John 12:49

For 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.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
For	ὅτι hoti	G3754	demonstrative · conjunction
I	ἐγὼ egō	G1473	I · personal pronoun — 1st person nominative singular
have	ἐλάλησα, elalēsa	G2980	to talk · verb — aorist active indicative, 1st person singular
not	οὐκ ouk	G3756	the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative
spoken	λαλήσω. lalēsō	G2980	to talk · verb — aorist active subjunctive, 1st person singular
of	ἐξ ex	G1537	literal or figurative · preposition
myself	ἐμαυτοῦ emautoû	G1683	of myself so likewise the dative case
but	ἀλλ᾽ all᾽	G235	properly · conjunction
the Father	πατήρ, patēr	G3962	a "father" (literally or figuratively · noun — nominative singular masculine, a title
which sent	πέμψας pempsas	G3992	to dispatch (from the subjective view or point of depar… · verb — aorist active participle, nominative singular masculine
me	με me	G3165	me · personal pronoun — 1st person accusative singular
he	αὐτός autos	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — nominative singular masculine
gave	δέδωκεν dedōken	G1325	to give (used in a very wide application · verb — perfect active indicative, 3rd person singular
me	μοί moí	G3427	to me
a commandment	ἐντολὴν entolēn	G1785	injunction · noun — accusative singular feminine
what	τί ti	G5101	an interrogative pronoun · interrogative pronoun — accusative singular neuter
I should say	εἴπω eipō	G2036	to speak or say (by word or writing) · verb — second aorist active subjunctive, 1st person singular
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
what	τί ti	G5101	an interrogative pronoun · interrogative pronoun — accusative singular neuter
I should speak	λαλέω laléō	G2980	to talk

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

John 14:10 Believest 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…
John 5:30 I 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…
John 8:26 I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.
John 17:8 For 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…
Deuteronomy 18:18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them a…
John 14:31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.
John 15:15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I ha…
John 8:42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he s…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 12:44–end

We have here the honour Christ not assumed, but asserted, to himself, in the account he gave of his mission and his errand into the world. Probably this discourse was not at the same time with that before (for them he departed, Joh 12:36), but some time after, when he made another public appearance; and, as this evangelist records it, it was Christ's farewell sermon to the Jews, and his last public discourse; all that follows was private with his disciples. Now observe how our Lord Jesus delivered this parting word: he cried and said. Doth not wisdom cry (Pro 8:1), cry without? Pro 1:20. The raising of his voice and crying intimate, 1. His boldness in speaking. Though they had not courage op…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 12:44

Jesus cried--in a loud tone, and with peculiar solemnity. (Compare Joh 7:37). and said, He that believeth on me, &c.--This seems to be a supplementary record of some weighty proclamations, for which there had been found no natural place before, and introduced here as a sort of summary and winding up of His whole testimony. Next: John Chapter 13

Adam Clarke on John 12:49

For I have not spoken of myself - I have not spoken for my secular interest: I have not aimed at making any gain of you: I have not set up myself as your teachers in general do, to be supported by my disciples, and to be credited on my own testimony. I have taught you, not the things of men, but the deep, everlasting truths of God. As his envoy, I came to you; and his truth only I proclaim. Gave me a commandment - Or, commission. So I understand the original word, εντολη. Christ, as the Messiah, received his commission from God; what he should command - every thing that related to the formation and establishment of the Christian institution: and what he should speak - all his private convers…

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John Gill on 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.

The Church Fathers

Through all these words [Jesus] is guiding us to the knowledge of the Father and referring our wonder at all that is brought into existence to him, to the end that "through him" we may know the Father.
— Basil of Caesarea, ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 8.19

Since Jesus was the living and personal Word of God the Father, he is necessarily the medium of interpreting what is in the Father. Thus, by saying that he has received a commandment, Jesus means that he brings to light that which is, as it were, the set will and purpose of his own Father.
— Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 9

How so? Even because, (as He afterwards declares, ) "I have not spoken from myself, but the Father which sent me: He hath given me a commandment what I should say, and what I should speak." For "the Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know when I ought to speak" the word which I actually speak.
— Tertullian, Against Praxeas

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Christ, The Prophet · Declared his doctrine to be that of the Father — Declared his doctrine to be that of the Father

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

John 12:49

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 12:44–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 12:44

Adam Clarke on John 12:49

John Gill on John 12:49

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John 12:49

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 12:44–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 12:44

Adam Clarke on John 12:49

John Gill on John 12:49

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on John 12:47–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on John 12:49-50