Commentaries:
Robertson's Word Pictures (NT)
For God sent not the Son (ou gar apesteilen o qeov ton uion). Explanation (gar) of God's sending the Son into the world. First aorist active indicative of apostellw. John uses both apostellw from which comes apostolov (John 3:34; John 5:36, John 5:38, etc.) and pempw (John 4:34; John 5:23-24, John 5:30, etc.) for God's sending the Son and pempw more frequently, but with no real difference in meaning. All the Gospels use o uiov in the absolute sense in contrast with the Father (Mark 13:32; Matthew 11:27; Luke 10:22).
To judge (ina krinh). Final clause with ina and the present (or aorist) active subjunctive of krinw. The Messiah does judge the world as Jesus taught (Matthew 25:31 f.; John 5:27), but this was not the primary or the only purpose of his coming. See on Matthew 7:1 for krinw, to pick out, select, approve, condemn, used so often and in so many varying contexts in the N.T.
But that the world should be saved through him (all ina swqh o kosmov di autou). First aorist passive subjunctive of swzw, the common verb to save (from swv, safe and sound), from which swthr (Saviour) comes (the Saviour of the world, John 4:42; I John 4:14) and swthria (salvation, John 4:22 here only in John). The verb swzw is often used for physical health (Mark 5:28), but here of the spiritual salvation as in John 5:34.
Other Robertson's Word Pictures (NT) entries containing John 3:17:
John 3:15
John 3:16
John 3:34
John 4:22
John 5:22
John 5:34
John 5:36
John 6:51
John 9:39
John 12:44
John 12:47
1 John 4:14
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