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John 14: 7-14 | King James Audio Bible | Daily Verse
7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.
12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
We have known the Father through the Son. Indeed, Jesus now tells the disciples that they have actually seen God the Father. This is the vision of faith, and of our knowledge, as Jesus tells us that he is in the Father and the Father in him. The unknowable, in this life to our natural senses, has become a knowable truth of faith.
This is a great mystery, and still the disciples do not understand. Philip persists in asking Jesus to show them the Father, and now Jesus rebukes him. Having spent so much time so closely with Jesus, hearing his teachings and witnessing all his signs and miracles – the healing miracles, the feeding of the five thousand, the walking on water, the raising of the dead – can Philip not yet see Jesus’ divinity? Can he not believe?
As the apostles are given their mission, to carry the word of God, the truth of Jesus Christ, into the whole world, so Jesus tells them that they too can perform great works, great miracles, if they believe in Jesus as God the Son. As we know, the truth of this teaching was important in bringing people to have faith in the risen Christ. The Book of the Acts of the Apostles tells us of incidents when people’s faith was newly awoken through miracles worked by the apostles in the name of Jesus.
The apostles are sent to heal and to save in the name of Jesus. Jesus tells them that they will do even greater works than he himself has done, perhaps meaning that they will spread the message of Christ throughout the whole world. Whatsoever they ask to be done in Jesus’ name, Jesus will do this for them, and still in complete obedience to his Father. More broadly, we may think of the ways in which we seek to live our lives in accordance with Christ’s name, welcoming Jesus within our souls to heal us, and so that we may do good for others, through practical works and as a Christian example to all.
‘Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.
And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.’ Acts 13 46-48
King James Audio Bible | Endnotes
If Ye Had Known Me | A Misrecognition Of Jesus
The question that Jesus poses to his disciples in John 14:7 – ‘If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him’ – is a powerful one. It reveals the close and intimate relationship that Jesus shares with God the Father, and challenges his disciples to deepen their understanding of who Jesus truly is.
In asking this question, Jesus is not simply seeking affirmation of his own identity or seeking to prove his divinity to his followers. Rather, Jesus is inviting the disciples into a deeper and more profound relationship with Jesus and with God the Father. Jesus is encouraging the disciples to let go of their preconceptions and assumptions about who he is and to open themselves up to a new and transformative understanding of his nature and mission.
For the disciples, this would have been a challenging and even unsettling proposition. They had spent years following Jesus, learning from him, and witnessing his miracles and teachings. Yet despite all of this, they still struggled to fully comprehend the depth and complexity of Jesus’ identity as the Son of God.
In the centuries since Jesus posed this question to his disciples, countless theologians and religious leaders have wrestled with the same challenge. How can we truly know and understand who Jesus is, and what he represents in the Christian faith?
For many, the answer lies in a deep and abiding faith in Jesus and a willingness to engage with his teachings and message. Through prayer, study, and contemplation, we can come to a deeper understanding of his nature and mission, and cultivate a more intimate and personal relationship with him.
On Jesus And The Father
- St. Augustine of Hippo, prominent theologian and bishop in the early Church, wrote extensively about the Trinity and its implications for our understanding of God’s nature. He wrote: ‘The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct from one another, yet they are not separate. They are one God, co-equal and co-eternal, a unity of three Persons in one divine nature.’ (De Trinitate, Book I)
- Martin Luther, father of the Protestant Reformation, emphasized the importance of a personal relationship with Jesus and the transformative power of faith. He wrote: ‘Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times.’ (The Smalcald Articles, Part II)
- Pope Francis has placed a strong emphasis on the importance of social justice and care for the marginalized. He has said: ‘We Christians cannot stand with arms folded in indifference or with arms outstretched in helplessness. No. As believers, we must stretch out our hands, as Jesus does with us.’ (Angelus address, March 15, 2015)
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Lutheran pastor and theologian who was executed by the Nazis for his resistance to their regime, emphasized the importance of discipleship and the call to action in the Christian life. He wrote: ‘The call to follow Christ is not an easy one. It demands a radical break with one’s past and a willingness to surrender one’s future to God’s purposes.’ (The Cost Of Discipleship)
- Billy Graham, prominent Protestant evangelist, emphasized the importance of a personal relationship with Jesus and the power of faith in transforming one’s life. He wrote: ‘Faith is the avenue through which we receive God’s grace and forgiveness. It is the foundation of our relationship with Him and the source of our hope for eternal life.’ (The Journey)
In today’s Bible reading, we hear how Jesus left Galilee to travel to Tyre and Sidon. These Phoenician cities on the Mediterranean coast were outside of the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas and they were largely non-Jewish, howbeit there would be a significant presence of those Hellenized Jews who constituted a general diaspora [ … ]
The Carrefour will be open, where I can buy nuts for the red squirrel, who lives in Campo Grande. The red squirrel is Valladolid’s best bit. Even as a child, I had never seen one before, apart from in picture books. It was last term’s discovery. The most beautiful encounter. I didn’t know it was there – in the park. A complete surprise. The tiny little thing bobbled and hopped, as it received in its little hands a nut from the man’s hands. Each surprising instant – it was childlike. I whispered: ‘Oh my wow.’ I walk toward the El Cortes Ingles. There is, for now, that settled feel of friends in bookshops. Though a null-affect, neutral day – it won’t glean, it is not to be scratched at. The queues are long in the Carrefour. Though, as it might be, on relatively modest incomes, many people live centrally. Their behaviours neither pinched nor stark. Yet the shop so busy while the street so empty… An error in the simulation, a glitch in the code. I potter about the aisles, which are pleasant enough, then at the tills I flinch at how expensive a little bag of up-sold nuts can be. Nonetheless, I queue for a packet of almonds. Two English men queue directly ahead of me. They are stocky, and have gay voices, their wheelie-bucket piled with soft drinks and party food, while they bitch to one another about the obviously terrible party they’re going to. The air heaves relief as I wander up the way to the broad plaza fringing Campo Grande. This is a place to see – a piece of Spain. There is a tourist information office, though unopened. At these fountains, three girls take selfies. Pompous-looking buildings, the military offices aside, line the park’s nearest vicinities. Hotel-bars have their patches. Liveried doormen idle time, for there are no paying customers, in and out the doorways’ shadows. A mixed group of kids play at the hoops on the pedestrian boulevard, and two boys practise on skateboards, working the thing out. I pass by them, touched by the thought, and happy that they are there. Wistful, I smile at the odds of the ball spilling over to me, and play in mind the agreeable scene of a fleeting connection. Then I am through the park gates. An air now – of humanity become self-selecting. Modestly understated. Understatedly modest. Campo Grande is nice but it isn’t grande… I walk slowly, and very soon hear for a second time English voices. Not them – it is an English family, just a little way ahead, a Dad and a Mum and a younger boy and an older girl, and theirs are Midlands accents. Dad seems to have been here and to know the place. He gestures panoramically. Mum wants her lunch. The girl at a difficult age. She carries a balloon-on-a-stick. Though she is sprouting – yet wears a loud dress. Then leggings, trainers. Her hair is nice… Maybe she is being okay about it. And not horrific. It’s okay once they get into it, but those months… Yet then, they mostly blossom, if they come from a good home, and become rounded personalities, entering into their womanhood. It was that… when yet they weren’t… I shudder to think of it. They walk toward the pond, and I trail, and would follow had I not been going that way. I wish I could say something so they might hear I am English too. (Fake a phone call?) How my voice might sound – there’d be all college hurling around in such matter I… a demented thing, ludicrous blurt – of Henry, Geoff, and all of them – not to mention the personal predicament. Maybe they’re a nice family. She is letting him explain what he needs to explain. And it would blow his fire, me being English. Mum and Dad. You’d probably see them all having their lunch in a little while. All sat round the table. With napkins and the menus out. Dad looks safe. I look into the pond. Terrapins live in there. But not today. I walk toward the join in the paths where the squirrel lives. There, I crumple the packet of almonds, making noise. I peer and I squat and crouch – chewing a mouthful. All the peacocks have perched right up in the trees’ branches. That never looks like something they should be doing. It’s disappointing that the squirrel isn’t here – but then the not-knowing-if is a part of it. Now, next, my visit to the National Sculpture Museum is an obligation. Canon Peter stood literally aghast when I hadn’t heard of it. Mortified, I made resolute promises. Though a few weeks have passed, it isn’t just any old something I could do on the hoof. A great commitment – it must command a known and prepared and anticipated not-just-any-old-time. But, rather, the sort you must wait for – and listen for. [ … ] Beyond Plaza Mayor, there would be a brief series of old-town alleyways. The National Sculpture Museum would be – just up there, this archway, this next…They are bleached and forgotten-looking walls, and the smoothed paving could be medieval. Not that it is making Tomàs anxious – I follow the map. A kind of place – uneasy credit-cards, and modern vaccinations, and a phone, might not help much. I fancy I feel the back-wall of a church, and that – fancifully – pressure-release drawn out of me. Only I am playing games in a nice way – making play-scared on the uncertainty – with only myself to see. The National Museum is there, modestly signed on stencilled plexiglass stuck to the stone wall. A uniformed lady sits just a little way inside the doorway. She reassures me there is no money required, and directs me over the courtyard into the planned route, showing me where I can pick up a free map. I get my […]
Jesus has discussed the resurrection of the dead with those who question him. He has spoken truly and in accordance with the Old Testament teachings of the Bible. The scribe who now asks Jesus his question is clearly a just man; he is not seeking to test Jesus but rather to learn from him and discover the truth. Jesus sees this and makes time to speak to the scribe quite plainly. The scribe accepts what Jesus has to say and we hear of Jesus’ message sinking into his heart [ … ]
