Majestic Glory Ps 93; 2 Sam 23:1-7; 2 Pet 1:12-21; Mark 9:1-8

Introduction https://youtu.be/QnoZz6aF1b4

Three Sundays ago, we began a series on 2 Peter, primarily because of its very clear and focussed treatment of false teachers, a problem we have been facing in our own day. In today’s passage, Peter’s concentration on the identity of Jesus unveils for us what the controversy was really about and why it was worth fighting over.

Exposition 2 Pet 1:12-21

vv. 12-15 “Therefore I intend always to remind[1] you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. 13 I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder[2], 14 since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.”

v.12 Peter’s statement that he intends to remind the readers of “these qualities” refers to the list of virtues he earlier outlined, “faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, love”, as crucial to our relationship with Jesus, and therefore our “partnership in the divine nature” (1:4-11). Whilst he is persuaded that they do know about these qualities and are established in their truth, this is something he wants to keep reminding them of for as long he is able, this makes this letter something of a last will and testament[3]. 2 Peter is serious business as these are the truths that will be attacked by the false teachers. His remarks that “I will make every effort” confirms the gravity of his writing and charges us to keep the faith (Rev 14:12) just as much as the first disciples did. He is obeying the commands he received from the mouth of Jesus in their last conversation, to “feed my lambs” and “feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17). The lambs and sheep of God, which is you, are portrayed in the New Testament, especially by Paul in his goodbye to the Ephesian elders, as helpless prey of “fierce wolves” that will arise even from the eldership of the Church who will not spare the flock of God, “men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them”, to quote Paul (Acts 20:28-31). When Peter says that “the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me.”, he literally says, “the putting off of my tent[4] will be soon” and the word he uses for “departure” is “exodus”.  He is referring back to Jesus’ prophecy that he was chosen for a death that would bring glory to God (John 21:18-19). These are words that take our minds back to Luke’s description of the transfiguration[5], which suggests that Peter saw his own death as a departure into glory. In the light of this sober and glorious expectation he desires above all else that his readers remain true to the call of God on their lives[6].

What do you believe your own “passing” will achieve? Will you die a “good death”? I am not particular fond of “passing” language, because it doesn’t really say anything. Much better to use an expression which summarises what we believe happens to a Christian when they die. The Salvation Army uses for its soldiers, “Promoted to Glory”. Pondering the end of our days is a godly exercise[7], and it is firmly on the mind of some of us who attend the 5 pm service, since we received the shock of hearing news last week of the sudden death of Christ McGibbon from a heart attack. Though Chris had visibly suffered from a disabling stroke, he commuted by bike and train across the city up and down the streets of the CBD and frequented all it hospitals bringing to the lost the good news of Jesus, he was the person who, of all I have known over the years, most consistently lived the life of an evangelist, his destiny with Christ is assured. What about yours? Will you be promoted to glory? Peter now speaks of eternal things.

vv. 16-18 “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths[8] 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 honour and glory[9] from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic[10] Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I[11] am well pleased[12],” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.”

According to the false teachers the apostles were fabricators of “cleverly devised myths” to support their gospel message and control the behaviour of other believers. Whilst personal gain and honour is nearly always a clear motivator for false teachers, one of the more plausible arguments for the truth of the apostolic preaching of the resurrection is that it would cost them all their lives. Instead of spinning out an elaborate argument for the gospel, Peter gives a testimony[13]. His testimony of the majesty of Jesus and his Father is not about the resurrection, or the ascension into heaven, but of an event which struck him with unforgettable awe. It is a testimony about, “the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”[14] when he was on “the holy mountain”[15] of Transfiguration. It was the intense presence of God that made the mountain holy. The “majesty” present at that time points to the coming reign of Christ as King in the glory of the Father in his closest identification with his Son[16].

The words of the Father to Jesus, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” prefigure his Second Coming in glory and signify the supreme pleasure of the Father in his all-obedient Son’s willingness to sacrifice himself on the cross[17]. The Transfiguration was a bestowal of the coming majesty of universal Kingship on Christ[18]. Peter is in no doubt that this was a heavenly voice he heard for the Transfiguration was a prophetic foreseeing of what will become of Christ at the End and of what will eventually overtake the life of every believer in Jesus. Whatever doubts Peter might have had about Jesus’ destiny, and so his own, these were now all removed. It was Peter’s presence at the glorification of the face of Christ[19] at the Transfiguration that filled him with final assurance about how God would consummate everything at the End. In his focus on Jesus at the Transfiguration Peter saw his own eternity in Christ because he saw in Jesus a portent of the Transfiguration of all things. A topic which will occupy him in the third chapter of 2 Peter.

vv.19-21 “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, 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.”

We all need to pay attention to the prophetic word, “as to a lamp shining in a dark place”. The oil lamps of the ancient world were not like our streetlights today.  They were adequate for guidance, but the blackness of night around them was overwhelming[20]. The prophetic testimony of scripture is the authority of its inspiration by the Holy Spirit. Just as Jesus was conceived by the Spirit and gave birth to those who are “born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13) so the same authorising power[21] gifted the scriptures through men for the sake of our salvation. I believe the dynamic Peter is referring to works like this, as we know the power by which we begun following Jesus when we were “regenerated/born again” came not from us but “from above”[22], so we sense the same power communicating the life of God to us through the Bible. The beautiful statement, “until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts”[23] refers to the rising of Venus in the sky which appears clearly and brightly at the beginning of each day. In Revelation Jesus says of himself “I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”” (22:16). In context this points to the coming of the new age in the Return of Christ with glory. After the dawn of the new age all our knowledge of Jesus will be immediate and complete; Paul says, “As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.” (1 Cor 13:8-10). When the darkness is taken away the light of Jesus will completely fill our hearts. What a wonderful expectation and hope this is.

This is not a matter of personal interpretation, for not only were the prophetic events of scripture initiated sovereignly by God, so was their interpretation[24]. When Peter explains that these “men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” he is using the same verb used earlier that describes how “the voice” was “carried to him (Jesus)” (v.17) All prophecy has its origin in heaven.

So far Peter has laid sound groundwork for his coming denunciation of false prophets. Not that the opposite of false prophecy is a display cleverer reason, but the glory and majesty of the Transfiguration event and all the prophetic material in scripture which testifies to it.

Conclusion

One commentator sums up this passage by saying, “If we neglect any part of the (biblical) story we end up with gaps in our own story” (Davids). What holds everything together is a realisation that at the centre and circumference of the biblical story is the story of Jesus, we cannot ignore or neglect the fact that Christ has revealed himself as our Majestic King. To the degree that I obey “everything he has commanded” (Matt 28:20), to that extent I will certainly experience his wholeness flowing into my life[25].