And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.
Parallel translations
- WEB The Father himself, who sent me, has testified about me. You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form.
- BSB And the Father who sent Me has Himself testified about Me. You have never heard His voice nor seen His form,
- NKJV And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.
- NASB And the Father who sent Me, He has testified about Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.
- NLT And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself. You have never heard his voice or seen him face to face,
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
The Father himself testifies about Jesus, yet they have never heard his voice or seen his form. Their unbelief shows estrangement from God.
Overview
Jesus claims the Father's own testimony, but his hearers' rejection proves they do not truly know God. Their failure to perceive the Father's witness exposes their spiritual blindness. To reject the Son is evidence of having no real relationship with the Father.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- John 8:18I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.
- Matt 3:17And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
- John 1:18No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
- 1 Tim 1:17Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
- 1 Jn 4:20If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
- 1 Tim 6:16Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.
- 1 Jn 4:12No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
- John 14:9Jesus 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?
- Deut 4:12And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.
- Matt 17:5While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
- Exod 20:19And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
- John 6:27Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
- 1 Jn 1:1–2That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
- John 15:24If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 5:37 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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