Again, who do you think he is?. John 14:8-11

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Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 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’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.
In my last post, I challenged the idea that Jesus never said he was God, by laying out from just the first eight chapters of John how in fact he did say he was. The Jews knew what Jesus was saying, and they wanted to stone him; they just didn't get the chance. And if you will listen to Jesus' words today, you will hear him say it clearly. Today, we have what I think is the most powerful testimony yet, the Father and the Son are one. The Father and the Son are the Alpha and Omega (Rev. 1:8); they are the Word (John 1:1). They are the Spirit of God hovering over the waters (Gen. 1:1-2).

Challenged by Philip to show us the Father, Jesus retorts, "How on earth do you not understand who I am, Philip? You've been walking with me for years now. Where is your faith? Are you that blind and deaf?"

Yes, Jesus said he was God. And he was about to show us in the miracle of miracles, the day he raised himself from the dead and walked out of a sealed tomb, that he and the Father were one God, the only God, intimately linked. Jesus wasn't just God's son, like Aaron is my son, and thus is intimately linked by DNA from his mother and me. Jesus is the light of the world who shines in the darkness (John 1:5), showing us our sin. Jesus is the Word of God, who spoke and created all things (Heb. 1:1-4). Jesus is the bread of life (John 6:48), the living bread (John 6:51), the manna from heaven, who feed the Israelites in the desert (Exodus 16:11). He is the bread who fed 5,000 men and their families with five small barley loaves and two small fish before giving the disciples 12 baskets of leftovers (John 6:8-13). Jesus is the gate to heaven and the good shepherd (John 10:7-11). Jesus is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25-26).

When a man believes in Jesus, he does not believe in Jesus only; he believes in God (John 12:44), and in believing, we have life (John 20:31).

If you aren't a believer, you may be asking yourself, why does this matter? It matters because salvation is found in no one else. You heard that, right? Only Jesus. Forget nirvana. Forget Buddha and Mohammed. They won't save you. They won't put you on a better path. You can't save yourself. ... And that's the great news. You can't save yourself!

Jesus saves the one who believes in him!

I know too many people who get confused by this part. They still they they can be good enough to find favor or merit with God. In fact, they think they must find favor or merit with God. They think that if they don't become "good" Christians or something like that, they will be condemned. If you heard the words of Jesus today, you can hear how wrong that thinking is.

We were born with sin (Psalm 51:5; Isaiah 64:6-7, John 9:34, Romans 3:10-18). And we sin. So Jesus, the Son of God, lived a life without sin for us (Gal. 1:3-4). When we believe in him, we are blessed (John 20:29). Jesus helps us to see our sin, to recognize that we need him, to turn God and to ask for forgiveness.

Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent, Jesus declared in John 17. There are no strings attached.

Just believe.




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