“If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.”
If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him — Jesus shifts from future to present tense: knowledge of the Father is not merely prospective but available now, in the present reality of Jesus' presence. To know Jesus is to know the Father not as a separate achievement but as the inevitable consequence of genuine encounter with him; the two are inseparably united in person and purpose. The claim that they have "seen" the Father is astonishing; yet in seeing Jesus they have seen the Father's character, compassion, and commitment to redemptive love.
Church Fathers on John 14:7
If the Jews, who wished to be separated from Christ, asked where He was going, much more would the disciples, who wished never to be separated from Him, be anxious to know it. So with much love, and, at the same time, fear, they proceed to ask: Thomas said to Him, Lord, we know not where you go; and how can we know the way?
Our Lord had said that they knew both, Thomas says that they knew neither. Our Lord cannot lie; they knew not that they did know. Our Lord proves that they did: Jesus said to Him, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
For He who is the way does not lead us into devious courses out of the way; nor does He who is the truth deceive us by falsehoods; not does He who is the life leave us in the darkness of death.
Read all 9 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
Publish a reflection on this verse
No reflections on this verse yet. Be the first to write one!