John 1:18 NLT‬
[18] “No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.”

In our focus on Jesus’ saving work on the cross, we sometimes miss one of the great reasons for His coming to earth. Jesus often testified to this purpose.

In His answer to Philip’s request…

‭John 14:8 NLT‬
[8] Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”

… He makes it clear that He is the visible, personal, and perfect replica of the Father.

‭John 14:9-11 NLT‬
[9] “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! So why are you asking me to show him to you? [10] Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. [11] Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.”

The writer to the Hebrews echoes Jesus’ words,

‭Hebrews 1:3 NLT‬
[3]” The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command…”

Why was it so necessary for God to come in person to demonstrate to His people what He is really like?

Centuries of rebellion, disobedience, and punishment shaped God’s people’s thinking to view God as an angry disciplinarian. Hence, over the years, Jewish rabbis developed laws to protect God’s laws against His people inadvertantly breaking His laws. They laid heavy and unnecessary burdens on God’s people to “help” them obey God’s instructions.

When Jesus began His public ministry, He clashed with the religious leaders because they used these “laws” to control the people. They refused to believe that God is a merciful and loving Father. They despised Jesus for mixing with the outcasts of society, for eating with “sinners”, for healing on the Sabbath, and for generally being a loving, caring, merciful, and generous person.

They were incensed when He spoke of God as His Father because they refused to believe that God was so “nice”. They accused Him of blasphemy and eventually had Him killed for this charge. They fought to retain their hold over the people because of the position they held and the honour, respect and money they received from their “subjects”.

John recorded only seven of Jesus’ miracles, which he called signs, because he wanted his readers to examine the evidence these signs presented to confirm that Jesus is the Son of God. Each sign concluded with individuals or groups of people believing in Him. The purpose of John’s book was to provide evidence that Jesus is the Son of God so the his readers would believe in Him.

‭John 20:30-31 NLT‬
[30] “The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. [31] But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.”

There is more than enough evidence in the gospel records to provide the answer to Jesus’ question,

‭Matthew 16:15 NLT‬
[15] Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

If we believe that the Bible is the Word of God, then there can only be one answer, and we must say, with Peter,

‭Matthew 16:16 NLT‬
[16] “Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

That’s the key to receiving Him (John 1:12) and with our confession, we participate in God’s rescue plan in all its glorious facets.

‭Romans 10:9-10 NLT‬
[9]”If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. [10] For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.”

Jesus forever clinched His revelation of the true nature of the Father by giving Himself as an atoning sacrifice for sin, forever confirming that the Father is, in eseence, love. That love underpins everything He says and does to draw us to Himself and to fulfill every promise He has ever made. That love reveals His mercy and benefits us freely (without a cause) because He is who He says He is.

‭1 John 4:9-10 NLT‬
[9] “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. [10] This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”

The onus is on us to examine the evidence, to believe the evidence, and to confess and submit to Jesus because He is who He said He is.