A frequent misinterpretation of this verse divorces it from its context of confrontation in the temple, leading some to portray Jesus as uncertain about his own origins or merely a human prophet disclaiming personal initiative without recognizing his declaration as a bold revelation of his unity with the Father and indictment of the listeners' ignorance of God, reducing the passage to a mere biographical mystery rather than a theological claim of divine sending.
John 7:28
King James Version (1769)
28 Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not.
In John 7:28, Jesus publicly challenges the crowd's superficial knowledge of him during his temple teaching, asserting that while they believe they know his earthly identity and origins, he has been sent by the true God the Father, whom they do not truly know, thus exposing their spiritual blindness and affirming his divine mission and authority from the Father.