We hope this week's devotional will encourage you in your spiritual walk.
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2 Peter 1.16-21 (NLT)
16 For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendour with our own eyes 17 when he received honour and glory from God the Father. The voice from the majestic glory of God said to him, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” 18 We ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain.
19 Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding,21 or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.
Devotional Thought:
In this letter, Peter attempts to encourage believers who are being persecuted and challenged about their faith in Jesus. One of those groups of challengers were known as the Epicureans. Epicureans taught that the world originated in the random movements of atoms in empty space. They denied the possibility of life after death. They also rejected both religious and philosophical accounts of the world that understood its order to be based on divine (or rational) intelligence. Therefore, they claimed to free humans from ideas of divine providence, fate, and myths of divine punishment. Consequently, they said people should arrange their lives to have as much pleasure and little pain as possible.
Does this sound familiar? What kinds of objections to the Christian faith have you heard? Do any of them resonate with the Epicureans? What does this say? Well, for one thing, objections to the Christian faith are nothing new. From the beginning there have been those that challenge and reject faith in Jesus. And it continues today. “Life is a result of random chance. There is nothing beyond what we can see and touch. There is no God. Jesus was not a real person, and the bible is a myth.”
One of our responsibilities as followers of Jesus is to be able to give an answer when people raise questions about our faith. What Peter does in this passage is offer us an “apologetic” for the story of Jesus’ transfiguration (Matthew 17). An apologetic is an answer to an objection. Knowing where the objections were coming from, Peter offered a response that matched the Epicurean challenges.
“We were not making up clever stories…we saw with our own eyes…we ourselves heard that voice from heaven…we were with him…what the prophets said about him came true.”
This is an evidence-based response. Peter and the other disciples can be trusted because they actually experienced the things they later taught. A bright light actually shone on the mountain – I saw it. There really was a voice from heaven – I heard it. Jesus really existed – I ate meals with Him. Peter’s letter is a word of encouragement, to those he was writing, and to us today.
When we are faced with questions about Jesus. When we ourselves have questions about faith. This letter from Peter reminds us, we are not believing in made-up stories. Our faith is grounded in a real, historical, physical, person who opened our eyes to the truth and the door into everlasting life.
Prayer:
Creator God, from Whom all things were made, thank you for the person and work of Jesus, who revealed to us true reality, who offered His life as a ransom for many, and who opened the door into life everlasting. Enlighten our minds by your Spirit so that we may be confident in sharing this truth with others. And may our questions about faith lead us closer and closer to you. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Rev. Joseph Wood, PhD
Dean of Students and Lecturer in Theology and Church History