546 Lars Kierspel 15,9; 17,23.24.26) and that Jesus was given all things into his hands (3,35; also 5,22). On the other hand, the emphasis on obedience and God’s wrath, typical for a prophet, are only found here in the Gospel (ajpeiqw'n, ojrgh; tou' qeou' in 3,36) (91) and form a fitting conclusion for the whole chapter. For various reasons Jesus’ lengthy monologue in 3,13-21 stands out as the theological heavyweight in John 3 and maybe even in the Gospel. (a) As the following list shows, this monologue is the longest speech of Jesus compared with any of his other speeches in John 2–4, no matter where one identifies the beginning of the monologue (either in verse 11, verse 13, verse 14, or verse 16): DIRECT SPEECH OF JESUS / JOHN B. NUMBER OF JESUS’ WORDS Miracle in Cana (2,4.7-8) 15 words Cleansing of Temple (2,16.19) 22 words Jesus and Nicodemus (3,3.5-8.10-21) 307 words Monologue 3,11-21 221 words Monologue 3,13-21 178 words Monologue 3,14-21 161 words Monologue 3,16-21 136 words John the Baptist (3,31-36) 103 words Jesus and Samaritan woman (4,7.10.13b-14. 176 words 16.17b-18.21-24.26) Monologue 4,21-24 79 words Jesus and his disciples (4.32.34-38) 102 words Monologue 3,34-38 94 words Miracle in Cana (4,48.50) 14 words TOTAL 739 words (b) But Jesus’ speech in John 3 in general and the monologue in particular are not only the largest discourse within John 2–4, they also have the least amount of situational reference or, in other words, they display the strongest timeless theological character. Not only does the ajmh;n ajmh;n formula appear exclusively in John 3 within John 2–4, but it is used here by Jesus no less than three times (3,3.5.11), thus highlighting the significance of the saying beyond the immediate occasion (92). The only situational reference is found in 3,10, “Are you (91) The unique contribution of 3,31-36 is also indicated by other terms that occur only once (mevtron in 3,34) or twice (sfragivzw in 3,33; 6,27) in the Gospel. (92) The ajmh;n ajmhvn formula appears in the following places in the Fourth Gospel: 1,51; 3,3.5.11; 5,19.24.25; 6,26.32.47.53; 8,34.51.58; 10,1.7; 12,24; 13,16.20.21.38; 14,12; 16,20.23; 21,18.