In the first chapter we looked at the Transfiguration through the eyes of the Apostle John, and we discovered that John emphasized the glory of the Son. What did Peter emphasize? Second Peter 1:12-21 says, “Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet [fitting], as long as I am in this tabernacle [body], to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hat shewed me. Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance. For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost [Spirit].”
What did Peter emphasize about the Transfiguration? The glory of the Scriptures. Peter remembered God’s admonition, “Hear ye him” (Matt. 17:5). When Peter saw Moses, Elijah and Jesus in glory, he did not know what to say. He should have stayed silent, but Peter had a weakness for speaking up! Three times in the Scriptures Peter was interrupted. On the Mount of Transfiguration he was interrupted by God the Father. Peter was telling Jesus what to do, and God the Father spoke and said, “This is my beloved Son, . . . hear ye him” (v. 5). Just a short time later, Peter was interrupted by God the Son. The tax collector asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” (v. 24, NIV). Peter said, “Yes, he does” (v. 25, NIV). Then Peter went into the house and was about to tell Jesus how to solve the problem, but the Lord interrupted Peter and told him where to get the tax money.
In Acts 10, Peter was interrupted by the Holy Spirit. Peter was preaching to the household of Cornelius, and the Holy Spirit interrupted him. The people heard Peter say, “Whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins” (v. 43). They believed, they were saved, and the Holy Spirit came to bear witness. So God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit each interrupted Peter at one time or another. Peter never forgot this. He learned to appreciate the Word of God—the glory of the Scriptures.
In 2 Peter 1:12-21, the Apostle Peter revealed three characteristics of the Scriptures that make them so glorious. This Book that we study—the Bible, the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures—is such a glorious book. First of all, the Bible is the sure Word of God. “We have also a more sure word of prophecy” (v. 19). That does not mean that the prophetic Scriptures are more dependable than the other Scriptures. All Scripture is inspired, all Scripture is profitable, all Scripture is dependable. Peter was saying that, on the Mount of Transfiguration, God showed to the disciples the fulfillment of the prophetic Scriptures. They saw God’s kingdom in its glory.
The Old Testament prophets had a problem. In fact, Peter wrote about that problem in his first letter (1 Pet. 1:9-12). As the prophets were led by the Holy Spirit to write concerning the Saviour, they had two pictures: They saw a mount of suffering where the Messiah would die, and they saw a mount of glory where the Messiah would reign. The saw a suffering Saviour, and they saw a glorious Sovereign, and they could not understand the contradiction. In his first letter Peter explained that our Lord Jesus Christ first had to suffer before He could enter into His glory. He explained the seeming contradiction in the Old Testament.
© 2005 Warren W. Wiersbe
© 1989 by The Good News Broadcasting Association, Inc. All rights reserved.
Dr. Warren Wiersbe (1929-2019) was an internationally known Bible teacher, author, and conference speaker. He graduated in 1953 from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Lombard, Illinois. While attending seminary, he was ordained as pastor of Central Baptist Church in 1951 and served until 1957. From September 1957 to 1961, Wiersbe served as Director of The Literature Division for Youth for Christ International. From 1961 to 1971 he pastored Calvary Baptist Church of Covington, Kentucky south of Cincinnati, Ohio. His sermons were broadcast as the “Calvary Hour” on a local Cincinnati radio station. From 1971 to 1978, He served as the pastor of Moody Church in Chicago 1971 to 1978. While at Moody Church he continued in radio ministry. Between August 1979 and March 1982, he wrote bi-weekly for Christianity Today as “Eutychus X”, taught practical theology classes at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, and wrote the course material and taught a Doctor of Ministry course at Trinity and Dallas Seminary. In 1980 he transitioned to Back to the Bible radio broadcasting network where he worked until 1990. Dr. Wiersbe became Writer in Residence at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids and Distinguished Professor of Preaching at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. In his lifetime, Dr. Wiersbe wrote over 170 books—including the popular Be series, which has sold over four million copies. Dr. Wiersbe was awarded the Gold Medallion Lifetime Achievement by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA).