We all know John 3:16, and many know II Timothy 3:16, but what about the other 3:16’s?
The divisions of the Biblical books into chapters and verses was not handed down by God to the original scribes and authors, but was divided by several groups or individuals during the Middle Ages. (You can read more about it in this article from Probe Ministries, friends of mine.) And while in many cases, the divisions seem to ignore logic and context, it would be interesting to get God’s take on them.
There is also a book I discovered while researching this post (incidentally, it was written by a computer science professor who is also a Christian). While I haven’t read it, it is cool to think that there are others who’ve asked the same question: “What can I learn from Scripture by just reading a key verse from each book?” Of course, it makes sense to start with one of the most important and well known verses in the entire Bible, where the Gospel is summed up in a concise statement of faith, John 3:16. So, here for your meditation are the 49 “3:16’s.” I leave it as an exercise for the reader to figure out why there are only 49 3:16’s if the Bible has 66 books.
While not every verse has immediate deep insightful meaning, it is a little surprising how many do, or how many are part of key events. What is kind of fun is how many of them seem to flow into each other and form a storyline of their own, sometimes with humorous results.
