John 14:9

9 Jesus answered, "For a long time I have been with you all; yet you do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. Why, then, do you say, "Show us the Father'?

John 14:9 Meaning and Commentary

John 14:9

Jesus saith unto him, have I been so long time with you,
&c.] Conversing familiarly with you, instructing you by my ministry, and performing so many miraculous works among you, for so long a time; see ( Hebrews 5:11 Hebrews 5:12 ) ;

and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?
Surely you cannot be so ignorant as this comes to; as you have seen me with your bodily eyes, as a man, you must, know that I am God by the doctrines I have taught you, and the miracles I have wrought among you: and

he that hath seen me;
not with the eyes of his body, but with the eyes of his understanding; he that has beheld the perfections of the Godhead in me:

hath seen the Father;
the perfections which are in him also; for the same that are in me are in him, and the same that are in him are in me: I am the very image of him, and am possessed of the same nature, attributes, and glory, that he is; so that he that sees the one, sees the other:

and how sayest thou then show us the Father?
such a request is a needless one, and betrays great weakness and ignorance.

John 14:9 In-Context

7 Now that you have known me," he said to them, "you will know my Father also, and from now on you do know him and you have seen him."
8 Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father; that is all we need."
9 Jesus answered, "For a long time I have been with you all; yet you do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. Why, then, do you say, "Show us the Father'?
10 Do you not believe, Philip, that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I have spoken to you," Jesus said to his disciples, "do not come from me. The Father, who remains in me, does his own work.
11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. If not, believe because of the things I do.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.