If someone were to ask us whether we know someone, we could answer yes or no without hesitation. That’s because we think we know what it means to know someone, that is, until someone asks us what it means to know anything, let alone someone in particular. Then, we are hard pressed to come up with a general explanation that fits the bill. We often think we know someone because we know things about that person. We know their name; we can pick them out of a crowd; we know where they live and where they work. Then, they do or say something that makes us realize we don’t really know them at all.
This was the experience of those who were with Jesus as he taught in the temple. They thought they knew Jesus because they recognized him and knew things about him. They knew his name and where he was from. They even knew that the Jewish authorities had rejected him as the expected Christ, and for that reason, wanted to kill him. These were things that the people knew about Jesus until he did the unexpected. Then, they realized they did not know him at all.
Jesus exposed their lack of knowledge by pointing out what they didn’t know. They didn’t know, for example, that he was sent by God and therefore his mission was of divine origin. Even worse, they didn’t even know God the Father. Thus, they did not know the truth about their own destiny. Because they did not know Jesus, they wanted to arrest him.
If the many who saw and heard Jesus in the temple did not really know him, how do we, who ordinarily have never seen or heard Jesus, know him? Thomas and Phillip expressed a similar concern at the Last Supper. After the meal, Jesus informed the disciples that he was leaving to prepare a place for them. Thomas wanted to know where he was going and how to get there. We know the response of Jesus.
Jesus says to Thomas that following him is the way to the Father. In fact, following Jesus is the only way because no one comes to the Father except through Jesus (Jn14:6-7). Phillip remains skeptical. He presses Jesus further and wants to see the Father as proof positive. Show us the Father and that will be enough, he says to Jesus. Jesus makes it plain to Phillip that anyone who sees Jesus sees the Father (Jn 14:8-9).
All of which shows us that we get to know Jesus in the same way we get to know anyone. We encounter Jesus. We meditate on the gospels. We spend time with him, listen to him, try to understand him, what he is about, and what he expects from us. In our encounter, we reveal ourselves to Jesus. We tell him our hopes, our dreams, our fears, and we ask him questions, just like we would with our closest friend. Peter makes exactly this point when he tells us to cast all of our cares on God because God cares for us (1 PT 5:7).
We have help from the Holy Spirit, who speaks to us in a special way through prayer, scripture, and sacrament (Jn 14:26). We also come to know Jesus through those we encounter in our daily lives—friend and foe alike—but especially through his other beloved children who follow his way. We come to know Jesus perhaps best during those private moments of personal encounter and conversation with him. Knowing Jesus is to become his friend. We can be sure that he then makes known to us, his friends, all that he has heard from his Father (Jn 15:15).
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