Most of us have just enough curiosity to get into trouble. I’m certainly guilty of this, both within my studies of the faith and the scriptures, and in other areas of my life. I’ve seen skeptics asking, “Why could people see Jesus face?” a fair bit on social media.
When it seems like trolling, the dad in me wants to say something glib like, “because he wasn’t wearing a mask. Duh.” But, there’s value in having a good answer to seeming contradictions in the Bible. So, let’s explore Exodus 33 and various other scriptures on the issue of seeing God’s face.
Why Could People See Jesus Face: The Hypostatic Union
On the surface, this answer seems fairly obvious. Why could people see Jesus face? Because that was kind of the whole point. God went to the trouble of creating a hypostatic union in Jesus, a being who was fully God and fully man.
Anything less than a messiah who was fully human would have precluded his role as our mediator. Men had to be able to see Him and empathize with Him. And, to serve as an eternal high priest, He would need to be able to do the same with us.
‘For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,’ 1 Timothy 2:5 ESV
His humanity was foundational to the role. How could Jesus have served as a mediator if people could not have looked upon Him? He therefore took on a complete human nature. Philippians 2:5-8 addresses the humility He displayed in accepting humanity, and ultimately His sacrifice.
‘Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ‘
If this is the case, then where does this idea of dying come from? Where does the confusion come from that people could see Jesus face and live? The root of it stems from an interaction between Moses and God in Exodus 33, which is also repeated in later points of the Hebrew scriptures.
Exodus 33:20 Meaning
In chapter 33 of the book of Exodus, Moses talks with God in the Tent of Meeting. As the conversation progresses, Moses is emboldened by the Lord’s positive response and asks to be shown His glory (v.18). God’s response (v.19-20 is a partial agreement:
‘And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord .’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”’
This final statement by the Lord appears to detail a facet of his divine nature, regarding His incomprehensible holiness and splendor. The overwhelming glory of His visage would kill anyone who gazed directly upon it.
But, how can that be right? Did you read the full chapter? It seems to directly contradict verse 11:
‘Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.’
The author of Exodus states that Moses met with God face to face routinely. Yet, just a few verses later, God responds to Moses that it would be death for him to see His face? What is the meaning of Exodus 33:20, then?
Moses’ Request: A Greater Revelation
It seems evident that Moses’ request in verse 18 moves beyond the “face to face” interactions he had already experienced with the Lord. This is the man who knelt before the burning bush and spoke with I AM. Moses is the man who watched miracle after miracle in Egypt, who watched the sea part, who was accompanied by cloud and fire. He had seen so much, already.
Yet, Moses says, “Show me your glory” in verse 18. I think that the Keil and Delitzsch Commentary is spot on in explaining what Moses was really asking for:
‘What Moses desired to see, as the answer of God clearly shows, must have been something surpassing all former revelations of the glory of Jehovah.’
What an audacious request. Moses asked God for something significant, in light of the special relationship which he had with the Father. And, the Lord (at least partially) grants the request. But, the Father is honest; something must be withheld. The fullness of His glory would be death.
The commentary of Nachmanides is interesting, drawing attention to how God responded. You want to see glory? God decided to reveal all of his goodness and proclaim His name. Moses could have deeper insight of that than any other. But, the vision he asked for, he could not have.
I also liked this observation by Rabbi Michelle Perlman on how we perceive God most fully.
The biblical writer is placing emphasis here not on God’s physical attributes, but rather on the importance of God’s ethical intervention in the world. Moses learns that God is most fully seen and experienced through divine acts of goodness, grace, and compassion.
Other Biblical Examples
Moses met with God face to face and didn’t die. So, why did the fear persist? We see fear of death for having seen the Lord’s face reflected in other Biblical examples, like when Gideon realizes with whom he had wrestled in Judges 6:22-23:
‘Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord . And Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God ! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” But the Lord said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.”’
Gideon is distraught for what he has done. Yet, the Lord assures Gideon in this exchange that he will not die. Again, in Judges 13:21-24 we see a similar exchange between the angel of the Lord and Manoah, the father of Samson.
‘And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord , to the one who works wonders, and Manoah and his wife were watching. And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord went up in the flame of the altar. Now Manoah and his wife were watching, and they fell on their faces to the ground.
The angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the Lord . And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.” But his wife said to him, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these.” And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. And the young man grew, and the Lord blessed him.’
Once again, there is a fearful response to having seen the face of the divine. And, perhaps the most famous of all responses to seeing the Most High comes from the scroll of Isaiah.
6:1 ‘In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.’
6:5 ‘And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”’
In each case, the penitent viewer is spared the fate which the Lord explained to Moses in Exodus 33:20. To the best of my knowledge, there is no one in the scriptures who died for having looked upon the face of the Most High.
I believe the reason for that is simple. No one has yet seen His face in the way which Moses asked to see it. The full weight of His glory would indeed kill us.
Continually Seek His Face
Therefore, even as we are encouraged in Psalm 105:4 to “continually seek His face”, knowing that He will show us what we are able to receive, we must also remember 1 Timothy 6:16. We cannot see Him. Not fully. Not while we yet live.
I think that the Apostle Paul captures this dynamic quite beautifully in 2 Corinthians 3:18. We see glimpses of the glory of God, and as we are transformed by it, we then shine as reflections of His glory here on earth.
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
In light of this, we should approach the desire to see God’s face with both humility and hope. Each experience we have in which we glimpse God’s goodness, mercy, and grace shapes us. We experience Him incrementally.
As we seek God, even without seeing His face in its entirety, we are progressively transformed to reflect His image more clearly. This privilege invites us into a relationship of growth, where each step toward the Father reveals more of His nature and glory.
What a gift it must have been, to have seen the face of Jesus in the flesh. To have witnessed His smiles and laughter. To have heard the words that flowed from His mouth. It certainly changed the lives of those who followed him.
Why Could People See Jesus Face When He Was Here on Earth
I hope this helps answer why could people see Jesus face when he was here on earth. It has certainly filled me with hope to write about it. We have the promise of one day seeing the full glory of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Revelation 22:3-5 tells us that we will see His face.
‘No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.’
I believe that moment will be the perfection of Moses’ request. We will see the full weight of his glory, and not be destroyed by it. Until then, I will continue seeking. I will trust that the glimpses I receive are a preparation for that eternal moment.
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