By Guest Columnist Spencer Sullivan, Pastor, Pelahatchie Baptist+
John 3:16 is without question considered to be the most popular, most widely known, most read, most memorized verse in the Bible. It can be seen driving down the highway on billboards, and also at sporting events, on posters or on the eye black of players. If you ever visit an In-and-Out Burger, the most famous fast-food restaurant on the west coast, you can find the reference “John 3:16” printed on the bottom rim of every one of their drink cups. The magazine Christianity Today reported from research done in the year 2022 that John 3:16 is by far the most widely Google searched Bible verse each month. The magazine acquired Google search data from 172 countries around the world and looked at the average monthly volume of Google searches for the 100 most read Bible verses. John 3:16 had 2.1 million searches, followed by Jeremiah 29:11 and Philippians 4:13 in a joint second at just 82,000. So, that begs the question: “Why does this verse get so much attention?” To help answer that question, the great reformer Martin Luther once referred to John 3:16 as “the heart of the Bible, the Gospel in miniature.”
John 3:16, as much as any one verse in the Bible, declares the Good News of the Gospel. Jesus’ most famous words are: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have eternal life.” The Greatest Gift ever given is without question God the Father’s gift of love to the world in the person of God the Son, Jesus Christ. The reason Jesus is the greatest gift is because only He is uniquely able to be the solution to mankind’s greatest problem, which is our sin against God. Sin causes us to be separated from God (Isaiah 59:2) and in the path of His wrath against sin itself Romans 2:5). Jesus is able to be the solution because He is both God and man. Being fully God and fully man enables Him to be the perfect lamb without blemish, to be sacrificed for our sins. He absorbed the wrath of God’s punishment so that we are able to escape. You hear terms like ‘salvation’ and ‘being saved’ when you think about the Gospel. This is why! We are literally saved from the penalty and punishment by God upon sin. The only One who didn’t deserve the wrath of God is the One who endured the wrath of God so that we can escape the wrath of God, but not only so we can escape, so that we can inherit eternal life with God. This is the Greatest Gift. But it is only the Greatest Gift for those that actually receive the Gift.
Jesus said that this gift is given to the world and that anyone who believes is saved. Anyone! So, what does it mean to believe? Just before the words of John 3:16 were said, Jesus said in verse 3: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Jesus was saying we need a new life. Our lives are marked by sin and shame. Being born again and receiving this new life comes through believing upon Jesus to save you. Based upon the whole of Scripture, believing means recognizing your sin before God, turning away from that sin, and putting every ounce of your hope in Jesus and what He did on the cross to save you from your deserved punishment of the wrath of God. We believe in Him and we believe upon Him. Jesus did for us what we could not do for ourselves. It is truly a gift, but that gift can only be received by turning from our sin and turning to God through believing in Jesus and what He did for you. Have you received this priceless gift?
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