“Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.”
Prophets of old spoke things for our benefit, not theirs. The believers could find it easy to give up because of problems, persecutions, and prejudice against them.
In context, Peter is reminding his readers of their Jewish heritage which they love so much. He is pointing to the prophets of the Old Testament scriptures. Then Peter masterfully reminds them that these prophets and teachers they were quoting and following were pointing to the very gospel which Christians have now received. Prophets of old longed for the revelation of the Messiah and now Jesus came..
The words of salvation are a result of those men and women. They wrote of the suffering the Messiah must endure, the redemption that must be paid for people to be released from bondage. Surely someday God was going to come and free His people and dwell in them. Peter tells them “You are that people.”
Moses was promised the land, but was not able to go in. He worked on a promise that he was not able to see. King David dreamed about the temple and wanted so badly to build a magnificent structure of worship to the Almighty God, but it was not to be for him. We even see the greatest of prophets, John the Baptist who pointed people to get prepared for the coming Messiah, longed for the deliverance and peace which he knew Jesus was to provide. He died before he realized the full implication of his message.
Now the Christians in Peter’s time were recipients of all that which Moses, David, Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel and John the Baptist longed to see and witness.
Today we have the knowledge Christ came, died on the cross for our sins, and was buried and rose again. We know the Holy Spirit comes into the lives of followers of Jesus who have committed their lives to Him. We know that God speaks to us, uses us, and gives us gifts and strength so that we can encourage one another to glorify God and bring others to the point in their lives when they hear the call of God in their lives. Are you praying, working, and helping others to see what a great God we have?
Preachers, filled with the Holy Spirit, speak for your benefit. The message of preachers today is to announce salvation, the good news. They are to be filled by the Holy Spirit from heaven and proclaimed truth as the Spirit takes these words and directs truth into the hearts of people prepared to receive them.
Prayer: Lord, help me to understand the reality of the hope that I have because of Jesus. May my faith in Christ and His mighty work sustains me.
