"The Fourth Gospel, in its determination to make Jesus the superlative of all superlatives, thereby curtails his humanity, so that the Gos- pel nowhere uses the words "pity", "mercy", or "compassion". It does not mention repentance, forgiveness, prayer, faith, hope, or wisdom..."

"The Gospel of John presents the writer's interpretation of Jesus. In it Jesus is consistently represented as not interested in the larger world, and as not praying for it (17:9) but as concerned only with his present and future followers. His greatest and final commandment is to love one another (15:12); and he is made to declare that greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (15:13). This passage, probably always read with Christian approval, only shows the limited ethics of traditional Christianity, and John's Gospel has helped to make it so. Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount repudiated with finality such narrow-minded moral provincialism by saying, If you love (only) those who love you, what reward have you? do not even the tax collectors the same? (Matt. 5:46) "But I say unto you, Love (even) your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you (Matt. 5:44)..."

- Leroy Waterman
The Historical Jesus