Today we’ll be looking at 2 Peter 1:16-21:
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
It’s incredibly comforting to me to read that many, if not all, of the accusations leveled against Christianity have been around pretty much since Christ ascended! Peter begins this whole section by reminding us that this story wasn’t a myth. It’s not something the Apostles made up, it’s not something that was faked. It is a true story the really happened in time and space during the first century in the land of Israel. And not only did Jesus really live, there were so many events that were witnessed by the early Apostles. Specifically, Peter mentions the Transfiguration. The moment when Jesus takes 3 of his disciples up a mountain and transforms before them, and hangs out with Moses and Elijah. What baffles me is that even after that event, Peter still ends up denying Jesus as the Christ! And, Peter misses the point while they’re on the mountain! Instead of worshipping Jesus, he suggest they build tents to stay there and make that place their home! This witness and example point us to the reality of who Jesus is.
But Peter says that’s not the only example they have pointing us to that reality, a better and more fully realized examples is the prophetic word, that is what we today call the Bible! So despite seeing Jesus in His glorified state, Peter actually says it’s better for us to have the Bible! Because we have this word, we should pay attention to it and use it as our guide, as if it’s our light shining in the darkness. If you’ve ever been to a cave where they have everyone shut the lights off it’s disorienting! Your eyes search for any hint of light anywhere and you’re immediately drawn to it! Similarly, our eyes should be drawn to the Bible as our source of light! Peter ends this section with a description of how the Bible was penned. God used normal humans to write it, but they wrote as they were “carried along by the Holy Spirit.” I love that imagery! God used their training, their vocabulary, their experiences, their unique memories all for His purposes of recording His Word down so that we could learn from it today! And that same Holy Spirit that carried along the Apostles carries us along today and allows us to faithfully interpret it! Now, that does not mean we can just sit in the corner and interpret all by ourselves however we want to interpret it. That’s how heresies are started! Instead, we’re to study with the guiding of the Holy Spirit in our church body and community. That keeps us from error and overemphasizing things we should not be focusing on!
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Pastor Mike's Musings 