14: For God so Loved the World …
John 3:16 is one of the most quoted and most beloved passages in the Scriptures. Even those who reject Christ know this singular passage. Fully understanding these 24 words, however, requires understanding their context.
We must go through John 3:1–15 to get to John 3:16.
Along the way, we’ve already seen Jesus using familiar concepts from the Tanach while talking to Nicodemus. One of these is wind and water combined with the concepts of that which comes from above. Keep this in mind as we approach the next step along the way to John 3:16.
This passage contains one of the oddest uses of pronouns in the Scriptures, as shown in the figure.
There is one sentence in the English translation that has just a few plurals:
- “We speak …”
- “We bear witness …”
- “We have seen …”
- “Y’all do not receive …”
- “Our testimony.”
Who is “we,” and who is “y’all?”
Jesus would say “we” here because the Levitical Law requires more than one witness to establish truth. But who are the other witnesses? They could be:
- Jesus and the disciples
- Jesus and the Spirit
- Jesus and the Father
- Jesus and the Scriptures
The first, the disciples, can be safely ruled out—the disciples have not been a factor in this conversation so far, and we don’t yet have any of the great proclamations of faith or miracles on their part. They will be witnesses after the resurrection, but at this point, they are not witnesses Nicodemus would accept.
The second, the Spirit, would make sense if any other mention of the Spirit existed in this passage. If the reference to “wind and Spirit” is actually “wind and water,” the second witness being the Spirit no longer fits the context.
The third, the Father, does not fit the context. What clue in the text implies Nicodemus would understand Jesus’ words as the Father?
The fourth is the most likely, especially as Jesus is speaking to a “Teacher of Israel.” What witness would Nicodemus most likely accept? The Scriptures.
Jesus gives a specific example of the witness of the Scriptures—the bronze serpent in the wilderness. A “Teacher of Israel” should have understood that the path to salvation isn’t like in the Law, but in faith placed in the one God sends. Jesus is the one God sends (John 13:3), so looking upon Jesus in faith is the path to salvation.
Jesus extends this to all the “Teachers in Israel” by using the second person plural—we Southerners would say “y’all” here. In effect, Jesus is saying:
Israel is as dead as Ezekiel’s bones. Here is a message you can take back to your fellow teachers of Israel. If they want to save themselves and Israel, they should look to the prophecies and examples of the Scriptures. As God brought the dry bones back to life, and as Israel was saved in the wilderness by looking on the one God sent, so Israel can be saved by looking on the Son of God, who God sent to bring Israel back to life.
This is the message that Nicodemus rejected, and the message Jesus knew the Jewish leadership—and the Jewish nation, as a nation (we should mind the enigmatic relationship between nations and individual people)—will reject.
With this background, we finally get to John 3:16.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
When the modern reader encounters this passage, they often read it something like this:
God’s feelings of love towards individual humans—including me!—are so deep and warm and strong that God sent his one and only son—he has no other children!—to die on the cross to save ME.
This kind of reading does not fit into the context—and when you take the text out of its context, you’re left with the con.
To understand a better reading within context, let’s look at a few of the individual words.
- “So” is Οὕτως, which means “thus,” or “in this way”
- “Only” is μονογενῆ, which has a range of meanings, from “the only one” to “the one who is unique”
One point to remember when reading this passage is all the times great Biblical figures had more than one son, but one of their sons is unique. Abraham had many sons, but Isaac was his unique son. Jacob had many sons, but Joseph—and then Judah—was his unique son. David had many sons, but Solomon was his unique son.
The sense of unique here is not “the only one.” It is, instead, “the chosen one.” God has other children:
Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’ ”
Exodus 4:22–23
But God has one unique Son, born Jesus of Nazareth in the town of Bethlehem, the Son of David. In this context, a better reading of this passage would probably be:
God loved the world in this way: He gave his unique son to cover the sins of those who look on him in faith.
Whosoever will.