The Gospel of John: Come and See the Object of Faith

Following Jesus is an act of faith. He’s not here, and we haven’t seen him. John is urging his readers, who are like us in that they didn’t see Jesus, to believe and follow him. In his teaching, Jesus is preparing his disciples for their life of faith in his absence. While he tells them he’s going away and they know the way, they respond that if they don’t know his destination, how can they know the way.

The disciples are like us, they want to know the destination and how to get there. Jesus tells them the destination is the Father and that he is the way. This only confuses them, because they don’t understand his relationship with the Father. So, Phillip asks an obvious question and makes an important point, all we really want is to see the person we believe in, the Father. He asks Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Do you feel his desire?

Jesus responds by explaining his relationship with the Father, “Believe in me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” If they can’t accept that, he says, “believe on account of the works themselves.” His works supply external evidence of his relationship with God the Father. But he doesn’t stop there, he tells them that, through him, they will do greater works. Jesus isn’t pointing them to their works but to his ability in them as evidence of his relationship to the Father. The transforming power of Jesus in the lives of his disciples in the world points to his ability to reconcile us to God. Remember, only God can bring you to God.

Jesus physically went away. His disciples have to live by faith, but Jesus is still at work, in and through them. Join us as we consider Jesus as the continuing object of our faith.