DECEMBER 20
JOHN 1:1–18

Jesus is the glory of God in the flesh.

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Luella and I split our time between Philadelphia and Southern
California because we have children and grandchildren on
both coasts. When we are on the West Coast, we see gorgeous
sunsets. One evening, as we were leaving our son’s house, I was
stopped in my tracks by a sunset of incredible glory. The beauty
painted across the heavens captivated me. I stood silent, enthralled
by this natural display. I wanted to capture the moment, so I got

out my phone and started taking pictures, but all I got was disap-
pointment. None of my pictures came close to capturing the glory

that I was taking in. Soon the sunset glory began to shift and fade,
and before long it was gone. For a brief moment, God had poured
glory down on us. What we saw that night was a brief, fading
reminder of his eternal glory. Reigning over heaven and earth is a
God of indescribable glory. He graces us with glimpses of his glory
so that we will be in awe of his presence and offer him the worship
of our hearts.
We find a glory display in the beginning of the Gospel of John
that is infinitely brighter and more beautiful than any sunset. John
captures in words a moment in history when God displayed his
glory like never before. Words pile upon words as John records
God’s stunning glory on earth, for human eyes to see:
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. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he
of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because
he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received,

grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and
truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the
only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
(John 1:14–18)
God has come to earth in the person of Jesus. Like the presence
of God in the Old Testament tabernacle, Jesus pitches his tent with
us, so we might see his glory. He is the grace of God in the flesh.
He is truth. He is the final fulfillment of all the Old Testament’s

redemptive promises. Just as the Law of Moses reveals God’s char-
acter and his righteous requirements, so Jesus reveals to us the

magnitude of his mercy. The Son of God has come to earth because
God wants to be known by us.
All of history had been marching to this moment. A sin-broken
world had been longing for this one to come. Fully man and fully
God, Jesus would do what we could never do for ourselves: make
a way, in his life and death, for us to be recognized by God. Stop
today for a moment and take in the glory.

Prayer

O majestic Lord, how great is your glory, and the glory of your Son!
What wonder that he would take on human flesh to dwell among
sinners. What glorious revelation of your character and righteous
requirements in his perfect life and sacrificial death. May I never
lose a sense of wonder and awe at the gospel of your Son. He is my
only comfort, my only hope. I ask this in his name, amen.