--- description: Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow wears the famous verse on his eye black during the 2009 NCAA championship game, tapping into a long history of Biblical citation title: John 3:16 in Pop Culture image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) # John 3:16 in Pop Culture by [TIME](/author/time/) Jan 9, 2009 5:00 AM CUT by [TIME](/author/time/) Jan 9, 2009 5:00 AM CUT Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow wears the famous verse on his eye black during the 2009 NCAA championship game, tapping into a long history of Biblical citation ### Message  The Gators quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow was born into a missionary family. He remains a devout Christian. Lynne Sladky / AP ### The Words  John 3:16 is one of the most famous and well-known Bible verses. It has been called the "Gospel in a nutshell," because it is considered a summary of the central doctrines of Christianity. John 3:16 is one of the most famous and well-known Bible verses. It has been called the "Gospel in a nutshell," because it is considered a summary of the central doctrines of Christianity. ### Rainbow Man  After becoming a born-again Christian, Rollen Stewart grew obsessed with sharing his faith. He gained fame by turning up at sporting events in a rainbow-colored wig and a sign reading "John 3:16" in his hands. Robert Maass / Corbis ### WWF  In a riff on the ubiquity of the verse, pro-wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin has been known to wear an "Austin 3:16" shirt. Darryl Estrine / Corbis ### Mysterious  Several Christian-owned businesses are known for using their products to share their faith, including In-N-Out Burger, which has printed John 3:16 on their cups. Several Christian-owned businesses are known for using their products to share their faith, including In-N-Out Burger, which has printed John 3:16 on their cups. ### Bible Belt  In the American South, signs extolling the importance of faith are a common sight. This one was spotted in North Carolina. Stephen Ferry / Getty ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7080299/john-316-in-pop-culture/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7080299/john-316-in-pop-culture/"},"headline":"John 3:16 in Pop Culture","datePublished":"2009-01-09T05:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T10:46:10.471Z","description":"Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow wears the famous verse on his eye black during the 2009 NCAA championship game, tapping into a long history of Biblical citation","url":"https://time.com/archive/7080299/john-316-in-pop-culture/","keywords":["LightBox"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME","url":"https://time.com/author/time/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/7080299/john-316-in-pop-culture/","name":"John 3:16 in Pop Culture"}}]}] ```