I have not spoken on My own, but the Father who sent Me has commanded Me what to say and how to say it.
Parallel translations
- WEB For I spoke not from myself, but the Father who sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
- KJV For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
- NKJV For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.
- NASB For I did not speak on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.
- NLT I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it.
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 spoke nothing on His own but only what the Father commanded Him to say. It underscores His perfect obedience and the divine authority of His words.
Overview
As the Father's sent one, Jesus speaks with complete fidelity to the Father's commission. His teaching is therefore not human opinion but the very word of God (cf. 7:16; 8:28). This grounds the authority of His message and models perfect submission to the Father's will.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- John 14:10Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own. Instead, it is the Father dwelling in Me, performing His works.
- John 8:26“I have much to say about you and much to judge. But the One who sent Me is truthful, and what I have heard from Him, I tell the world.”
- John 5:30I can do nothing by Myself; I judge only as I hear. And My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
- 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.
- Deut 18:18I 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.
- John 14:31But I do exactly what the Father has commanded Me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Get up! Let us go on from here.
- John 15:15No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you.
- 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.
- John 3:11Truly, truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, and yet you people do not accept our testimony.
- John 3:32He testifies to what He has seen and heard, yet no one accepts His testimony.
- 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.
- Rev 1:1This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon come to pass. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John,
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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 12:49 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.