What Is the Gospel of John?

The Gospel of John is the latest of the four New Testament Gospels, likely composed at the end of the second century CE. The text famously begins, “In the beginning was the Word,” echoing the opening phrase of the Hebrew Bible. Scholars have noted the Gospel’s stark anti-Jewish sentiments, as shown in its frequent pejorative use of the term Ioudaios (“the Jews”), but have also observed its distinctly Jewish characteristics, such as its use of imagery from the Hebrew Bible and extensive references to Passover.