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John 12: 44-50 King James Audio Bible KJV | Daily Verses
44 ¶ Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.
45 And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.
46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.
Today’s Bible verses conclude the first half of John’s Gospel, known as the Book of Signs. The verses mark the end of Christ’s public ministry. He will go on, through the Last Supper, to teach his disciples, and then to endure his Passion and crucifixion.
The verses bring together Christ’s teaching to now. Key, fundamental themes are restated. Christ and the Father are one. To believe in Jesus is to believe in God. To see Jesus is to see God.
We hear again of Christ’s great humility. He has been selfless in the service of his Father, giving himself utterly to God’s will. It is through the authority of the Father that Christ has spoken and worked as he has done, from his performing the most striking miracles to his example of perfect virtue in every aspect, each little piece of his life. Jesus gives the entirety of his efforts to God the Father. It is through Christ that we come to the Father, giving our sins and our troubles to God, so that He may lift them off our shoulders and make our consciences clean of sin, through the person of Jesus Christ, God incarnate.
Thinking of our sins and of the judgement and of the life to come, Jesus teaches us that he is not come into the world to judge the world but to save us. Jesus is the light come to free us from darkness. All we need to do is listen to his sayings and believe. Through the grace of God, our own conscience is then our guide to free us from sin. It is the rejection of Christ of those who do not believe that shall ultimately condemn them. All we are asked to do is to know, to believe, to see, to follow. To find Christ in our hearts and to give ourselves utterly to God.
Through these verses, Jesus speaks in the face of disbelief and opposition. He implores the people to free themselves, to walk while they have the light, to become free of the oppression of the Pharisees. And he has spoken of what he knows must happen to him. In terms of Jesus’ public ministry, this could be understood as a last ringing call to faith.
Let us not be afraid. Just as the Pharisees did their utmost to keep people afraid of believing in Jesus, so there is in these times much oppression in the world, whether from violent extremists of other religions, or taking the form of the slow rot of atheism. Let us never be afraid to follow Christ.
‘[W]hile he is in the Father by the nature of his divinity, we on the contrary are in him through his bodily birth, and he again is in us by the mystery of the sacraments. From this we can learn the unity which has been achieved through the Mediator; for we abide in him and he abides in the Father, and while abiding in the Father he abides in us. In this way we attain to unity with the Father. For while Christ is in the Father naturally according to his birth, we too are in Christ naturally, since he abides in us naturally.’ St Hilary
King James Audio Bible | Endnotes
What Does It Mean To See God The Father Through The Son?
In John 12: 44-50, Jesus speaks explains that he is one with God the Father and that those who believe in him believe in God the Father too. Jesus speaks of how his words and teachings are not his own, but those of the Father who sent him. This passage is important in understanding the relationship between Jesus, God the Father and we who believe – Christians.
To understand the concept of seeing God the Father through the Son, it is helpful to look at the context in which Jesus spoke these words. In John’s Gospel, Jesus is portrayed as the Word made flesh, who came to dwell among us and reveal God to us (John 1:14). Throughout his ministry, Jesus consistently spoke of himself as the one who came from God and was sent by God to do his will (John 5:30, John 6:38). Jesus taught about his unique relationship with God, as his Son, and said that whoever saw Jesus saw the Father (John 14:9).
This idea of seeing God through the Son is not unique to the Gospel of John. In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 1:15-20 that Jesus is the image of the invisible God, and that all things were created through him and for him. The writer of Hebrews described Jesus as the exact representation of God’s being (Hebrews 1:3).
Throughout Christian history, theologians and scholars have debated the nature of Jesus and his relationship to God the Father. In the early church, this debate led to the formulation of creeds, such as the Nicene Creed, which affirmed the divinity of Jesus and his equality with God the Father. In the Nicene Creed, Jesus is described as ‘the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father’.
In the Protestant Reformation, theologians such as John Calvin and Martin Luther emphasized the importance of faith in Christ as the only way to know God. Calvin wrote in his Institutes Of The Christian Religion that ‘Christ is not fully known, unless we acknowledge him to have come forth from the Father, and to have returned to him, and to have been sent by him to be the Redeemer of the world’.
In modern times, theologians including Karl Barth and Jürgen Moltmann have continued to explore the relationship between Jesus and God the Father. Barth wrote in his Church Dogmatics that ‘Jesus Christ is the self-revelation of God in which the being of God is identical with his being for us’. Moltmann emphasized the idea of the Trinity, and wrote in his Theology Of Hope that ‘the Father is only known through the Son, and the Spirit makes the Son present to us’.
The concept of seeing God the Father through the Son is not only a matter of theology and doctrine, but also has practical implications for Christian life and practice. In the Gospel of John, Jesus often spoke of the importance of believing in him and following his teachings in order to have eternal life (John 3:16, John 6:47). He said that he came not to do his own will, but the will of the Father who sent him (John 6:38), and that those who love him will obey his commands (John 14:15).
In Catholic theology, the concept of seeing God through the Son is closely tied to the idea of the sacraments, which are seen as channels of God’s grace that enable believers to encounter Christ and participate in his divine life. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that ‘the sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us’ (CCC 1131).
In Protestant theology, the emphasis is often placed on the importance of faith in Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit in enabling believers to know God. Protestant Reformers taught that faith alone, and not works, is the means of salvation, and that this faith is a gift of God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). The Holy Spirit is seen as the one who enables believers to know God and live in obedience to his will (Galatians 5:16-25).
Despite these differences in emphasis, both Catholic and Protestant theology affirm the central role of Jesus in revealing God to us and enabling us to have a relationship with him. As the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:6: ‘For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.’
In practical terms, seeing God the Father through the Son means that our relationship with God is mediated through Jesus Christ. It means that we cannot know God apart from Christ, and that faith in Christ is essential for salvation. It means that we must look to Jesus as the ultimate authority for our understanding of God and his will, and that we must strive to live in obedience to his teachings.
Ultimately, the concept of seeing God the Father through the Son is a mystery that goes beyond our ability to fully comprehend. As the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:12: ‘For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.’ Nonetheless, this mystery is central to Christian faith and practice, and invites us to a deeper relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
Saint Augustine wrote extensively on the topic in his works, including On The Trinity and The Enchiridion. Augustine emphasized the unity of the Father and the Son, writing that ‘we see the Father by means of the Son, who is of one substance with the Father’. Saint Augustine also spoke of the importance of faith in Christ as the means of seeing God, writing that ‘it is only by the faith of the Son that we come to the knowledge of the Father’.
In the Protestant tradition, John Calvin wrote that ‘we cannot come to the Father except through Christ, because he alone is the way, the truth, and the life’. Calvin emphasized the importance of faith in Christ as the means of salvation, writing that ‘faith unites us to Christ, and through him to the Father’.
In modern times, religious authorities continue to discuss the concept of seeing God the Father through the Son. Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the importance of this concept in his encyclical Deus Caritas Est, writing that ‘God’s love was revealed definitively in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God.’ He emphasized the importance of contemplating Christ as the means of encountering God, writing that ‘Christ is the definitive revelation of God’s love and the source of our salvation’.
Protestant theologian N.T. Wright has emphasized the importance of seeing God through the Son in his works, including The Challenge Of Jesus and Surprised By Hope. Wright emphasizes the importance of understanding Jesus as the means of knowing God, writing that ‘to know Jesus is to know the God who sent him’. He also emphasizes the importance of faith in Christ as the means of salvation, writing that ‘faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father’.
In conclusion, the concept of seeing God the Father through the Son is central to Christian faith and practice. It emphasizes the importance of Jesus Christ as the means of knowing God and participating in his divine life. It invites us to a deeper relationship with God through faith in Christ and obedience to his teachings, and points us to the ultimate goal of salvation and eternal life in the presence of God.
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