Saturday, January 22, 2011

More Trustworthy Than What We See



“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.  17 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,"  18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.  19 And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, 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,  20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation.  21 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.”  2 Peter 1:16-21 

If you follow these few verses closely you will find there that is a progression of thought present. Peter explains how he and his fellow apostles were not being duped by intricate lies when they were testifying about Jesus Christ BUT that they were personally eyewitnesses to Him and attended to His glory.  They saw the Messiah!  Verses 17-18 picks up with the second sense in which they experienced Him, namely their ears.  They heard the voice from heaven when they were on the mount of transfiguration.  They dared not to forget it for they in fell in terror upon their faces when the voice spoke.  They saw, and they heard, this King who is the ruler of all the universe in these first three verses. What comes next I think is incredible!  He says in verse 19 “and we have something more sure, the prophetic word, 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.”  This is opposite of what the human mind conceives.  Some unbelievers will claim that if “God just shows up, then I will believe.  When I see Him with my eyes, then I will trust Him”  Peter said they saw His majesty, and that they heard the heavenly voice(rounding off the five senses I would say they touched the physical Jesus, they tasted his miracle food, and they smelled the perfume that he was anointed with before His death) BUT says Peter, there is something more sure than than those trustworthy senses; THE PROPHETIC WORD--the Scriptures! Peter’s claim, is that the Word of God is more to be trusted than what we see with our eyes and what we hear with our ears.  The Scriptures trump all other authorities on truth.