The gospel of John records Jesus' life from a very different perspective compared to the other three gospels. There are personal conversations that elaborate Jesus' thinking and teaching. There are many instances where Jesus makes claims and statements about Himself, and this is usually accompanied by signs and acts that support these claims. In fact, there are 7 signs recorded in the book. The number of perfection.
There is little doubt that this gospel was written by John, the apostle, the one whom Jesus loved. And he probably wrote it after the writing of Mark. Thus, while being able to use some material from Mark, John greatly digresses and gives us more specific records of what Jesus said in other episodes of his ministry. Amongsts these new episodes not available are: Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman at the well, and Lazarus' raising from the dead. Also, from here, we are informed that Jesus made several trips to Jerusalem throughout His ministry, probably in keeping with celebrative traditions of the various Jewish feasts. This is in contrast with the other gospels where only one general trip (the final one) to Jerusalem is mentioned.
This is a very beautiful gospel in that we see Jesus in a different, almost more personal, light compared to what is described in the other gospels. As such, we should expect to learn a more intimate understanding of Jesus' mind and heart.
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