Deo Gloria
Sermon for February 23, 2020
Pastor Martin Bentz
Text: 2 Peter 1:16-21
Theme: You Can Believe It!
- That Jesus is the Son of God
- That the Bible is the Word of God
Have you heard the latest about Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, IN and one of the candidates vying for the Democratic presidential nomination? It seems that back when he was 16 years, he was arrested for killing dogs. Kind of a disturbing story, isn’t it? Why would anyone do that? I mean I know we all did stupid things back when we were teenagers, but why kill dogs? OK, so here’s the problem. It isn’t true. He wasn’t arrested as a 16-year-old and he never killed any dogs. It was just a nasty rumor circulated on the internet to tarnish his reputation and weaken his support among Democratic voters. Sadly, you can’t believe everything you read on the internet.
So what about the story we have before us this morning, the story of Jesus’ transfiguration? Is it nothing more than a hoax too, a fictitious story disseminated by Jesus’ disciples? Absolutely not! Peter makes it clear this morning in the verses of our text that the story of Jesus’ transfiguration is true. In fact, Peter makes it clear that all the stories recorded in the Bible are true. They aren’t rumors. They aren’t fabrications. They are 100% accurate and reliable. You can stake your life on these stories. You can stake your eternity on them, because they’re true. You can believe it.
Of all the stories concerning Jesus’ life and ministry, if there’s one you and I might be tempted to think the disciples made up, it’s this one. “You saw Jesus’ face shining like the sun? Sure you did, Peter. And you saw Moses and Elijah? Yeah, right. And you heard a voice speaking from a cloud? OK, tell us another one.” But notice how Peter emphasizes the reality of that story, that it really did happen. “We did not follow cleverly invented stories,” he states, “when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty”(v. 16)
In other words, “we didn’t make up these stories about Jesus one afternoon while we were out fishing on the Sea of Galilee or while we were sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows. They really happened. We saw Jesus’ glory and majesty with our own eyes.”
Peter continues, “For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain”(vv. 17+18).
In other words, this isn’t a story Peter heard from somebody else. He saw it with his own eyes. He heard it with his own ears. It really happened. You can believe it.
But why do you suppose Peter does this? Why do you suppose he goes out of his way to assure his readers that the story of Jesus’ transfiguration is really true? Is he simply concerned about his own reputation, his own credibility? No. Peter makes a special point of emphasizing the veracity of this story because it is so significant, because it teaches us so much about Jesus.
There on a mountain in northern Israel the disciples saw Jesus’ glory. Oh sure, they had seen little glimpses of it before this. They had caught glimpses of Jesus’ glory in the miracles he had performed: like when he changed water into wine, when he healed the sick, when he calmed the storm. But here they saw his glory as the Son of God in all its fullness and all its majesty.
And if that wasn’t enough, they also heard the voice of God the Father. And what did the Father say? “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Could there be any doubt in the disciples’ minds as to who Jesus really was, that he really was the Son of God? No. What they witnessed there on that mountain, what they saw with their own eyes and heard with their own ears, confirmed that Jesus really is the Son of God. They could believe it.
And so can we. You and I weren’t there that day on the Mount of Transfiguration. You and I didn’t get to see Jesus’ glory and hear the voice of God the Father. But Peter did. And he goes out of his way to assure us that this story is true so we too might believe, that we might believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
It’s an important truth, vitally important. If you and I are going to live with God in heaven some day and see his glory and majesty, we need someone to save us from our sins, because sinful people cannot live with a holy God. If Jesus is just a human being, though, if he is nothing more that an inspiring teacher or a great moral leader, then he is no better than we are. Then he too is sinful and cannot help us escape the punishment we deserve. If, on the other hand, he is more than just one of us, if he is indeed the glorious and sinless Son of God, then he can help us. Then he can save us. Then he could do what you and I have failed to do. He could live a perfect life, a life of perfect obedience to God and his commands, which he did. As the sinless Son of God Jesus could also offer a perfect payment for our sins, a sacrifice that would pleasing and acceptable in God’s sight and would atone for our sins once and for all. And Jesus did that as well by his suffering and death on the cross. Jesus is the Savior we need precisely because he is the Son of God. You can believe it.
But notice that Peter doesn’t stop there. He doesn’t stop with the story of Jesus’ transfiguration, as if that’s the only story in the Bible that’s true. No, he says they’re all true. All of the stories, all of the prophecies, everything the Bible says—it’s all true. You can believe it. Listen again to what Peter says: “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”(v. 19). Why do we have the word of the prophets made more certain? Because everything they said about Jesus came true. The Old Testament prophets foretold that the Savior would be born in Bethlehem; and he was. The Old Testament prophets foretold that the Savior would be born of a virgin; and he was. The Old Testament prophets foretold that the Savior would do miraculous things like heal the sick and restore sight to the blind; and he did. The Old Testament prophets foretold that the Savior would be despised and rejected, that he would suffer and die, that his hands and his feet would be pierced; and it all came true. Every prophecy, every single word that was spoken about the promised Savior happened. So you and I can rely on what the prophets said. It’s sure. It’s dependable. It’s certain. You can believe it.
Does that surprise you, that the words of the Bible are so reliable, that every single prophecy about the promised Savior actually came true? It didn’t surprise Peter. You see, he believed that the Scriptures were inspired by God. This is the point Peter makes in the last two verses of our text: “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.” Notice the two little words “no” and “never”—“no prophecy of Scripture…never had its origin.” Peter leaves no room for doubt. Peter doesn’t give us the option of saying that parts of the Bible are not necessarily true because they happen to be of human origin. “No prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation,” he says. All right. So where did they come from?
Peter supplies the answer in the last verse: “…but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Moses did not just sit down one day and say, “You know, I think I’m going to write one of the books of the Bible today, one that talks about the origin of the world: ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’” That never happened. Likewise, David did not happen to sit down one day and say, “You know, I think I’m going to write the 23rd Psalm today: ‘The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.’” It never happened that way. Moses wrote the book of Genesis “as he was carried along by the Holy Spirit.” David wrote the 23rd Psalm “as he was carried along by the Holy Spirit.” The same was true of Isaiah and Jeremiah and all the other Old Testament prophets. They spoke God’s Word and wrote God’s Word when God enabled them to do so, when God the Holy Spirit inspired them to, when he “carried them along,” when he gave them the very thoughts and words to say.
So, yes, the Bible is inspired by God. What we have recorded here is not just a collection of human ideas and human opinions and human standards of morality. What we have recorded here is God’s ideas and God’s opinions and God’s standard of morality. What we have is God’s Word from cover to cover, from Genesis ch. 1 to Revelation ch. 22. You can believe it.
If only we paid more attention to it! That’s what Peter urges us to do, doesn’t he, to pay attention to it “as to a light shining in a dark place”?(v. 19) But do we? We pay attention to our gas gauge so we don’t run out gas, but do we pay attention to God’s Word and make sure our spiritual gas tank never runs low? We pay attention to the signs as we’re driving down the road so we don’t take a wrong turn and end up getting lost; but do we pay attention to God’s road map so we don’t take a wrong turn and end up getting lost spiritually? We pay attention to what’s happening in the news and what’s happening on Wall Street; but do we pay attention to the good news, the most important news of all, the news that affects our eternal security?
Maybe that’s one of the sins we need to confess this morning, that we haven’t been paying attention to God’s Word the way we should, that we’ve been paying far more attention to things like YouTube and the Wall Street Journal and Dr. Phil than we have to what God tells us in his Word. If so, then let us confess that sin this morning and ask for God’s forgiveness.
And then for our Savior’s sake let’s turn over a new leaf. Let’s make reading God’s Word a daily part of our lives. In fact, make it your goal to read at least one chapter every day. If you want to read more than that, that’s fine. But make it your goal to read at least one chapter every day. Read it carefully. Think about what it says. Pay attention to what it says. And follow what it says. It will make a tremendous difference in your life. I guarantee that. And it will never steer you wrong either, because it’s God’s Word. You can believe it.
I’m sure that story about Pete Buttigieg will not be the last ugly rumor circulated about a political candidate this year. I’m sure there will be plenty of others during this campaign season. And as a result we’ll have to be careful whenever we hear stories like that and do our best to sort out what is true and what is not.
Thank God we don’t have to wonder about the authenticity of the stories concerning Jesus Christ our Savior, like the story of his transfiguration! Peter confirms this morning that that story is true, that it really happened. Which means, of course, that what it teaches us about Jesus is also true: that he really is the Son of God. You can believe it. And what is true of that story is also true of the other stories in the Bible. They all are true because the Bible is God’s inspired, inerrant Word. You can believe it. Amen.