I will not judge those who hear me but don’t obey me, for I have come to save the world and not to judge it.
Parallel translations
- WEB If anyone listens to my sayings, and doesn’t believe, I don’t judge him. For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
- KJV And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
- BSB As for anyone who hears My words and does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world.
- NKJV And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.
- NASB If anyone hears My teachings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.
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 says He came not to judge the world but to save it, so He does not now condemn the one who hears yet disbelieves. It highlights the saving purpose of His first coming.
Overview
The primary aim of Christ's mission was salvation, not condemnation (cf. 3:17). Though rejection carries consequences, Jesus' present ministry is one of mercy and rescue. The verse holds out the gracious purpose of the gospel while implying, as the next verse makes clear, that a future reckoning remains for those who refuse Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- John 3:17For God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him.
- John 12:48He who rejects me, and doesn’t receive my sayings, has one who judges him. The word that I spoke, the same will judge him in the last day.
- John 8:15–16You judge according to the flesh. I judge no one.
- 1 Tim 1:15–16The saying is faithful and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
- 1 Jn 4:14We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as the Savior of the world.
- Luke 19:10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.”
- John 5:45“Don’t think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you, even Moses, on whom you have set your hope.
- Matt 20:28even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
- 2 Pet 3:15Regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote to you;
- John 8:26I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you. However he who sent me is true; and the things which I heard from him, these I say to the world.”
- Matt 18:10See that you don’t despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.
- Luke 9:56For the Son of Man didn’t come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” They went to another village.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 12:47 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.