WHO SAID JOHN 3:16?

Who said John 3:16?

Several years ago a substitute Sunday school teacher wanted to make the good point that it is necessary to read a passage of Scripture in its context in order to properly understand it. And so he picked the familiar John 3:16 and asked the class, “Who said that and whom was he addressing? It was a rather unfortunate passage to chose in order to make his point, and he was certainly more than a bit surprised when I replied, “Either Jesus was addressing Nicodemus or John was addressing the audience of his book.”

The teacher didn't really know what I was driving at, and so he said, “But my red letter New Testament indicates that Jesus said it.” Of course, I pointed out that the original manuscripts had neither red letters nor punctuation marks to indicate where Jesus' words beginning at John 3:10 actually ended and John's comments began. In fact, although most English translations end Jesus' words with verse 21, NRSV has a footnote indicating that they may have ended with v. 15 instead; RSV and NIV conclude the quote with v. 15; and TEV even ends the quotation at v. 13.

Commentaries on this point are similarly divided on the question. Thus, D.J. Ellis begins his discussion on 3:16 by saying, “We now pass to the inspired comment of the writer of the Gospel (as RSV punctuates, rightly).” However Donald Guthrie says, “There is some dispute as to whether the next passage [vv. 16-21] is a continuation of Jesus' discourse or a comment by the Evangelist. The conjunction 'for' would seem to suggest a connection with the previous discourse and rather favors the view that it is Jesus speaking.” I would hate to argue with someone of Guthrie's academic stature, but this appears to be a very weak argument, especially in view of other observations below:

In his extended study of the titles given to Jesus, O. Michel says, “The concept 'Son of God', which is not used in this form by Jesus himself, is the essential confessional term of early Christianity.” Therefore, he would certainly exclude John 3:18 from the words of Christ and probably the closely related expression in verses 16 and 17 as well. By contrast, Jesus' more usual self-designation “Son of Man” appears in John 3:13,14 and is thus definitely part of Jesus' discourse.

Also pointing in the direction of verses 16-21 being John's own reflection is the fact, pointed out by Kostenberger and others, that these verses betray his characteristic language and ideas found elsewhere in John's writings where there is no question of them coming directly from Jesus' mouth. Below are a few examples:

    The contrast between light and darkness: John 1:4-9; 3:19-21; I John 1:5-7; 2:8-11

    The emphasis on truth: John 1:14,17; 3:21; I John 1:6,8; 2:4,21

    “Eternal life”: John 3:15-16,36; I John 1:2; 2:25; 3:15: 5:11,13,20

    God's sending of his Son into the world in order that those who believe in him may have life: John 3:16-17; I John 4:9

Next we could consider the way John 3 is constructed. It begins with an extended back-and-forth dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus in which Jesus' comments become somewhat longer with each cycle while those of Nicodemus become briefer and briefer:

    Nicodemus' question (vv. 1-2)

        Jesus' reply (v. 3)

    Nicodemus' question (v. 4)

        Jesus' reply (vv. 5-8)

    Nicodemus question (v. 9)

        Jesus' reply (either vv. 10-15 or 10-21)

While this observation certainly does not constitute a proof, it does indicate that if Jesus' words extend all the way to verse 21, that would result in a very lopsided literary structure.

Then we must consider the way verses 16-21 are written in the overall repetitive style we encounter again and again in John's writings in which the same words and concepts appear several times in various arrangements only to be slowly abandoned in favor of new repeated words and concepts. It is hard to strictly outline such a literary organization, but the attempt below may give you some idea of how John's literary style betrays itself in 3:16-21, being no doubt prompted by Jesus' closing words in v. 15: “that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”

whoever believes/does not believe: 16             18(2x)

    love/hate:                                      16                                 19             20

        having eternal life/be saved:    16     17

            the world                              16     17(2x)                 19

                perish, condemn               16     17   18 (2x)         19

                    light/darkness                                                   19 (3x)      20 (2x)           21

                        deeds/done                                                    19             20                  21(3x)

In conclusion, as Blum states, “Whether this verse [John 3:16] was spoken by John or Jesus, it is God's word and is an important summary of the Gospel.” And that is really the important fact to remember.