The Most Important Lesson I Could Ever Teach

See Peter, here he’s saying, ‘Listen, what I’m telling you, there’s all sorts of beliefs in this world, but I’m not just telling you some sort of cleverly devised myth.’ He says, ‘I experienced something.’ He says, ‘We were eyewitnesses of His majesty.’ He said, ‘I actually saw something.’ And he refers to it in verse 17, he says “When he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,’ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with Him on the holy mountain.” [2 Peter 1:17-18 ESV] What Holy Mountain is he talking about? He’s talking about Matthew 17. Remember Matthew Chapter 17? Peter talks about the time when Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and He said come up on this mountain with Me. So it’s just the four of them. They get up on the mountain, and Matthew 17 says He’s there with Peter. So Peter who wrote this and said, ‘I was there I was on the mountain,’ and he describes it in Matthew 17. It’s described where they’re sitting there, and Jesus is talking to them. This is someone- you have to put yourself in their shoes.

Pretend it’s me, and I say, ‘Hey, you guys, let’s go up to that mountain over there, the one with the Cross on it. Let’s walk up there. What if you and two of your friends walk up there with me?’ And what happens is as I’m talking to you, what if suddenly my face started shining like the sun, a little freaky? Some of you are thinking, ‘Ok, like the sun, we know this guy. He’s just a person. Isn’t He just a person? We’ve been hanging out with Him, and He did these miracles. That’s what they’re experiencing with Jesus. He says we’re on that mountain, and His face starts shining like the sun, and then it says that all of His clothes, everything, His whole body just turns bright white. There’s this beaming light. And they’re petrified. And then suddenly these two beings from heaven come down, Moses and Elijah. He says they’re on either side, and He is talking with them. And it says that then Peter says, ‘Hey, it is great that you are here.’ He is talking, talking, and then suddenly, it says that this bright cloud starts coming toward the mountain. And everyone knew what the bright cloud was. It’s the Old Testament, the Shekinah, the glory; it’s the cloud they followed in the desert. And here it represented the Presence of God. So now, it said the cloud not only rested there, but it was like it enveloped them. They’re inside this cloud. Jesus is shining like the sun. Two heavenly beings just came down. Then they hear a Voice come out of the cloud saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love.’ It says, ‘With Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him.’ It says that they immediately just fell on their faces terrified, which is what you would do, right? Can you imagine hearing the Voice? Peter says, ‘I’m not screwing around. I’m not just coming up with some philosophy. I didn’t hear this from anyone. I was there on the mountain. I was shaking. I was there. I was talking for a while, and then suddenly, the cloud starts talking, and I just fell on my face.’ And he says, ‘What I experienced I know was real.’ And here’s the phrase that surprises me though. It says, ‘We were there. We saw it. We were with Him on the holy mountain. And then in verse 19, he says, “And we have something more sure, the prophetic word.” [2 Peter 1:19 ESV] He says that experience was awesome. Don’t get me wrong. He says first of all, ‘It’s not something I’m making up. I was standing on the mountain. I heard the Voice of God saying this is the Son of God. This is My Son. I love Him. You better listen to Him. And so I’m freaked out, but he says I have something even greater than that something more sure, and that’s this Book, the prophetic word.’