Perhaps the most famous words in the New Testament are in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (NKJV).* But who said these famous words—Jesus or John?
In red letter editions of the Bible, such as we find in the NKJV and ESV, black letters are supposed to indicate the author’s words. In John’s Gospel, John is claimed to be the author. Red letters are purported to be Jesus’s words.
In John 3:16, all the words are in red. Likewise, in the recent film series, The Chosen, Jesus says these words when speaking to Nicodemus that he must be born again (first season, episode seven).
The Greek version of John, however, does not use red letters to identify when Jesus is speaking. So, then, how do we know it is Jesus speaking these words?
Looking at the Context of John 3:16
Prior to John 3:16 the context has Jesus speaking to Nicodemus about being born again. John 3:9–10a explicitly states: “Nicodemus answered and said to Him, ‘How can these things be?’ Jesus answered and said to him…”.
It is safe to say that the narrative in John 3:11–12 also intends Jesus to be speaking since the first-person singular “I” is being used. Also, one may suggest that, even though the discourse changes to third-person singulars, John 3:13–14 still has Jesus speaking. Jesus normally speaks about himself in the third-person singular when he refers to himself as “the Son of Man” (e.g., Matt 8:20; Mark 2:10; Luke 6:5; John 6:27, 53, 62, etc.)
John 3:15 is when things get fuzzy: “that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” If you notice, this verse is essentially repeated in John 3:16. Still, one could suppose that since “Him” refers back to the Son of Man in 3:14, Jesus may still be speaking.
Looking at John 3:16
Things look different in John 3:16 and suggest that Jesus is no longer speaking but the narrator. “For” (gar in Greek) seems to signal further explanation about what was just said. Who is doing the explaining? Probably John the narrator.
Also, the phrase that appears from John 3:15 appears again in 3:16: “that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” This makes us ask why Jesus would need to repeat the same words he just said. If, on the other hand, the narrator is now taking over the discourse, the use of the same phrase makes better sense. John is now elaborating on and explaining what this phrase means.
Next, in 3:16, there is no “Son of Man” phrase anymore so that we should expect Jesus to be speaking in the third person. Notice also that the text continues to speak in the third-person all the way to 3:21 without mentioning the Son of Man, Nicodemus, or that Jesus is speaking. Starting in 3:22 another narrative begins with Jesus and the disciples going into Judea.
Comparing John 3:16 with John and the other Gospels
The term in John 3:16 “only begotten” (monogenes: “one and only,” “unique in kind”) appears elsewhere. As here in John 3:16, it always refers to Jesus in John’s Gospel. However, in the other instances, it is clearly John who is stating this: see John 1:14 and 1:18. Also, if it is John who is narrating in 3:16, then he is the one using the term again in the same context at 3:18.
In fact, nowhere in any of the Gospels is Jesus the one who is intended to be the speaker when using the term monogenes.
Moreover, the closest parallel to John 3:16 in the NT is in the First Epistle of John. In 1 John 4:9 we read: “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.” Once again, Jesus is not the one saying this; the one saying this is the same author writing John’s Gospel!
If this is Jesus speaking in John 3:16, it seems odd that none of the other Gospels adopt this saying. This saying should be right up there with the Lord’s Prayer, the Lord’s Supper, love your enemies, the golden rule, the greatest commandment, and so forth, that are found in at least two or more of the Gospels. How much more should the reportedly “most famous saying of Jesus” be repeated somewhere else?
To be sure, there are many words attributed to Jesus in John’s Gospel that are not repeated in the other Gospels. It is very peculiar, though, that—above all sayings of Jesus—the one in John 3:16 is nowhere to be found. The closest parallel again is 1 John 4:9, which is written by the same author.**
Conclusion
John rather than Jesus expresses these words that we find in John 3:16. Incidentally, the red-letter edition of the NIV (2011 edition) is more accurate about this—John 3:16 is in black. This doesn’t make these words any less important or memorable. After all, it is not the red letters alone that are inspired in our English translations.
More importantly, do you believe the words in John 3:16? In this verse “believes in him” is more than simply agreeing that the verse is true—it means a continual trust in the person of Jesus so that you live your life in a way that pleases him, consistent with that trust. It relates to being born again.***
Notes
* The New King James Version (1982 edition, Thomas Nelson, Inc.) is quoted throughout this post, except the last line.
** Early church traditions claim that John, whether son of Zebedee or the Elder, wrote both this Gospel and Epistle. Although modern scholars are more divided about the authorship, the wording of 1 John and John’s Gospel are so similar that many scholars do suggest the same person or community (Johannine) wrote both.
*** For more on being born again, click here and here.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In