John 12:49

49 For ¹I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father ²who sent me has himself given me ³a commandment--what to say and what to speak.

John 12:49 Meaning and Commentary

John 12:49

For I have not spoken of myself
As man, or as separate from his Father; his doctrine was not human, but divine, and therefore a rejection of it cannot escape notice at the future judgment:

but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment what I should
say, and what I should speak;
Christ, as man, had his mission, and commission, and his instructions from his Father to preach the Gospel unto men; he was anointed for it by the Holy Ghost; he was enjoined the preaching of it by his Father, and the several doctrines he published were delivered him by him; see ( John 8:28 ) ( 17:8 ) .

John 12:49 In-Context

47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.

48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.

49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment--what to say and what to speak.

50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me."

Cross References

• 1. See John 5:19, 30
• 2. See John 3:17
• 3. John 15:10