From the desk of Pastor Ben
The Promise of Jesus’ Return – Part 2

“The Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels.”
                                        (Matthew 16:27a)

In Scripture, the word for “glory” is often used to represent the totality of God’s nature, character, and attributes. When He came to earth as a man, His deity was hidden (Philippians 2:6-8), and there was nothing in his human appearance to mark Him as being different from other men (Isaiah 53:2). That very fact made it difficult for many Jews to acknowledge Him as the Messiah, whose divine power and glory they thought would be immediately manifest. But that was not God’s plan.

When Moses asked God, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” the Lord replied, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion” (Exodus 33:18-19). To witness God’s attributes is to have a glimpse of His glory, all that the fullness of His name implies.

The message that the Messiah would come in glory was not new. It was perhaps the messianic truth with which the Jews of that day were most familiar. Jesus now affirmed and gave a more complete perspective to that truth.

Ask Yourself:
Why do we have a desire to experience “glory”? Even those who won’t turn their hearts to receive God’s mercy and grace, who don’t value or believe in the glory of God, seek this transcendence in other ways. What does that tell us about the true need of mankind?