Glory to God / Glory

What did Jesus mean

You’ve witnessed God’s work.

Where did Jesus say this

Mark 2:1–12

And there came unto him that brought one sick of the palsy, borne of four men.

And because they could not come nigh unto him for press, they uncovered the roof of the house where he was. And when they had broken it open, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the sick of the palsy: Son, thy sins are forgiven thee.

And there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts: How doth this fellow so blaspheme? Who can forgive sins but God only?

And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned in themselves, he said unto them: Why think ye such things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, thy sins are forgiven thee, or to say, arise, take up thy bed and walk? That ye may know that the son of man hath power in earth to forgive sins, he spake unto the sick of the palsy: I say unto thee, arise, and take up thy bed, and get thee hence into thine own house.

And by and by he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all, insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying: we never saw it on this fashion.

The words behind the words

Sins: Hamartia in Greek. It means missing the mark.

Forgiven: Aphiemi in Greek. It means to release or to let go. It is “invisible” to the naked eye.

Scribe: Think of a scribe as a smart person (lawyer, teacher) who worked for the religious authority figures (Pharisees).

Blaspheme: Blasphēmeō in Greek. It means to injure a reputation or to speak evil of. Blapto (to hurt, injure). Phēmē (uterance, speech, reputation).

Spirit: Pneûma in Greek. Translates to breath, wind. Consider it your inner mind or spiritual perception.

Now the big one:

Glory: Dóxa in Greek. It translates to “glory, honor, fame, and praise.”

But that seems superficial? Surface level, right?

So let’s go one step before dóxa.

The Hebrew word for “glory” that was originally used in the Old Testament was kabod. It translates to “heavy” or “having literal weight.” Consider it “visible” to the naked eye.

What Jesus did not mean

To shout out “Glory to God” because someone else said it.

To shout out “Glory to God” for anything “miraculous.”

To shout out “Glory to God” simply because you’re excited about God.

Glory means weight. It means you felt the weight of something. You witnessed it.

So if we return to the original passage, the bible already translated it for us:

“We never saw it on this fashion.”

When Jesus forgave that man’s sins, the act was invisible to everyone there. It had no “physical” weight to it. So Jesus made God’s “glory” visible: he performed a miracle and gave that man his legs back. By doing so, he left the “weight” of God visible to all and felt by all who were there.

The weight was “witnessed” and the witnessers felt the weight of that “glory.”

Translation of the translation: “We’ve never felt God like this before. God is real.”

Glory is something that is felt. The phrase itself is both a realization and an attribution.

1. You realize God is present by the sheer weight of what you just witnessed.
2. You attribute that experience to God.

Where to start

Stop repeating phrases just because you heard it in church or saw it in the bible.

Jesus’ whole mission was to burn down the structure and destroy the fluff. When you repeat phrases like this, all you’re really doing is building back up the structure and fluffing back up the fluff.

Instead, thank him. Love him. Think about him. God can feel that.

Can you say this phrase? Sure — when and where it makes sense. But if anything, this is more of a personal phrase. It’s involuntary. It’s a moment when you say, “Wow, that just happened. God is real.”

Benefits

You can stop performing and start feeling the weight of a real relationship with God.