Pastor Chris’ Corona Quarantine Epistles to the Flock of AIC Ngong Road, in Dispersion and Isolation. 161st Edition.
Dear People of whom the World is not Worthy,
In today’s passage (2 Peter 1:16-18) we finally encounter the reminder that Peter has been talking about but has not yet mentioned. The Greco-Roman world of Peter’s day was saturated with myths about gods and their equally mythological feats. It was easy for people to regard the gospel, with its accounts of Jesus’ miracles as just another myth about another god. So Peter draws the attention of the readers to the fact that the gospel is not a
Human Witnesses (v. 16). Fables were the creation of the fertile imagination of human minds. No human had witnessed the gods quarreling over a goddess or dying and resurrecting. It was all some fantastic, unbelievable myth. In contrast, Peter and his companions were eyewitnesses of Jesus’ majestic glory. Their story may have sounded like just another myth about a god, except that they were telling of what they had witnessed.
Heavenly Witness (vv. 17-18). Not only did Peter and his companions witness Christ’s glory, but the Father himself also did. There are many great accounts about Jesus in the gospels. Peter did not choose this particular one at random. Read one of the accounts in the gospels (Matthew 17:1-5) and note the comprehensive witness collection: Transformation(v. 2). Torah – Moses (v. 3). Tellers -forth and fore (prophets) Elijah (v. 3). Three Men (vv. 1, 4). Trinitarian. Head – the Father (v. 5). This event was not fully understood by the disciples, else they would have realized at that point, that they were dealing with the divine. Peter now recalls the event and emphasizes its significance as a testimony to the divinity of Christ and his uniqueness as the Son of God. This is a truth worth dying for and some of the readers were facing that prospect.
Peter himself is soon to be crucified (upside down, according to tradition. He is reported to have requested it himself because he did not consider himself worthy to hang right side up like his Lord. Imagine! I would have been pleading for mercy!). Myths are great for entertainment but it would be madness to die for a myth. Peter wants it clear – this is worth dying for.
Your Loving Pastor Chris.