4 "And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”9 Jesus said to him, “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’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves."
John 14:4-11
Jesus' words in 7a are parallel to those in lb, and we should see the stupendous claim that He is making in so identifying Himself with the Father. Philip's confused question in 8 makes it clear that Jesus must spell this out to the bewildered disciple, and this He proceeds to do in 9. What Philip meant, of course, was that he wanted some kind of theophany, such as given to Moses at the burning bush. But Jesus wanted him to realise that he had been given something infinitely more satisfying and convincing did he but know it. 'He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father', He said (cf. 1 John 1-1 - the apostles certainly 'got the message' later on, after Pentecost!). These are words that can, and ought to be pressed as far as they can be. It is as if John were saying to us, 'Think of Jesus cleansing the lepers, pardoning the fallen, having compassion on the multitudes, healing the sick, raising the dead - that is what God is like. Think of Him - and you're through to the Father'. This is the import of Jesus' words. It is significant also that in 11 Jesus is referring Philip and the disciples to the twofold testimony that we have seen right through John - His words and works. This is the consistent emphasis throughout - the appeal for faith and belief on the ground of Jesus' words and works. And it is true faith that sees that this is a much more substantial ground of belief than any kind of theophany however striking and convincing.