John’s Gospel distinguishes itself from the three others - Mark’s, Luke’s and Matthew’s - by stressing the culpability of Jews in Jesus’ arrest and death, specifically referring to the “Jews” instead of the crowd or the Romans when referring to the people responsible for his arrest and then shouting to crucify him: “The Jews answered him: ‘We have a law, and by our law he ought to die’” (John 19:7), “They cried, ‘Away with him, away with him, crucify him’” (John 19:15). Two recitative passages, the first dealing with Peter's weeping after his betrayal and the second portraying the temple veil's ripping during the crucifixion, do not appear in the Gospel of John, but the Gospel of Matthew. The text for the opening prayer, 'Herr, unser Herrscher, dessen Ruhm', as well as the arias, chorales and the penultimate chorus 'Ruht wohl, ihr heiligen Gebeine', come from various other sources. He did not want the Passion taken as a lesser sacred concert. Bach proved that the sacred opera as a musical genre did not have to become shallow in liturgical use by remaining loyal to the cantus firmus and the scriptural word. He adhered to Martin Luther's translation of the Bible and made no noticeable modifications.

To augment these chapters, which he summarized in the music, Bach used an elaborate body of commentary consisting of hymns, which were often called chorales, and arias. The text for the body of the work is taken from the Gospel of John chapters 18 and 19. While writing the St John Passion, Bach intended to retain the congregational spirit of the worship service. Keyboard (Alain Brunet) Aria: 'Ich folge dir gleichfalls' (No.9). Cello + Piano (Schaab, Robert) Aria: 'Ich folge dir gleichfalls' (No.9). Organ (Alain Brunet) Aria: 'Es ist Vollbracht' (No.30). Orchestra (Farid Zehar) Aria: 'Ich folge dir gleichfalls' (No.9). Organ (Alain Brunet) Chorale: 'Durch dein Gefängnis' (No.22). Organ (Emmanuel Legrand) Aria: 'Es ist Vollbracht' (No.30). Organ + Trumpet (Rondeau, Michel) Chorus: 'Herr, Herr, unser Herrscher!' (No.1). Cello(2) + Viola(2) + Violin(4) (Russ Bartoli) Aria: 'Ich folge dir gleichfalls' (No.9). Mixed chorus (Taupin, Daniel) Chorus: 'Herr, Herr, unser Herrscher!' (No.1). Viola(4) (Nick Dinopoulos) Chorale: 'In meines Herzens Grunde' (No.26).

Organ (Gouin, Pierre) Chorale: 'Wer hat dich so geschlagen' (No.15). Recorder(4) + Basso continuo (Giacomo Andreola) Chorale: 'Ach Herr, laß dein lieb’ Engelein' (No.40). Organ (Lundberg, Staffan) Coro: 'Lasset uns den nicht zerteilen' (No.27b). Piano (Arthur Willner) Chorus: 'O große Lieb' (No.3). Piano (Arthur Willner) Chorus: 'Ruht wohl' (No.39). Organ + Voice (Alain Brunet) Other Aria: 'Ich folge dir gleichfalls' (No.9). Aria: 'Von den Stricken meiner Sünden' (No.7). All Violin Viola Piano Organ Oboe Lute Keyboard Flute Cor anglais Clarinet Cello Bassoon Basso continuo Arrangements: Voice +.