What is a summary of the book of John?

from the old testament

• Psalm 69:9 foretells Jesus' cleansing of the Temple in John 2: "For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me" (cf. John 2:14-17).
• Isaiah 40:3 says, " A voice cries: 'In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
  make straight in the desert a highway for our God.'" In context, this refers to God restoring His people. In John's gospel, John applies it to what John the Baptist says of Jesus.
• The manna God gave His people in the wilderness foreshadows Christ as the "Bread of Life" (Exodus 16; cf. John 6:35).
• God revealed His name to Moses in Exodus 3:14: "... Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” Jesus's seven "I am" statements in John connect to this passage and show Christ's deity.

from the new testament

• John's Gospel focuses on revealing Jesus as the incarnate Son of God, fully human and fully divine (John 1:1, 1:14, 1:29, 3:16, 5:18, 10:30, 20:31).
• Jesus also reveals His deity through seven "I am" statements in John, which links Him to the name God revealed for Himself to Moses in Exodus 3:14. Jesus says "I am" the "bread of life" (John 6:35), "light of the world" (John 8:12), "door of the sheep" (John 10:7), "the good shepherd" (John 10:11), the "resurrection and the life" (John 11:25), the "way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), and the "true vine" (John 15:1).
• John records Jesus confronting corrupt worship (John 2:14-17) and pointing out errors (e.g., the Samaritan woman) and spiritual blindness (Jewish religious leaders and some Jews) (John 4:19-24, 5:39-40, 5:44, 7:19-24, 8:39-40, 9:39-41).
• John contains seven "signs" (2:1-11, 4:46–54, 5:1-9, 6:1-14, 6:16-21, 9:1-7, 11:1-44). Five of these are unique to John’s gospel: turning water into wine (John 2:1–11), healing the official's son (John 4:46–54), healing the man at Bethesda (John 5:1–9), giving sight to the man born blind (John 9:1–7), and raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1–44). John says that the signs are "written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ" (John 20:31).
• Jesus promises to "prepare a place" in Heaven for His followers and tells them of the "Helper"—the Holy Spirit—who "will be in you" (John 14:2-3, 14:15-17).
• Like the synoptic gospels, John records Jesus's trial, crucifixion, and resurrection (John 18—21).

implications for today

There are no bad pictures today.

That's an overstatement, for sure, but modern software can erase inconvenient strangers in the background of our vacation photos and put filters on our social media profile pics to make us look younger.

Some people try that with Jesus. They try creating a version of Christ whom they want to follow, usually a weak one that permits sin in the name of "love." But the real, "untouched" Jesus is in Scripture. That's the Jesus in John who had such zeal for pure worship that He ran out the money changers and animal sellers from the Temple with whipcords. It's the Jesus in Matthew who called the Pharisees hypocrites for burdening the people. And, yes, it's also the Jesus who took the time to evangelize to the Samaritan woman at the well and washed His disciples' feet the night before He was crucified.

If we're to follow Jesus, we can't filter His profile. We want the true Jesus found in John and other gospels. May we tell others about Him.