Show us the Father

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

John 14:8-9, NIV

It is hard to avoid reading this episode in John without thinking “oh those disciples, just so slow…” On this occasion, I suspect it is we who are missing the point.

Especially when we read the subsequent verses, about Jesus being in the Father, and His words and His works, there is every reason for us to hear a religious message that is something like “you don’t realise how important I am, but I, Jesus, speak the very words of God to you. You are slow to recognise the magnitude of the privilege you enjoy in following me.” And I don’t think that is what is going on here.

The disciples knew that Jesus was good, more good than the best they could even imagine. There was no one they would rather spend time with. He only needed to hint at the fact He was about to leave them for them to be seriously thrown off balance.

But they were also Jewish men. They knew that when Moses went up Mt Sinai, God could only show His back to Moses for fear he would be destroyed otherwise. The people were told not to even touch the mountain, lest they be destroyed. And perhaps it is significant that it was Philip, at least a Greek speaker and possibly a convert or from a family of converts to Judaism, who had the courage to even make this outlandish and potentially fearful request. (Really Philip: show you the Father? You want to burn?)

What Jesus says in reply is the exact opposite of what we think it is.

He isn’t saying “You have seen me so you have caught a glimpse of the distant and unknowable God.” Nor is He saying “I am way more important than you realised”; instead He is saying “you know I am good, and the best friend any of you have ever had, and closer to you than a brother. Do you really not get it? The Father is all of that to you and more, because I and the Father are one.”

They aren’t being told that they have unwittingly caught a glimpse of the Father, as if He is a galaxy which is actually uncountable light years away. No: they have been working shoulder to shoulder with Him, and passing Him the fish and bread, and laughing at His stories.

So guys: whatever you thought was going on these last years, understand now that the Father is with you and for you; and He certainly isn’t mad at you. When you finally understand that your relationship with me IS your relationship with the Father, you will do all the works you have seen Me do – and a great deal more, because I am going to be reunited with the Father.

Show you the Father? Already done.