Seeing

Seeing

John 14:7-11, NLT

[Jesus said,] “If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!” 8Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” 9Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? 10Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. 11Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.”

Setting the Scene

The disciples’ response to Jesus’ statement about himself reveals that they didn’t understand his divine nature. In today’s and tomorrow’s readings, Jesus describes four aspects of his unique identity: (1) He and the Father share characteristics in such a way that anyone who has seen one has also seen the other; (2) he and the Father are united in such a way that Jesus could speak of either of them being “in” the other; (3) he gives special abilities to those who trust him to accomplish even greater signs than the disciples had already seen; and (4) requests to God made in his name will be answered.

To know Jesus is to know the Father (see John 1:18; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3). Jesus insisted that because the disciples knew him, they knew the Father. To the Jews, God was the sovereign Creator, holy and wholly separate from them. God loved them and chose them, but he was distant and mysterious. In the Incarnation, however, God put on flesh and became a human being. In effect Jesus was saying, “If you want to know what God is like, look at me!”

Jesus’ statement beginning with “from now on” meant that from that time forward, people could know the Father personally through the Son. Jesus holds the way open for us today.

Getting Personal

How does studying the life of Jesus help you when you struggle with doubts about God?

How do the Word (Jesus) and God’s Word (the Bible) work together to help you understand who God is and what pleases him?

This declaration conveys the complete unity between Jesus and the Father and affirms that Jesus fully reveals God to us. God has revealed himself generally in nature and specifically in the Bible, but he has revealed himself perfectly in his Son. If we want to know what God is like, we need only look at Jesus.

When you struggle with doubts about God and his love for you, look at Jesus. When you want to know how to live, look at Jesus. When you need to get your values and priorities straight, look at Jesus. When you desire hope for the future, look at Jesus.

Talking to God

When you pray, you affirm the triune nature of God. You pray to God the Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus, the Son. Thank God for being one, and for epitomizing love in that triune relationship. Thank him for drawing you into his family.