CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES
2 Peter 1:16. Fables.—Legends, myths. With special reference to the narrative of the marvels of the Transfiguration. Coming.—Whether this looks backward or onward is not quite clear. It is best limited to the Transfiguration. Eyewitnesses.—And so have a personal sense-testimony to render.
2 Peter 1:19. Word of prophecy.—Not probably to be confined to things foretold. Remember how, in his addresses, and in his first epistle, St. Peter freely made appeal to Old-Testament Scriptures as proving or supporting his teachings. It is important to realise how devout Jews regarded the Old Testament.
2 Peter 1:20. Private interpretation.—Special. Those who interpreted must no more be self-willed than those who wrote. No man wrote save in the power of the Holy Ghost, and no man must venture to interpret save in the same power of the Holy Ghost.
2 Peter 1:21. Render, “But being borne on by the Holy Ghost, men spake from God.” The idea is that men did not speak out of their own hearts, but as they were commissioned by God. St. Peter’s anxiety concerns the mischievous, self-willed influence of the false teachers, with whom he is about to deal in the next chapter.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— 2 Peter 1:16-21
The Apostolic Testimony.—In the salutation of this epistle Simon Peter distinctly calls himself an “apostle” of Jesus Christ; and here he puts himself with the other apostles, and testifies of the veritablenesss of the witness which they made on the basis of their own knowledge and experience.
I. It was clear and emphatic—This is implied in the assertion that it was not vague, uncertain, and untrustworthy, like the “cunningly devised fables” with which the popular ear was tickled. “By this term probably some elements in the doctrine of the false teachers are alluded to; something analogous to the ‘feigned words’ of 2 Peter 2:3. There is reason for believing that the particular elements in their teaching thus incidentally condemned were of Jewish origin. If this conjecture be correct, then St. Peter is here dealing with errors similar to those condemned by St. Paul (1 Timothy 1:4; 2 Timothy 4:4; Titus 1:14—the only other passage in which the word ‘fables’ occurs). And in this case much light is thrown on some of the marked peculiarities of this epistle and that of St. Jude—viz., the fondness of both writers for the oldest, and sometimes the most obscure, passages of Old Testament history, as well as for some strange portions of uncanonical apocryphal tradition. They were fighting these seducers with their own weapons; difficult passages of Scripture and tradition, which these men had worked up into a system of pernicious mysticism, St. Peter and St. Jude proved to be altogether of a different meaning, and to tell against the very doctrines that they were employed to support” (A. Plummer, M.A.). The most effective way in which to show the clearness of the apostolic testimony is to contrast the gospels with the foolish and demoralising stories of the so-called apocryphal gospels.
II. It was based on strong conviction.—They themselves absolutely believed what they recorded or declared, and showed their conviction by giving up all, and enduring all, for the sake of their testimony. They were consequently more than officials who do a duty, and more even than prophets, who were mediums for conveying a message. They were convinced men, who put their own hearts into their testimony. And it is absolutely essential to all effective Christian ministry, that the speaker should have the “accent of conviction.”
III. The conviction was based on personal experience.—St. Peter suggests much that was common to himself and the other apostles who were in the daily fellowship of Jesus Christ; but he refers precisely to the one experience which he was privileged to share exclusively with James and John. The Transfiguration may be treated as St. Peter’s special personal experience and testimony, since he was the sole spokesman of the occasion. The precise interest of the Transfiguration lies in its being the most sublime revelation of the innermost mystery of Christ’s person and mission,—one great point of suggestion there being the necessity and spiritual mystery of the Redeemer’s sacrificial death. St. Peter did not repeat something heard; nor even something conveyed to his mind in dream, or trance; nor even something studied from a book. He claims accurate knowledge through personal experience, and in gaining that experience the full activity of all his human powers and faculties. Compare the declaration of St. John: “That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we beheld, and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life” (1 John 1:1).
IV. The experience absolutely assured the righteousness of Christ’s personal claim.—They were “eye-witnesses of His majesty.” This may be illustrated by the results of the wine-making at the marriage in Cana of Galilee. “This beginning of His signs did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory: and His disciples believed on Him.” We need to see more clearly that all the experiences of Christ’s fellowship which the apostles had brought impressions of Him; not just of His power, or His wisdom, or His goodness, but of Him, in whom so evidently dwelt “all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”
The Witness of Prophecy to Christ.—The explanation of this reference to prophecy needs first to be given, and Plummet’s note is suggestive of every important point. “We have, as something more sure, the prophetic word, as a second proof of the truth of my teaching respecting Christ’s coming. The expression ‘the prophetic word’ occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. ‘The Scripture’ given as quoted by Clement of Rome, is quoted again in the so called Second Epistle of Clement (ch. 11) as ‘the prophetic word.’ The quotation in both cases is probably from some uncanonical book of prophecies. Here the expression means the whole body of prophecy respecting the subject in hand; but the meaning of the whole sentence is not quite clear. It may mean—
1. That the Transfiguration has made prophecies more sure, for we who were there have thus witnessed their fulfilment. In this case, however, we should have expected something more than ‘and’ to introduce the statement, such as ‘and hence,’ ‘and thus,’ ‘whereby,’ etc. Or it may mean—
2. That in the prophetic word we have something more sure than the voice from heaven. Here a simple ‘and’ is natural enough; and the word of prophecy is suitably compared with the voice from heaven. But how can the word of prophets be more sure than the voice of God? In itself it cannot be so; but it may be so regarded
(1) in reference to those who did not hear, but only heard of, the voice from heaven.
(2) In reference to the subject in hand. (a) For the readers of this epistle, the many utterances of a long line of prophets, expounded by a school of teachers only second to the prophets themselves, might easily be ‘more sure’ evidence than the narrative of a single writer; and ‘if they heard not Moses and the prophets, neither would they be persuaded’ by the report of a voice from heaven. (b) The Transfiguration, though an earnest of Christ’s future glory, was not so clear a promise of it as the express words of prophecy. If this latter interpretation be right, we have another form of authenticity. A forger would be likely to magnify his own advantage in hearing the voice from heaven over the ordinary proofs offered to every one, In any case, the coincidence with 1 Peter 1:10-12 must not be overlooked.” Dealing generally with the assertion made concerning the trustworthiness of the characteristic Old-Testament writings, consider—
I. Prophetic Scripture.—St. Peter clearly has in mind writings of an anticipative character, which foretold events that would occur in the future. The term is sometimes made to include the historic and didactic features of Scripture, but here reference must be to writings which have relation to the coming Messiah. And it must always be borne in mind that Jews found references to Messiah in very many mere side-allusions, which our logical Western minds compel us to free from any such relation. Indeed, the severer criticism of our day tends to put serious limitation upon the long-recognised number of Messianic passages.
II. Its source.—Distinctly, the impulse and guidance of the spirit of God. The spirit, as the inspiration of prophecy concerning Messiah, should be carefully distinguished from the Holy Ghost as the witness and seal, dwelling in Christian believers. There are dreams of poets, visions of a golden age; but these may not be compared with the prophetic portions of Scripture, which are distinctly revelational, and designed to confirm faith in the Divine ordering of human affairs, with a view to redemptive issues.
III. Its limitations.—It is buried in current human history, or in figures understood only in particular ages, and must therefore always be dealt with in a large, general, and suggestive, rather than precise way.
IV. Its precise mission.—It had an immediate mission. It was to cheer hearts and keep up hope. It was a lamp in the night which must stay and brighten the house until the daylight streamed in at the windows. Its interest to us lies in what it was, and what it did, rather than in what it is. What kept the world’s faith alive is always important.
V. Its interpretation.—It must not be conducted on any private lines, but according to principles of interpretation laid down. The idiosyncracics of individuals have wrought sad havoc in the treatment of God’s Word.
SUGGESTIVE NOTES AND SERMON SKETCHES
2 Peter 1:19-21. Lock and Key.—St. Peter had been speaking of the proofs which he and his brother apostles had received of our Saviour’s power and greatness. After a reference to the Transfiguration, he comes to the proof from prophecy. He says, a prophecy is like a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawn. As men burn a candle during the night to give light, so was God pleased to set up the lamp of prophecy in the world, to save mankind from being left in total darkness during the ages before the coming of Christ. The prophecies were designed to preserve a sense of God’s goodness, and a recollection of His promises, to keep hope alive in the world, and to awaken men to the expectation of some great mercy, which God was preparing for His people and would bring to light in due time. When Christ came, the prophecies acquired a new use; they became, perhaps, the strongest of the outward proofs, the most striking of the external testimonies to the truth of our Saviour’s mission. Their testimony is so sure, because not of private interpretation; that is, the prophecies did not refer merely to the events of the time and place when they were spoken; but pointed far onward into futurity, and had a grander reference and application to the Son of God. The prophet himself did not always fully understand his prophecies. He spake as he was moved by the spirit of God; he gave utterance to the threats and promises which God put into his mouth. But how those threats and promises were to be fulfilled, neither he nor his hearers knew. So that the prophecies were like a door with a curious lock or secret spring to it. Till the secret of the spring is found out, till the right key is given, we may puzzle ourselves as long as we please, but we shall never open the door. If you saw half a dozen doors with as many locks to them, so new and strange that not a smith in the country could make a key to fit any one of them, and if a man then came with a key which fitted all these different locks, and opened all the six doors, could you doubt that his was the right key? This is just the kind of proof which the prophecies afford of the truth and Divinity of Jesus. The weight of this proof rests on two simple facts: one is, that the prophecies were written many hundreds of years before the birth of Christ. The other is, that Jesus died the death related in the New Testament. Compare, then, such writings as Psalms 22 and Isaiah 53, with the account of our Saviour’s trial and crucifixion in the gospels, and any unprejudiced man must admit that the early writers were taught of God. Illustrations may be fully taken from the chapter in Isaiah. Four assertions are made in it:
1. Messiah was to be made answerable for a sum that was required.
2. He was to be taken off by an oppressive or unjust sentence.
3. He was to be dumb and patient before his Judges 4. He was to be brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and to be cut off for the sins of God’s people. These are extraordinary assertions, yet they are all fulfilled in Jesus; so accurately, and in so many points, that the agreement cannot be accidental. Therefore, in Jesus we have the true key for the prophetic lock; and Isaiah, who foretold all these things so many hundred years before, must assuredly have spoken, as St. Peter says, not of his own will, but as he was moved by the Holy Ghost.—A. W. Hare, A.M.
2 Peter 1:19. Prophecies Fulfilled in Christ.
I. The prophets themselves in reference to Christ.—
1. Every one of them had in his day a good name and character at stake.
2. Still they were not afraid, nor slow, to venture their names upon mysterious oracles.
3. This is the more remarkable since they did not themselves fully understand what they prophesied.
4. The reason for this is, that they were rendered confident by God.
II. Christ Himself in reference to the prophets and their prophecies.—
1. His birth.
2. His betrayal.
3. His condemnation and crucifixion.
4. His miracles.
5. His various sufferings.
6. His ministry—its nature and success.—R. Philip.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 1
2 Peter 1:19. Promises of The Word.—Like the aurora borealis shining on the frosty and sombre sky, tinging it with beautiful colours, and relieving it with brilliant rays, the promises of the gospel shine in tints of light and smiles of love over the cold and gloomy night of trouble.—T. J. Wright.
CHAPTER 2