominate John but thatare largely absent from the Synoptics. Only in John is Jesus explicitly identified withGod (1:1, 18; 20:28). Here, too, Jesus makes a series of important "I am" statementswhich are qualified: I am the light of the world, the resurrection and the life, the goodshepherd, the vine, the living water, the way, the truth and the life. These culminatein a series of absolute (unqualified) "I AM" statements that are redolent of GodHimself (cf. 6:20; 8:24, 28, 58). Furthermore, the Fourth Gospel maintains a seriesof "opposites," dualisms if you will, that are much stronger than in the Synoptics: lifeand death, from above and from below, light and dark, truth and lie, sight andblindness, and more.Third, these themes become still more problematic for some readers when,formally at least, they contradict the treatment of similar themes in the SynopticGospels. Here, for instance, John the Baptist denies that he is Elijah (1:21), eventhough according to the Synoptists Jesus insists that he is (Mk. 9:11-13). What shallwe make of the bestowal of the Spirit (Jn. 20:22) and its relation to Acts 2? Aboveall, how do we account for the fact that in the Syn...
