John 14:8-11
New English Translation
8 Philip said,[a] “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be content.”[b] 9 Jesus replied,[c] “Have I been with you for so long, and you have not known[d] me, Philip? The person 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?[e] The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own initiative,[f] but the Father residing in me performs[g] his miraculous deeds.[h] 11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me, but if you do not believe me,[i] believe because of the miraculous deeds[j] themselves.
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- John 14:8 tn Grk “said to him.”
- John 14:8 tn Or “and that is enough for us.”
- John 14:9 tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”
- John 14:9 tn Or “recognized.”
- John 14:10 tn The mutual interrelationship of the Father and the Son (ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ πατρὶ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἐν ἐμοί ἐστιν, egō en tō patri kai ho patēr en emoi estin) is something that Jesus expected even his opponents to recognize (cf. John 10:38). The question Jesus asks of Philip (οὐ πιστεύεις, ou pisteueis) expects the answer “yes.” Note that the following statement is addressed to all the disciples, however, because the plural pronoun (ὑμῖν, humin) is used. Jesus says that his teaching (the words he spoke to them all) did not originate from himself, but the Father, who permanently remains (μένων, menōn) in relationship with Jesus, performs his works. One would have expected “speaks his words” here rather than “performs his works”; many of the church fathers (e.g., Augustine and Chrysostom) identified the two by saying that Jesus’ words were works. But there is an implicit contrast in the next verse between words and works, and v. 12 seems to demand that the works are real works, not just words. It is probably best to see the two terms as related but not identical; there is a progression in the idea here. Both Jesus’ words (recall the Samaritans’ response in John 4:42) and Jesus’ works are revelatory of who he is, but as the next verse indicates, works have greater confirmatory power than words.
- John 14:10 tn Grk “I do not speak from myself.”
- John 14:10 tn Or “does.”
- John 14:10 tn Or “his mighty acts”; Grk “his works.”sn Miraculous deeds is most likely a reference to the miraculous signs Jesus had performed, which he viewed as a manifestation of the mighty acts of God. Those he performed in the presence of the disciples served as a basis for faith (although a secondary basis to their personal relationship to him; see the following verse).
- John 14:11 tn The phrase “but if you do not believe me” contains an ellipsis; the Greek text reads Grk “but if not.” The ellipsis has been filled out (“but if [you do] not [believe me]…”) for the benefit of the modern English reader.
- John 14:11 tn Grk “because of the works.”sn In the context of a proof or basis for belief, Jesus is referring to the miraculous deeds (signs) he has performed in the presence of the disciples.
John 14:20
New English Translation
20 You will know at that time[a] that I am in my Father and you are in me and I am in you.
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- John 14:20 tn Grk “will know in that day.”sn At that time could be a reference to the parousia (second coming of Christ). But the statement in 14:19, that the world will not see Jesus, does not fit. It is better to take this as the postresurrection appearances of Jesus to his disciples (which has the advantage of taking in a little while in v. 19 literally).
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