But I know him because I come from him, and he sent me to you.”
Parallel translations
- WEB I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.”
- KJV But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me.
- BSB but I know Him, because I am from Him and He sent Me.”
- NKJV But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me.”
- NASB I do know Him, because I am from Him, and He 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 declares that He knows the Father because He is from Him and was sent by Him. He claims an intimate, unique relationship with God as the sent Son.
Overview
In contrast to the people's ignorance of God, Jesus affirms His perfect knowledge of the Father, grounded in His origin from Him. This statement asserts His divine sonship and mission, central themes in John's Gospel. Only the Son truly knows the Father, and through Him alone can others come to know God (John 1:18; 14:6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- John 8:55You have not known him, but I know him. If I said, ‘I don’t know him,’ I would be like you, a liar. But I know him, and keep his word.
- Matt 11:27All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son, except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and he to whom the Son desires to reveal him.
- 1 Jn 4:9By this God’s love was revealed in us, that God has sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
- John 1:18No one has seen God at any time. The one and only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him.
- John 3:16–17For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
- John 17:18As you sent me into the world, even so I have sent them into the world.
- John 17:25–26Righteous Father, the world hasn’t known you, but I knew you; and these knew that you sent me.
- John 6:46Not that anyone has seen the Father, except he who is from God. He has seen the Father.
- 1 Jn 1:2(and the life was revealed, and we have seen, and testify, and declare to you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father, and was revealed to us);
- John 10:15even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep.
- John 16:27–28for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I came from God.
- 1 Jn 4:14We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as the Savior of the world.
- John 13:3Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he came from God, and was going to God,
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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 7:29 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.