Glory, in Israel’s story, is the radiant nearness of God—His presence so weighty, so alive, that human beings trembled before it as it both dazzled and unsettled. However, in Israel’s darkest moment, Moses pleaded, “Show me your glory” (Exodus 33:18). God replied, “I will make all my goodness pass before you.” Then He proclaimed His own name—“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness… forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Exodus 34:6–7). In this revelation, glory is not defined by terrifying power but by God’s goodness, His covenant mercy, and faithful love that never lets go.

In Jesus, John now sees that same glory—yet in a deeper, fuller form. In Jesus, the only Son, the Father’s glory shines through a lowly human life. When John says the Son is “full of grace and truth,” he is deliberately echoing Exodus 34. The Lord who revealed Himself to Moses as “abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” now reveals Himself definitively in Jesus. What Moses glimpsed from the cleft of the rock, John sees in the daily movements of Jesus—touching the unclean, welcoming the forgotten, speaking life into weary souls.

Furthermore, the Truth, seen in Jesus, is not abstract correctness but God’s unwavering faithfulness brought to completion. In him, God keeps every covenant promise. 

We can now say, with confidence, that to behold Jesus, is to gaze on THE revelation of  the God who has always been merciful, steadfast, and faithful. In Him we see the glory our hearts were made to long for.