Behold Glimpses Of His Glory
Emphasis: Beholding Jesus
Attribute: Glory
Theme: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory…)” — John 1:14 (KJV)
There is a word scattered throughout the King James Bible that I have come to love: Behold.
We don’t use it much anymore. Many modern translations replace it with words like look or see. But behold carries a weight that simply saying “look” doesn’t seem to capture.
To behold is more than allowing your eyes to pass over something. It is to stop, look intently, perceive what is before you, and take it in with wonder and awe.
And throughout Scripture, when God says “Behold,” we should probably stop and pay attention.
Emphasis — Behold Him
Hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, Isaiah declared:
“Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” — Isaiah 7:14 (KJV)
Don’t rush past this.
Behold.
Look at what God is about to do.
Then, at the appointed time in history, the prophecy became flesh.
John writes:
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory…)” — John 1:14 (KJV)
The God who seemed far away came near.
The eternal Word took on flesh and dwelt among us, and John says, “We beheld his glory.”
They didn’t merely see Jesus.
They beheld Him.
Attribute — Glory
At the birth of Christ, shepherds were going about an ordinary night in an ordinary field when heaven interrupted their routine.
“Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy…” — Luke 2:10 (KJV)
Behold.
Something glorious was happening right in the middle of the ordinary.
Later, Peter, James, and John followed Jesus up a mountain. There He was transfigured before them, and Matthew 17:3 says, “And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.”
Mark tells us that when the people later saw Jesus, “straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed.” — Mark 9:15 (KJV)
There are moments when the Holy Spirit seems to clean a little spot on the glass and allows us to see Jesus more clearly.
Maybe that is what I don’t want to miss.
I don’t want to become so busy, so hurried, or so trapped in routine that God reveals His glory and I walk right past it.
Beholding in the Ordinary
Matthew 18:10 gives us another fascinating glimpse. Jesus speaks about little ones and says:
“Their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.”
What must that be like?
To behold the face of the Father continually.
We may not experience that fullness yet, but God gives us glimpses of His glory along the way. Sometimes those glimpses come during worship or prayer. Sometimes while reading Scripture. Sometimes they come in an ordinary conversation, a quiet morning, a sunset, an answered prayer, or a moment when a familiar Scripture suddenly becomes alive.
The glory was there.
But this time, you stopped long enough to behold it.
Behold Him Even in the Waiting
Acts 1 gives us another remarkable moment. Jesus had finished speaking to His disciples when “while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.” — Acts 1:9 (KJV)
Then, “while they looked stedfastly toward heaven,” suddenly two men in white apparel stood beside them.
They were beholding.
They were watching intently.
And heaven met them there.
You can live your life today in the middle of responsibilities, uncertainty, noise, and everything happening around you and still be beholding Him in a way others may completely miss.
Behold the Lion
Then we come to Revelation 5.
John is caught up in the weight of what he is seeing. He weeps because no one worthy can be found to open the book.
Then one of the elders speaks:
“Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed…” — Revelation 5:5 (KJV)
John is told, essentially, Stop weeping for a moment and look again.
Behold.
The answer was there.
The Victor was there.
The Lion had prevailed.
And sometimes I wonder how much glory we miss because we are so consumed by what is happening around us that we never look again.
Maybe the invitation of Scripture is still the same:
Behold.
Slow down.
Look again.
Pay attention.
The Holy Spirit is still revealing Jesus.
Life Application
There are glimpses of His glory available along the way, but we have to slow down enough to notice them.
Don’t become so hurried that you only read Scripture without beholding the One it reveals. Don’t become so accustomed to worship that you sing without looking toward the One you’re worshiping. Don’t become so overwhelmed by circumstances that all you can behold is the problem in front of you.
Ask the Holy Spirit to clear a spot on the glass.
“Lord, let me see Jesus more clearly.”
You may discover that His glory has been present in places you considered ordinary all along.
Prayer
Father, slow my heart enough to behold You. Open my eyes to the glory of Jesus in Your Word and in the ordinary moments of my life. Holy Spirit, clear away whatever keeps me from seeing Him clearly. When life becomes loud, teach me to look again. May I never become so familiar with Your presence that I fail to stand in awe of Your glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.
