And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?
Parallel translations
- WEB They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then does he say, ‘I have come down out of heaven?’”
- BSB They were asking, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then can He say, ‘I have come down from heaven?’”
- NKJV And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
- NASB And they were saying, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?”
- NLT They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and mother. How can he say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
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
They object that they know Jesus's parents, so how can He claim to come from heaven. Familiarity with His earthly background blinds them to His divine origin.
Overview
Assuming Jesus is merely Joseph's son, they reject His heavenly claim on the basis of natural reasoning. Their objection unknowingly touches the mystery of the incarnation, that the eternal Son truly became a man. John highlights how unbelief judges by appearances and misses the deeper truth of who Jesus is.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Luke 4:22And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?
- Matt 13:55–56Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
- Mark 6:3Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
- John 7:27–28Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is.
- 1 Cor 15:47The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
- Gal 4:4But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
- John 6:38For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
- John 6:62What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
- Rom 1:3–4Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
- Rom 9:5Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
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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 6:42 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
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