John 8: 19-20
“Then they asked him, “Where is your father?’
“You do not know me or my Father,’ Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.’ He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.”
Jesus was raised by Joseph, but Joseph was not Jesus’ biological father. In a sense, Joseph was a “stepfather” to Jesus. However, it would probably be more accurate to say that Joseph was a “stand-in father” because God picked him to “stand in” for Him in raising His Son.
The Pharisees, of course, saw Jesus only through worldly eyes. When Jesus started his ministry his stand-in father, Joseph, had already passed on to be with God, Jesus’ Heavenly Father. The Pharisees, with their earthly eyes, only saw a man whose earthly father was no longer alive (if they even knew that much).
Jesus, of course, knows who his real Father is. He is not the least confused about the matter. Unlike the Pharisees, Jesus sees with spiritual eyes and can see both his Father and the hearts of men, including the Pharisees.
Q: How do we know the Father by knowing Jesus?