“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?”
My Notes
What Does John 14:9 Mean?
Jesus answers Philip's request with gentle rebuke: 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?
Have I been so long time with you — the rebuke is gentle but real. So long time (tosoutos chronos — such a great length of time). Philip has been with Jesus for approximately three years. He has witnessed the miracles, heard the teaching, observed the character. The duration is the argument: you have had enough time. The evidence has been available long enough. The not-knowing is no longer excusable.
And yet hast thou not known me, Philip? — known (ginosko — to know experientially, to perceive, to recognize). The question is personal: Philip is named. The not-knowing is identified as the problem. Philip has been in Jesus's presence for years — and still does not perceive who he is looking at. The proximity has not produced the perception. The closeness has not generated the knowledge.
He that hath seen (horao — to see with understanding, to perceive, to behold) me hath seen the Father — the most direct claim to deity in the Gospels. Seeing Jesus = seeing the Father. Not: seeing a representation of the Father. Not: seeing someone who reminds you of the Father. Seeing the Father. The identification is complete: the visible Jesus is the visible expression of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). The Father — whom no one has seen (John 1:18) — is seen in Jesus. The incarnation makes the invisible visible.
And how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? — Philip asked (v.8): Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. The request assumed the Father was somewhere else — behind Jesus, above Jesus, separate from Jesus. Jesus's answer eliminates the assumption: the Father is not somewhere else. The Father is visible in me. You have been looking at the Father for three years — and asking to see him as though he were hidden.
The verse teaches that Jesus is the complete revelation of the Father. Every attribute of the Father — his love, his holiness, his power, his compassion, his justice — is visible in Jesus. The one who wants to see God does not need a mystical experience or a theophany. He needs to look at Jesus. He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. The looking at Jesus is the seeing of God.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What does 'so long time with you and yet hast thou not known me?' reveal about proximity that does not produce perception?
- 2.How does 'he that hath seen me hath seen the Father' establish Jesus as the complete, visible revelation of the invisible God?
- 3.Why did Philip's request ('shew us the Father') assume a separation between Jesus and the Father — and how does Jesus's answer eliminate that assumption?
- 4.What do you want to know about God — and how does looking at Jesus answer that question?
Devotional
Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? Three years. Three years of walking together, eating together, witnessing miracles together. Three years of the most direct access to God any human being has ever had. And Philip still does not see who he is looking at. The proximity was not enough. The duration was not enough. The knowing requires more than presence — it requires perception.
He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. The simplest and most staggering claim Jesus ever made. You want to see the Father? You are looking at him. Not a picture of the Father. Not a representative of the Father. The Father — visible, present, walking in front of you in the body of Jesus of Nazareth. The invisible God has become visible. And the visible form is the person you have been traveling with for three years.
Shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Philip's request assumed the Father was hidden — somewhere behind Jesus, somewhere above him, somewhere else. And Jesus says: there is no somewhere else. I am the showing. The Father you want to see is the person you have been seeing. The revelation you are asking for is the revelation you already have. You just did not recognize it.
The incarnation is the answer to every request to see God. Show us God — look at Jesus. What is God like? — look at Jesus. How does God feel about sinners? — look at how Jesus treated sinners. What does God do with the broken? — look at what Jesus did with the broken. He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. Every question about God's character is answered by looking at the person of Christ.
Philip had three years and still did not see. You have the Gospels — the entire recorded life of Jesus. The seeing is available. The Father is visible in every word Jesus spoke, every miracle he performed, every person he touched, every tear he shed. He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. The question is not whether the Father is visible. It is whether you are looking.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Jesus saith unto him, have I been so long time with you,.... Conversing familiarly with you, instructing you by my…
So long time - For more than three years Jesus had been with them. He had raised the dead, cast out devils, healed the…
He that hath seen me hath seen the Father - Could any creature say these words? Do they not evidently imply that Christ…
Christ, having set the happiness of heaven before them as the end, here shows them himself as the way to it, and tells…
so long time Philip had been called among the first (Joh 1:43).
hast thou not known me Or, hast not recognised Me, as in…
Cross References
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