Connect John 7:28 with John 1:18 on knowing God through Jesus. Setting the Scene: Two Verses, One Message - John 7:28 and John 1:18 sit like twin signposts, pointing the reader straight to the heart of the gospel: we truly know God only through Jesus. - Both statements come from John’s Gospel, a book that consistently underlines the deity of Christ and His mission to reveal the Father. Key Verse 1: John 7:28 “Then Jesus cried out as He taught in the temple courts, ‘You know Me and you know where I am from. I have not come on My own, but He who sent Me is true. You do not know Him.’” - Jesus is speaking publicly in Jerusalem, exposing the crowd’s partial knowledge: they recognize His earthly origin but remain ignorant of His heavenly Sender. - His words draw a stark line—knowing facts about Jesus is not the same as knowing the Father who sent Him. Key Verse 2: John 1:18 “No one has ever seen God; but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.” - From the very prologue of John’s Gospel, the truth is set: Jesus, eternally with the Father, perfectly reveals Him. - The invisible God becomes visible in the incarnate Son. Connecting the Dots: Jesus Reveals the Father - The crowd in John 7 had Scripture, tradition, and temple worship—yet Jesus says, “You do not know Him.” • They lacked the one essential piece: personal faith in the Son who stands before them. - John 1:18 explains why Jesus can make such a claim: He alone has seen the Father from eternity and perfectly discloses Him. - Together, the two verses teach: • Knowledge of God is not attained by lineage, intellect, or religious ritual. • It comes only through receiving and believing the One whom the Father sent (cf. John 6:29). • Rejecting Jesus equals remaining ignorant of God, no matter one’s background (cf. 1 John 2:23). Supporting Scriptures - John 14:9: “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.” - Hebrews 1:1-3: God “has spoken to us by His Son… the exact representation of His nature.” - Colossians 1:15-16: “He is the image of the invisible God… all things were created through Him and for Him.” - Matthew 11:27: “No one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” Why It Matters: Knowing God Personally - Assurance: Because Jesus “is Himself God” (John 1:18), His revelation of the Father is complete and trustworthy. - Clarity: Every attribute, promise, and command of God finds its fullest expression in Christ’s words and works. - Exclusivity: There is no alternate route to true knowledge of God outside of Jesus (Acts 4:12). Walking It Out: Practical Takeaways - Read the Gospels with the expectation that every scene unveils something about the Father’s heart. - Measure every claim about God against the character and teaching of Jesus. - Anchor worship, doctrine, and daily obedience in the certainty that to see Jesus is to see the Father (John 12:44-45). - Share the good news confidently: when people meet the Son through the Scriptures, they meet the living God Himself. |
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