💫WEB · John 16:3
What does John 16:3 mean?
"They will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me."
— John 16:3 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
“I have said these things to you so that you wouldn’t be caused to stumble.
They will put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the time comes that whoever kills you will think that he offers service to God.
They will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.
But I have told you these things, so that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you about them. I didn’t tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you.
But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’
But because I have told you these things, sorrow has filled your heart.
Explanation
John 16:3 comes in the middle of a larger discourse Jesus gives to his disciples on the night before his crucifixion, often called the Farewell Discourse (John 13–17). Just before this verse, in John 16:1-2, Jesus warns his disciples that they will be put out of the synagogues, and that a time is coming when those who kill them will think they are offering service to God. Verse 3 supplies the reason behind that coming persecution: "They will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me." Jesus is explaining why people who consider themselves religious and devoted to God will nonetheless oppose and even kill his followers.
The immediate context is Jesus preparing his disciples for the hardship they will face after he departs. He knows he is about to be crucified, raised, and ascended, and he wants his followers to understand in advance what will happen so that when persecution comes, their faith won't be shaken (John 16:1, 4). The Gospel of John was written, according to its own stated purpose, so that readers "may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God" (John 20:31), and this passage fits that aim by clarifying the spiritual roots of opposition to the gospel. The persecutors in view are likely religious authorities who claim zeal for God but reject Jesus as the Messiah — Jesus is telling his disciples that such opposition, however sincere it may appear, actually stems from ignorance of God himself.
Theologically, this verse makes a striking claim: knowing "the Father" and knowing Jesus are inseparable. Through
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