John 16:3 kjv
And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.
John 16:3 nkjv
And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.
John 16:3 niv
They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me.
John 16:3 esv
And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.
John 16:3 nlt
This is because they have never known the Father or me.
John 16 3 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Jn 15:21 | But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me. | Persecution due to ignorance of God and Christ. |
| Jn 8:19 | They said therefore to Him, "Where is Your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father..." | Ignorance of Jesus results in ignorance of Father. |
| Jn 14:7 | "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you do know Him..." | Knowing Jesus is knowing the Father. |
| Jn 14:9 | "He who has seen Me has seen the Father..." | Jesus is the perfect revelation of the Father. |
| 1 Jn 2:23 | No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. | Denial of the Son means rejection of the Father. |
| 1 Jn 4:7-8 | ...whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God... | True knowledge of God linked to love and His nature. |
| Mt 7:21-23 | "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven..." | Religious works without true relationship with Jesus. |
| Acts 3:17 | "And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers." | Persecution stemming from unawareness/ignorance. |
| Acts 26:9-11 | "Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus..." | Paul's pre-conversion persecution was based on ignorance. |
| Rom 10:2-3 | "For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge." | Misguided religious zeal without understanding. |
| 1 Cor 2:8 | None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. | Rulers' spiritual blindness led to Christ's crucifixion. |
| 1 Tim 1:13 | Though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent, but I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief. | Paul's testimony of ignorance and received mercy. |
| Eph 4:18 | They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them... | Ignorance leading to separation from God. |
| 2 Thess 1:8 | ...inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. | Divine judgment for those who reject knowledge of God. |
| Psa 79:6 | Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You... | OT parallel: nations lacking knowledge of God. |
| Jer 9:3 | "They are bent on lying; they refuse to know me," declares the LORD. | Active rejection and refusal to know God. |
| Hos 4:6 | My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge... | Spiritual decay due to absence of knowledge. |
| Isa 1:3 | The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know, My people do not understand. | Israel's spiritual ignorance lamented by God. |
| Jn 17:3 | And this is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. | Defining eternal life through knowing God and Jesus. |
| Col 2:2-3 | ...so that they may know the mystery of God, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. | All true wisdom and knowledge are found in Christ. |
| 2 Tim 3:12 | Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. | Persecution as a general reality for believers. |
| Psa 14:4 | Have all the evildoers no knowledge...? | Questioning the understanding of the wicked. |
John 16 verses
John 16 3 Meaning
This verse declares that those who persecute believers, even to the point of killing them, will commit these acts because they lack a true, intimate knowledge of God the Father and of His Son, Jesus Christ. Their hostility and misguided religious zeal stem from profound spiritual ignorance, causing them to oppose divine truth under the mistaken conviction that they are serving God.
John 16 3 Context
John 16:3 is delivered within Jesus' final discourse to His disciples in the Upper Room, a deeply intimate and urgent teaching before His impending passion. Following predictions of His departure, the coming of the Holy Spirit, and the world's hatred, Jesus specifically warns them in verses 16:1-4 about the intense persecution they will face. This includes being expelled from synagogues and even martyred by those who sincerely believe they are doing God's will. This particular verse provides the profound spiritual reason behind such extreme actions: a fundamental ignorance of God and His Son. Jesus explains this not just as a prophecy of suffering, but as a crucial theological insight intended to strengthen their faith and prevent them from stumbling when facing such profound hostility, allowing them to understand that their persecutors are acting from profound spiritual blindness rather than genuine service to God.
John 16 3 Word analysis
- καὶ (kai) - "And": A connecting conjunction, linking the future acts of persecution mentioned in the previous verse to their underlying cause presented here.
- ταῦτα (tauta) - "these things": A demonstrative pronoun, referring directly and emphatically to the extreme acts foretold in John 16:2: expulsion from religious communities and outright killing of believers.
- ποιήσουσιν (poiēsousin) - "they will do": From
ποιέω(poieō), meaning to make, do, or perform. It is a future active indicative verb, expressing a definite, prophetic certainty of these future actions. - ὅτι (hoti) - "because": A pivotal causal conjunction, introducing the reason, motive, or explanation for the foretold persecution, establishing a direct link between ignorance and hostile actions.
- οὐκ (ouk) - "not": A strong negative particle, indicating a definitive and absolute absence or lack of the specified knowledge.
- ἔγνωσαν (egnōsan) - "they have known": From the Greek verb
γινώσκω(ginōskō), meaning to know, perceive, understand, or recognize. In Johannine theology, this word denotes more than mere intellectual awareness; it implies an intimate, personal, experiential, and salvific knowledge or recognition that leads to relationship and fellowship. Here, it signifies a profound failure to truly comprehend or acknowledge. - τὸν Πατέρα (ton Patera) - "the Father": Refers to God, highlighting His intimate, parental relationship with Jesus and by extension, with believers. Jesus consistently reveals God through this familial term, emphasizing a relationship of love and truth. To truly know the Father is to embrace His nature and will.
- οὐδὲ (oude) - "nor" / "neither": A compound negative conjunction that connects two elements in a comprehensive negation, signifying that the lack of knowledge extends equally to both the Father and the Son, without exception.
- ἐμέ (eme) - "me": Refers to Jesus Himself. This firmly establishes that knowledge of God is inseparable from knowledge of Jesus, His unique and perfect revelation. To reject Jesus is to reject the Father He represents.
Word-groups Analysis
- "And these things they will do": This phrase asserts the certainty and gravity of the impending persecution. It confirms that the extreme measures (excommunication and martyrdom) are part of a divinely revealed future, originating from external hostility against Jesus' followers.
- "because they have not known the Father, nor me": This central causal clause uncovers the fundamental spiritual issue underlying the persecution. The persecutors' actions are not informed by a true, saving, or relational knowledge of God. This indicates a profound spiritual blindness: they fail to recognize God in the person of Jesus and consequently misunderstand the true nature and will of God the Father, even in their zealous religious endeavors. Their ignorance is a dual one, failing to apprehend both the Father's true character and the Son's divine identity and mission.
John 16 3 Bonus section
The profound link between "knowing the Father" and "knowing me (Jesus)" is a cornerstone of Johannine theology. Jesus consistently presents Himself as the exclusive path to the Father (Jn 14:6), stating that seeing Him is seeing the Father (Jn 14:9). This verse not only highlights the spiritual blindness of the persecutors but also underscores the crucial role of personal relationship in genuine faith. Their failure to recognize Jesus as the Son is an unequivocal failure to recognize God's true character and plan. The "world" (κοσμος - kosmos), frequently antagonistic in John, is shown here as living in a state of wilful or ingrained ignorance regarding God's self-revelation. Thus, their acts against believers are not just against humans, but implicitly against the divine Person they claim to serve.
John 16 3 Commentary
John 16:3 penetrates to the spiritual root of religious persecution: profound ignorance of God. Jesus clarifies to His disciples that the severe hostility they would face—including excommunication and martyrdom—would come from those who, paradoxically, believed they were performing God's will. Their zeal, however, was "not according to knowledge" (Rom 10:2). The Greek word for "known" (ginōskō) here signifies more than mere factual acquaintance; it means an intimate, personal, and saving relationship. Therefore, those persecutors had not truly experienced God the Father or acknowledged Him through His Son, Jesus, who is the perfect revelation of the Father. This ignorance tragically distorted their perception of God's will, leading them to oppose divine truth. This explanation served as vital comfort to the disciples, assuring them that their suffering would stem from the world's spiritual blindness, not from their own failure or God's disfavor. It reinforces the Johannine truth that one cannot genuinely know the Father apart from knowing the Son.