John 8:19-20 Your biggest fear? Relationship

Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.” These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.

John 8:19-20 NKJV

I say apples, you say oranges. I am talking about the World Series, and you are talking about the Little League Championship. Jesus did little to correct their perspective. The Pharisees wanted to know where his father was so they could validate (or rather, invalidate) his claim. But Jesus was not speaking of his earthly father, but his real father. The one the eyes could not see. As intangible and untouchable as this was to the Jews, it remains that way today for me, unless… I am willing to change my perspective. Vision with my eyes only allow me to see so much. Vision with my heart and mind allow me to see much, much more.

“If you had known me…” is the key. How many times do I wish to say this to others about myself, and others wish to say this to me? With Jesus, knowing the man in the flesh gave those around him the opportunity to know the invisible God. What Jesus was in character, in words, in spirit, in posture, stature, in meekness, was exactly like his daddy. If you saw Jesus, you saw his daddy. In John 14 right before his death, he repeated these same things to his disciples. Even then, they still didn’t understand the connection he had to the Father. The disciples had one thing going for them, they at least believed he was from God.

O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.

John 17:25 NASB

To know Christ, is to know the Father — demonstrated in several ways:

Character:

Jesus reflected in his behavior the very heart and core of the Father. Every virtue, every value, every priority that the Father had were embraced and lived out in the son. He loved justice — and mercy. He valued everyone, not only a certain snobby group around which the Pharisees and rulers had coagulated. When you met the man Jesus, he reflected the nature of who God was (and is) from the beginning. He was a house filled with laughter, fellowship, and the delight of his Father, God. Knowing Jesus, one could see the depth and richness of the kingdom reverberate off the walls of his heart.

Words:

There is nothing that reflects my character more than the words from my mouth. They are the barometer of my soul. Christ claimed to only speak what the Father had given him. Sometimes that sounds odd to me… like Siri, or Alexa, programmed to stick with the script. Yet it was not that at all. Words are powerful and important. Jesus wasn’t reading a script, but he was careful to deliver the message in the way the Father indicated. Today, I may not fully take into account double meanings, perceived meanings, cloaked meanings, or meanings a man would understand 2,000 years ago when Jesus actually uttered his words. But Jesus claimed, and the disciples wrote, what was God-spoken. Jesus spoke from his heart. He was a friend. He was every bit as human as me. Yet, there was an intrinsic connection to the Father that governed his mouth and expression — particularly during his public ministry.

Spirit:

Like the internet connects us to the world wide web, or our cell signal connects us to another phone, our spirits are provide us with our connection to God. God is spirit. And if we want to love and worship Him, we do that with our spirit. There is something unique about the Spirit of God: He wants to dwell in us, and with us. One of Christ’s most notable promises (beyond never dying) was the coming of the Spirit to all believers. The Spirit of God was in Christ, and without limit. It’s hard to understand what this means fully, but when you encountered the man Jesus walking the shores of Galilee, you encountered the Father. If you were speaking with Christ, the very dialogue you were having was with a clandestine God. They were one.

Family:

Jesus is the son. Born of the Father by seed planted in Mary. He was raised in His house — even as a little boy he was in a relationship with his Heavenly Father and was nurtured by His presence. This was Jesus’ reality. He could not claim to be something else. If Israel’s leaders didn’t know or believe this, it wasn’t his reality to prove. The round earth has no burden of proof for those who consider it flat. It simply is.

The real question is: could the Jewish leaders have had the opportunity to know him or the Father? Although Jesus claimed his father’s testimony was his validation, how could they have known this or understood him? Through his public ministry — the miracles, the deeds, the release of the sick, blind, and demon-possessed, and the message of peace. He and his father had already shown substantially who he was — but they missed it. Jesus had no obligation to give them any more. The burden was on them to prove whether or not he was the messiah. This little interaction in the treasury was not going to change anything. But for me, it pointed out WHY they missed him: one must know the message-giver.

All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

Matthew 11:27 NASB

Relationship is always a two-way, two-part deal. Not everyone may march up to the king’s castle and pound on the drawbridge gate demanding an audience with the sovereign. Yet, that same majesty sends his son who interacts with the nation in a very approachable way. He walked among them and spoke with them. Yet, now they won’t even believe he is the son. He’s not majestic enough! When appearances supersede relationship, it impacts my ability to know, perceive, or understand the heart of a matter. Christ was the perfect test, the perfect stumbling stone. You must get through him to know the Father.

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.”

John 10:7-9 NIV

How is it possible to know Jesus? And know the Father? This is the heart of the message Jesus is speaking and about which John is writing. If any of the men who were challenging Jesus simply investigated him further, learned of him, knew him, saw his authenticity and goodness, heard his story, and weighed all the evidence they collected, they would understand and declare: He is the light of the world — follow him!