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I knew that You always hear Me, but I say this for the benefit of the people standing here, so they may believe that You sent Me.”
John 11:42 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB I know that you always listen to me, but because of the multitude that stands around I said this, that they may believe that you sent me.”
  • KJV And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
  • NKJV And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”
  • NASB But I knew that You always hear Me; nevertheless, because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.”
  • NLT You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.”

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 prays aloud for the crowd's sake, that they might believe the Father sent him. The miracle is meant to confirm his divine mission.

Overview

Jesus explains that his audible prayer serves to strengthen the faith of the onlookers, not to inform the Father. The raising of Lazarus is a sign authenticating Jesus as the one sent from God. This reflects John's purpose that signs lead to belief in Jesus as the Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 24

  • John 3:17For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
  • John 17:21that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
  • 1 Jn 4:14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.
  • Heb 7:25Therefore He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.
  • John 17:25Righteous Father, although the world has not known You, I know You, and they know that You sent Me.
  • John 20:31But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.
  • Heb 5:7During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.
  • Matt 26:53Are you not aware that I can call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?
  • John 11:22But even now I know that God will give You whatever You ask of Him.”
  • John 17:8For I have given them the words You gave Me, and they have received them. They knew with certainty that I came from You, and they believed that You sent Me.
  • John 7:28–29Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “You know Me, and you know where I am from. I have not come of My own accord, but He who sent Me is true. You do not know Him,
  • Rom 8:3For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh,
  • 1 Jn 4:9–10This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.
  • John 12:27–30Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? No, it is for this purpose that I have come to this hour.
  • Matt 12:22–24Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed the man so that he could speak and see.
  • John 6:38–40For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.
  • John 8:16But even if I do judge, My judgment is true, because I am not alone; I am with the Father who sent Me.
  • John 11:45–50Therefore many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in Him.
  • John 8:29He who sent Me is with Me. He has not left Me alone, because I always do what pleases Him.”
  • John 10:36–38then what about the One whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world? How then can you accuse Me of blasphemy for stating that I am the Son of God?
  • John 11:31When the Jews who were in the house consoling Mary saw how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
  • John 9:24–34So a second time they called for the man who had been blind and said, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.”
  • John 8:42Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on My own, but He sent Me.
  • Gal 4:4But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 11:42YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 11:42 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.