14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
It is no small thing for God to become flesh. Philippians 2:6-7 sheds light on Jesus’ incarnation: “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” How does God become fully man while retaining his full divinity? How does corporeal flesh interact physiologically with godly attributes? How does God’s attributes interact spiritually with corporeal flesh?
These are questions that currently have no answers. God has not yet divulged the technical specifics on the incarnation of Christ. Paul’s letter to the Philippians explains what happened when Jesus incarnated. He was born in the likeness of men. This, however, may not satisfy our inquiry into the science behind the incarnation. We can only conclude that God was purposefully cryptic about these details. And if God was cryptic through Paul in Philippians 2:6-7, he was more so through John in John 1:14.
Perhaps part of the reason for this is because we do not have the mental capacity to understand such a phenomenon. Speculation aside, we definitively know that God does not want us to be centrally consumed with the “how” but rather the “why.” In our passage today, it is clear that one of the reasons for the incarnation was so that people like John could witness God’s glory. The word for “glory” (Greek: δόξα) also means “honour” or “splendor.” There is no shortage of Biblical passages that proclaim God as glorious. There is, however, one passage in scripture that can be singled out. It is likely that John had in mind Exodus 33-34 as he wrote verse fourteen.
After the Israelites had escaped slavery in Egypt by the mercy of God, Moses climbed Mount Sinai to meet with the Lord. There Moses prayed for his people. In doing so, God was pleased with him. Desiring more of God, Moses asked if he could see God’s glory. In response, God said to him:
“I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live. Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.” (Exodus 33:19-23)
It is impossible to be apathetic about God’s glory when it is revealed. Glory can be experienced when one is victorious in a basketball game or in the battlefield. But the glories we experience in this world are crude in comparison to God’s. God’s glory is weighty. None can experience it and not be changed. Moses only saw God’s posterior and came away with shining skin (Exodus 34:29, 35). And because our depravity removes us so far from his holiness, the full extent of his glory would crush us.
God was merciful to Moses. But he is merciful to us, too. And he does not just allow his glory to pass us by like he did with Moses. His glory was manifested in Jesus. The Father sent his Son. Why? “Grace,” in our study verse, is understood Hebraically as “loving-kindness.” In other words, the Father sent his Son because he loves us. Jesus’ incarnation made way for his “death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8). In other words, his incarnation was required so that he could die. In that death, he saves us to God (1 Peter 3:18).
Glory that could kill us was used to save us. Such a remarkable truth should not be ignored.
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