Our glorious future
They inquired into what time or what circumstances the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when he testified in advance to the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 1 Peter 1:11 CSB
Peter continues to elaborate on the diligent work of the prophets. They were constantly searching for the moment that the Messiah would be born. This could be seen in the wise men in Matthew 2:1-6, where they recalled the words of the prophet Micah in Micah 5:2, “Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah; one will come from you to be ruler over Israel for me.” His origin is from antiquity, from ancient times. which is separated by 750 years. To put that into perspective, that would be more than double the age of the United States of America. All the prophets were writing under the guidance of the Holy Spirit this message of hope of the coming Messiah. A majority of the prophets experienced persecution and difficulty during their ministries, as seen in the “hall of faith,” (see Hebrews 11:32-40). While they inquired, it was revealed to them that the Messiah would suffer first, and then “the glories…would follow,” meaning to say that Christ would first have to die before salvation could be completed. As mentioned from yesterday’s devotional, we see this in Isaiah 53, in verse 7, “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not open his mouth,” in comparison to Matthew 26:62-63a when Jesus was being charged by the high priest, “‘The high priest stood up and said to him, ‘Don’t you have an answer to what these men are testifying against you?’ But Jesus kept silent.’” At the time that Jesus appeared on the scene in Israel, the nation was under the subjugation of Roman rule. In the minds of the Jewish people at the time, the Messiah would come as a conquering hero, a military commander, leading an uprising against the Romans and freeing the Jewish nation. Yet, the prophets prophesied that Jesus would suffer first, not the words you would want to hear from your savior from Roman oppression. Thankfully, we know the rest of the story. Jesus saved us not from physical death, but from spiritual death, eternal separation from God. Peter, writing to scattered believers under harsh persecution, encourages them that the Savior they follow too suffered as well, but in the end, glory followed. Hebrews 12:2 says, “keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” So, the message Peter is trying to convey in this moment is to persevere through the trials and tribulations. Our Savior went through them as well and was glorified. In the end, we will too, being in the presence of God and all the saints, free from pain and sorrow forever and ever, Amen.
Blessings,
Isaac De Guzman
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