Lesson 12

Gospel of John

The Gospel of John is very different from the other three Synoptic Gospels and is concerned with presenting Jesus as the Incarnate Word of God who has always existed with God.

Catechism Connections

Lesson Topics

Gospels Life of Christ Old Testament

Essential Lessons

Day 1 & 2 & 4

Lesson Vocabulary

Synoptic: “To see together.” The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the Synoptic Gospels because they present the story of Christ’s life in a similar way and even borrow stories and the structure of their Gospels from each other. (139)
Sign: An external representation of the interior reality occurring within a covenant. Every covenant included a sign taken from human experience to represent the depth of God’s love and mercy present at the heart of the covenant. Marriage between a man and a woman, the Sabbath, the rainbow, circumcision, the Law, Passover, the Temple, and the Eucharist are examples of signs of the covenants.
Symbol: Something that stands for or represents something else. Often, a symbol is a visible sign of something that is invisible or difficult to understand. The Sacraments are symbols of the grace they give to us. (1131)
Trinity: The Trinity is the Christian mystery revealed to us by God that He is three Persons in One God: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Word of God: A title for Jesus Christ and a title for Sacred Scripture. Jesus is the Word of God become flesh in the Incarnation. In Him, God has revealed all that is necessary for the sake of our salvation. We meet Jesus in Sacred Scripture, the Word of God written down to preserve and communicate the Good News of salvation. (97, 479, 483, 561, 1190, 1408, 1802)
Incarnation: The dogma of the Church that teaches that the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Son of God, assumed a human nature in the Person of Jesus Christ.