To divide the sum of $500 between Mary and John in the ratio of 3:2, we first need to find the total number of parts in the ratio.
Mary's part is represented by 3, and John's part is represented by 2.
So, the total number of parts is: \[ 3 + 2 = 5 \]
Next, we determine how much one part is worth by dividing the total amount of money by the total number of parts: \[ \text{Value of one part} = \frac{500}{5} = 100 \]
Now we can find out how much John receives, which corresponds to his 2 parts: \[ \text{John's share} = 2 \times 100 = 200 \]
Thus, the amount John gets is: \[ \boxed{200} \]
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