What does John 14:8 mean?

After giving some dire predictions, Jesus has spoken to encourage the disciples (John 14:1–4). Thomas responded to that with a reasonable question (John 14:5), to which Jesus answered with a claim to be "the way, and the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). As part of that response, Jesus indicated that to know Him was to know the Father (John 14:7). The last phrase in Jesus' statement referred to "seeing" God. Here, Philip latches onto that idea.

What's described here is not a moment of stupidity. Philip is not being dense—Jesus referred to "knowing" God, then switched to a comment about "seeing" God. Earlier in His ministry, Jesus took three of the disciples along to see the transfiguration (Matthew 17:1–2). There, Jesus openly displayed a divine appearance. Philip was not one of those three men, so this might be his way of asking to see the same thing. Or, he might have been hoping for something like the experiences of Moses (Exodus 33:18–23) or Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1–7).

Jesus will reply with a claim that is astonishingly direct: "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9).