2 Peter: Faith In A Skeptical World Sample

(focuses especially on vv. 17–18)

When thinking of Jesus' 'power and coming’ and ‘majesty’ (v. 16), one event stands out for Peter that must be recalled. It was so significant that great figureheads of Israel's past –  Moses and Elijah –  were also called to witness the event.

To refresh your memory, read Matthew 17:1–9. (The event is also recorded in Mark 9 and Luke 9.) It was the day Jesus’ form was changed before the disciples’ eyes. Jesus’ face ‘shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light’ (Matt. 17:2). And then, as Peter quotes in 2 Peter 1:17, God the Father said in the hearing of them all, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’ Why is this event significant? God had gathered His saints from the past together with His saints from the present, to witness for the saints of the future what He had to say about His Son, Jesus Christ. Is it not an event worthy of further consideration and humble reflection? 

Peter realised that this event was fulfilling the prophecy about the Christ in Psalm 2: ‘He said to me, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father”’ (Ps. 2:7). God would set Israel’s and the nations’ King on ‘Zion, my holy hill’ (Ps. 2:6). Because Psalm 2 is in mind, Peter refers to the place of the transfiguration as ‘the sacred [or holy] mountain’ (2 Pet. 1:18). Peter not only saw the ‘power and coming’ and ‘majesty’ of Jesus Christ (v. 16), but he also heard God Almighty identify for the world her King. 

As Matthew records, it was all too much for Peter – the disciples ‘fell face down to the ground, terrified’ (Matt. 17:6). But even at the end of his life, Peter is still struggling to convey the significance and splendour of what he witnessed that day. Following Christ’s ‘power and coming’ and ‘majesty’ in verse 16 he chooses the words ‘honour’, ‘glory from God the Father’, the ‘Majestic Glory’ (v. 17). By reminding us of this historical event that knocked him to the ground, Peter wants us also to share in its bewildering effect. 

Verse 18 labours to express how certain we too can be that this world-shattering entrance of God took place: ‘We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain’ (my italics). Take it from me, says Peter, it happened! God wants you to be in no doubt – it happened! 

Reflection

If we rightly see history as His story, what significance does God’s affirmation of Jesus at that time, on that mountain, have for world history? How does it increase your respect for Jesus?