“…who being the brightness of His glory…” (Hebrews 1:3).
The claims of Jesus and the New Testament writers are audacious. If they are not true, they are vile and blasphemous. If they are true, they demand reverence and continuous obedience. There is no “safe” middle ground. The claim of Jesus being the brightness of God’s glory is one such claim.
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments, the skin of his face shone because of his time spent with Jehovah (Exodus 34:29-35). The brightness of his face was not inherent, it was acquired and did not remain forever.
No so with Jesus. His glory is inherent (John 17:5). It was veiled by His incarnation. On the mount of transfiguration, Peter, James, and John enjoyed a momentary revelation of Christ’s innate glory and majesty (2 Peter 1:16-18). His face shone like the sun and His clothes became glistening (Luke 9:29), white as the light (Matthew 17:2)/exceedingly white like snow (Mark 9:3).
This is credible, trustworthy proof that although “no one has seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (John 1:18).
Like all the others, this audacious claim is true; therefore, Jesus merits your reverence and continuous obedience.
