The Glory of Heaven Unveiled

KNOWING ABOUT JESUS VS. KNOWING JESUS

There is a profound difference between knowing about someone and actually knowing them.

You can study a person, memorize facts about them, read their biography, admire their work, and still have no relationship

You can know everything about a person, a leader, or a historical figure, and yet not know them at all.

Sadly, this is the case for how many treat Jesus.

Many people know facts, Scriptures, and doctrine, but have little understanding of who Jesus really is.

KNOWING ABOUT JESUS VS. KNOWING JESUS

Same thing for Christmas.

People know about Christmas, the wise men, the angels, the star…

They know about the cross and the resurrection

haven’t connected the dots in their lives personally

There is a world of difference between knowing the facts of Christianity and knowing the Christ of Christianity.

James 2:19 ESV

19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

When you do not truly know Him, meaning when you do not behold His glory

becomes sentimental instead of supernatural

nostalgic instead of transformative

tradition instead of a revelation

nothing inherently wrong with traditions and nostalgia, but they cannot replace the person of Messiah.

The manger was the first step toward the cross & the resurrection and ultimately to the coming Kingdom.

Everything changes the moment you behold the glory of Jesus.

John 1:14 ESV

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

This second Sunday of Advent, on this communion Sunday,

God invites us not just to learn about Jesus, but to know Him.

I want to challenge you to draw near to Him and to behold His glory and to respond to Him the way the shepherds did

with urgency, worship, and joy.

When you encounter the living God, Messiah Jesus, you will never be the same.

Luke 2:12 ESV

12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

I. THE WONDER OF THE SIGN — GOD DRAWS NEAR

The angels told the shepherds, “This will be a sign to you…” (Luke 2:12).

And before we rush past that, we have to admit something honest about the human heart: we are all sign-seekers.

We crave clarity. We want direction.

signs in circumstances, in emotions, in “open doors” and “closed doors,” in political movements, in cultural shifts, even in the nightly news.

The world even has its own language for it—“the universe gave me a sign.” I

want something visible that confirms the invisible longings of our souls.

And yet Jesus warned His own followers against chasing after signs for the wrong reasons. 

Matthew 16:4 ESV

4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.

Not because signs are evil, but because seeking them to justify unbelief or to avoid obedience reveals a heart that wants proof without submission

So how do we reconcile this with the angels giving the shepherds a sign?

the sign God gives is never the kind of sign the world demands

The sign was a baby—wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger

Humble. Prophetic. Hidden in plain sight

God’s signs don’t cater to pride

they confront it and humble us

They don’t confirm our worldly expectations; they overturn them

I. THE WONDER OF THE SIGN — GOD DRAWS NEAR

The sign God gives always points away from the noise of the world and straight toward the heart of God.

But the real tragedy is that we often are too busy looking for signs and missing the glory.

We want God to show us something,

but we don’t want God to show us Himself.

We want God to reveal His plan,

but we don’t seek to know His character.

We want signs of comfort, signs of blessing, signs of breakthrough,

but rarely signs for repentance

The sign God gave the Shepherds was intimate and accessible.

The sign was an invitation to draw closer and behold because:

I. THE WONDER OF THE SIGN — GOD DRAWS NEAR

Think of who did not receive this announcement.

Not Caesar.

Not Herod.

Not the priests.

Not the religious establishment.

Not the scholars in Jerusalem.

Instead, the first to hear heaven’s announcement were shepherds

This is the heart of Advent: God stooping low so we can look up.

He reveals Himself to the humble instead of the proud and to the broken instead of the self-sufficient.

The message to us should be glaring: come to him now - just as you are to behold the glory of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 8:9 ESV

9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

I. THE WONDER OF THE SIGN — GOD DRAWS NEAR

The Manger Is the Sign of God’s Accessibility

“And this will be a sign for you…”

What is the sign? A throne? A royal bedroom? A palace?

No. It’s a baby lying in a manger.

We talked about this the other week.

The infinite God placed in a feeding trough.

because through him we are given the bread of life and living water for life.

The manger tells us that God is not far off.

He is not distant. He is not unreachable. He is right there.

You don’t climb your way to God—God came all the way to you.

Luke 2:13–14 ESV

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

II. THE GLORY OF THE MESSAGE — HEAVEN ERUPTS

After 400 years of prophetic silence—no visions, no prophets, no new revelation

heaven finally breaks open, not with judgment…but with glory. Why? Because the glory that appeared in the manger is nothing less than the full unveiling of God’s presence,

the same glory that filled the tabernacle, the temple, and the prophets.

II. THE GLORY OF THE MESSAGE — HEAVEN ERUPTS

Let’s flesh out what this means biblically:

In the Old Testament, the “glory of the LORD” (Heb. kavod) is God’s visible, overwhelming, radiant presence.

Exodus 24:17 — “The appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire.”

Exodus 40:34–35 — “The glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.”

1 Kings 8:10–11 — The priests could not stand because “the glory of the LORD filled the house.”

II. THE GLORY OF THE MESSAGE — HEAVEN ERUPTS

The glory isn’t abstract. It is weighty, visible, life-defining, and, yes, terrifying.

But that glory departed in Ezekiel 10–11 because of Israel’s sin.

For 600 years, the visible glory of God had not returned until Luke 2.

The glory hasn’t changed at all, it is beckoning us to come closer.

Luke 2:9 ESV

9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.

When Jesus is born, the glory of God returns to earth—not in a cloud, not in fire, not in a temple, but in a Person.

Luke says: an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them

Why? Because the One lying in the manger is the glory of God:

Hebrews 1:3 ESV

3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

John 1:14 ESV

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

2 Corinthians 4:6 ESV

6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

II. THE GLORY OF THE MESSAGE — HEAVEN ERUPTS

Heaven’s Silence Breaks Because God Himself Has Arrived

When the angels shout, “Glory to God in the highest!” (Luke 2:14), they are declaring:

“The Glory has returned.”

“God has come down.”

“The Presence is here.”

Because what has arrived is not simply a baby, not only a Savior, not just prophecy fulfilled but the unfiltered glory of God wrapped in flesh and lying in the most humble of places in the world.

II. THE GLORY OF THE MESSAGE — HEAVEN ERUPTS

The angels aren’t celebrating the birth of a religious leader or a wise sage.

They are erupting because:

the God of Sinai is crying in a manger,

the God of the temple is wrapped in cloths,

the God of Isaiah’s vision is breathing Bethlehem air.

The eternal has entered into the temporal in all of his glory

II. THE GLORY OF THE MESSAGE — HEAVEN ERUPTS

The Glory of God Revealed Is the Glory of His Character

When the glory appears in Christ, it reveals the very nature of God:

The glory of His humility (Philippians 2:6–8)

The glory of His grace (John 1:14, 16–17)

The glory of His truth (John 1:14)

The glory of His love (Romans 5:8)

The glory of His nearness (Isaiah 7:14)

The glory of His peace for sinners (Luke 2:14)

The manger is not a contradiction to God’s glory— it is the fullest expression of it.

John 1:14 ESV

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

III. THE WORD MADE FLESH — THE GLORY WE BEHOLD

John writes with wonder: “We beheld His glory.”

Don’t miss this.

We have an opportunity today that has been given to the entire world.

Not just some elect, not just the religious elites, and not just those who ‘have it all together.’

Jesus the Messiah came personally for a couple of main reasons

John doesn’t say:

“We beheld His teachings.”

“We beheld His miracles.”

“We beheld His ethics.”

He says: “We beheld Him—His glory.”

III. THE WORD MADE FLESH — THE GLORY WE BEHOLD

Christianity is not primarily the pursuit of information—

It is the pursuit of a Person.

This is the danger of those who attempt to intellectualize the gospel in Preterism, Gnosticism, and Calvinism.

It is equally dangerous to those who attempt to emotionalize the Gospel

Glory That Draws People Close

III. THE WORD MADE FLESH — THE GLORY WE BEHOLD

Throughout Scripture, whenever God reveals His glory, it draws people near:

Moses cried, “Show me Your glory.”

Isaiah fell on his face in awe.

Peter left his nets immediately.

Mary sat at His feet.

Thomas touched His wounds.

And the shepherds ran to Him.

III. THE WORD MADE FLESH — THE GLORY WE BEHOLD

When you see Jesus’ glory and realize his diety, distance becomes intolerable.

You want to draw near. You want to know Him.

You want to strip away everything in your life that keeps you from him.

You want to worship Him. You want to give him everything you have and everything you are for his sake.

James 4:8 ESV

8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

COMMUNION — DRAWING NEAR TO THE GLORY OF THE WORD MADE FLESH

Today is communion Sunday, and there is no better response to Advent than this table.

Advent announces that God has come so near that we can sit at his table

but the table declares, “God gave Himself for us.”

Advent prepares our hearts;

communion fulfills that preparation by bringing us face-to-face with the reason He came.

COMMUNION — DRAWING NEAR TO THE GLORY OF THE WORD MADE FLESH

DON’T MISS THIS!

Christmas reveals God with us; communion reveals God for us.

The table is where the miracle of the Incarnation meets the mercy of the atonement.

It is where the birth of Christ and the sacrifice of Christ converge into one radiant display of love.

The cradle always pointed toward the cross.

In rising from the dead, Jesus proved that His body wasn’t merely broken—it was triumphant.

And now, at this table, we remember and participate in that glory.

Just as the manger was an invitation for the Shepherds to draw near, the table is our invitation to draw near

to behold Him, to worship Him, and to know Him.