Doxa, Glory, Weight

Recently, I discovered in the Gospel of John, chapter two, a word that I did not know exactly what was meant, and I soon discovered Bible translators have the same problem. The word is “glory.” There is uncertainty. It seems no one knows which side of the boat to let down the nets. The scholars were casting about, and the first fish they brought up was the idea that the Greek word “doxa” suggested something to do with “weight.”

The more I thought about it, the simpler it got, and several words have been coming to mind. In the context, where I was reading about the wedding feast at Cana, during that wedding, Jesus turned water into wine. As a result, John writes “What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.” (John 2:11, NIV) This “glory” seemed to be something convincing the Disciples of the “weight “ of Jesus — pretty sure they weren’t talking about pounds or kilograms…

At the end of this Gospel, John 21:24–25 gives more help to understand the word glory: “This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” Jesus taught and did many good works, miraculous healings, provisions of food, and showing what was needed for eternal life. Yes, the Bible gives only a condensed record of His life and activities. Yet , it seems to me that His entire life gave weight to the claims of who He was and the truth of His teachings. His actions gave “credence” to the weight of His personality, character, and relationship with The Father, the existence of God, Jesus authority for the forgiveness of sins and providing the new life…

There may be many synonyms for the word “credence” but this is the bottom line. Look at the record of His life. Read the Bible. Believe in Jesus.

• John 1:12 (NIV)
  Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God —