Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He.
Parallel translations
- WEB From now on, I tell you before it happens, that when it happens, you may believe that I am he.
- KJV Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.
- BSB I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it comes to pass, you will believe that I am He.
- NASB From now on I am telling you before it happens, so that when it does happen, you may believe that I am He.
- NLT I tell you this beforehand, so that when it happens you will believe that I Am the Messiah.
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 foretells the betrayal so that when it happens they will believe that He is who He claims. It strengthens faith through fulfilled prediction.
Overview
By announcing events beforehand, Jesus gives His disciples grounds for faith when the dark hour arrives. The phrase 'that I am he' echoes the divine name (cf. Exod 3:14; John 8:58), pointing to His deity. Foreknowledge thus serves to confirm His identity and deepen trust amid coming trial.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Isa 43:10“You are my witnesses,” says Yahweh, “With my servant whom I have chosen; that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he. Before me there was no God formed, neither will there be after me.
- John 14:29Now I have told you before it happens so that, when it happens, you may believe.
- Rev 1:17–18When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me, saying, “Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last,
- John 16:4But I have told you these things, so that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you about them. I didn’t tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you.
- John 8:23–24He said to them, “You are from beneath. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world.
- Isa 48:5therefore I have declared it to you from of old; before it came to pass I showed it to you; lest you should say, ‘My idol has done them, and my engraved image, and my molten image, has commanded them.’
- Matt 24:25“Behold, I have told you beforehand.
- Matt 11:3and said to him, “Are you he who comes, or should we look for another?”
- John 8:58Jesus said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM. ”
- Mal 3:1“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, behold, he comes!” says Yahweh of Armies.
- John 1:15John testified about him. He cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me, for he was before me.’”
- Luke 21:13It will turn out as a testimony for you.
- Isa 41:23Declare the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods. Yes, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and see it together.
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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 13:19 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.