Limitless Word
There is a judge for the one who rejects Me and does not receive My words: The word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.
John 12:48 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB He 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.
  • KJV He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
  • NKJV He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.
  • NASB The one who rejects Me and does not accept My teachings has one who judges him: the word which I spoke. That will judge him on the last day.
  • NLT But all who reject me and my message will be judged on the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken.

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

Those who reject Jesus and His words already have a judge: the very word He spoke will condemn them on the last day. It shows that rejecting Christ's message is itself a verdict.

Overview

Though Jesus came to save, His word becomes the standard of judgment for those who spurn it. The final day will vindicate His teaching against all who refused it. The verse soberly balances grace and accountability: the gospel that saves the believer will condemn the one who turns away.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 27

  • Luke 10:16Whoever listens to you listens to Me; whoever rejects you rejects Me; and whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
  • Heb 9:27–28Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment,
  • Rom 2:16on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Christ Jesus, as proclaimed by my gospel.
  • 2 Th 1:8in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
  • John 11:24Martha replied, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
  • John 3:17–20For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
  • Heb 12:25See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if the people did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject Him who warns us from heaven?
  • Heb 10:29–31How much more severely do you think one deserves to be punished who has trampled on the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and insulted the Spirit of grace?
  • Deut 18:18–19I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.
  • Isa 53:3He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
  • John 5:45Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, in whom you have put your hope.
  • 1 Sam 10:19But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and afflictions, and you have said to Him, ‘No, set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and clans.”
  • Heb 2:3how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,
  • Matt 21:42Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
  • Luke 9:22“The Son of Man must suffer many things,” He said. “He must be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
  • Luke 17:25But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
  • Luke 9:26If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
  • Matt 25:31When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne.
  • 1 Sam 8:7And the LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you. For it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their king.
  • Luke 7:30But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.
  • Luke 20:17But Jesus looked directly at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?
  • Mark 16:16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
  • Acts 3:23Everyone who does not listen to Him will be completely cut off from among his people.’
  • Mark 12:10Have you never read this Scripture: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
  • 2 Cor 4:3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
  • 2 Cor 2:15–16For we are to God the sweet aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.
  • Mark 8:31Then He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and that He must be killed and after three days rise again.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

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 12:48YouTube · 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 12:48 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.