John 12:45 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.

NIV: The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me.

NASB: And the one who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.

CSB: And the one who sees me sees him who sent me.

NLT: For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me.

KJV: And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.

NKJV: And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.

These words are not tied to any particular place or time, so we cannot be sure if they're a single speech, or a summary of Jesus' message in the days leading up to His arrest and crucifixion. Either way, this passage explains the final lesson given by Christ in those hours prior to His departure from the public view.

Scripture makes it clear that Jesus Christ is God; He is identical to God the Father. Here, the emphasis is on the idea that when one sees or hears from Jesus, they are also seeing and hearing God. This is why a rejection of Christ is a rejection of God (John 3:18, 36). Though people cannot see a visible form of God the Father, they can see God visibly in the form of the Son (Colossians 1:15). Those who do not see Christ for what He is are those "blinded" to the truth (2 Corinthians 4:4). This condition is one a person can bring on himself as judgment for stubborn disbelief (John 12:37–43).

As Jesus will explain to the disciples (John 14:9–10), Christ is the manifestation of God in human form. There is no other possible option for salvation (John 14:6), and no other way to be reconciled to God (Acts 4:12).

John 12:44–50 is the last public statement Jesus makes prior to His crucifixion. This is a sincere ''plea'' to the people. In relatively few words, Jesus summarizes His purpose, and states that He alone provides the means of salvation. From this point forward, Jesus will focus His efforts on preparing the disciples for what comes next. Those lessons, leading up to Jesus' arrest and crucifixion, make up the bulk of the next few chapters of the gospel of John.

Jesus is treated to an honorary dinner at the home of Lazarus, whom He has recently raised from death. At this dinner, Lazarus' sister, Mary, anoints Jesus with expensive oil. Jesus then enters Jerusalem to great fanfare, stoking fears that His popularity will attract the anger of the Roman Empire. That anger even inspires a murder plot against Lazarus. After being approached by non-Jewish seekers, Jesus offers a final plea for people to understand His ministry. In effect, these are the last public words spoken by Jesus in the gospel of John.

In the prior chapter, Jesus spectacularly raised Lazarus from death in front of a crowd of witnesses. This inspired local religious leaders to commit to having Him killed. Here, after a celebratory dinner where Jesus is anointed with oil, He will fulfill prophecy by riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, celebrated with shouts of ''Hosanna'' and a massive crowd. This leads to a group of curious non-Jews approaching Him. Christ then offers a final plea for belief in Him and His message. After this, His ministry will turn to preparing the disciples for His impending death and resurrection. The next several chapters of the gospel of John are almost entirely made up of his teachings to these men.

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls “signs”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.