Gospel

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The disciples walked and talked with Jesus, they ate with Him, drank with Him, experienced His love, kindness, and compassion and were witnesses to His supernatural power and authority. Yet, Jesus had to reassure them that He was indeed the visible representation of God the Father.

“If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him" (John 14:7). In the first part of this verse, Jesus is saying that if we truly recognize Him, we will also know the Father. Then, since Jesus declared this to the disciples and to all believers as truth, we now do know the Father, and we have seen Him. This is actually seeing the Father in spirit, whereas the disciples had seen Christ in the body. Jesus’ life and doctrine were a manifestation of the Father. Earlier in His ministry, Jesus told the disciples that His food was to do the work of the Father who sent Him. He also told the disciples that He and the Father were one. It is true, believers know both the Father and the Son!

Moving on to verse 9, Jesus answers Phillip: “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 14:9). It is somewhat amazing to me that Phillip had asked Jesus to show them the Father in verse 8. Jesus had just told them that whoever had seen Him had seen the Father. Jesus said, "You have seen Him.” I guess Phillip had a very short memory. This is the second time in this chapter that Jesus has assured us that those who have seen Him have seen the Father. We accept this as truth as it came from the mouth of our Savior!

Next, we see in verse 10: “Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work” (John 14:10). Jesus is telling all of us here that He is in the Father, and the Father is in Him. They are in one accord. If we go to Jesus, we are assured that the Father will know we have gone to the Son. If we ask for what pleases the Son, we can be assured it will please the Father. If through our actions we glorify the Son, then we shall also glorify the Father. As a matter of fact, He reveals to us that not even the words He speaks are of His own authority. Remember, Jesus earlier in the same book of John had said that He could only do what He saw the Father doing (John 5:19). Clearly, Jesus was totally submissive to the will of the Father. The Father abides in the Son, and His work is accomplished through the Son. So we have three promises in this verse 1) the Son is in the Father, 2) the Father is in the Son, and 3) the Father’s work is accomplished in and through the Son.

Going on to verse 11, we read “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves” (John 14:11). Jesus wants us to trust Him when He says that He is in the Father and that the Father is in Him. This is a fundamental belief of a Christian. He tells us if we have difficulty in the merit of this statement on its own, then we should at least believe it based on the evidence of the works He performed. Remember what Nicodemus said in John 3:2, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him." Jesus did more than come from God. He is God, God the Son. Jesus’ works reflected the desire of the heavenly Father. What Jesus did pleased the Father. The Father and the Son are truly in one accord. The Pharisees, teachers of the Law, and the scribes could not believe in Jesus as they did not accept any deeds He did as being good; they criticized everything that He did.

In verse 12, Jesus tells us: “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12). Those who believe in Jesus have both the Father and the Son dwelling within them. Because Jesus went to the Father, the believer will do the works that Jesus did. It does not specify herein which works will be done by the believer. So, our works don’t have to be the miracles, which Jesus performed. Jesus’ works included the doctrine He taught about God and the kingdom of God. Jesus, before He went back to the Father promised the disciples that the Father would send the Holy Spirit to the believer in the name of Jesus. One lost soul brought to Christ is most assuredly doing the works our Lord did. Today, revivals sometimes bring countless sinners to a realization that they need a new life. Jesus is the Savior who can and will provide that new life to a repentant person. With the technology we have available today, we can certainly reach out to more people than Jesus did while He was here in His earthly life. We can make others aware of Christ and His saving grace. In this manner, we can do works greater than Jesus did. We must always remember though that we can only do this because the Father, the Son, and the Spirit dwell within us to accomplish the work they have given to us. We are the vessels of the Lord.

Verse 13 says: “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13). Jesus sought to do the will of the Father. If in our works we seek the Father’s will, doing what Jesus did and live in Him, then we will receive. Our personal petitions should be for the glory of God if we truly expect them to be answered. The manner in which we pray and what we pray for should result in the glory of God being shown. Just attaching the words “in Jesus’ name” at the end of a prayer is not what our Lord meant for us to do. In Luke 22:42 Jesus said: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." Would the Father, or the Son have been glorified if the cup had been taken away from our Lord? This is a good verse to keep in mind when reflecting on praying in the name of Jesus.

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