Why did Jesus hide his glory?
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| English: Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
(Matt. 16:16).
As we reflect on the glory of Christ, we cannot do so without considering the glorious confession of His true identity in Caesarea Philippi. Jesus’ glory had been hidden from the world, a glory that He had possessed for all eternity and shared with the Father. But, while veiled, that glory was manifested at various times during Jesus’ life—and, of course, after His death when He walked among His followers as the resurrected Christ and then ascended into heaven as Lord and King.
One particular manifestation of Jesus’ glory before the resurrection and ascension was in Philipi, not far from Mount Hermon. Jesus’ public ministry had been dwindling as the crowds became frustrated and bitter that He would not rally as the revolutionary they so desperately wanted. And for Jesus Himself, the shadow of the cross was growing longer. The time was quickly approaching when He would have to endure a tortuous separation from His Father.
It was amid these circumstances and anticipations that Jesus’ glory was momentarily revealed—and it came in the confession of Peter. Jesus asked, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” In a sense, the glory of Christ was revealed by the very self-designation He used: Son of Man. This had its roots in the Old Testament prophet Daniel who described the Son of Man as a divine being (Dan. 7:13–14). Jesus was, therefore, giving a hint to His identity—that it was heavenly. Another way of putting His question could have been: “Who do people think that I, the King of Glory, am?”
Peter’s confession, then, adds even more to the picture. Not only is Jesus the King of Glory, but He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. We must not assume from this confession that Peter and the others really understood the full glory that had been revealed. But we can know that this confession was revealed from God Himself, and that through it Peter was blessed. Jesus proclaimed that Peter was blessed because he had received a glimpse of the glorious character of Jesus. When we apprehend even a portion of Jesus’ glory, we receive a glorious blessing from God.
As you grow in your knowledge of Christ’s character, how does your attitude toward Him change? How should it change?
