“Heed the evidence”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Tuesday, August 6, 2024
2 Peter 1: 13-21 (Forward, p. 8) CEV p. 1283
Sadly, unfortunately, we human beings are prone to forgetfulness. And here I don’t mean relatively inconsequential things like names and dates or one’s shopping list. No, I’m referring to important things like the impact of historical events—or one’s salvation history. That is why the apostle Peter is taking great pains to remind his readers about what God has done for us in Christ Jesus. He does this on two counts:
a) Firstly, he mentions the first-hand experience, the actual testimonies, of those who were there, who personally knew and saw Jesus and experienced His ministry. And here he singles out in particular his own incredible experience on the Mount of the Transfiguration. Truly that was a life transforming experience. And this is what our Biblical account is all about: the experiences that men and women had of God, something well worth us remembering and heeding.
b) And then, picking up on that, he mentions God’s own word, the word of fulfilled prophecy, and reminds his readers that none of the prophets ‘made up this stuff’ (cleverly devised myths) but were guided by the Spirit of God. And so, once again, it behoves us to take this seriously, to heed the evidence.
What Peter said to his audience is well worth us heeding as well. While some would dismiss the evidence of the Scriptures, we should not. And likewise, the prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures that were fulfilled in Jesus. Two things should be noted in this regard. Firstly, that Christians did not willy nilly ‘decide’ that these prophecies were Messianic. Many of them—though not all—were already seen as Messianic by those of the Jewish faith. And secondly, that the likelihood of anyone fulfilling all of them is incredibly slim. The odds are heavily weighted against any one person fulfilling all of them—to the point of almost being impossible. And so, whether by the word of Scripture fulfilled or the witness of those who have experienced God at work, we should take great pains to heed them and act accordingly. Thanks be to God.
Forward notes: “So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (verse 19).
“Even though I am church-schooled, I had never read the Bible straight through until we did the Bible Challenge in my church, the process of reading through the entire Bible in a year. I was surprised by how much I did not know and by how much of Scripture had been in the dark for me.
“The prophets of the Old Testament foretold the coming of the Messiah—the morning star—but many people did not heed the signs. In his letter to the early Christians, Peter declares these prophetic signs as ‘more fully confirmed.’ He boldly proclaims that he heard the voice of God saying, ‘This is my Son.’ Peter’s words are like a lamp shining in the darkness of my confusion. What was prophesied came true.”
Moving Forward: “How often do you read the Old Testament passages appointed for the day? Do the prophets illuminate or confirm the gospel teachings?”