John 12:48

48 I came to save the world. But you need to know that whoever puts me off, refusing to take in what I'm saying, is willfully choosing rejection. The Word, the Word-made-flesh that I have spoken and that I am, that Word and no other is the last word.

John 12:48 Meaning and Commentary

John 12:48

He that rejecteth me
As the Messiah, with abhorrence and contempt, as many among the Jews did, who would not have him to reign over them, but sought to put him to death:

and receiveth not my words;
the doctrines of the Gospel, but disbelieves them, and denies them to be true, looking upon them as the doctrines of a mere man, and an impostor:

hath one that judgeth him;
let not such an one think that he shall escape righteous judgment; though Christ does not judge him now, there is one that judges him, yea, even now; and declares, that he that believeth not shall be damned, and that he is condemned already:

the word that I have spoken unto you, the same shall judge him in the
last day;
according to the different dispensations wicked men are under in this world, will be the rule of their judgment hereafter: such who are only under the law of nature, will be judged according to that, that will accuse them, convict them, and condemn them: such who have been under the law of Moses, or the written law, will be arraigned, proved, and pronounced guilty, and punished by, and according to that law; and such who have been under the Gospel dispensation, and have been favoured with the revelation of the Gospel, but have condemned and denied it, that will judge them at the last day. The judge will act by its present declaration, and according to that proceed, as it stands in ( Mark 16:16 ) . It will rise up in judgment against such persons, and be an aggravation of their condemnation.

John 12:48 In-Context

46 I am Light that has come into the world so that all who believe in me won't have to stay any longer in the dark.
47 "If anyone hears what I am saying and doesn't take it seriously, I don't reject him. I didn't come to reject the world;
48 I came to save the world. But you need to know that whoever puts me off, refusing to take in what I'm saying, is willfully choosing rejection. The Word, the Word-made-flesh that I have spoken and that I am, that Word and no other is the last word.
49 I'm not making any of this up on my own. The Father who sent me gave me orders, told me what to say and how to say it.
50 And I know exactly what his command produces: real and eternal life. That's all I have to say. What the Father told me, I tell you."
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.