JESUS MANIFESTS HIS GLORY - JOHN 2:1-12

 

The First Sign

2:1-12

This is a well known story. It is also an important story, because it tells us of the first sign Jesus performs. John used the term “sign” rather than “miracle”. John records seven signs in his gospel.

The structure of John 2:1-11 is typical of a miracle story: the setting is established (verses 1-2), a need arises (verses 3-5), a miracle addresses that need (verses 6-8), and there is a response to that miracle (verses 9-11).

There are many interpretations of this story, many of which are allegorical and speculative. We should remember that John said he recorded these signs, so that people would be convinced that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and interpret the signs in light of that purpose. (20:30-31). 

The story begins after Jesus had met Nathanael in the area of Bethsaida. After that encounter, Jesus and his disciples walked to Cana to attend a wedding. It was a two day walk, so this story happens on the third day after Jesus met Nathanael.

Jesus was invited to the wedding with his disciples. His mother was there also. She seems to have had a role in the wedding and felt responsible in some way to help with the shortage of wine. Plus, she seems to have had some command of the servants, (5) These things indicate either the bride or groom were relatives or close friends of Jesus’ family. Also, verse 12 implies his brothers and sisters were there also. The Greek word for brothers in that verse can mean brothers and sisters. 

Matthew 13:55-56 tells us Jesus had brothers and sisters:

“Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all is sisters with us? 

Mark 6:3 is the corresponding verse, although it mentions only the brothers. There are those who claim that Mary had no children after Jesus, but Scripture attests to the contrary. 

The event that is called a wedding here is more like what we would think of as the reception, except that it lasted for several days. The groom paid for the food and drink rather than the bride’s family. 

Unfortunately, the groom did not stock enough wine and it ran out before the party ended. This would have been a huge embarrassment to the groom and his family if the guests found out. Jesus’s mother sympathized with the groom’s plight and informed Jesus that the wine had run out. 

Although Jesus’ mother (who is unnamed in this gospel) did not ask Jesus to do anything, the implication is certainly there. This is certainly true in verse 5, where his mother tells the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do. This may not mean she expected a miracle, since Jesus had not performed one yet. It may just mean she had, as a widow, habitually leaned on him as the oldest son to take care of things. 

But she also knew he was special. She had been told by an angel that her son would be great and would be called the Son of the Most High. (Luke 1:32)

Jesus’ response to his mother carries a tone of rebuke. He addressed her as “woman”, not as “mother”. “Woman” was not an impolite term, but it was not an affectionate one. It seems that Jesus was creating some distance between himself and is mother. 

He then went further by saying “what does this have to do with me?”. (3) The literal wording is “what to me and to you”. It meant something along the lines of “what is common between you and me with regard to this”, or “why do you involve me”? 

Why does Jesus answer this way? He seems to be saying that he will act in his earthly ministry independent of anyone else’s agenda or manipulation. He will only act according to the Father’s will. He said this explicitly in 5:30, saying I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me”. When Peter objected to Jesus saying he would go to his death, Jesus rebuked him, called him Satan, and said he cared only for the things of men not the things of God. (Matthew 16:23)

With this first sign, Jesus was entering into his public ministry. Everything else had to be a lower priority, even his family. This had to have been difficult for his mother. 

The reasoning behind Jesus’ response was that his hour had not yet come. (4) His “hour” referred to his death and resurrection to glory. So, it was not time for him to be glorified, at least to the public. 

Jesus was also keeping the focus on his glory and not on Mary’s role as his mother who got him to do something. Mary is not the mediator between believers and Jesus. She is simply a believer. 

Mary did not argue with Jesus, she simply told the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do. (5) She was content to leave the matter in Jesus’ hands, trusting him to do the right thing. Her appeal as a family member was rebuked, but her faith in the miracle working Messiah was rewarded. 

Jesus had the servants fill six stone jars with water. These jars normally held water for ceremonial washings, washings for spiritual purity. The Jews had many rules for purification that involved washing the person, or the feet and hands, or utensils. 

These jars were big. They held twenty or thirty gallons of water.(6) Jesus transformed all of that water to wine and had the servants take it to the master of the feast. The master did not know where the wine came from. But when he tasted it, he complimented the bridegroom for keeping the best wine to the last. (10) 

So Jesus turned the water to wine, made it good wine, and made lots of it. There would have been between 120 and 180 gallons of it. 

By performing this sign, Jesus manifested his glory and caused his disciples to believe in him. (11) No mortal man or woman can change water to wine. Only God could do that. So, Jesus proved himself to be the divine Son of God. The disciples believed. Remember, John wrote “we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth”.

Jesus also showed himself to be full of grace with this sign. He did not owe the bridegroom anything, but he provided the best and he provided it abundantly. He will later say “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly”. (John 10:10) 

There may be an additional symbolism here. The water represented the old covenant since it was used for rituals based on the Jewish regulations. Jesus replaced that water with something greater, the good wine. It was a symbol that the new covenant replaces the old and is much better. Hebrews 8:6 says “But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant …”

God has poured out his grace on us in abundance. We are saved by grace. (Ephesians 2:8-9) Grace is God’s unmerited favor. Like the bridegroom in this story, we did nothing to deserve it. 

The old hymn says “Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace, freely bestowed on all who believe”. 

As we celebrate the first coming of Christ and look forward to his second coming, we have a great opportunity to reflect upon God’s grace in sending his Son so that all who believe do not perish, but have eternal life. 

Reflect on God’s grace this week. 

THE FIRST DISCIPLES - JOHN 1:35-51

 

1:35-42

The First Disciples

This passage shows us the beginning of the transition from the ministry of John the Baptist to the ministry of Jesus. It begins the day after John pointed out Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. Jesus again came to the place where John was. John again pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God. 

Two disciples were with John. One was Andrew and the other is not named. When John pointed out Jesus, these two disciples left John the Baptist and began to follow Jesus. 

Notice that John does not protest. That is because this is exactly what should happen. John prepared his disciples to receive Jesus. Then, when he pointed out Jesus to them, they left to follow Jesus, as they should. 

By asking Jesus where he was staying, these disciples indicated their desire to follow him. Because disciples at that time stayed with their teacher full time. They slept where he slept and went where he went. 

In addition to following, Andrew took on the ministry of evangelism. He went to his brother Simon and told him he had found the Messiah. He brought Simon to Jesus.

When Simon came to Jesus, Jesus gave him a new name: “Cephas”. (42) In Aramaic, this word appears to mean “rock”. John translates that for the Greek readers as “Peter”. 

Subsequent events show us that Peter was not a rock in the sense of being resolute in his faith. But, Jesus intended to make Peter into a rock. That process would turn out to involve some painful moments. 

People today often say “Jesus loves you just the way you are”. And that is true as far as it goes. But it is not true when the implication is that you do not need to change. Jesus loves you and saves you as you are. 

But, Jesus changes you when you believe. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” Then, Jesus through the Holy Spirit begins the process of sanctification, the process of making you less like you are and more like he is. That is what he did with Peter as well.

So, who was the second disciple? Who was the one who was not named, but was with Andrew and who followed Jesus. The writer does not tell us, but traditionally it has been thought that disciple was John himself, the writer of this gospel account. That would fit with John’s claim to be an eyewitness to the things he wrote about.

1:43-51

Philip and Nathanael

The next day, Jesus went to Galilee. Galilee, at that time,  was the northern part of Israel. Somewhere in Galilee he found Philip, maybe at or near his home town of Bethsaida, which was on the north end of the Sea of Galilee. John tells us that Bethsaida was also the home of Andrew and Peter. 

Jesus found Philip and simply told Philip to follow him. (43) Philip did, and like Andrew, went to find another. Philip found Nathanael and told him he had found the Messiah, calling him the one whom Moses and the prophets wrote about. That tells us that Philip and Nathanael knew their Scripture well. Philip also named Jesus as Jesus of Nazareth. The town of Nazareth was also in Galilee, south and west of Bethsaida. 

Nathanael famously responded “can anything good come out of Nazareth”. Evidently, Nazareth did not have a very good reputation. It may have been because there was a Roman garrison there and many of the townspeople did business with the Romans. Nathanael was from Cana, according to John 21:2. Cana is a little north of Nazareth, so Nathanael would have been acquainted with the reputation of the place.

Philip was undeterred by Nathanael’s  comment and invited Nathanael to come and see for himself.  So, Nathanael did.

When Nathanael got to Jesus, the two had an interesting exchange which led Nathanael to confess his belief in Jesus. Jesus greeted Nathanael as an Israelite who had no guile or deceit. (47) This is a compliment, but it also indicates Jesus knew Nathanael. That confused Nathanael, because Jesus had never met him. So, Nathanael asked Jesus how he knew him. 

Jesus, replied that he saw Nathanael even before Philip found him. He saw him sitting under a fig tree. (48) This is a display of Jesus’ supernatural knowledge. We do not know when or where Nathanael was under the fig tree, or what he was doing there. It could be that Nathanael was sitting in the shade of the tree praying or meditating on the coming of the Messiah. But, whatever it was, it was significant to Nathanael, and Jesus’ knowledge of it told Nathanael that Jesus was the promised Messiah. 

Nathanael then addressed Jesus as “Rabbi”, which would be a respectful greeting, compared to his complete lack of a greeting at the beginning of the conversation. He also confessed Jesus as the Son of God and the King of Israel. (49) 

As an aside to the story, but significant to how John structures his gospel, is that there are seven who bear witness to Jesus's deity, calling him the Son of God: 

1. John the Baptist ( John 1:34); 
2. Nathanael ( John 1:49); 
3. Peter ( John 6:69); 
4. Jesus himself ( John 10:36); 
5. Martha ( John 11:27); 
6. Thomas ( John 20:28); 
7. John, the writer of this Gospel ( John 20:31).

Back to the story, Jesus then made a promise to Nathanael. He said “you” would see greater things than Jesus displaying his supernatural knowledge about Nathanael and the fig tree. (50) The “you” in this verse is plural, so it likely refers to all of the disciples, not just Nathanael. The would see the greater things of Jesus’ perfect life, his authoritative teaching, his miracles or signs, his death, resurrection and exaltation.

In fact, they would see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. (51) What did Jesus mean by this? 

First, we see his reference to Genesis 28:12-22. In that passage, Jacob was fleeing Canaan and going to live with his relative, Laban. He had a dream in which he saw a ladder set up on earth that reached to heaven. Angels were going up and down the ladder. God stood at the top and spoke to Jacob, making a covenant with him. He promised to be with Jacob and to continue with Jacob the covenant he made with Abraham.

Nathanael, and likely all these first disciples, were well versed in the Old Testament and would know the passage Jesus alluded to. Jacob would have seen the vision as a representation of God being with him and taking care of him, as angels took his prayers up to God and God sent angels down to take care of Jacob. 

So, Jesus was saying, as with Jacob, you will see that God the Father is with Jesus and Jesus has continual access to the Father. You will see that Jesus is the Messiah, as Nathanael confessed, the one appointed and anointed by God.

While the allusion to the ladder catches our attention, there is another thing here we should notice. Jesus, for the first time, refers to himself as the “Son of Man”. Although Nathanael confessed Jesus as the Son of God, Jesus referred to himself as the Son of Man. 

“Son of Man” is the title Jesus most frequently used for himself. The meaning of the title has an Old Testament context. The context is a vision given to Daniel as described in Daniel 7:9-14. Daniel described the person he saw in his vision this way:

“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man… . And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him” (vv. 13–14a).

This Jesus, whom these disciples would follow, is the one whom the Father has given dominion, or power, over all the kingdoms and peoples of earth, glory as one who is God, and a kingdom that will last forever. Paul would later write this same truth in Philippians 2:9:

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

All followers of Jesus, including us, see these things. They saw them in person. We see them in the Word. And we know that Jesus is Savior and Lord. And we belong to his kingdom and look forward to the day that it will be fully and finally revealed. 

Jesus himself alluded to the Daniel passage specifically, applying the it to himself, in Mark 13:24-27, which says:

“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.”

And we say “amen, come Lord Jesus, Son of God, Son of Man”. 

The Word

“The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple” (Ps. 119:130). 

“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Isa. 40:8). 

The Bible is a lamp that gives light (Ps. 119:105), 

bread that gives life (Matt. 4:4), 

fire that refines (Jer. 23:29), 

a sword that divides (Heb. 4:12), 

a hammer that breaks (Jer. 23:29), 

a seed that implants and bears fruit (James 1:21, 1 Pet. 1:23), 

milk that nourishes (1 Pet. 2:2), 

and solid meat that strengthens (Heb. 5:12)

POINTING TO JESUS: JOHN 1:19-34

 

1:19-28

Who Are You?

This is the first time John uses the term “the Jews”. Although John uses the term in different ways in this gospel, it most commonly means Jewish leaders who did not understand Jesus and were opposed to him. This appears to be the case here, as they came from the Jews of Jerusalem.(19) They may have been sent by the Sanhedrin to figure out who John was and what he was doing.

John the Baptist stirred up a lot of interest among the Jews. There had not been a prophet in Israel for 500 years. The last prophets were Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, all of whom prophesied during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. 

Suddenly, then, John burst on the scene looking, acting, and speaking like a prophet. He lived in the wilderness, eating locusts and wild honey. He dressed in a garment of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist. He preached repentance to prepare Israel to receive the Messiah (the Christ) and he baptized those who repented. Lots of people from Jerusalem and Judea were coming out to see and hear him. They confessed their sins and were baptized. (Matthew 3:1-6)

This caused the Pharisees to send some priests and Levites from Jerusalem to find out who John was. The Jews were also looking and waiting for Messiah\Christ to come and they wondered if this unusual preacher could be him. They asked John if he was the Christ. That question is not stated here, but John’s answer is. He answered the question two ways for emphasis. He confessed, and did not deny, that he was not the Christ. (20) 

The word “Christ” is a transliteration of the Greek word Christos. Christos is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Maschiach, which means anointed one. Maschiach is transliterated in English to “Messiah”.  John’s use of Christos probably means he expected most of his audience to be Greek speakers, either Gentiles or Greek speaking Jews. 

After John denied being the Christ, the Jews kept asking John to identify himself. They want to know who he is and what authority he has to baptize. Their exchange with John is rooted in the Old Testament. 

They asked John if was Elijah. They asked this because Malachi, the last prophet, stated that God said “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction” (Malachi 4:5) 

The Old Testament prophets were God’s prosecutors. They were sent to condemn Israel when the nation strayed from God into sin. There were Jews, however, that believed that Elijah would literally come in person because he did not die. He was taken to heaven in a fiery chariot. (2 Kings 2) 

So, John denied that we was Elijah. He was, however, sent in the spirit and power of Elijah, according to the angel’s word to Zechariah, John’s father. (Luke 1)

The next question was “are you the prophet”. There the Jews were referring to the words of Moses, who said “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you…it is to him you shall listen”. (Deuteronomy 18:15) Some Jews believed that the Prophet was an end times figure, maybe even the Messiah. 

John denied that he was the Prophet Moses spoke about. He would certainly do that if some people thought the prophet was the Messiah. 

The Jews had to have been frustrated that John had not identified himself and they did not want to return to their superiors and say they had not found out who this preacher was and by whose authority he baptized. (22) So, they asked him again, saying “what do you say about yourself”. 

So, John identified himself by referring to another Old Testament passage He said he was the “voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘make straight the way of the Lord’”. John was referring to Isaiah 40:3. 

As a side note, by quoting this passage, John speaks of the deity of Christ. Isaiah referred to Yahweh, as you can see from the capitalization of the word “LORD”. John applied that passage to Jesus. 

The final question was “why are you baptizing”. (24) In other words, if you are not one of these end times figures, what authority do you have to baptize? 

John’s baptizing was certainly an anomaly for the Jews. Some of the Pharisees may even have considered it heresy, for only Gentiles converting to Judaism were baptized. So, John’s baptism implied that Jews could also be unclean and, therefore, unfit to be part  of God’s people unless they were cleansed. The Jewish leaders would instead believe that anyone born a Jew was part of Israel and the kingdom of God.

And, of course, this was John’s exact point. They needed to repent, and demonstrate their repentance via baptism, to be prepared to receive Jesus and enter into his kingdom.

In this passage, John does not directly answer the question as to why he baptized; he simply pointed to Jesus. (26) Pointing to Jesus was the second part of his role. He was to prepare the way for and point to Jesus as the Messiah and savior. This was told to John’s father by an angel before his mother was even pregnant. (Luke 1) 

John said one was among them who came after John, in terms of ministry, but was so much greater than John that John was not worthy to untie his sandal straps.

Untying sandal straps, removing sandals from the feet, and washing feet were jobs given only to lowly servants. Students or disciples of great teachers were also expected to perform these tasks.

John was saying that Jesus was so much greater than him, he was not worthy of being Jesus’ lowly servant or disciple. This is a reminder to us. Jesus is God and we are not. He saved us by his grace. None of us was so good that Jesus saved us because we deserved it. 

1:29-34

The Lamb of God

The very next day, John saw Jesus in person. He immediately jumped into his role as the herald of Christ, saying “behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (20) 

What a moment that was, as John was the first person to identify Jesus as savior. As a lamb might be sacrificed for its owner’s sin, Jesus would be sacrificed to take away, or atone for, sins. And it would not be just for believing Jews, but believers from all nations and races, the “world”. Yet, it is likely that few in the crowd understood what was happening.  

John himself knew Jesus as the Messiah, because he saw the Holy Spirit descend from heaven like a dove and remain on Jesus. (32) The Lord had told John that the person on whom the Spirit descended would be the Messiah. It also fulfilled Isaiah 61:1, which says “the Spirt of the Lord God is upon me, because he anointed me to preach good news to the poor.” 

And John said the Messiah would baptize with the Holy Spirit. (33) This is a statement that foretells Jesus sending the Spirit to indwell all believers. 

John did finally reveal under whose authority he baptized. He said “he who sent me to baptize with water said to me”. (33) God sent John to proclaim the coming of Jesus and to prepare the way by calling for repentance symbolized by baptism. 

Lastly, John said he bore witness to what he saw and that Jesus is the Son of God. (41-ESV) There is an interesting fact regarding the translation of the Greek as “the Son of God”. If you have the newest version of the New International Version, it says “Chosen One of God”. There is one Greek manuscript that uses these words, and a somewhat recently discovered papyrus. If this is the correct translation, it would be written to point to Jesus’ fulfillment of Isais 42:1, referring to God’s chosen servant in whom he delights. 

It is the marvel of marvels that the King of kings, whose glory is exalted above the heavens, should lift a finger to rescue even one of such vile traitors as the sons of Adam. Then to learn that this infinitely worthy King has purposed to redeem not one but countless multitudes at the cost of the life of his own dear Son bows the sinner’s heart in humble wonder.”

John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue, Biblical Doctrine.

 We may not know; we cannot tell

What pains he had to bear;

But we believe it was for us

He hung and suffered there.

    Ceil Frances Alexander

RECEIVING JESUS - JOHN 1:6-14

 

1:6-8

The Witness of John

These verses seem to be a parenthesis, inserted to talk about John the Baptist in the midst of a prologue about Jesus. It shows us, though, that John and his witness were very important. The first thing we see is that John was sent by God. This puts him on the same footing as the Old Testament prophets.

Moses was sent by God to Pharaoh to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. (Exodus 3:10) Isaiah was sent by God to speak to Israel of coming judgment. (Isaiah 6:8-9) Jeremiah was also sent by God to speak his word to Israel. (Jeremiah 1:7)

As God appointed Jeremiah to be a prophet before he was born, he also appointed John before his birth to go before the Lord and prepare the way for the coming of Jesus. An angel appeared to John’s father, Zechariah, and told him this. (Luke 1:13-17) The angel used the words of Malachi 4:6 in telling Zechariah the role of his future son. John’s coming was prophesied by Malachi. 

John was prophesied, he was appointed before his birth, and he was sent. He was indeed most significant to redemptive history.

John’s purpose was to be a witness to Jesus, who is referred to as the light. (7) John was to bear witness so that all might believe in Jesus. We will see him do that in later verses. 

1:9-11

Christ Rejected

Jesus, the true light, was coming into the world he created, but the world did not know him. The creation did not know the creator. Romans 1 explains this to us in detail. The creation testifies to the creator’s eternal power and divine nature. (Romans 1:20) But mankind did not honor God and became futile in its thinking as their minds became darkened. John used the word “world” here to mean sinful humanity.

In contrast to the world, John mentions the Jews, Jesus’ own people. (11) As opposed to the world, or the nations, the Jews were supposed to know God and be ready to receive the Messiah. Yet, John tells us that Jesus’ own people did not receive him.

Although there were some Jews who received Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God, most did not and the religious leadership did not. This was despite the witness of John the Baptist.

1:12-13

Children of God

Although many rejected Jesus, some received him. What does it mean to receive Jesus. It means you believe he is who he says he is (“who believed in his name) and you act accordingly. John has given us a great description of who Jesus is, the eternal, creating, second person of the Godhead, the Son of God. 

If you believe this, you see Jesus as the Lord entitled to worship, obedience, and trust. That is why Paul, in Romans 10:9-10 says we must confess that Jesus is Lord and believe God raised him from the dead in order to be saved. “Confess” means to agree or acknowledge that Jesus is Lord. 

For example, suppose you are the leader of your country. A person comes to you and presents himself to you as the ambassador of another country. But you say, I will receive you as a guest, but not as an ambassador. I do not agree you are an ambassador. You have not received that person, because you have not acknowledged his title and his role. 

Similarly, you cannot say you have received Jesus if you deny he is the divine Son of God and Savior who died for sins and was raised from the dead. If you claim to have received Jesus in any other way, you have not received him as who he is and have not received from him what he has to give.

What does Jesus have to give to those who receive him? He gives the right to become children of God, born of God. You must be born of God to become a child of God. It is not the same as physician birth, which is brought about by the will of the flesh. Physical birth does not accomplish salvation or membership in God’s family.

This was a difficult concept for the Jews, many of whom believed they were in God’s family because they were descended from Abraham. But Jesus will later in this book reject that notion, as does Paul in Galatians, and explain that it is those who receive him, who believe in his name, that gain entrance into God’s family.

1:14-18

Incarnation

Jesus, the Word, became flesh. This is the doctrine of incarnation. Jesus took on human flesh. Matthew and Luke describe Jesus’ birth. Paul tells us that Jesus was born in the likeness of men and was found in human form. (Philippians 2:7-8)

In real human flesh, Jesus dwelt among his disciples. The Greek word translated “dwelt” literally means “pitched his tent” among them. Greek speaking Jews, or Gentiles well versed in the Old Testament, would see this as a reference to God’s presence dwelling in the Tabernacle, in the middle of the tribes of Israel as they traversed the desert. Now, God chooses to live among his people in a more personal way. 

He ate with them, walked with them, slept with them, and did every thing they, as men, did, except sin. He was fully man.

But Jesus did not give up his divinity. He was fully God. And because he was God, he had glory. John said “we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father”, full of grace and truth.” “Glory” is a visible manifestation of God where he reveals something about himself. 

For example, when the Israelites were to leave Sinai and begin their journey through the wilderness, Moses asked God to show his glory to Moses. The Lord passed before Moses and spoke of his mercy and grace, his stead fast love and faithfulness. (Exodus 33-34) John may be referring to this when he says the Son’s glory if full of grace and truth.

Jesus demonstrated this through the “signs”, what we call miracles, that showed his divinity and his glory, particularly to his disciples. John specifically notes this in the story of the wedding at Cana, when Jesus changed water into wine. John said that Jesus “manifested his glory” and the disciples believed in him. (2:11)

Some believe there is a reference here to Jesus’ transfiguration. He also showed his glory to three disciples. However, John did not record the event as the Synoptic Gospels did, so it seems unlikely he would refer to that event. 

Jesus’s glory was that of the only Son from the Father. (14) He was not a son in the sense of physical birth from someone, but in the sense of being being the only one who is exactly like the Father in his attributes. 

John’s gospel establishes the uniqueness and exclusiveness of Jesus as Savior, Son, and Revealer of the Father. If you want to know the Father, you must know the Son.