John 14:8

Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us."
(John 14:8)

I find Philip’s response in verse 8 very interesting. These disciples have tied their lives to Jesus. They have no where else to turn (see John 6:67-69). The reality is that they were following Jesus because of their love for God the Father. Now Jesus is telling them that they have been getting to know the Father all along by getting to know Jesus.

There is an emphasis here that is different than what I see or have seen in my own life. I tend to focus a lot on Jesus. In many ways that makes sense. He is my savior. He is the one who humbled himself, suffered and died for my sake. But from what was Jesus saving me? To what did Jesus save me? The goal is reconciliation…..with the Father. It is still true that to know Jesus is to know the Father. And Jesus and the Father are one (see John 10:30). But sometimes it is as if Christianity is so focused on the person of Jesus (the Christ) that we lose sight of the Father.

This revelation that to know Jesus is to know the Father was huge for the disciples. I think that in Christianity, we would be content to know the Father in order to know the Son.

So what would a correct emphasis look like? Jesus is the way to the Father (John 14:6), so Jesus is still of utmost importance. What is different about getting to know Jesus as “the way” instead of the destination?

 

Jarthur001:

I certainly agree that Jesus is prophet, Messiah and king. However, even Jesus focused on the Father and not on himself. In John 14:13 Jesus references that the Father will be glorified in the Son. In John 14:28, Jesus mentions that the Father is greater than Jesus. The point is that all of Jesus' great works and even his great positions give glory to the Father.