This starts a discourse by Jesus as to His unity with the Father, His authority, and the proof of His claims to deity and Messiahship. Barclay points out that, “He must have known that to speak like this was to court death.  It is His claim to be King; and He knew well that the man who listened to words like this had only two alternatives – the listener must either accept Jesus as the Son of God, or he must hate Him as a blasphemer and seek to destroy Him. There is hardly any passage where Jesus appeals for men’s love and defies men’s hatred as He does here.”

“I tell you the truth” = “Verily, verily” (KJV) = an attention getter from the One Who is the truth.

“The Son” = a definitive assertion of His divinity.  He is not just “a son” of God; He is THE Son of God.

Jesus paints a picture of a son apprenticed to his father’s trade. He watches his father at work and then does everything as he sees his father do it.  The boy does not try to do things on his own and the loving father does not keep any secrets of his trade from his son.

“what he sees” = the Son is continually contemplating the Father; there is continuous communication between the two.  Because of this, and the perfect union of nature between the Father and the Son, Jesus does the same things the Father is doing.  Jesus does not do the same things as the Father because He is copying Him; it is because Jesus is God.  Since the union is so complete, every action, every word, every thought of Jesus is an expression of God. Augustine compares their relationship to that of the flame of a candle and the light it gives off.  “Show me the flame without light, and I show thee God the Father without Son.” The implication for us is that if we want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. (#John 14:9)

Joh 14:9  Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

Jesus claims unity with God and yet says of Himself that He is humble in heart (#Mt 11:29). Either He is what He says He is or He is crazy, a liar and a blasphemer. There is no middle ground. Either Jesus is God, the Son, and we should heed His every word, or He is the greatest liar ever and should be totally disregarded. He can not be just a “good man who did good things” as some believe and He can not be just a “great prophet” as the Muslims believe.

Mt 11:29  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.