I came from the Father and entered the world. In turn, I will leave the world and go to the Father.”
Parallel translations
- WEB I came from the Father, and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.”
- KJV I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
- NKJV I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.”
- NASB I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
- NLT Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and now I will leave the world and return to the Father.”
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 summarizes His mission: He came from the Father into the world and now returns to the Father. This encapsulates the gospel of His incarnation and exaltation.
Overview
In one clear sentence Jesus traces the arc of His saving work: from the Father, into the world, and back to the Father. This affirms His divine origin, His true incarnation, and His coming exaltation through death, resurrection, and ascension. It is the plain speech the disciples longed for, and a concise statement of who Jesus is and why He came.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- John 13:1It was now just before the Passover Feast, and Jesus knew that His hour had come to leave this world and return to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the very end.
- John 13:3Jesus knew that the Father had delivered all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was returning to God.
- John 8:14Jesus replied, “Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is valid, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I came from or where I am going.
- John 16:5Now, however, I am going to Him who sent Me; yet none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’
- John 17:5And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world existed.
- John 14:28You heard Me say, ‘I am going away, and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.
- John 17:11I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by Your name, the name You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one.
- John 16:16In a little while you will see Me no more, and then after a little while you will see Me.”
- Acts 1:9–11After He had said this, they watched as He was taken up, and a cloud hid Him from their sight.
- John 17:13But now I am coming to You; and I am saying these things while I am in the world, so that they may have My joy fulfilled within them.
- Luke 9:51As the day of His ascension approached, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
- Luke 24:51While He was blessing them, He left them and was carried up into heaven.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 16:28 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.