John 14 9

John 14:9 kjv

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?

John 14:9 nkjv

Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?

John 14:9 niv

Jesus answered: "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 esv

Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?

John 14:9 nlt

Jesus replied, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don't know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you?

John 14 verses

John 14 9 Meaning

John 14:9 is a pivotal declaration by Jesus to His disciple Philip, asserting His intrinsic unity and co-equality with God the Father. In response to Philip's plea to "show us the Father," Jesus clarifies that He Himself is the complete and perfect revelation of the invisible God. To truly perceive Jesus—His character, His actions, and His very being—is to perceive the Father. There is no distinction in their essence or their will; Jesus's earthly presence served as the ultimate manifestation of God, rendering any separate, additional vision of the Father redundant.

John 14 9 Context

John chapter 14 is part of Jesus's Farewell Discourse, delivered to His disciples in the Upper Room just hours before His betrayal and crucifixion. This entire section (Jn 13-17) aims to comfort, instruct, and prepare the disciples for Jesus's impending departure. He speaks of going to prepare a place for them, the promise of His return, and the sending of the Holy Spirit, the Helper. Earlier in the chapter, Jesus declares, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (Jn 14:6). This powerful statement sparks Thomas's confusion about the "way" (Jn 14:5), followed by Philip's explicit request in John 14:8, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." It is to this heartfelt, yet unseeing, plea that Jesus delivers the profound response in verse 9. The disciples, though they had spent three years walking with Jesus, still struggled to fully grasp His divine nature and His intimate relationship with God the Father. Their cultural and historical context, heavily steeped in monotheistic Judaism, taught of an invisible and often unapproachable God, making it difficult for them to equate the visible Man Jesus with the unseen Creator of the universe without specific, divine revelation.

John 14 9 Word analysis

• "Jesus said to him," (Legéō autō - Λέγω αὐτῷ): Standard introductory phrase indicating a direct address from Jesus, affirming His authority in speaking these profound truths.

• "Have I been with you so long," (Tóson chrónon meth’ hymōn eimí - Τόσον χρόνον μεθ’ ὑμῶν εἰμι):

  • Tóson chrónon (τόσον χρόνον): Means "so much time," "such a long time." Emphasizes the significant duration Jesus had intimately shared with the disciples—around three years of intense companionship and teaching.
  • meth’ hymōn eimí (μεθ’ ὑμῶν εἰμι): "I am with you." Highlights constant, personal proximity and shared experience, not merely distant observation.
  • Significance: Jesus expresses a gentle remonstrance or exasperation. He provided ample opportunity and time for understanding, yet Philip’s request indicates a persistent lack of deeper insight despite the closeness.

• "and yet you have not known Me, Philip?" (kaì ouk égnōkás me, Phílippe; - καὶ οὐκ ἔγνωκάς με, Φίλιππε;)

  • ouk égnōkás me (οὐκ ἔγνωκάς με): "you have not known Me." Egnōkas is from ginōskō (γινώσκω), implying a knowing that is experiential, profound, and relational, beyond mere intellectual acquaintance. It suggests a failure to comprehend His true identity and nature.
  • Significance: Jesus identifies Philip’s core issue: not just seeing His actions but truly understanding who He is, particularly His divine connection to the Father. Physical proximity did not automatically translate to spiritual comprehension.

• "He who has seen Me" (Ho heōrakōs eme - Ὁ ἑωρακὼς ἐμὲ):

  • heōrakōs (ἑωρακώς): Perfect active participle of horaō (ὁράω), meaning "to see," but also implies a perceptive and understanding sight, leading to deep spiritual realization, not just a physical glance. It's about beholding and grasping.
  • Significance: The kind of seeing spoken of here is not superficial. It suggests an attentive and apprehending gaze, one that moves beyond the human form to recognize the divine within.

• "has seen the Father;" (heōraken ton Patéra - ἑώρακεν τὸν Πατέρα.)

  • heōraken (ἑώρακεν): Again, the perfect tense of horaō, emphasizing a completed action with continuing results – having seen the Father and continuing to have that realization. This is the profound declaration of identity.
  • Significance: This is the theological climax of the verse, a direct and absolute assertion of Jesus's identity as the embodiment and revelation of God. It underlines His essential unity with the Father, such that one does not merely reflect the other, but truly manifests the other.

• "how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?" (pōs sỳ légeis, Deixon hēmin ton Patéra; - πῶς σὺ λέγεις, Δεῖξον ἡμῖν τὸν Πατέρα;)

  • pōs sỳ légeis (πῶς σὺ λέγεις): "How do you say?" A rhetorical question expressing incredulity or astonishment that, despite Jesus's full self-disclosure, Philip would still articulate a request for a separate vision.
  • Deixon hēmin ton Patéra (Δεῖξον ἡμῖν τὸν Πατέρα): "Show us the Father." Philip's exact request, seeking a distinct, presumably visible, revelation of God the Father apart from Jesus.
  • Significance: This concluding question serves as a gentle rebuke and a call to deeper understanding. It exposes the ongoing spiritual limitations of the disciples, challenging their preconceptions and inviting them to grasp the unprecedented revelation of God present in Christ.

• "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father;": These two phrases stand in sharp contrast. The first reveals the frustration with lack of experiential understanding despite time spent, while the second delivers the monumental truth that should have been apprehended. It is a profound declaration of Christ's divine identity and unique function as the Father's manifestation, highlighting that spiritual perception is required to truly grasp who Jesus is.

John 14 9 Bonus section

• Monergism of Revelation: The statement profoundly underscores the principle that God's full and redemptive self-revelation is a "monergistic" act, meaning it comes exclusively through one source—Jesus Christ. No other prophet, law, or philosophical system can provide a complete and accurate picture of God the Father as Jesus does. He is the ultimate, final, and perfect Word of God (Heb 1:1-2).
• Pre-existent Consciousness: Jesus's question, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?", subtly hints at a pre-existent consciousness and a deeper identity beyond merely being a man of Nazareth. He speaks from a perspective that implies His essential being is beyond what is visibly evident.
• Integral to Incarnation Theology: This verse is foundational for understanding the doctrine of the Incarnation—that God truly became flesh and dwelled among us. The purpose of the Incarnation was precisely to make the unseen God known and tangible, breaking the barriers between human comprehension and divine mystery.
• The "I Am" Sayings Background: While not an "I Am" statement directly, this declaration of unity resonates with the background of Jesus's earlier "I Am" pronouncements (e.g., "I am the light of the world," "I am the good shepherd"), each revealing an aspect of His divine nature and function, echoing the Old Testament declaration of Yahweh to Moses ("I Am who I Am"). John 14:9 is arguably one of the most explicit claims to deity within the Farewell Discourse.

John 14 9 Commentary

John 14:9 is a cornerstone text for understanding the deity of Jesus Christ and the mystery of the Trinity. Jesus's words to Philip cut through human assumptions about God, declaring that God is not hidden but fully revealed in Him. To "see" Jesus in a discerning and believing way is to witness the Father's character, will, and very being. Jesus is the ultimate icon, the visible image of the invisible God (Col 1:15), not merely an envoy but God incarnate (Jn 1:18; Heb 1:3). Philip’s request exposes a common human yearning for an abstract, separate manifestation of God, failing to recognize the divine in the concrete reality of Jesus standing before him. The verse therefore teaches us that our understanding of God must always be mediated through Jesus Christ. We cannot claim to know God without knowing His Son, as their essence, will, and works are perfectly unified. This unity implies that any search for God that bypasses Jesus is inherently misguided, for in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Col 2:9).

• Practical usage examples:
  • If someone struggles with the concept of God's love, pointing to Jesus’s compassion for the outcast, His forgiveness of sins, or His sacrifice on the cross offers a direct image of the Father’s heart.
  • When seeking to understand God’s will, studying Jesus's perfect obedience to the Father and His life of selfless service reveals the Father's nature and desires.
  • To grasp God's power and authority, reflecting on Jesus's dominion over nature, disease, and death demonstrates the power of the Father active through the Son.