John 14:7

John 14:7 evgnw,kate, me {C}

The reading adopted by a majority of the Committee here and in the following set of variants involves a promise: “If you have come to know me [as in fact you do], you shall know my Father also.” Despite the harmony between this statement and the rest of ver. John 14:7, another interpretation of Jesus’ words gained wide currency, this one a reproach: “If you had come to know me [which, alas, you do not], you would have knowledge of my Father also.” The latter construction (a condition contrary to fact) seems to have arisen either because copyists recalled Jesus’ reproach against unbelieving Jews in John 8:19 or because Philip’s question (ver. John 14:8) and Jesus’ reply (ver. John 14:9) suggested to them that the disciples knew neither Jesus nor the Father.

[The purpose of the Evangelist as well as the laws of textual development have been misunderstood. If a negative and a positive statement about the Apostles stand side by side in the textual tradition, the positive one is usually the later. K.A.]