A Glimpse of His Glory

“This act in Cana of Galilee was the first sign Jesus gave, the first glimpse of his glory. And his disciples believed in him.“ – Vs 11 MSG

Chapter two of the book of John records Jesus’ first miracle: His turning of the water into wine at the wedding in Cana. John says, “This act in Cana of Galilee was the first sign Jesus gave.” And in doing so, He manifested His glory. He made visible or exposed to view who He was – the Son of God in all His glory. His miracles or signs were less about the events themselves than about the One behind them. We get caught up in the wonder of how Jesus could turn plain, ordinary water into wine. But John is emphasizing the miracles as a sign of Jesus uniqueness. Remember chapter one? He is the Word incarnate. He is the Light of the world. He is the Lamb of God. He is the Messiah. The Chosen One of God. And this first miracle is a sign that proves He is all those things and more.

His miracle was a revelation of His glory. The Greek word for glory is doxa and it means “magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity, and grace.” What Jesus did that day revealed His essential deity. Though He appeared to be just a man to those around Him, Jesus was in fact completely God in human form. He was the God-man. His turning of the water into wine was a glimpse of His creative capabilities as Creator of the universe. Every miracle He did was a subtle revealing of His divinity. He made high-quality wine out of ordinary water. That act displayed His glory.

John records that as a result of what Jesus DID, His disciples believed. Did they know exactly what it was they were believing? Did they know exactly who there were dealing with? Probably not. Ever after a lot of years and a lot of miracles  the disciples still wrestled with just who Jesus was. They knew He was someone special, but they were not completely sure of just who it was they were following. But we can sometimes struggle with the same thing. We can end up seeing Jesus one particular way and lose sight of the glimpses of His glory all around us. We can concentrate on Jesus the man and take our eyes off His divinity. We can look right past His glory. His magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity, and grace. May we daily get a glimpse of His glory and believe in Him.

Father, give us a glimpse of Jesus today. May we see His glory in the everyday affairs of life. Let us be amazed at His unabashed divinity and power. And as a result, may we believe in Him more than ever. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org