John 1:11 says “He came unto his own.” That statement is only 5 words in English; four words in Greek. It’s easy to skip right past that part of the verse and not even think much about it. The Gospel of John does not say much about Jesus’ birth; this is about the extent of it. But the implications of that little part of a verse are very important.

Today I’d like to look at that short statement—“He came unto his own.” The original language says “Unto his own he came.” εις τα ιδια ηλθεν

The word “unto” (εις) can mean “in, into, unto, towards” or “for.”

The words “his own” (τα ιδια) normally refer to something pertaining to oneself, one’s belongings, one’s own things, one’s own home. In fact, a very literal translation of John 1:11 would be, “unto his own things he came, and his own people did not receive him” (YLT).

What does it mean that Jesus “came unto his own”?