Jesus' Close Friends - Philip - Part 6

What Was on Philip's Mind?

What was Philip thinking that night, listening to the words of Jesus (referred to as the Upper Room Discourse) - the one who had searched him out months before, saying, "Follow me"?

Philip had followed, had found his friend Nathanael
and brought him into the circle of disciples.

Now, this close to the arrest of Jesus, what was on
Philip's mind?

     Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth
     and the life. No one comes to the Father except
     through me.

     If you really knew me, you would know my
     Father as well. From now on you do know him
     and have seen him.
 
     Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and
     that will be enough for us."

     Jesus answered, "Don't you know me, Philip,
     even after I have been among you such a
     long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen
     the Father?

     How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't
     you believe that I am in the Father, and that the
     Father is in me?
                                    - John 14:6-10

Remember when the Greek gentiles came to Philip
and said, "We would like to see Jesus!"

What Would be Enough?

Now Philip is going further- "Show us the Father!"
he says to Jesus. And he adds....and that will be enough for us....

That would be the final proof? The last word? the
convincing argument?

Sometimes each of us has probably voiced that
thought -  "Oh God, please show yourself to me!"

We know God does not have tangible form -
that he is Spirit. Sometimes he might seem remote
and distant.

But how could he seem remote and distant to Philip? Jesus was sitting right there!

Philip had been with him - listening to his teachings,
witnessing his miracles - for months.

Shame on you, Philip!

On the other hand, it seems to me, from the context,
that Jesus provoked this discussion. He wanted
his disciples to question and ponder the great divine
idea that Jesus himself was (is) God - the eternal,
Creator. Jesus wanted this to be supremely clear.

He knew that in a few hours God would seem remote
and unreachable, not just to them, but also to himself.

From now on, Philip, you do know God and have
seen him! Jesus told him.

Seeing God in the Old Testament

Perhaps Philip was thinking about the Old Testament
prophets who also yearned to actually see God.

For one, Moses:

He had asked to see God's glory, and God replied,

"I will cause all goodness to pass in front of
you, and I will proclaim my Name, the LORD, in
your presence."

....you will see my back, but my face must not be
seen...  (Exodus 33:19-23)          


Then the LORD placed Moses in a sheltered place in
the rock, covered the space with his hand, and
passed by.


Another, Elijah:

The LORD said, "Go out on the mountain in the
presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to
pass by.

And the LORD caused a great wind, earthquake and fire to pass before the prophet, those he was not in
the wind, nor the earthquake, nor the fire. He was
in the still, small voice Elijah heard afterward.
(I Kings 19:11-12)

Neither Moses nor Elijah actually saw God. They saw evidence of God's presence.

Philip wanted an experience like that.

Seeing and Knowing

But, Philip, you've already had experiences like that!

You have seen right before your eyes what the
prophets yearned to see - they were peering into
the future, anticipating the moments you would be
spending with God himself, through the visible
manifestation of his Son!

In the verses above we read "know" 4 times and
"seen" or "show" 5 times.

Then look at the next verse to see Jesus'
comment:

     Believe me when I say that I am in the
     Father and the Father is in me,  or at least
     believe on the evidence of the miracles
     themselves.   
                      -- John 14:11

    
It's not about "seeing" or "knowing." He doesn't use those words.

It's about believing!

Seeing is believing?

No, Believing is Seeing!

    

Mary, did you know, when you kissed your baby boy, you kissed the face of God?

We can't determine all that Mary knew or understood
during the life and ministry of her Son.

But we do know she believed because we see her
listed in Acts 1:14 as being with the disciples:

     They all joined together constantly in prayer,
     along with the women and Mary the mother
     of Jesus, and his brothers.

And Philip was there also (see verse 13).

Mary and her sons, Jesus' brothers, were vital
members of the early New Testament church.

Not because of what they "knew" or "saw",
but because they were believers!

Our predicament today: The same as Philip's.
It's not about visual proof, not about logical
arguments - it's still about believing!

Shame on all of us for not believing!

Take the Challenge

Go to:

Jesus' Close Friends - Philip - Part 7