The Effective Change of Jesus

As we continue our series this week, we will move to the next piece of John 1:1-5, in which we find out that Jesus (The Word) was with God from the very beginning and that He is God. Ok, after a statement like that if most of us were highly confused, I’m sure that would be quite understandable. Also, let us recall this bold proclamation by John is validated by Jesus, God himself in John 14:9.

Let me set the scene for you. It’s in the evening hour and Jesus is the upper room which he had earlier sent a couple of the disciples to prepare. This was going to be His last supper with them, this was an opportunity for the disciples to prepare themselves for earthly life without Jesus and be of support to Jesus in his final hours before the cross. However, it turned into Jesus providing them with spiritual and emotional support, as they were struggling to come to terms with the coming events. The conversation around the dinner table is highlighted by a few disciples in particular, Thomas, Philip and Judas. For the purpose of our lesson we will focus on Philip, as he asked Jesus a question. “Lord show us the Father so myself and the others can finally feel satisfied”. In his mind they have been serving and following the Son all this time, they would like to meet this man’s Father whom He is always speaking about.

I can truly relate to Philip here. For me it’s when my children have friends over or they go to their friend’s house, I want to meet the parents. Well now in this case all of the disciples had met Jesus’s earthly mother, however no one had seen or met His heavenly Father. At least so they thought, then Jesus replies to Philip with his own question and says, “Have I not been with you all this time and yet you have not known Me, Philip? Now at this point I’m sure Philip is scratching is head or looking at his feet pontificating the question. But the Savior saves Philip from any further thought and says to him, “When you have seen Me, you have seen the Father, so how can you say show us the Father”? You see in this very moment Jesus is the physical effective change, He is the embodiment and personification of His Father made flesh.

The Son does nothing outside the will and purpose of the Father, and the Father’s will can serve no purpose without the Son. I’m going to state that again, The Son does nothing outside the will and purpose of the Father, and the Father’s will can serve no purpose without the Son. As one of my friends would say, now chew on that for a little while. In closing this week’s lesson, I think back to an old school pastor by the name of S.M. Lockridge. He recounts the story of Jesus in the temple during the Festival of Passover in Jerusalem (Luke 2:41-50). He notes how Jesus stayed behind and His earthly parents were unaware. When they do discover Him missing, they search three days and finally find Him in the very same temple. “His earthly mother Mary says to Him, “Son why have you treated us like this? Your Father and I have been anxiously searching for you”. Jesus in return questions them “Why were you searching for Me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house”? Now the Bible says Mary nor Joseph understood what he meant. Pastor Lockridge used this account to state this fact about Jesus, if you were to ask Mary or Joseph His age at the time, they would say 12 but if you were to ask God the Father his age at the same time, He would say, “He is from everlasting to everlasting”.