The Face of Christ

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.”              

                                                                    2 Corinthians 4:6

        Some studies in Scripture are straightforward and comparatively easy. For instance, think of the geography and history of the city of Shechem, or the plans and construction of the tabernacle—difficult studies, perhaps, but do-able. But some studies are too high for us—we can barely touch the spiritual edges, so to speak. One such holy place is “the face of Christ.”

        We should begin with a little bit of background, though. Think of Moses—the Scriptures tell us of his meeting with God on Mount Sinai. (Exodus 34:29-35) The Apostle Paul tells us that after that meeting, “the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was.” (2 Corinthians 3:7) “His face was radiant.”

        Leaving Moses for the moment, let’s look at a few verses about Jesus. Matthew tells us (17:2) about His transfiguration—“His face shone like the sun.” Later, in the garden, He fell in prayer, “with his face to the ground.” (26:39) And later that same day (26:67), “they spit in his face.” John tells us (John 18:22), “one of the officials nearby slapped him in the face.”

        Later, Peter warns us that “the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” (1 Peter 3:12) Then we move on to
Revelation, where all things culminate. Once again “his face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.” (1:16) But now His forbearance has come to an end—the unbelievers cry to the mountains, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him.” (6:16).

        This pretty much covers all of the Scriptures, but here we might want to speculate a bit. What did the shepherds and the wise men see in that infant face? What did the teachers see in that 12-year-old face in the temple? What did that young man see in His face when, beholding him, Jesus loved him? And what, especially, did Peter see in that face when Jesus turned and looked straight at him across that courtyard? (Luke 22:61).

        Above all, what do we see in that face? Is He loving and encouraging us, is He rebuking us, is He calling us to Him, or does He terrify us? Are we going to call for the mountains to fall on us? Please, God, may that never happen! Lord, have mercy on me the sinner! Amen.