John 1:11 - Printer Friendly

ESV: He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

NIV: He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.

NASB: He came to His own, and His own people did not accept Him.

CSB: He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

NLT: He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.

KJV: He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

NKJV: He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

Jesus came "for" all the people of the world, as a Savior. This was established with His sacrificial death and resurrection (1 John 2:2; Matthew 16:21). However, during His human life, He came specifically "to" the people of Israel. If any culture on earth should have been able to recognize the Messiah, it ought to have been God's chosen people. Israel had been given God's Word, which included many prophecies of a Messiah (Isaiah 9:2–7; Jeremiah 33:15–16). The Jewish people had been beaten down by Rome and other powerful invaders. Israel should have been looking for the Promised One, and eager to welcome Him. God came to those He had created, for the entire world (John 3:16), and Jesus came as a man directly to Israel.

And yet, He was rejected, hated, and eventually killed by those very people (Isaiah 53:3, John 18:35). The one group of people who should have most immediately welcomed Him were the ones who called for His death! This is part of the gospel message: that even when we claim to be seeking God's will, we tend to turn away from it in order to go our own way (Romans 3:9–10). This message applies to all mankind, not just to Israel.

John 1:1–18 is a poetic introduction of Jesus Christ. Jesus is referred to using the Greek word logos, meaning "the Word." This passage clearly describes Jesus as God, and co-creator with God the Father. These verses summarize Jesus' ministry and mission on Earth. The passage also explains how John the Baptist—a different John from the author of this gospel—was sent ahead of Christ to prepare for His arrival.

The first chapter of John introduces Jesus as "the Word," from the Greek logos. This chapter clearly describes Jesus as God. After this prologue, the chapter describes Jesus recruiting the first of His disciples, as well as a conversation between John the Baptist and the Pharisees. There are seven names or titles for Christ in this chapter, including "the Son of God," "the Word," and "the King of Israel."

The first chapter of the gospel of John equates Christ with God and introduces John the Baptist. The Baptist specifically points to Jesus as the Promised One. Jesus collects the first five of His disciples. In this chapter, Jesus is given seven descriptive names, including "the Word," "the Son of God," and "the King of Israel." This chapter sets the stage for the rest of the gospel, by giving the reader a sense of who Jesus truly is, and why He has come. The rest of the gospel is an exploration of the claims made in this initial passage.

The disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls "signs"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.