What do you think of when you think of the term “glory”? Microsoft Copilot provides this summary:

In today’s vernacular, “glory” means honor, praise, impressive achievement, or something that stands out as magnificent or triumphant.

In contrast, Copilot’s summary for glory in the Bible is:

The “weight” and “radiance” of God’s presence—His beauty, power, holiness, and worth made visible and experienced.

The term for “glory” (The Hebrew noun kabowd) occurs two hundred times in the Old Testament. The phrase, “the glory of the Lord,” occurs thirty-five times. In the New Testament, the phrase occurs three times.

The first mention of the phrase “the glory of the Lord“ in the Bible is in Ex 16:7, when God provided manna in the wilderness. Even though God had manifested Himself through many miracles before this, it was this giving of manna that was called the glory of the Lord. It was to this provision that the Jews referred following the feeding of the five thousand. They wanted further proof that Jesus was who He said He was, the Messiah:

They said therefore to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’” (Jn 6:30-31)

At the time of Jesus’ encounter with this multitude, Jewish tradition, through misquotes and additions to the Pentateuch, attributed the giving of manna to Moses. With Copilot’s assistance, we can trace a five-hundred-year transition in their interpretation, transferring the agency of the manna from God to Moses. In other words, they no longer saw “the glory of the Lord” in the giving of the manna.

John, when he wrote his gospel account, lived in a time of great confusion regarding what the birth, life, and death of Jesus meant. Most of the New Testament saints had died or were martyred. What was left were manuscripts with words (Greek, rhema). In his account, John recalls this interaction with the multitude in which he instructs believers on interpreting the incarnation. What greater glory can there be than the Son of Man living among men?

Notice the bookends to The Bread of Life Metaphor:

“How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another, and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? “Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me. “But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words (Greek, rhema)? ” (Jn 5:44-47)

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words (Greek, rhema) that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. (Jn 6:63)

Today, God’s glory is His Word in His people.