John is sometimes called “the gospel of inquiry,”

John is sometimes called “the gospel of inquiry,” because of the number of times that someone asks a question of Jesus.  In the very first chapter, for example, two disciples start following Jesus, and eventually ask him, “Rabbi, where are you staying?”  Jesus responds with an invitation, “Come and see.”  Shortly thereafter, in chapter three, Nicodemus asks Jesus how a grown man can possibly climb back into his mother’s womb and be reborn.  In chapter four, the Samaritan woman wants to know where she can get her hands on this living water of which Jesus speaks.  In chapter five, the Pharisees and scribes question Jesus’ authority; in chapter eight, they question his interpretation of the Law; and on and on it goes—question after question after question.

But perhaps the most poignant question comes at the beginning of chapter fourteen.  It’s Maundy Thursday evening, the night before Jesus’ crucifixion, and he is trying to prepare the disciples for the fact that he is about to be arrested, convicted, and sentenced to death.  “Do not let your hearts be troubled,” he tells them.  “What do you mean by that?” the disciples must have asked themselves.  “Why wouldn’t our hearts be troubled?  You just said that you’re going to die!”

“You do not need to be afraid,” Jesus continues, “because you know the way to the place where I am going.”  To which Thomas—brave, realistic, no nonsense Thomas—blurts out, “We don’t have the slightest idea where you are going, Lord.  How can we possibly know the way?”  Jesus explains that he is the way.  And finally Philip can stand it no longer, and asks a question that must have made the rest of the disciples gasp—“Show us the Father.”

Now, granted, that’s not exactly phrased as a question.  It’s actually more of a statement, a request, a plea, maybe even a demand.  But I think, beneath all of that, there lies a question that most of us have asked at one time or another.  “What does God look like?  After all, if I can’t see God, how can I know that God is here with me?”

This is why, in a sense, Jesus’ response is directed both to Philip and to the rest of us.  “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”

Keep in mind, though, that this entire conversation occurs on the eve of the crucifixion.  Jesus is about to be betrayed, denied, abandoned, beaten, insulted, and finally killed.  But why?  To appease the righteous indignation of a just and blood-thirsty God?  I don’t think so.  I believe that the cross demonstrates just how much God loves us, and how far God is willing to go to convince us of that love.

Go back to what Jesus told Philip.  “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”  Simply put, when we look at the cross, our question of what God looks like finds its ultimate answer.  God looks like One who is willing to sacrifice his own life in order to save ours!