John was one of Jesus’ twelve apostles. He wrote this book to help both Jews and other people to believe in Jesus. He does not tell the story of Jesus’ life, but instead he relates many miracles that Jesus did and the teachings that he gave. These show that Jesus was not only a true human being but also God.
The book begins by showing that Jesus was God’s word, or message, to the world, and that his death would be the sacrifice that takes away the sins of the world, and that he was the Messiah whose coming had been prophesied in the Old Testament. In chapters 13–17 John describes in detail Jesus’ love for his followers and his comforting words to them on the evening before he was arrested. The end of the book tells how Jesus was judged and crucified, and how he rose from death and appeared to his followers on several occasions.
