But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.
Parallel translations
- WEB But if I do them, though you don’t believe me, believe the works; that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”
- BSB But if I am doing them, even though you do not believe Me, believe the works themselves, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father.”
- NKJV but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.”
- NASB but if I do them, even though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.”
- NLT But if I do his work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I have done, even if you don’t believe me. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Even if they will not believe Him, Jesus urges them to believe the works, so they may know the Father is in Him and He in the Father. His miracles attest the mutual indwelling of Father and Son.
Overview
Jesus offers His works as a ladder to faith, that they might come to grasp His unity with the Father. The mutual indwelling He describes restates the truth of His deity. He patiently presses them toward belief even amid their hostility.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- John 14:20At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
- John 10:30I and my Father are one.
- John 10:25Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.
- John 14:9–11Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
- Acts 2:22Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
- John 17:21–23That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
- John 3:2The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
- John 17:11And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
- Acts 4:8–12Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,
- John 5:36But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 10:38 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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