Read with Me
2 Peter 1:16-18 (HCSB)
For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; instead, we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, a voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory:
This is My beloved Son.
I take delight in Him!
And we heard this voice when it came from heaven while we were with Him on the holy mountain.
Listen with Me
As Peter nears the final stretch of his earthly race, he looked back over his years of ministry. He cherished his memory of his time with Jesus, seeing the amazing miracles first-hand that seemed like folklore to the post-Jesus generation, embellished stories that had grown up over the decades making a good man and a great teacher into God in the flesh.
But Peter utterly rejects that whole line of thinking. No matter how amazing, and even unbelievable, these stories about Jesus might seem, Peter rejects the idea of imagination, or even embellishment, in their composition.
Instead, Peter attests that there is nothing at all made up or enhanced in what he and the other apostles had said and written about Jesus, who He was, and what He did. He and they were first-hand witnesses of every act they had testified about. In fact, it was their own sense of wonder at seeing the impossible things that Jesus had done, miracles, healings, deliverances from demons, that had convinced them that Jesus was the Son of God in the first place. It was not that they chose to follow Jesus and then made up stuff to justify their decision. They had seen, and THEN had put their trust in Jesus (John 2:11).
And as far as the claim of the apostles that Jesus was and is the eternal Son of God, this was not a reasoned position, but a revealed position. Peter points back to the moment of Jesus’ transfiguration (Mark 9:2-8 contains Peter’s own testimony about the event). Peter testifies that they not only saw Jesus’ majesty on the “holy mountain”, they were enveloped by the “Majestic Glory,” of God’s presence and had heard God’s own voice testify to Jesus’ identity, as well as to His love for Him and His pleasure in His obedience.
Pray with Me
Father, the skepticism that existed in Peter’s day is still present today in the form of those who either discount the existence of Jesus entirely, or who search for “the historical Jesus”, the man behind all the “myths” and “supposed “miracles”. These people refuse to believe that the testimony of those first eyewitnesses contained in our Scriptures are reliable, and that they paint a portrait of the historical, miracle-working Jesus that is true and accurate. But these writings that have been preserved for us over two millennia are accurate historical accounts, penned by first-hand witnesses of Jesus person, His glory, and His works. And those who 2000 years later try to “correct” their record stand on very shaky ground indeed! Peter’s testimony, standing at the edge of eternity, that their stories of Jesus were true and accurate, must be given the weight it deserves, especially when denying the accuracy of those stories would likely have extended his life for several more years. Peter had always proven to be a reliable witness, even including his own faults and failures in his teachings (Mark 8:32-33; 14:29-31, 37-40, 66-72), so his testimony should not be dismissed at all. Thank you, Lord, for the testimony of these faithful witnesses that forms the bedrock of my own faith in who Jesus is and what He has done. Amen.