To See Jesus Is to See the Father
Month 10: The Upper Room · Loving Others
Today's Scripture
Read together: John 14:7-11
7 If you had known Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.” 8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus replied, “Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who 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 I say to you, I do not speak on My own. Instead, it is the Father dwelling in Me, performing His works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me—or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
Memory Verse
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”— John 14:6 (BSB)
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: Zechariah 9-11
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (A king comes "lowly, riding on a donkey" — a picture of Jesus' triumphal entry.)The Heart of It
Philip asks the question every heart secretly asks. "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us." If we could just see God, that would be enough! Jesus' answer is breathtaking. He says, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father." For all those years the disciples walked with Jesus. They watched Him touch lepers. They watched Him forgive sinners. They watched Him weep at a grave and bless little children. All along, they were watching what God is like. Jesus is not a smaller, gentler version of a scary God hiding upstairs. Jesus is God showing us His true face. "I am in the Father, and the Father in Me."
Now here is why this lands on "loving others." Jesus shows us what God is like. God is patient. God is gentle. God washes dirty feet. God makes time for the people everyone else overlooks. And the people who belong to Jesus are meant to show others what Jesus is like. We become little windows. We are kind to someone everyone ignores. We forgive instead of getting even. We welcome the new kid. And people catch a glimpse of Jesus, and through Jesus, a glimpse of the Father Himself. We can't make people see God by arguing them into it. But we can let them see Him in how we love. That is one of the highest callings of your family. We get to be a place where someone watching gets a true picture of God.
Around the Table
Jesus said, "If you've seen Me, you've seen God!" Jesus shows us how kind and loving God really is.
Let's do it: Make your kindest face and your kindest voice and show love to someone in the room right now.
People learned what God is like by watching how Jesus treated others. What might people learn about God by watching how you treat others?
Let's talk: Who is someone this week you could love, so they catch a glimpse of Jesus?
Jesus claims that seeing Him is seeing the Father. That is a claim to full deity, not just to being God's messenger.
Let's go deeper: You are a "window" that people look through to see Jesus. What is one thing in your life that might be making the glass cloudy? And what is one thing that keeps it clear?
💬 Conversation Starter
Imagine a stranger watched our family for one whole day. What would they guess God is like? And what do we want them to see?
🛡️ Defending the Faith
Jesus says, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father." A merely good man would not claim this. A crazy man might, but Jesus' wisdom, love, and miracles rule that out. As C. S. Lewis argued, Jesus leaves us only one sane option. He really is who He says He is. He is God with us.
For Dad · Go Deeper
This passage is the heart of Christian belief about the Trinity and the deity of Christ. Jesus is the perfect, exact revelation of the Father. He is "the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person" (). He is not the Father; they speak to each other. Yet to see Him is to see the Father, because they share one divine nature. Don't rush past the pastoral payoff. Many people carry a distorted picture of God. They imagine Him as distant, angry, hard to please. Often that picture was shaped by an earthly father. Jesus corrects it. And here is the sobering, sanctifying weight for you, Dad. In your home, you are one of the first "pictures of God" your children will ever study. You can't be the Father. But by His Spirit you can reflect His patience and tenderness. Ask Him to make you a clear window.
Draws on: C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.
Let's Pray Together
"Jesus, thank You for showing us what the Father is like. Thank You that He is kind, patient, and loving. Help our family love others well. And when people watch us, let them see You. In Jesus' name, amen."
When people watch how I love, may they catch a true glimpse of Jesus, and of the Father.