The third chapter of the Gospel of John[2] begins with the conversation between Nicodemus, a Pharisee,[3] and Jesus, a Jewish itinerant preacher.

[8] Unlike Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the Gospel of John is the only one to mention Jesus' life not in chronological order.

[37] The Methodist minister C. K. Barrett wrote, "Mention of ... the eternal life given ... to believers ... suggests ... the general setting of the work of Christ in the love and judgement of God.

[41] However, Anglican bishop N. T. Wright has argued against this, saying that the "position is quite clear: God in His great love has made one way of salvation for all men without exception.

[43] In the words of theologian David Pawson, it is problematic to use a verse in evangelism that does not tell the hearers "how to respond in proper detail ... that you get a simple decision which is not enough for a real change in life ...

"[54] Bruce Vawter, a Catholic priest, stated: "The only explanation that we shall ever have of the gift of eternal life made possible for us in the redemption achieved in Christ is the incredible love of God for the world.

"[56] Presbyterian pastor Lamar Williamson found that John 3:16 emphasises the significance of Jesus in Christianity as God the Son.

[59] Because ancient Bible copies do not use quotation marks for dialogues,[60] biblical scholars have disputed on where Jesus and Nicodemus' conversation ends.

[87] Sharing similar sentiments, Harris remarked, "Often in this Gospel there are ominous, negative ideas attaching to the term.

"[88] The verb gave, in past tense, does not have a clear subject; Pawson assumed that the word refers to the prior world.

[96] Theologian Marianne Thompson said it does not mean solely "unending: it is qualitatively different from mortal life in the present world, because it participates in the blessings of the coming age, including being with God, who is living and eternal ... such life is characterized by fullness and abundance";[97] though according to the New Testament professor Merrill C. Tenney the word refers to imperishability.

[98] The Gospel of John uses lexically and syntactically unsophisticated language, and has a significant number of theologically laden phrases that have become an important part of Christianity.

[99] John 3:16 also contains the designation for Jesus as the "only begotten", a key Christological title in the pre-modern versions of the English Bible, which has almost completely disappeared from most contemporary translations.

The phrase "only begotten" is traceable to the Latin translation made by the Church Father Jerome in the late fourth century called the Biblia vulgata.

[107][c] Theologian Pheme Perkins believed the phrase "He gave His only begotten Son" could be a reference to his later crucifixion,[115] an opinion shared by Murray J. Harris and Robert E. Van Voorst.

[118] Gombe State University's Yakubu Modibbo and University of Maiduguri's Dani Mamman claimed other verses from the Bible that, they believed, are an affirmation of other "begotten sons" of God, and thus contradict Jesus' words or John's commentary; Psalms 2:7 for example, which reads, "I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have begotten you'.

Due to the millions of people who watch such events, they have been savvy in their communication skills in reaching larger audiences."

In the United States, where Christianity is dominant, evangelists often write "John 3:16" on signs and walls to attract people's attention.

Voorst added, "They hope that some people will recognise as a Bible reference, look up the verse, and come to faith in Jesus Christ.

"[130] The American footballer Tim Tebow wrote John 3:16 on the eye black during the 2009 BCS National Championship Game, making it the most popular search term for more than 24 hours.

[131] The verse has been printed on the shopping bags by Forever 21 fashion retailer[132] and on paper cups' bottom by In-N-Out Burger fast-food chain.

Lutheran computer scientist Donald Knuth published 3:16 Bible Texts Illuminated in 1991, examining and illustrating the sixteenth verse of every third chapter in biblical books.

[138] Pawson wrote Is John 3:16 the Gospel?, analyzing every word and grammatical structure and remarking it is the "most misunderstood verse".