Eyewitnesses to the truth
For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased!” We ourselves heard this voice when it came from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain. 2 Peter 1:17-18 CSB
As mentioned from yesterday, Peter was present for the transfiguration, a miraculous moment when Peter, James and John “were eyewitnesses of His majesty” (v 16). Peter then says that he also heard God the Father, called the “Majestic Glory,” described also in a similar fashion in Matthew 17:5 as a bright cloud, saying “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased!” We see this same bestowment of “honor and glory” at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry at the Jordan River (Matthew 3:17, Mark 1:11, Luke 3:22). Glory, meaning brilliance and light that belong only to God. Honor, meaning the exalted state of Christ. Both of these attributes were only available to God, and now, Peter, James and John hear God the Father speak these words, confirming the deity of Christ to them in verse 18. They were forever transformed experiencing the truth of who Christ is, being eyewitnesses that must share this miraculous moment, especially in the face of false teachers and the myths they were claiming. In our day and age, there are many that look for a miraculous sign, a proof that Jesus exists, that if they were to see it, just like Peter, James and John, they would instantly believe in Jesus as the Savior. But that may not happen until Christ returns, and by then, it would be too late. Thankfully, we were given the Word of God, filled with testimonies of eye-witnesses who saw Jesus throughout His entire life, death, and resurrection, all written down that we may believe in Christ and experience salvation, as John wrote in John 20:31, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” Although we have thousands of years of separation between the life of Christ and now, we can be confident in the testimonies by those who were eyewitnesses of His deity, like Peter, James and John, who were willing to die, because what they saw and experienced was without a shadow of a doubt, the truth.
Blessings,
Isaac De Guzman
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