July 23, 2024 Devo

Jesus didn’t pull any punches when it came to revealing His identity. He was God in the flesh. He said it several times in many different ways. One of those times was in John 14 in a candid conversation with Philip when He said, “If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!” That’s about as clear as you can get.
Let me zoom in on one sentence from that conversation. “From now on, you do know him and have seen him!” You have to understand how revolutionary this was to the Jews. God was unknowable, untouchable, and unobservable. He was a mystery, an enigma, an elusive presence. They had glimpses of Him but not clear images. They had inklings of what He was like, but not with any certainty. They knew from history that He was a booming voice, a mighty wind, a shining cloud, and an awesome pillar of fire. But they mistook those dramatic expressions for the essence of who He really was. Jesus came to bring clarity. The miracles He performed were simply to let the people know that those “dramatic expressions” are still there within Him. But those were just things He could do. They weren’t who He was.
What’s funny is that the Jews got mad at Jesus for telling the truth. To them, Jesus wasn’t “God-like” enough. He wasn’t amazing in appearance. He didn’t speak with a thunderous voice. Lightning bolts weren’t coming out of His fingertips. As powerful as they imagined God to be, they couldn’t imagine Him powerful enough to wrap Himself in human skin and live among us. But He did. He did it to show us His true nature and character. He did it to demonstrate His compassion for us, His empathy for us, and His great love for us. And maybe that’s the part that is the most unbelievable and overwhelming. Not that a God that big could make Himself that small and vulnerable, but that He’d do it for a world that would kill Him for it. We knew the unlimited power God had; we just didn’t know how unlimited His love was until Jesus. That’s God’s Word for you today.