Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus says that his Father’s works testify to his identity. Jesus’ words are the Father’s words, and his deeds are the Father’s deeds. His story is the Father’s story.
Nature speaks of God, the philosophers say true things about God, the arts can reflect him, the lives of the saints can indicate him—but Jesus is the Icon.
We sense in this passage, if I can put it this way, the humility of the Logos. Neither the words nor the deeds of Jesus are “his own.” They are received from the Father. The Trinitarian theological tradition respects this when it speaks of the Son as the interior word of the Father and as having received everything from the Father.