(sixth century). . In the first of three individualised conversations in this chapter, Jesus speaks with
Thomas. :
Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" Plummer notes that they were in Jerusalem, "the royal city of the conquering
Messiah", so the disciples may have thought they were in the place where Jesus would be "to restore the kingdom to Israel".
Verse 6 :
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." The phrase "The Way" is also found in and as a term to describe the
early church. The pronoun is emphatic: it implies "I and no other". a preference noted by Plummer and the
Revised Standard Version.
Verse 7 :[Jesus said to Thomas:]
"If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him". The words translated as "know" or "known" in verse 7 are ἐγνώκειτέ (
egnōkate) and γινώσκετε (
ginōskete) in the first and third occurrences, coming from the verb , (
ginóskó, to come to know, recognize, perceive) whereas the second occurrence translates the (
ēdeite), coming from the (
eidó: be aware, behold, consider, perceive), although the Textus Receptus has words derived from γινώσκω in all three instances. Ellicott explains that the words "are not identical in meaning. The former means,
to know by observation, the latter
to know by reflection. It is the difference between
connaître and
savoir [in French]; between
kennen ("ken, k(e)now"), and
wissen ("wit, wisdom") [in German]". Philip, who had said to
Nathaniel in , "Come and see", takes over the dialogue from Thomas: :
Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us. (John 14:8). He still wants to see a further revelation, thinking that Jesus still has to show them a vision of God which has not yet been made visible. Jesus comments that He has been with His disciples (,
hymōn - plural) for "such a long time" () - Philip was one of the first disciples to follow Jesus - "and yet you (
singular) have not known Me". Jesus speaks first to Philip, alone, "Do you not believe ..." (οὐ πιστεύεις,
ou pisteueis - singular) and then to
the eleven as a group, "Believe me ..." (πιστεύετέ,
pisteuete - plural). Plummer explains that "the English obliterates the fact that Christ now turns from S. Philip and addresses all the eleven": :''Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake'' (John 14:11). John has previously referred to Jesus' works as His witness and a sign of His authority ( and ) but Jesus adds here: :
He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father (John 14:12).
Lutheran theologian Harold Buls suggests that the "greater works" involve "send[ing] out the message of eternal life in great streams" to the
gentiles, being the message which Jesus had only given to the Jews. ==Prayer (verses 12-14)==