And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself. You have never heard his voice or seen him face to face,
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.
- KJV 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.
- 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.
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 who testifies about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me.”
- Matt 3:17Behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
- John 1:18No one has seen God at any time. The one and only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him.
- 1 Tim 1:17Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
- 1 Jn 4:20If a man says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who doesn’t love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
- 1 Tim 6:16who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and eternal power. Amen.
- 1 Jn 4:12No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love has been perfected in us.
- John 14:9Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’
- Deut 4:12Yahweh spoke to you out of the middle of the fire: you heard the voice of words, but you saw no form; you only heard a voice.
- Matt 17:5While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.”
- Exod 20:19They said to Moses, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don’t let God speak with us, lest we die.”
- John 6:27Don’t work for the food which perishes, but for the food which remains to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has sealed him.”
- 1 Jn 1:1–2That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we saw, and our hands touched, concerning the Word of life
- John 15:24If I hadn’t done among them the works which no one else did, they wouldn’t have had sin. But now have they seen and also 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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