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John 3:16 is easily the most well known, and probably the most well loved, verse in all the Bible. It is in some ways a summary of the whole of Scripture, and certainly a summary of the Gospel. Here we see God's great love for a fallen world, such that he gave his only Son to die on Calvary's cross. And the purpose is stated to be so that anyone who believes in Jesus would not perish but have eternal life. John 3:17 then begins by denying that God sent his Son to condemn the world, but asserts it was in fact to save it. Many of the Jews thought that Messiah would come to bless Israel but to judge the Gentile world. But here we see Jesus die to save Jew and Gentile alike.