John

Book Written:  Somewhere between 70 A.D. and 90 A.D.

Time Period/Setting:  Written in either Ephesus or Antioch about and/or for a Christian group separating from the larger Jewish community to which it had previously belonged. HC says that this gospel deals with the tension between these two groups, particularly over the Christian claim that Jesus is the Son of God. 

Title: Refers to John the Apostle, brother of James.  John is the author of the book.

The gospel of John is of course the different gospel, the one set apart from the synoptic gospels.  It's also the gospel of 'onlys'--the only mention of the miracle at Cana, the only mention of Nicodemus, the only mention of the Samaritan woman at the well, the only mention of  Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, the only mention of Jesus washing the disciples' feet, the only mention of the "new" commandment to love one another as Jesus has loved them (Ch. 13,34-35), the only mention of the piercing of Jesus' side, the only mention of Roman soldiers at Jesus' arrest, the only mention of Jesus appearing to Thomas.