The Glory of Jesus
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 (Also Read the Transfiguration Account, Luke 9:28-36)
We are drawn to glorious things. We love majestic mountains, ornate mansions, large firework displays, powerful militaries, and championship teams. Perhaps we are drawn to such glorious things because our lives often seem so inglorious and so common. We get up at the same time every morning to start the same coffee maker. We work in the same office with the same people as we have for the last decade. We eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch at school…again. We age, slow down, and see our death-day draw closer with each breath. We long for something more glorious than our seemingly common everyday life.
With that in mind, we are not surprised to hear Peter’s reaction when he saw Jesus radiating in glory on the Mount of Transfiguration. “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (Matthew 17:4) Peter had seen Jesus do many things: raising the dead, feeding the 5,000, calming a storm, and even walking on water. In all those things, though, Jesus looked like an average Jewish man in his early 30’s. But here, on the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter saw glory – glory that he did not want to end.
As we see Jesus radiating in glory before making our way into the season of Lent, we want to meditate on “The Glory of Jesus.” And the first thing we note is that the glory of which Peter was in awe on that mountain was glory that always belonged to Jesus as the Son of God. Jesus is the Word who was with God and was God from eternity. His glory is so great that angels cover their faces and their feet as they worship Him. May we be drawn to His glory and with the holy angels worship Him.
Dear Jesus, eternal Son of God, help us to see Your glory and worship You for Your great goodness in laying aside Your glory to save us. Amen.