Peter is an old man writing to people who already know what he is about to say. Ancient moral teachers often reminded their listeners of what they knew, and Peter's reminder carries urgency. 13"As long as I am in this body," he says, he will stir them up, 14"since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me." Jesus had told him how he would die (John 21:18-19). The Bible Speaks Today commentary treats the paragraph as a serious ministry of memory. Peter wants the truth so deeply planted that it survives him and outlasts the charm of new teachers.
15"After my departure." The Greek for departure is *exodos*, the word from which we get exodus. It appears in a scene Peter knew well. On the mountain where Jesus was transfigured, Moses and Elijah spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem (Luke 9:31). Peter heard that word on the mountain, and he uses it for his own death.
Then Peter gives his first witness. 16"We did not follow cleverly devised myths." Some opponents charged that the apostles' preaching about Christ's return resembled the stories pagans told about their gods, stories the ancient world knew as invented. Peter answers with the language of a court. He was there. 18"We ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain." The voice echoes the Davidic king of Psalm 2, the beloved son of Genesis 22, and the servant of Isaiah 42. One moment on a mountain gathers king, sacrifice, and servant around one person. Faith here rests on what a few men saw and heard at a time and place.
19"A lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts." The prophetic word is now more fully confirmed by what Peter saw. The lamp is a humble picture. It burns in a dark place and shows where to put our feet until morning comes. Scripture is given for the night, and the darkness has an edge.
Then Peter gives the foundation for Scripture's authority. 21"Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." The Greek for carried along is *phero*, and Peter has used it already in this chapter. The voice from heaven was borne to Jesus and borne from heaven to the apostles, and the prophets were carried along by the Spirit. It is the verb Luke uses in Acts 27 for a ship driven by the wind. The prophets were like sailors with full sails. Their personalities and styles remain, and what they spoke was God's own word.
Two witnesses stand side by side, the apostles' eyes and ears on the mountain and the prophets' word carried by the Spirit.
Ask what truths you have heard so many times that you have stopped hearing them.
Prayer
Father, we thank you for the apostles who were eyewitnesses of the majesty of your Son and for the prophets who spoke as they were carried along by your Holy Spirit. Keep your word a lamp to our feet until the day dawns and the morning star rises in our hearts. In Jesus' name, amen.