If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said to him, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? 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 speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. 12 Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.
Jesus continues speaking to His disciples on the night before His death. He has just told them that He is “the way and the truth and the life” and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. He now explains more fully why this is true. To know Jesus is to know the Father, because the Son reveals the Father perfectly.
Philip’s request is understandable. He says, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us” (v. 8). In the Old Testament, God sometimes made His presence known in visible and powerful ways. Moses and the elders of Israel were allowed to behold God in a mysterious way on Sinai (Ex. 24:9-10). Later, Moses prayed, “Please let me see your glory!” (Ex. 33:18). Philip is asking for something like that. He wants a clear manifestation of God.
Jesus answers by directing Philip back to Himself. “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (v. 9). Jesus is not saying that the Father and the Son are the same Person. He is revealing the unity of the Father and the Son. The Son is eternally from the Father, and in becoming man He makes the Father known in human words, human actions, and a truly human life. As John has already said, “No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him” (Jn. 1:18).
This means that Jesus is the visible revelation of the invisible God. St. Paul says that Christ “is the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15). In Jesus, the disciples see the Son who comes from the Father and reveals Him. His compassion, His teaching, His holiness, His obedience, His mercy toward sinners, and His power over sickness, sin, and death all show the Father’s saving will.
Jesus then points to His words and works. “The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works” (v. 10). Jesus’ teaching is the word of the Father spoken by the Son. His works are the Father’s works carried out through the Son. This is why He can say, “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves” (v. 11). His miracles are signs that reveal who He is and who sent Him.
The works of Jesus also show the purpose of His mission. He gives sight to the blind, raises the dead, forgives sins, feeds the hungry, and brings people back to God. These works reveal the Father’s mercy and His desire to save. Earlier in John’s Gospel, Jesus said, “Whoever sees me sees the one who sent me” (Jn. 12:45). The same truth is being taught here. The Son does not lead us away from the Father. He brings us into communion with the Father, because He is one with the Father.
Jesus then gives a promise that may sound surprising: “Whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father” (v. 12). The “greater works” do not mean that the disciples become greater than Jesus. They mean that, after Jesus returns to the Father, His saving mission will continue through those who believe in Him. The Gospel will be preached beyond Israel and carried to the nations. People will be converted, baptized, forgiven, strengthened, and brought into the life of Christ.
The Acts of the Apostles shows this beginning to happen. In the name of Jesus, Peter heals a crippled man at the temple gate (Acts 3:1-10). The apostles preach Christ crucified and risen, and many come to faith (Acts 2:37-41; 5:12-16). These works are “greater” in reach because they extend the mission of Jesus through His Church to the ends of the earth. They remain His works because they are done through faith in Him, by His power, and in His name.
Jesus also teaches the disciples how to pray: “Whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (v. 13). To ask in Jesus’ name means more than adding His name to the end of a prayer. It means asking in faith, in union with Him, and according to His saving purpose. Christian prayer is joined to the risen Lord, who lives with the Father and intercedes for His people (Heb. 7:25).
This promise should not be misunderstood as a guarantee that every request will be granted exactly as we ask it. Jesus is the Savior, and He gives what serves our salvation. Sometimes He gives what we ask. Sometimes He purifies our desires. Sometimes He denies a request because He is leading us toward a deeper good. Prayer in His name teaches us to trust the Son who reveals the Father’s love.
The final purpose of this prayer is “that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (v. 13). In Scripture, to glorify God means to make His goodness, holiness, and saving power known. The Son glorifies the Father by revealing Him and accomplishing His will. The Father is glorified in the Son when believers trust Jesus, pray in His name, and carry forward His works in the world.
Lord Jesus Christ, You reveal the Father to us. Strengthen our faith, teach us to pray in Your name, and help us to live in a way that makes the Father’s goodness known. Amen.
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Sources and References
- Aguilar Chiu, José Enrique, et al., eds. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. New York: Paulist Press, 2018.
- Brown, Raymond E., Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, eds. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990, 974-975, §§182-183.
- Collins, John J., Gina Hens-Piazza, Barbara Reid OP, and Donald Senior CP, eds. The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century. Third Fully Revised Edition, with a Foreword by Pope Francis. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2022, 1427.
- Hahn, Scott, and Curtis Mitch. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010, 189-190.
- José María Casciaro, gen. ed. The Navarre Bible: New Testament, Expanded Edition. Dublin: Four Courts Press; New York: Scepter Publishers, 2008, 421-422.
- The New American Bible, Revised Edition. Washington, DC: Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 2011. John 14:7-14 and notes on John 14:7-8.
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