12:44 believes in me . . . him who sent me. The close relationship of Jesus with the Father (cf. 17:21–23) is stressed in three respects: to believe in Christ is to believe in the Father; to see Christ is to see the Father (v. 45); to hear Christ is to hear the Father (v. 50). On the other hand, rejection of Christ and His words is also a rejection of the Father and His words. This rejection results in judgment, although the leading purpose of Christ’s incarnation was the salvation of His own and not the condemnation of those who do not believe.