To exhibit (in person) or disclose (by words)
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ἐμφανίζω means to manifest, exhibit, or disclose, to make visible or evident what was hidden. " Judas (not Iscariot) immediately asks the natural question in John 14:22: why will Jesus manifest himself to the disciples and not to the world?
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Full entry for ἐμφανίζω (G1718) · Open the biblical lexicon
ἐμφανίζω means to manifest, exhibit, or disclose, to make visible or evident what was hidden. " Judas (not Iscariot) immediately asks the natural question in John 14:22: why will Jesus manifest himself to the disciples and not to the world?
The BSB source-word alignment has 10 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include presented their case (2), appeared (1), petition (1), presented (1), reveal (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 27:53. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (5), Hebrews (2), John (2), Matthew (1).
ἐμφανίζω means to manifest, exhibit, or disclose, to make visible or evident what was hidden. John 14:21 uses it for Jesus' promise to the obedient disciple: "The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him." Judas (not Iscariot) immediately asks the natural question in John 14:22: why will Jesus manifest himself to the disciples and not to the world?
The word describes something more intimate than a future public appearance; John's Gospel elsewhere reserves resurrection appearances and final judgment for wider audiences, so this self-manifestation is tied specifically to love and obedience, a relational disclosure rather than a general revelation. Teachers should keep the promise conditioned exactly as Jesus states it: tied to keeping his commandments out of love, not to any other qualification the text does not supply.
John 14:21-22 answers a question every disciple eventually asks in some form: why doesn't Jesus make himself unmistakably, publicly obvious to everyone? The text's answer is not evasive; it redirects the question. John's Gospel consistently ties knowledge of Jesus to obedient love rather than to unconditioned spectacle (John 7:17; 8:31-32), and the promised self-manifestation of John 14:21 continues that pattern, offering intimate disclosure to the obedient disciple rather than a public display to the watching world.
Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
John 14:21 records Jesus' promise that the one who loves him and keeps his commandments will receive his self-disclosure: 'I will love him and reveal Myself to him.'
Judas (not Iscariot) asked Him, “Lord, why are You going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?”
Judas' question in John 14:22, 'why are You going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world,' shows the first disciples themselves recognized this as a distinct, limited kind of disclosure rather than a public spectacle.
Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
Jesus answers the question in John 14:23 by promising that he and the Father will come and make their home with the one who loves him, tying the self-manifestation to ongoing relational presence rather than a single visible event.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. To manifest or disclose something directly, whether by personal appearance or explicit declaration to someone.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
10 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I make visible, report against, appear before
Read verseI make visible, report against, appear before
Read verseI make visible, report against, appear before
Read verseI make visible, report against, appear before
Read verseI make visible, report against, appear before
Read verseI make visible, report against, appear before
Read verseI make visible, report against, appear before
Read verseI make visible, report against, appear before
Read verseI make visible, report against, appear before
Read verseI make visible, report against, appear before
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
How this verb appears across 10 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
ἐμφανίζω is built from this root:
John 14:21-22 answers a question every disciple eventually asks in some form: why doesn't Jesus make himself unmistakably, publicly obvious to everyone? The text's answer is not evasive; it redirects the question. Self-manifestation in this discourse is relational, tied to love expressed through obedience, and it results in an ongoing indwelling presence (John 14:23) rather than a one-time spectacle.
Preachers can use this word to describe Christian assurance honestly: not as constant, unmistakable sensory proof available to any observer, but as a real, promised disclosure to those who keep loving and obeying Jesus over time. This word opens a teaching doorway on how Jesus makes himself known: not through public spectacle but through an ongoing, relational disclosure promised specifically to the disciple who loves him by keeping his commandments.
It equips teachers to address honest questions about why faith is not always accompanied by unmistakable, public proof. It corrects the expectation that Jesus' self-disclosure should look like public spectacle available to any observer, when the text ties it specifically to obedient love and ongoing relational presence. Frame ἐμφανίζω as an intimate, relational disclosure conditioned on love and obedience, not as a general or public revelation Jesus promises to all observers.
John.14.21
Frame ἐμφανίζω as an intimate, relational disclosure conditioned on love and obedience, not as a general or public revelation Jesus promises to all observers. Linguistically, ἐμφανίζω should be allowed to name to manifest, disclose, show plainly without carrying claims the cited passages do not make.
John's Gospel consistently ties knowledge of Jesus to obedient love rather than to unconditioned spectacle (John 7:17; 8:31-32), and the promised self-manifestation of John 14:21 continues that pattern, offering intimate disclosure to the obedient disciple rather than a public display to the watching world.
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