John's Gospel is all about Jesus.  The book explains the good news about who Jesus is and what He came to do.  It provides enough information for people to believe in Him to receive eternal life (John 20:30-31). The name 'Jesus' was only given to Him when He was born as a human being.  Matthew 1:21 says, "... you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

But Jesus, unlike any other human being, existed eternally before He was born; and so John used the 'Word' (Greek 'Logos') to describe Him.  'Logos' is used to mean 'the essence of something expressed in an understandable way' (in the same way that words express what is in our minds).  Hebrews 1:3 says, "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word."  Colossians 2:9 says, "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form ..."

John tells us two important things about the 'Word'.  Before Jesus' birth He always was God, distinct from God the Father, being co-equal with Him and the Holy Spirit.  The 'Word' was present before creation ("In the beginning" refers to the period before creation).  Because Jesus was there 'in the beginning', He was not a created being of any kind. He was neither an angel nor a human prophet: He was, is, and always will be God.  Therefore, Jesus is totally unique. He is God the Son who came in a human body, having an identical character to that of the Father and the Holy Spirit.

The uniqueness of Jesus and His divinity is nonsense to those who do not believe!  They may say 'he was a good man', 'a wise teacher', 'a gifted healer', and 'a social example'.  However, John's Gospel repeatedly proves Him to be God; and Jesus declares that all those who believe in Him have eternal life (John 3:16).  No other person in history has ever made that claim with integrity.  The seven miracles and seven 'I Am' sayings of John's Gospel are intended to give conclusive evidence of the Divine identity and salvation purpose of Jesus.  John 20:31 says, "… these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah (Christ), the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." So, if you are already trusting Jesus, this Gospel will help you to present Him to others and, if you are not yet a believer, read Word@Work which will help you understand what John is saying - so that you may also believe and have eternal life.