If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.

Jesus was saying that He was so like the Father in every way that if we have seen Him, we have also seen what the Father is like.

He was doing it again. Sometimes what He said was crystal clear, but sometimes His words seemed to be way beyond them. Jesus had said He was going away to prepare a place for them and that they knew where He was going. This was news to the disciples. Thomas, therefore, asked where this place was, and Jesus replied that He was going to the Father. He also said that if they had known Him, they would have known the Father. Now, trying to understand what Jesus was saying, Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father, but Jesus’ answer didn’t seem to help. Jesus answered by asking how was it possible for them to have been with Him for so long and still not know Him. He then said that if they had seen Him, they had already seen the Father. To make things more confusing, He then said that He was in the Father and the Father was in Him. Now they were totally lost.

They had seen Jesus, but where was the Father?

I can relate to the disciples’ confusion here. Jesus seems to be so mystical and otherworldly that I lose my breath trying to understand what He is saying. This passage had always been an example of this to me. I know Jesus and the Father are different members of the Trinity, so how could it be that if we have seen Jesus, we have seen the Father? What is the profound truth behind His words? Then one day, I realised I had been making this too complicated. Jesus was stating that He was so much like the Father that if we have seen Him, we have also seen what the Father is like. In other words, in Jesus, we see an exact and accurate representation of the Father’s will and character. In this sense, if we have seen Jesus, we have also seen the Father.

My dad passed away many years ago, but I shave him daily in the mirror. This is not some macabre ritual I perform. Rather, as I am getting older, the more I am becoming like him, and every morning I see him looking back at me in my reflection. In fact, I not only look like him, but I have also discovered that I have the same body language, mannerisms, and sense of humour he had. Genuinely, if you have seen me, you have also seen my father too!

This is what Jesus meant when He said, If we have seen Him, we have seen the Father. He is so much like the Father that when we see Him, we understand what the Father is like.

The Bible says one reason Jesus came to earth was to show us what the Father is like.

John 1:18 (NIV) No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

I know Jesus. Everything I know about Him from the Bible tells me He is loving and kind and that He has my best interests at heart. I trust Him and feel totally at ease in His presence. Therefore, if He is just like the Father, then the fantastic news is that I can also trust the Father and can feel totally at ease in His presence too.

“I shave my dad in the mirror every day!”

Further reading: Jn 14:1-11

This is an extract from my free book Knowing God as Father, which is available for download at Knowing God as Father.