THERE IS GREAT POWER in story. Story captures our imaginations, and our minds and hearts wonder at the dramatic twists and turns, and applaud the hero’s triumph in the victorious conclusion; we take some piece of that and somehow make it our own. Whatever medium in which story is told, these powers remain. Early man, and still some primitive tribes, and some moderns trying to reclaim a heritage, depended upon oral tradition. The cuneiform alphabet circa late fourth millennium BC moved mankind into comprehensive written records, and story began to be recorded for posterity in the history of each culture. By the time of Jesus, both oral and written story were well-developed, and the stories of his life rapidly developed, and were rapidly put in written form for that generation and those who follow.
Peter was there with Jesus, and saw the story being made. His is the gospel of Mark, his amanuensis, and the written record states, “Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted. These are the twelve he appointed: Simon, (Peter)” was first of those. (Mark 3:13-16) His bona fides established, Peter says, “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” (1 Pet. 1:16) One of the most significant moments seen by Peter was recorded at the Mount of Transfiguration, where Peter saw Jesus “transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.” (Matt. 17:2) Here, Peter says, he heard the very voice of God. “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!” (Matt. 17:5) Later, he says, “We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.” (2 Pet. 1:18) Peter saw Jesus again, in an even more important moment, “he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.” And an angel said, “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:9-11)
In his second letter, Peter addresses his legacy, and sends it out on the tides of time and circumstance, like a letter in a bottle thrown from a rocky shore into the Mediterranean Ocean. “I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside. I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.” (2 Pet. 1:13-14) Did he know that it would reach us, this intentional thought? Or was it simply a letter of record from him, to those he loved, but given liberation and motion out of the void by the Holy Spirit? Yet it is here, “So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.” (2 Pet. 1:12)
The central theme of Peter’s thoughts and actions here is that our faith in Jesus should be made secure; he is the long-awaited Messiah, and he will return. His revolutionary teachings were not a violation of the word of God. Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matt. 5:17) Peter binds his words to that which was before, the oral stories of the Israelites as recorded by Moses and the Prophets throughout the written Torah. He testifies, “And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” (2 Pet. 1:19)
Peter strengthens his conclusion. “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Pet. 1:20-21) This seems to resolve our query as to Peter’s knowledge of what he has written. The inference here is that Peter also is a prophet, and that he is speaking ‘carried along by the Holy Spirit.’ Designated an Apostle by Jesus, this is how much of history has come to see him. It’s how we should see him. And, we should pay attention to the story he tells.
Q. Does Peter’s story of Jesus’ story give me insights to my own story, and do others see Jesus in me?
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