Billy Graham preached in 185 countries, across six continents, and in person to more than 215 million people. Millions more heard his message through radio, television, magazines and newspapers. While he preached thousands of sermons during the course of his more than 70 years of ministry, his message was always the same—God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from the eternal consequences of our sin.

That is the message, clearly and simply stated in Billy Graham’s most-preached Bible verse, John 3:16.

At more than 400 events during his ministry, the crowd could often be seen waiting in anticipation. The silence of expectation growing as Billy Graham approached the pulpit.

He would often begin by saying these words, “Turn with me in your Bibles to John 3:16…” wasting no time getting to the point—to the heart of what every person alive needs to know: Jesus is the answer.

In the New King James Version, John 3:16 states, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Rev. Graham was once confronted by his friend, John Bolten,who had recommitted his life to Christ at the Boston Crusade in 1950. Following an evening at the Dallas Cotton Bowl Crusade, where there was a general lack of spiritual depth and power to the message, Bolten reminded Graham that he should always include the cross of Christ in his sermons.

In his autobiography, Just As I Am, Billy Graham recalled this encounter:

“At first I resisted his rebuke. The Cross and its meaning were, more often than not, a part of my sermons. But that night I could not sleep, and before morning came I knew he was right. I made a commitment never to preach again without being sure that the Gospel was as complete and clear as possible, centering on Christ’s sacrificial death for our sins on the Cross and His resurrection from the dead for our salvation.”

It has often been said that John 3:16 is the whole Gospel in one verse, so it seems a natural choice for Billy Graham’s most-preached verse. On one set of sermon notes from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1979, he wrote out the full verse on the front page by hand. The title of that sermon was “God’s Remedy for a Suffering World.”

In Anaheim, California, in 1985, Billy Graham spoke to that suffering world when he preached to the crowd gathered, sharing this most familiar verse:

“But God so loved the world—And I can hear people say, ‘Oh, yeah? If God so loved the world, why is the world in such a mess? If God so loved the world, why are there 40 wars going on right now in the world? If God so loved the world, why are so many people starving in Africa? If God so loved the world, why is there so much suffering in hospitals? If there’s so much—if God loves us so much, why do I have so many problems?’…

But you know, it’s an interesting thing to me. Jesus could have fed all the hungry people, but He didn’t do it. He could have healed all the sick people, but He didn’t do it. And then He said one day, ‘I have finished the work that my Father gave me to do’ (cf. John 17:4). What did He mean? He had died on the cross. Jesus came to die on the cross. He came to deal with this problem that causes hunger, that causes all these things, and causes the injustice in the world. He came to deal with the basic problem. It’s a spiritual problem. And the spiritual problem affects the whole human race. Yes, man has a terminal disease.”

A look at Billy Graham’s personal Bible shows a great deal of markings around John 3. The underlines, brackets and verse references on the foot of the page demonstrate intentional study and deliberate thought on the words of John about God’s sacrificial love for the whole world.

Ultimately, God used this verse, preached over and over again by a humble farm boy who dedicated his life to sharing the message of the Gospel around the world, mightily. Millions of people responded to that message at Billy Graham’s evangelistic events over the years,  and committed their own lives to Christ. To hear this simple message in his own words, you can watch Billy Graham’s full sermon from Pittsburgh in 1993 on this most-preached verse.

If you have not yet made the personal decision to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and would like to find out more about how to have peace with God, visit PeaceWithGod.net or visit the Billy Graham Library,  where volunteers are happy to greet you and pray with you daily Monday-Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is always free.