You said:
“I’ve been told by a priest that there is NO word in John that the Evangelist didn’t want in it. Every word, therefore, is of utmost importance.”
I am a little confused. Of which Gospel account would this not be true?
Of Mark, it is probably true, although Mark has a lot of “ands” in it.
I guess, in the eyes of my priest, that Matthew and Luke have little extra words here and there too.
But he said that’s not so with John. John’s Gospel was well-thought out over a long lapse of time since it is the latest Gospel.