Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
Parallel translations
- WEB Jesus therefore answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.
- BSB “My teaching is not My own,” Jesus replied. “It comes from Him who sent Me.
- NKJV Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.
- NASB So Jesus answered them and said, “My teaching is not My own, but His who sent Me.
- NLT So Jesus told them, “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me.
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 His teaching is not His own but comes from the Father who sent Him. He claims a divine origin for His message, not human invention.
Overview
This answers the crowd's astonishment in the previous verse by grounding Jesus' authority in the Father, not in rabbinic training. As the sent Son, Jesus faithfully delivers the Father's word, and to reject His teaching is to reject God. This unity of message between Father and Son runs throughout John and assures believers that in hearing Christ they hear God Himself.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- John 14:10Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
- John 14:24He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.
- John 12:49–50For 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.
- John 5:30I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
- John 17:8For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
- John 5:23–24That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
- John 6:38–40For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
- John 3:11Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
- John 17:14I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
- John 8:28Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
- John 6:44No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
- John 3:31He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.
- Rev 1:1The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 7:16 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.