He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
Parallel translations
- WEB He came to his own, and those who were his own didn’t receive him.
- KJV He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
- NKJV He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
- NASB He came to His own, and His own people did not accept Him.
- NLT He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus came to His own people, Israel, yet they largely did not receive Him. Even covenant privilege did not guarantee acceptance of the Messiah.
Overview
'His own' refers especially to the Jewish people, to whom the promises were given, and 'his own things' to the world or land that belonged to Him. Their general rejection of their long-awaited Messiah deepens the tragedy. Yet this rejection, while real, sets the stage for the gracious welcome described next and ultimately serves God's wider saving purpose.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Luke 19:14But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’
- Isa 53:2–3He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him.
- John 3:32He testifies to what He has seen and heard, yet no one accepts His testimony.
- Acts 7:51–52You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.
- Luke 20:13–15‘What shall I do?’ asked the owner of the vineyard. ‘I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.’
- Matt 15:24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
- Rom 15:8For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs,
- Acts 3:25–26And you are sons of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers when He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.’
- Acts 13:46Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.
- Rom 9:5Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them proceeds the human descent of Christ, who is God over all, forever worthy of praise! Amen.
- Acts 13:26Brothers, children of Abraham, and you Gentiles who fear God, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent.
- Gal 4:4But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
- Rom 9:1I speak the truth in Christ; I am not lying, as confirmed by my conscience in the Holy Spirit.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Pastoral
Henry on the prologue — rich on the Word and the incarnation.
Seminary
- ★ Start hereCommentaryThe Gospel According to John (Pillar NT Commentary)D. A. Carson · ~720 pp · Paid · reformed
The go-to mid-level exegetical commentary on John — rigorous and readable.
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 1:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.