John 1:18 – No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
John 6:11 – And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.
The gospel of John can be seen as exactly what John 1:18 describes; the life, teachings, and miracles of Jesus are a declaration or a revelation of God. Jesus said, “if you have seen Me you have seen the Father”. His words and actions were intended to be a constant unveiling of God. This is how Augustine describes this truth.
“Yet it is not enough to observe these things in the miracles of Christ. Let us interrogate the miracles themselves, what they tell us about Christ: for they have a tongue of their own, if they can be understood. For since Christ is Himself the Word of God, even the act of the Word is a word to us. Therefore as to this miracle, since we have heard how great it is, let us also search how profound it is; let us not only be delighted with its surface, but let us also seek to know its depth. This miracle, which we admire on the outside, has something within. We have seen, we have looked at something great, something glorious, and altogether divine, which could be performed only by God: we have praised the doer for the deed.”
So think for a moment about the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5000 people who were following Him. The scriptures said that He was moved with compassion then He healed the sick, taught them the Word, and then supernaturally provided an amazing feast right before their eyes. This is what Jesus was always doing, unveiling the very nature and glory of the Lord right before their eyes. What did this particular miracle display? It obviously declared the Lord’s goodness. The very essence of God is good and the manifestation of His goodness is displayed in this instance by providing food for the hungry. The second characteristic of the Lord put on full display is God’s power. Who can produce food for a multitude out of a little boy’s lunch? This is impossible for anyone else, only Jesus could do something like this. This miracle was an unveiling of God; it places His goodness and love for us on display and declares His mighty power in this one deed.
