JOHN 1:10-12 NKJV

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.

JOHN 1:10-12 NKJV

John 1:10, 11 Receive here means “to receive with favor” and implies “welcome.” Instead of a welcome mat, Jesus had a door slammed in His face. The themes of rejection and reception (v. 12) introduced in the prologue (1:1–18) appear again and again throughout the Gospel of John.

John 1:12 The phrase believe in His name occurs three times in the Gospel of John (1:12; 2:23; 3:18). Name does not refer to the term by which He is called, but to what His name stands for—the Lord is salvation (Ex. 3:14, 15). In this context, the phrase means to believe that Jesus is the Word, the life, and the Light—that is, He is the Christ, the Son of God (20:31). To them He gave the right refers to the legitimate entitlement to the position of children of God. None of us was naturally a child of God. We were by nature children of wrath and condemned apart from Christ. Imagine being a pauper and then being given the right to inherit the riches of a king and the position of royalty. By believing, undeserving sinners can become full members of God’s family.