# Jesus loves me, this I know. Does the Bible tell me so? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 4, 2012, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-loves-me-this-i-know-does-the-bible-tell-me-so/611801 "2012-02-04T23:40:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dr.Colossus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.colossus/32/9423_2.png) [@Dr.Colossus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Colossus)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-loves-me-this-i-know-does-the-bible-tell-me-so/611801/21 "2012-02-07T04:36:47Z")
i’d like to further clarify my point, as i feel like something’s been lost. the op brings up this very succinct song with a very succinct point: jesus loves you. how do you know? because: the bible says it. ok. where in the bible does it say it? succinctly, john 3:16. but that’s not exactly what the song says. ok, then (insert any amount of indirect and absolutely not succinct verses). i see why one might be confused–but that’s the point of christianity. it’s a Ragu-sauce of answers: “oh it’s in the bible.” but you practically have to be a theology major with a great many books and translations to make total sense of things. i still maintain: jesus loves me, this i know, but the bible doesn’t succinctly say that–you have to kind of infer it based on a lot of scriptural interpretations and the over-all pillar of christianity which is that Jesus loved mankind enough to die. you can stop there, and that’s a fair answer. but if you actually study things, get yourself a dake’s commentary and a mechanical translation of the bible (not some NIV/king james mumbo jumbo) and actually dig in this stuff, you end up with more questions than answers. so i think the answer the op’s question is “john 3:16 is the basis of the song, but keep in mind it was written by some lady in the 1800s and is just a nursery rhyme for christians.” it’s not some edict of truth from God’s Holy Mouth. it’s just a song some lady wrote not very long ago… the be-all-end-all answer to God’s love is that He sent jesus to die. and to believe all that is what it is, you first have to have faith. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-loves-me-this-i-know-does-the-bible-tell-me-so/611801/22 "2012-02-07T13:44:25Z")
> [@Dr.Colossus](#): > > are you familiar with the actual history of the new testament…? the council of Jerusalem and the council of Nicaea? i think it’s totally relevant that there was no consensus on christ’s divinity until some 300 years after he died. What does any of your post have to do with what the bible actually says? that was the question. Attacks on the authority of the Bible don’t belong in GQ. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-loves-me-this-i-know-does-the-bible-tell-me-so/611801/23 "2012-02-07T13:59:59Z")
**don’tbesojumpy** , I’m not sure what your problem is. The OP asked where in the Bible does it say Jesus loves us, and several posters provided numerous direct and indirect references to Jesus’ love for the world in the Bible. If you postulate that Jesus=God, which almost all Christians do (and did before 300 CE\*), there are many, many more verses that talk directly about God’s love for the world. Why do you insist the song has to be based on John 3:16? Which in any case clearly says “God so loved the world”? \*The Nicene creed was codified at the Council of Nicea, but Trinitarianism goes way back to the earliest church fathers and threads of it are found all over the New Testament. To claim that the church came up with Jesus’ divinity in the fourth century demonstrates an ignorance of the earliest church. ---
**Author:** ![isaiahrobinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@isaiahrobinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/isaiahrobinson)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-loves-me-this-i-know-does-the-bible-tell-me-so/611801/24 "2012-02-08T01:42:55Z")
> [@Electric\_Warrior](#): > > Thank you! This is great. It sounds like yes, the children’s song is accurate. Maybe, although my takeaway would be that it’s surprisingly difficult to find a passage in the Bible that clearly states that Jesus loves humankind. He certainly never seems to say it himself. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-loves-me-this-i-know-does-the-bible-tell-me-so/611801/25 "2012-02-08T02:49:28Z")
Walk the walk. The Gospels present Jesus doing one loving, compassionate act after another. No he didn’t say ‘‘I love you’’ before ‘‘Take up your bed and walk.’’ ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Colossus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.colossus/32/9423_2.png) [@Dr.Colossus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Colossus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-loves-me-this-i-know-does-the-bible-tell-me-so/611801/26 "2012-02-08T06:10:31Z")
> [@thelabdude](#): > > What does any of your post have to do with what the bible actually says? that was the question. Attacks on the authority of the Bible don’t belong in GQ. nothing? which is why i said “but that’s not the point, tho.” you can’t isolate part of a post like that just to make a point, because you don’t have one. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Colossus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.colossus/32/9423_2.png) [@Dr.Colossus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Colossus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-loves-me-this-i-know-does-the-bible-tell-me-so/611801/27 "2012-02-08T06:35:33Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > **don’tbesojumpy** , I’m not sure what your problem is. The OP asked where in the Bible does it say Jesus loves us, and several posters provided numerous direct and indirect references to Jesus’ love for the world in the Bible. If you postulate that Jesus=God, which almost all Christians do (and did before 300 CE\*), there are many, many more verses that talk directly about God’s love for the world. Why do you insist the song has to be based on John 3:16? Which in any case clearly says “God so loved the world”? > > \*The Nicene creed was codified at the Council of Nicea, but Trinitarianism goes way back to the earliest church fathers and threads of it are found all over the New Testament. To claim that the church came up with Jesus’ divinity in the fourth century demonstrates an ignorance of the earliest church. if you go back up to the top of the thread, i posted John 3:16, but the OP was unsatisfied because he wanted something that said “for JESUS so loved the world…” \*which doesn’t exist. \* that’s my point. it doesn’t exist in succinct, explicit terms as the silly little song claims other than John 3:16. there is no verse in the bible that says “for Jesus loved all mankind and wanted to come die.” instead, you have only GOD loved man so much that he sent a rather unwilling Jesus to die, unhappily. why does the song \*have \*to be based on john 3:16? It doesn’t HAVE to be. but it _IS_. because the author drew from that verse when writing the song. it simply is the verse she based it on. look up your hymn history… you can falsely attribute whatever obscure other verses you want to in order to give it more credence, but that doesn’t change the basis of where she was coming from. at any rate, it’s an oversimplification for children. why are you so vehement about defending it? it’s a massively overstated oversimplification. addressing your\*: this is irrelevant to the topic at hand and i regret bringing it up because it’s a sort of high-jack, but no one ever said NO ONE believed Christ was the son of God before Nicaea. it was just established as a standard there as most early churches quarreled on the semantics before this. > [@](#): > > The council did not create the doctrine of the deity of Christ (as is sometimes claimed) but it did settle to some degree the debate within the Early Christian communities regarding the divinity of Christ. This idea of the divinity of Christ along with the idea of Christ as a messenger from the one God (“The Father”) had long existed in various parts of the Roman empire. The divinity of Christ had also been widely endorsed by the Christian community in the otherwise pagan city of Rome.[9] The council affirmed and defined what it believed to be the teachings of the Apostles regarding who Christ is: that Christ is the one true God in deity with the Father the only reason i brought it up is clear; go back to the front of the thread. “does the bible say that, explicitly?” answer: yes, john 3:16. “but that’s GOD, not JESUS.” ‘yeah well you have to buy in to the concept they are the same thing first. once you do, the bible clearly says "jesus (god) loves you.’ which starts getting semantically convoluted the more you dig into it, esp if you’re not already a christian. \*\*salt and pepper more obscure, indirect Jesus loves so-and-so which i guess means “me too” verses. \*\* all I’ve been trying to say is i can see why the OP would be confused because the song is succinct in it’s pronouncement but the verse it’s based on causes non-Christians a bit of confusion. heck, it causes Unitarians confusion as well. so. to kick a dead horse: bible says “God loves you,” succinctly and explicitly. Bible does not any place say “Jesus loves you,” not succinctly and no explicitly. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Colossus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.colossus/32/9423_2.png) [@Dr.Colossus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Colossus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-loves-me-this-i-know-does-the-bible-tell-me-so/611801/28 "2012-02-08T06:43:59Z")
^keep in mind i’m not saying that if the song’s not true then clearly jesus doesn’t love us. i just think it was massively over-simplified. so it should “jesus loves me, this i know, for the bible tells me so–but you gotta read all of it and buy into the concepts there-in and ultimately you’ll see what i’m trying to say…” ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Colossus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.colossus/32/9423_2.png) [@Dr.Colossus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Colossus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-loves-me-this-i-know-does-the-bible-tell-me-so/611801/29 "2012-02-08T06:48:03Z")
> [@isaiahrobinson](#): > > Maybe, although my takeaway would be that it’s surprisingly difficult to find a passage in the Bible that clearly states that Jesus loves humankind. He certainly never seems to say it himself. exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-loves-me-this-i-know-does-the-bible-tell-me-so/611801/30 "2012-02-08T12:55:43Z")
> [@Dr.Colossus](#): > > because the author drew from that verse when writing the song. it simply is the verse she based it on. look up your hymn history… This is the second time you’ve invited us to look it up. Can you provide a cite? ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-loves-me-this-i-know-does-the-bible-tell-me-so/611801/31 "2012-02-08T13:20:35Z")
> [@Dr.Colossus](#): > > if you go back up to the top of the thread, i posted John 3:16, but the OP was unsatisfied because he wanted something that said “for JESUS so loved the world…” \*which doesn’t exist. > \* How about John 15:9? [QUOTE=Jesus] As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-loves-me-this-i-know-does-the-bible-tell-me-so/611801/32 "2012-02-08T13:24:08Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > How about John 15:9? To whom was he speaking? ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-loves-me-this-i-know-does-the-bible-tell-me-so/611801/33 "2012-02-08T13:36:04Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > To whom was he speaking? To his disciples. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Colossus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.colossus/32/9423_2.png) [@Dr.Colossus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Colossus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-loves-me-this-i-know-does-the-bible-tell-me-so/611801/34 "2012-02-08T23:32:01Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > To his disciples. …so not “us.” ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Colossus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.colossus/32/9423_2.png) [@Dr.Colossus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Colossus)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-loves-me-this-i-know-does-the-bible-tell-me-so/611801/35 "2012-02-09T00:00:30Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > This is the second time you’ve invited us to look it up. Can you provide a cite? i have some much better hymnal history books in my father’s library but i have no access to them at the moment. however, this: > [@](#): > > Jesus Loves Me - The History > This popular song has been loved among children and adults alike since it was written in 1860. Anna B. Warner wrote the original version and later David Rutherford McGuire added stanzas two and three. Anna’s sister Susan had asked her to write a song for a Sunday School teacher who wanted to cheer a dying boy. No wonder the lyrics have brought a smile to many children and assurance to adults! The song first appeared in a novel, Say and Seal. In 1862, William B. Bradbury composed the music and added the refrain. The following are the rich lyrics to the song, “Jesus Loves Me.” > > Jesus Loves Me - The Lyrics > “Jesus loves me! This I know, > For the Bible tells me so. > Little ones to Him belong; > They are weak, but He is strong. > > Refrain: > > “Yes, Jesus loves me! > Yes, Jesus loves me! > Yes, Jesus loves me! > The Bible tells me so. > > “Jesus loves me! This I know, > As He loved so long ago, > Taking children on His knee, > Saying, ‘Let them come to Me.’ > > Repeat Refrain > > “Jesus loves me still today, > Walking with me on my way, > Wanting as a friend to give > Light and love to all who live. > > Repeat Refrain > > “Jesus loves me! He who died > Heaven’s gate to open wide; > He will wash away my sin, > Let His little child come in. > > Repeat Refrain > > “Jesus loves me! He will stay > Close beside me all the way; > Thou hast bled and died for me, > I will henceforth live for Thee. > > Repeat Refrain > > (Note: this next stanza from the original is commonly omitted in hymnals) > > “Jesus loves me! Loves me still, > Though I’m very weak and ill, > That I might from sin be free > Bled and died upon the tree.” > > Jesus Loves Me - Sound Biblical Theology > The song “Jesus Loves Me” claims Christ’s devotion to me, but how can that be true? As a sinner, wouldn’t the holy God despise me? Thankfully, the song is not hopeful delusion but rather sound, biblical theology. While God hated my sin, His love for me compelled Him to give up His beloved Son. **Jesus, God the Son, loved us so much He died a terrible death to pay the just penalty for our sins (John 3:16)**. and here’s a few silly tid-bits: from a site that outlines children’s (i.e. simplified) bible lessons, they say, > [@](#): > > Jesus Loves Me Bible Verse: > > (John 3:16) For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever > believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life and that’s the one. the \*only \*one. the lesson is to teach the song then show the children in the bible where it says jesus loves them. and that’s the cite. the Psalter Hymn book touches on the oversimplification and criticism there-of: > [@](#): > > Both Anna and Susan Warner’s writings are marked by what some judge to be “undistinguished religious sentimentality.” But those who are critical of the text’s simplicity may do well to remember what the great theologian Karl Barth once said when asked about his most profound theological discovery: > > ``` > Jesus loves me, this I know, > for the Bible tells me so. > > ``` but i will say i found a few scripture cites that actually \*do \*touch more on the message of the song: Eph. 5:2, Jer.31:3, Gal. 2:20 that get us a little closer to the sentiment of the song…a little? yeah? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-loves-me-this-i-know-does-the-bible-tell-me-so/611801/36 "2012-02-09T00:09:41Z")
The concept of separation of church and state is not explicitly described in The US Constitution, but has been derived from several oblique references and upheld by the courts. The concept that “Jesus Loves Me” is not explicitly stated in The Bible, but has been derived from the various writings therein, and not opposed by theologians. ---
**Author:** ![posskb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@posskb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/posskb)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-loves-me-this-i-know-does-the-bible-tell-me-so/611801/37 "2012-02-10T02:32:23Z")
John 15:9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” I have been saved and babtized for just under a year. The greatest experience of my life is Christ. I was reading this link earlier today and this evening while reading my daily 2 chapters of the Old Testament and then 2 chapters of the New I found this. John chapter 14 was exactly where I finished my previous reading. Jesus does love us. ---
**Author:** ![isaiahrobinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@isaiahrobinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/isaiahrobinson)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-loves-me-this-i-know-does-the-bible-tell-me-so/611801/38 "2012-02-10T02:59:30Z")
> [@posskb](#): > > John 15:9 > > “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” Technically Jesus is talking specifically to his disciples in this passage, not about mankind in general. In fact the next few verses make it clear not only that he is restricting this advice to the disciples, but he actually goes on a mini-rant about how “the rest of the world” is not part of the group he loves: > [@](#): > > "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit … > > If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. … > > If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father as well." ---
**Author:** ![posskb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@posskb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/posskb)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-loves-me-this-i-know-does-the-bible-tell-me-so/611801/39 "2012-02-10T05:49:23Z")
"Technically Jesus is talking specifically to his disciples in this passage, not about mankind in general. In fact the next few verses make it clear not only that he is restricting this advice to the disciples, but he actually goes on a mini-rant about how “the rest of the world” is not part of the group he loves: Quote: "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit … If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. … If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father as well." " I am a babe in Christ having only studied the bible this past year but I believe Jesus is talking to all his eventual followers as well as the disciples. He knows this will be in the bible. If you believe that Jesus died on the cross to forgive your sins and that he rose back to life after three days and then ascended to Heaven to become the right hand of God, and you love him with all your heart, and you love mankind then you will be loved by him. ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-loves-me-this-i-know-does-the-bible-tell-me-so/611801/40 "2012-02-10T12:27:29Z")
> [@thelabdude](#): > > Have you read the Gospels? They clearly spell out his own claims of divinity in his life time. > > The question was ‘‘Does the Bible tell me so?’’. While you may question the Bible, honesty compels the the answer to be yes. Your alleged events 300 years later are irrelevant to that question to what the Bible says as are discussions about when and who wrote it. > > Are you leaving Paul out as an early Christian? Peter? John? They clearly regarded Jesus as the son of God. According to the Psalmist all are gods(Psalm 82 in KJV). Jesus backs this up when accused of Blasphemy when he said," It says in your law, I said you are gods, so why do you accuse me of blasphemy when I call God my father , when your father’s did?"(John !0) To me that is Jesus not proclaiming to be anymore Divine than any one he was speaking to. Jesus is also quoted as telling a woman whio asked him for help, that he only came for the house of Israel. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-loves-me-this-i-know-does-the-bible-tell-me-so/611801.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-loves-me-this-i-know-does-the-bible-tell-me-so/611801.md?page=3)