that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Some authorities believe that John 3:16-21 are the Apostle John’s comments, his aside, rather than a continuation of Jesus’ words to Nicodemus. [Note: E.g., Tenney, "John," pp. 49-50; Carson, p. 203; Everett F. Harrison, "The Gospel According to John," in The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 1079; Morris, p. 202; Westcott, p. 54; and Beasley-Murray, p. 51.] Others believe Jesus’ words continue through John 3:21. [Note: E.g., Barrett, p. 169; Tasker, p. 66; J. P. Lange, ed., A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, 12 vols., vol. 9: The Gospel According to John, by J. P. Lange, p. 134; Richard C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel, p. 258; Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John , 1:120; G. Campbell Morgan, The Gospel According to John, pp. 59-60; William Barclay, The Gospel of John , 1:128; Wiersbe, 1:298; and John G. Mitchell, An Everlasting Love: A Devotional Study of the Gospel of John, p. 57.] I prefer the second opinion on this issue. Unfortunately the Greek text does not contain quotation marks, or any punctuation for that matter, so it does not identify quotations for the reader. This section of the text is the heart of John’s record of Jesus’ early ministry (chs. 2-4).