We hope this week's devotional will encourage you in your spiritual walk.
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John 14:8-17 (New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised)
8 Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’ 9 Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. 12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
15 ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
Devotional Thought: Show us the Father
We have heard it often said, “Seeing is believing.” But how do we see God, who is Spirit and invisible? And if we can’t see God, how can we believe? No wonder Philip asked this question. People want something tangible to build their lives on.
The answer that Jesus gives is truly shocking. Remember that these disciples had not yet experienced the resurrection. Their encounter with Jesus had not yet been theologically formulated into an understanding of the Trinity. Their encounter with Jesus was as the carpenter (tradie) from an insignificant little provincial town. A powerful personality, no doubt, but all the indications are that they had no concept of Jesus as God until after the resurrection.
“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” We don’t even pause at the phrase. We take for granted that Jesus is the very image of the invisible God. Our theological teaching kicks in and we move on to the next line. But I invite you to stop for a moment and look carefully again at the man who is speaking these words. N. T. Wright says, “Look hard at Jesus, especially as he goes to his death, and you will discover more about God than you could ever have guessed from studying the infinite shining heavens or the moral law within your own conscience.” (Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense)
Jesus not only makes God visible through the incarnation but transforms our understanding of who God is! God is not distant, or unmoved by our suffering. God does not wish us harm, nor does God seek to shame us. God is patient. God is kind. God is self-giving and not self-seeking.
Show me Jesus, and I’ll be satisfied.
Our love for Jesus – our relationship with Jesus – mirrors the relationship between Jesus and the Father, because, says Jesus, the Spirit… “abides with you and he will be in you.” While Jesus' incarnation of God in this world is unique, each one who lives in the love of Jesus shows Jesus to the world.
Prayer
May the Holy Spirit so live in us to make Jesus visible to the world, and in so doing bring Glory to the Father. May the love manifest in our collective lives be a witness to the saving power of Christ. Come Lord Jesus and make your people Holy. Amen.
Rev Richard Giesken
Associate Lecturer (Biblical Studies and Missiology)