Luke 21 | Pleased to Dwell
“And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory,” Luke 21:27
I love looking at the clouds—the big, fluffy white ones against a blue sky, but also the dramatic, dark ones that gather before a storm. They bring a sense of awe and anticipation, don’t they?
Clouds have a special purpose in the Bible. Besides being made of water, they often contain something far more spectacular—the presence and glory of God:
- When God led the Israelites through the wilderness, He went before them in a pillar of cloud during the day (Exodus 13:21).
- When God met Moses to give him the law, He came down in a cloud on the mountain (Exodus 34:5).
- When the glory of the Lord filled the completed tabernacle (and later the temple), a cloud came and descended upon it (Exodus 40:34-35, 1 Kings 8:11).
- When Jesus was transfigured on the mountain, God spoke from within a bright cloud which overshadowed them (Luke 9:34).
Besides containing the presence and glory of the Lord, however, they also do something else very important: they conceal the full glory of God. Because as God told Moses on the mountain, no one can see His full glory and live (Exodus 33:20).
Isn’t it remarkable then that Jesus, who is the full representation of God’s glory, came and walked among men, so that we might see God (John 1:14, Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:3)?
Of course, while He was on the earth, His full glory was still somewhat concealed. Only a few of His closest disciples saw a small glimpse of it when He was transfigured on the mountain, and even that was only for a moment.
But after His resurrection, when Jesus was taken up into the clouds of heaven, His full glory was restored. The angels of heaven see it; they proclaim it day and night. Those of us who have trusted in Him know it, even though we have not yet seen it.
But one day all the world will see and know that the glory of the Lord is Jesus, as He comes on the clouds of heaven. On that day, His full majesty will be revealed as earth is “filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14)!
What a glorious day that will be!
For now, we rejoice that Christ, our God made flesh, was pleased to come and dwell among us—Jesus, our Immanuel!
“Christ, by highest heaven adored, Christ, the everlasting Lord,
late in time behold him come, offspring of the Virgin's womb:
veiled in flesh the Godhead see; hail th'incarnate Deity,
pleased with us in flesh to dwell, Jesus, our Immanuel.
Hark! the herald angels sing, 'Glory to the newborn King’”*