Well Pleased
/2 Peter 1:12-19
"The message of Jesus is just a myth! It's something that Peter and the other apostles made up!"
We know from chapter 2:1 that, in Peter's audience, false teachers are rising up.
And in this week's paragraph (1:12-19), it seems that he's wanting to address some of their false teaching: the accusation that Peter's message about Jesus is a "cleverly devised myth" (1:16)
And Peter's response is simply to slide his resume across the table:
"... we were eyewitnesses of his majesty...
When he received honor and glory from God the Father,
And the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory...
We ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven,
For we were with him on the holy mountain."
(1:16-18)
In other words:
"I was there.
On the mountain.
I saw THE. GLORY. OF. GOD.
I heard THE. VOICE. OF. GOD."
It's hard to beat that!
And ultimately where Peter is going in the following verses is to say:
What we have in the "prophetic word," the Scriptures, is "something more sure" (1:19).
Which is incredible!
But in this moment, where I want to focus is that "very voice borne from heaven."
On that mountain - what we typically call the Mount of Transfiguration - Peter, James, and John heard the very voice of God.
What did that voice say?
Have you ever thought about all the things that God could have said to the disciples in that moment? He could have really done us some favors...
He could have shed some light on creation: more specifics of how He did it, and how old the Earth really is.
He could have told us more specifics about the end times: given us some specific dates, and really cleared up some things!
But God was not concerned with any of that.
He had one simple message on that mountain. It was the same, simple message that He had at the baptism of Jesus (Mark 1:11).
"This is my beloved Son.
With whom I am well pleased."
With this simple message, God is bringing us inside the Trinity. He is giving us insight into a relationship older than history itself: the relationship between God the Father, and God the son.
"I love my Son.
I am well pleased with my Son."
If you are a parent reading this, you have - albeit just a whisper - an understanding of this "well pleased with my son."
It started the moment you found out that the pregnancy test was positive. It soared in the hospital room, when you held your child for the first time. And with every year that passes: the joy, the delight in your child grows and grows.
And this is just an echo of the infinite delight that God the Father has in his Son Jesus.
-—
And believer in Jesus,
what is even more stunning is this:
this delight has been extended to you.
The Scriptures teach that by faith, we have UNION with Jesus.
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I live, but Christ who lives in me... (Galatians 2:20)."
"... you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3)."
Or we can look up just a few verses in our chapter, 2 Peter 1:4 - we have become "partakers in the divine nature."
And what that means is this:
The same infinite delight that God the Father has in Jesus - He has in you, because of Jesus.
On the cross, for a moment (and in a way we don't fully understand), this delight was withheld. The One who had no sin was made sin for us.
Where there once had been only infinite pleasure and delight, justice now brought displeasure and separation. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
But what a great exchange! The Son of God received this from His Father, so that - by our union with Him - we know the delight of God the Father.
My friend, hear the voice from heaven today.
And let His voice transform your day, and fill it with joy, and with worship.
All because of Jesus, these words are for you too:
"You are my son, whom I love.
With you, I am well pleased!"
"You are my daughter whom I love.
With you, I am well pleased!"
- Joe