When Jesus first appeared among men in human flesh he constantly referred to himself within the context of his Father in heaven. I believe this identification to be the most significant aspect concerning Jesus’ claims about himself. Most people refuse to flat out call Jesus a bad person. Most, in fact, will at least admit that Jesus was a prophet… even Muslims do that. But, Jesus was far more than any prophet. Hebrews 1:3 says concerning him, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” This says that Jesus, the self-proclaimed son of God, was the exact representation of God’s being and that he sustained the entire universe by the power of his word. This is why Christians have proclaimed for two thousand years that Jesus IS God! The amazing thing about Jesus, though, is that he, although being God, came to mankind bearing human flesh. Since Jesus is the exact representation of God’s being, he was thus the image of God in the flesh. It is for this reason that when Philip asked Jesus to show the disciples the Father Jesus replied, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip?Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:9)
Jesus IS the image of God. Jesus IS the everlasting Father prophesied by Isaiah. Jesus IS God! When we really understand this fact we will begin to give his words ever more significance. Read the book of John. You will find more words directly attributable to Jesus there than anywhere else in Scripture. But, don’t stop there. Now Realize that Jesus IS the “word made flesh.” Remember the following verses:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life,[a] and the life was the light of men.5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-4 ESV)
Understanding Jesus’ teaching about the Father shows us an incredibly powerful truth. Jesus willingly sacrificed himself for man because he created him! We should not therefore see Jesus’ sacrifice as a son enduring torture in order to satisfy his Father’s wishes. We should see it as our Father willingly laying down his life and subjecting himself to torture and humility for us, his children.
Now, when we see Jesus’ words, “No one comes to the Father unless he comes through Me,” let us understand it with new spiritual eyes. He could have said, “No one comes to Me unless he comes through Me!” As Jesus said, “If you knew Me, you would know my Father also.” (John 8:19:b) How obvious is that?
