Book of John Bible Study Questions and Answers: A Three-Faith Comparative Guide

Judaism does not regard the Gospel of John or the Johannine epistles as sacred scripture. These texts emerged from communities that were, in the late first century CE, separating from — and often in conflict with — rabbinic Jewish communities. Scholars like Adele Reinhartz (in her 2001 work Befriending the Beloved Disciple) have argued that John's gospel contains some of the sharpest anti-Jewish polemic in the New Testament, making it a complicated text for Jewish-Christian dialogue.

That said, Jewish readers can find meaningful ethical overlap in the Johannine writings. The command to love one another, for instance, echoes the Hebrew Bible's own imperatives. As 1 John states, "this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another" 1 John 3:11. This mirrors the Torah's injunction in Leviticus 19:18. Jewish study of John is therefore largely historical and comparative rather than devotional.

The verse in John 5:39 — "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life" John 5:39 — is particularly interesting from a Jewish perspective, since Jesus is here addressing Jewish leaders who study Torah. Rabbinic tradition similarly prizes Torah study as a path to life, though it draws very different conclusions about who Jesus was.

For Christians, the Gospel of John and the three Johannine epistles are among the most theologically rich books in the New Testament. Bible study of John typically opens with the prologue's declaration that the Word was from the beginning — a claim the author of 1 John echoes personally: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life" 1 John 1:1. This grounds Christian faith in eyewitness testimony and incarnational theology.

A central study question is: Why did John write? The answer is given explicitly in 1 John 5:13 — "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life" 1 John 5:13. Assurance of salvation is therefore a primary pastoral purpose, making this letter essential for Christian discipleship classes.

John's gospel also raises questions about Jesus's self-understanding. In John 18:8, during his arrest, Jesus says "I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way" John 18:8 — a moment scholars like D.A. Carson (in his 1991 Pillar Commentary on John) read as a deliberate echo of the divine name "I AM." Study groups often wrestle with these "I AM" statements as windows into Johannine Christology.

Joy and love are recurring study themes. 1 John 1:4 states the purpose of writing is that "your joy may be full" 1 John 1:4, and 1 John 4:17 connects perfected love to boldness on the day of judgment 1 John 4:17. These passages fuel discussions in small groups about the relationship between love, assurance, and eschatology.

Islam does not include the Gospel of John in its canon. The Quran acknowledges that Allah gave Isa (Jesus) the Injil (Gospel), but Muslim scholars — from classical figures like Ibn Hazm (d. 1064 CE) to modern scholars like Shabir Ally — generally hold that the present gospels are corrupted or altered versions of an original revelation. The Gospel of John, with its high Christology, is viewed with particular theological caution.

Despite this, certain narrative moments in John resonate with Islamic tradition. Jesus's statement in John 18:8 — "I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way" John 18:8 — reflects a prophetic courage that Islam fully affirms for Isa. The Quran (4:157-158) holds that Jesus was neither crucified nor killed but was raised by God, so Islamic readers interpret the arrest narrative very differently than Christians do.

The Johannine theme of loving one another 1 John 3:11 aligns with Islamic ethics. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught in a well-known hadith (Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 72) that none of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself — a sentiment structurally parallel to 1 John's repeated love commandment. However, Islam firmly rejects the Johannine claim that Jesus is the divine Son of God, which is the core theological assertion of texts like 1 John 5:13 1 John 5:13.