Simple Words Have Deep Meaning Of Light

2.19.23 2 Peter 1:16-21

16 To be sure, we were not following cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the powerful appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father, when the voice came to him from within the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” 18 We heard this voice, which came out of heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain.

19 We also have the completely reliable prophetic word. You do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the Morning Star rises in your hearts, 20 since we know this above all else: No prophecy of Scripture comes about from someone’s own interpretation. 21 In fact, no prophecy ever came by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were being carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Simple Words Have Deep Meaning of Light

Just prior to our text for today Peter wrote, “I know that the putting off of my tent is going to happen soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 I will also make every effort so that after my departure you always have a reminder of these things.” Peter was about to die, so he wrote this letter. He especially wanted us to know about the Transfiguration.

What makes the Transfiguration so special? At first glance these words, this great revelation from heaven, might not seem to be anything very profound. “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” But then, these are the words of God the Father, whom Peter describes as the “Majestic Glory.” It’s not every day you hear God speaking from heaven. I can only think of a handful of times off the top of my head that God actually does such a thing. Whenever He does, it sounds terrifyingly powerful. So there’s that.

Even the simple can be and usually is profound when God speaks it. So let’s think about those words again. “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Now, God says we are His children too. We are God’s children because He created us. We are also God’s children spiritual through adoption in our baptism. So God says the same thing to us. But there is something special here that the Father is pointing out about THIS one. He speaks it personally from heaven. Also, we understand from other Scripture that this is unique. According to John, He was with God in the beginning. He actually IS God. So this Son, standing on the top of the Mt. of Transfiguration, isn’t just any son. He’s not created. He’s God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten of the Father from eternity. Sound familiar?

That’s not all that makes Him special. “This is my Son, whom I love.” What’s so special about this? You see parents loving their children all the time. Come to a preschool Christmas program, and you see the love just ooze from people watching their children and grandchildren sing. We hear this all the time about God. God is love. God so loved the world. In reality, this isn’t natural at all. There’s no reason a holy God should love anything about it. Why would God love us when He says we are born in sin and our best of works are corrupted and filthy? Yet God says He loves the world from a GRACIOUS love, that’s not dependent on who we are. He loves because that’s who He is. And He loves by giving His Son to die for us. His love for us is based on grace and sacrifice, on Jesus. But God’s love of THIS Son is not based on mercy. It’s not contingent on the death of another Son. It’s not merciful. It’s well deserved.

How do we know this? with him I am well pleased. “Well pleased” means that God glories in the Son. He delights in Him. Think about watching your favorite player play a game or musician play an instrument. They aren’t playing out of tune. They aren’t missing plays. They are poetry in motion. You enjoy watching them do their craft. It brings you joy. That’s what Jesus did for the Father. He was poetry in motion to the Father. He was well pleased with Him. Compare that to us again. Who are we? We are like the grade school band concert or basketball game. You love your kids, but that band still needs a lot of work. The band director must be a saint! Some of the kids don’t know how to dribble yet. They don’t listen to the coach. People aren’t buying tickets to watch these kids play if they aren’t friends of family. That’s how we perform this thing called life. Try as we might, it’s mediocre at best, tainted with sin and failure. (Yet God enjoys it when it’s done in faith! The only reason God smiles is by grace and out of a merciful love.) Not with Jesus. He’s doing everything the Father calls Him to do perfectly. Here is how God designed humanity to be. Here is how God envisioned love. As Isaiah 42 says, “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight.”