The text of John gives us evidence of some of the historical events in the life of Jesus and his followers and his family. There are also remembrances of traditions about Jesus and his followers and family which were not recorded elsewhere. The text of John, therefore, is of primary importance for it is the foundation for the Incarnation, that Jesus is truly the Son of God.

• John 1:13: Born of God
  
  "Who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or the will of man, but of God." [In several ancient Latin manuscripts this reads: "who was born not of blood or the will of the flesh or the will of man, but of God."]
  
  
• John 2:1-12: the Cana Account
  
  1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.
  2 Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
  3 When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine."
  4 And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and me? My hour has not yet come."
  5 His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."
  6 Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.
  7 Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them to the brim.
  8 He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward." So they took it.
  9 When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom
  10 and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now."
  11 Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

  12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples; and they remained there a few days.
  
  

• John 6:42: Jesus the Son of Joseph
  
  They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, `I have come down from heaven?'
  
  
• John 7:3-5: The Unbelief of Jesus' Brothers
  
  So his brothers said to him, "Leave here and go to Judaea so that your disciples also may see the works you are doing;
  4 for no one who wants to be widely known acts in secret. If you do these things show yourself to the world."
  5 (For not even his brothers believed in him.).
  
  
• John 7:41-43; 8:41: Division among the People about the origins of the Messiah
  
  41 Others said, "This is the Messiah." But some asked, "Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he?
  42 Has not the Scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?"
  43 So there was a division in the crowd because of him.
  
  John 8:41: "You are indeed doing what your father does." They said to him, "We are not illegitimate children; we have one father, God himself."
  
  
• John 19:25-28a: Mary and the Beloved Disciple at the foot of the Cross
  
  25 Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
  26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, "Woman, here is your son."
  27 then he said to the disciple, "Here is your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
  28 After this, when Jesus knew that all was completed, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), "I am thirsty."
  

  In a special way, the text of John gives us some evidence of some of the historical events in the life of Jesus and his followers and his family. There are some scenes in John that are similar to those found in the Synoptics, but we have other texts which touch upon the events and sayings of Jesus that are independent of the Synoptics and which offer us a profound contemplation of Jesus and those who surround him. This is due to the fact that John is the last of the Gospels. There are also remembrances of traditions about Jesus and his followers and family which were not recorded elsewhere. The text of John, therefore, is of primary importance for it is the foundation for the Incarnation and for the highest Christology in the New Testament.

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This page, maintained by The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute, was last Modified March 22, 2006 by Varun Gade. Please send any comments to ROTEN@data.lib.udayton.edu.