They were in the Upper Room. It was nearing the time of His crucifixion. They were away from the world in the quiet of these intimate moments. And because He was soon to depart from them, in order to comfort their troubled hearts, Jesus gave His disciples this promise.
“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
John 14:3
At one point Philip jumps in and requests the Lord that He would show them the Father and that would suffice. Jesus’ response was poignant.
“Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”
John 14:9
They had seen Jesus. And to see the Son was to see the Father.
“No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.”
John 1:18
“I and the Father are one.”
John 10:30
Jesus, the eternal Son, had become incarnate, literally taking on human flesh.
“And the Word became flesh…”
John 1:14
…”being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form…”
Philippians 2:7-8
So the Jesus the disciples saw was not in His full glory. His glory was veiled.
“Veiled in flesh the Godhead see.”
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
In His great High Priestly prayer(John 17), Jesus makes an astonishing request near the beginning that reveals this veiling during His first coming.
“And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.”
John 17:5
This clearly shows the Deity of Christ because he possessed this glory “before the world existed.” But it also reveals that God was veiled in the flesh because Christ simply asked the Father here to glorify Him with the glory he had, past tense. Here on earth during His incarnate state His glory was veiled in flesh.
His disciples Peter, James and John did get a glimpse of this at the Mount of Transfiguration when Moses(representing the Law) and Elijah(representing the prophets) appeared and were talking to Him.
“And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.”
Matthew 17:2
So at His first coming, His glory was veiled. But at His second coming, His glory will not be veiled, but will be on full display.
“Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”
Matthew 24:30
During this Christmas season, will the words of the well-know Christmas tune only be lip service or will this be your first Christmas where you can sing from your heart?
“Hail the Incarnate Deity”
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
