2 Peter 1:16-21 [2nd Sunday of Easter]
Pastor Ron Koehler
Grace—Benson/Vail, AZ April 28, 2019
16
To be sure, we were not following cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the powerful appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father, when the voice came to him from within the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” 18 We heard this voice, which came out of heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 We also have the completely reliable prophetic word. You do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the Morning Star rises in your hearts, 20 since we know this above all else: No prophecy of Scripture comes about from someone’s own interpretation. 21 In fact, no prophecy ever came by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were being carried along by the Holy Spirit. (EHV)
In the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior who has risen from the dead, dear friends, You may be aware that in our churches, we typically use a standard set of readings, which is useful for focusing on a theme for each Sunday. These prescribed readings also keep pastors from only preaching on their favorite texts or forgetting about some areas. This is also helpful for walking through the different seasons of the Christian Church Year and all its festivals, like Easter for example. As a pastor, it is normally an enjoyable task to sit down and look at the selected readings for a Sunday and decide which one of the readings will be the sermon text. But in looking at the readings for today, I have to be honest with you, it was tough! It was tough, not because I wasn’t excited about any of them, but tough because I wanted to preach on all three texts! Why would that be? you might ask. Well, because they talk about the promise of a Savior, Jesus’ resurrection, and our witnessing that to the world. And that’s why I became a pastor. It’s why you’re a Christian. It’s why we even have a church. It is our life. It is our mission. It is our comfort in life, and it is our hope in death! The joy of Easter victory for our Savior—and our eternal victory because of him—is the Christian’s joy every day of our lives. Today is about letting nothing stop us from sharing that joy with others. Today God’s Word encourages you: DON’T BE SHY—SPEAK UP! These words from the Apostle Peter give you so many good reasons to do so! Peter was speaking up, telling others through his preaching and through this letter, about the powerful appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ. As one sent out by Jesus himself, he wanted to tell the world about the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the very Son of God who lived and died to pay for sins and then rose from death and ascended back into heaven. The Son of God who had the power to pay for sins and return to his heavenly home will be coming back. Part of Peter’s message was that when Jesus does indeed return, he will judge all people based on whether they trusted in him as their Savior. Those whom he finds trusting in him upon his return will certainly be taken to be with him in heaven eternally. Those who in this life rejected him will certainly be rejected by him on that day and sent out of his presence for all eternity, cast into hell with the devil and his angels, who also rejected God.
Peter understood that the eternal ramifications for every person were so huge that he HAD TO let people know. And Peter’s credentials for doing so are impressive. He says that he and the other apostles were EYEwitnesses of his majesty and EARwitnesses of God’s glorious voice. He says, we were not following cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the powerful appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father, when the voice came to him from within the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We heard this voice, which came out of heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. Peter was there. He saw Jesus’ majesty with his own eyes on the Mount of Transfiguration and he heard God the Father speak about Jesus with his own ears. We know the importance of witnesses, don’t we? Police officers, lawyers, judges and juries rely heavily on eyewitnesses when there is an accident or a dispute. So do doctors and other medical personnel when someone gets injured. Even kids rely on witnesses when they get in trouble. When denying any wrongdoing, mom or dad will hear something like “I’m not lying—you can even ask Jacob!” We value the testimony of witnesses in all sorts of situations. Is it surprising that the same is true for people when it comes to God? Peter realized it, so he explains how he saw and heard these things. But there is even more information that will help his hearers and his readers—even more than the fact that Peter saw Jesus in person and witnessed his glory and heard God himself speak. Peter says, We also have the completely reliable prophetic word. You do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the Morning Star rises in your hearts. The word of God is like a bright light shining in a dark and dreary place. At that time, he was speaking of the Old Testament Scriptures when he said “the prophets.” He urged those people to listen carefully to those Scriptures but in a whole new way. And that way was this: with the understanding that those words are even more sure and certain now. Why? Because Jesus came and fulfilled the promises and prophecies of the Scriptures. They foretold a virgin birth in Bethlehem and that’s what happened with Jesus. They foretold the Messiah healing those who were sick and possessed, and Jesus did that. They foretold his betrayal and suffering and death and these too happened. They told of a resurrection to eternal life with the Redeemer and, because of the events of Easter, that too was assured. The completely reliable prophetic word. Jesus’ life and death and resurrection made it impossible to argue with the words of the prophets! He did everything…just as they foretold…just as his Father wanted…just as sinful people needed him to. That is why Peter urged those who would read this letter of his to use those words of God like they would use a light in a dark place as they awaited Jesus’ return. Peter gives further assurance: we know this above all else: No prophecy of Scripture comes about from someone’s own interpretation. In fact, no prophecy ever came by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were being carried along by the Holy Spirit. He spoke of the Old Testament writers, but this
truth holds for those whom God had write the New Testament—even these very words of Peter. None of the Bible’s writers just decided what they would write. The writers were simply the instruments God used; the words, however, are the words of God. Picture a sailboat out on the water. It goes nowhere unless the wind carries it along. That’s the maritime metaphor used by Peter here. The obedient prophets raised their sails and the Holy Spirit was the wind in their sails that carried them along. They wrote what he wanted them to write—exactly. And since the Holy Spirit did that, the words of the Bible can be trusted. They did not follow cunningly devised fables when speaking about Jesus; what they said was true. There was not then, and there is not now, human interference on God’s truth. The Bible is the Word of God and it is truth—and that includes Peter’s concern here: the power and coming of Christ. All of these things, combined with the utter joy of faith in Peter’s heart, enabled him to not shy away from boldly proclaiming salvation in Jesus during his lifetime. He wasn’t a particularly shy person, as you might recall, however the dangerous circumstances for Christians at his time might have shut his mouth. But they didn’t. He overcame that temptation because of his faith and because of sinners need for Jesus. So bold was Peter, that history tells us he was crucified for his faith under emperor Nero in Rome. You might listen to Peter and look at his life and consider him some sort of superhero of faith. I kind of see him that way. He experienced things that I haven’t—like seeing Jesus live and die and rise again. God spoke to him in ways that God hasn’t done for me—giving him the very words of Scripture to write. But he’s not just a character in a book. He was a real person, just like you and me. He was a Christian, just like you and me. But as an apostle, he sets an incredible example for us here as he speaks up for the gospel and encourages not to be shy, but to speak up also. Now I realize that Peter is not giving us a directive, a word of instruction here, to go out and tell the world about Christ, but you can find great encouragement to do so in his words. I want you to consider a few things. First of all, why should people listen to you? You may feel that your credibility is undermined because you are sinful or because you have sinned in ways that the world sees as especially awful. Well, I know what you mean by that. We probably all feel that to some extent. We’re afraid that people will make us the issue rather than Jesus. But don’t forget that our Savior paid for your sins on the cross! You are forgiven! And remember this: Peter was called “Satan” by Jesus once because of an inappropriate outburst on the disciple’s part. In addition to that, he was the one who stood in that cold courtyard on the night before Jesus’ death and publicly denied even knowing who Jesus was. It is not we and what we have done that are the most important; it is Jesus and what he has done. Peter was forgiven. We are forgiven. And really, that’s the good news we have to share!
You and I simply point people to Jesus. We simply proclaim his power, his majesty, his work, and his impending return on the Last Day. And if you think that you don’t have the credentials for witnessing that Peter did, you are mistaken. Peter saw Jesus with his own eyes. You can’t beat an eyewitness, can you? But you are an eyewitness too! And you say, “But I never saw his power and majesty.” Didn’t you? Maybe not with your physical eyes, but haven’t you seen his power and majesty with the eyes of faith? Yes, you have! You speak with credibility because his power has overcome your sin and given you faith to trust in him! You speak with credibility because you see Jesus as your Lord, your King, your Savior! Tell me who is better to speak about that today than you?! You have no reason to be shy because you have seen Jesus, your Savior. Peter heard God’s voice. And you say: “Great for him, but I wasn’t there on the Mount of Transfiguration; I didn’t hear what God said. In fact, I’ve never heard God speak!” That is SO not true! You HAVE heard God speak. Many of us hear him speak every single day! God does not tell us that he speaks out loud to us or through dreams. He says that he speaks through the words of Scripture. He tells us that he works through the Word to bring us to faith, to strengthen our faith, to accomplish his purposes. We know that! We have heard God’s voice. You speak with credibility because you’ve heard the voice of God! You too have heard him say, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” You have also believed what the Father says about his Son. You have no reason to be shy because you know the truth of the gospel! When Peter speaks of the completely reliable prophetic word, and refers to God’s Word as a lamp shining in a dark place that will endure and light the way for us until the Last Day, you know what he means every bit as much as Peter did. Many of you have said, as you or someone else has gone through great trial or suffering, that you don’t know how you’d do it without God and the comfort of his Word and promises. You were really saying the same thing! Your hope is in Christ and his Word and you need that bright light to shine in this sin-darkened and dreary world, with all its problems and difficulties. Don’t you think that you are in the best position to share that comfort with others?! Don’t be shy! Speak up and say the same thing to those around you today! To a world then and a world now which doubts the words of the Bible, Peter assures us that the Bible is not the work of human beings, but the very words of God. And that is the reason we’re not timid. When we share the details of Jesus’ life and his death and his Easter victory, we aren’t just giving our opinion. When we tell people that Jesus paid for the world’s sin, and that he loves them, we are not just telling them “what we believe.” We are declaring the very words and truth of God! That allows us to be bold, not timid, as we speak up and share the saving gospel. So DON’T BE SHY—SPEAK UP! Like Peter, you are an excellent witness because you have seen your Savior, you have heard the voice of God, and you have the powerful and true Word of God to proclaim! We are God’s witnesses to the world, so let the witnesses speak! It’s why we have a church. It is our life. It is our mission. It is our comfort in life, and it is our hope in death! Amen. Now the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.