“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. What do you think it was like for the first century believer in Jesus? They were ostracized from synagogue, from worship, from their Jewish traditions, from family.

   

Peter reminded his readers of their Jewish heritage which they love so much. He pointed to the prophets of the Scriptures whom they love and have been part of their faith-teaching in the Old Testament. Then Peter masterfully reminded them that these prophets were pointing to the very gospel which they had received. All of the Old Testament writings pointed to the One who had been revealed to Peter, James, and John. Did you catch that argument? Prophets of old longed for the revelation of the Messiah and now Jesus came. They worked for your benefit.

       

The words of salvation to you and me are a result of those men and women who met the Lord many centuries before. They wrote and thought about that which was to come, the coming of the Messiah and suffering of the Messiah. They were told of the redemption that must be paid for people to be released from bondages.  Sure someday God was going to come and free His people and dwell in them. Oh, won't that be wonderful? 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 but wished he could. It was for the joy of the Israelites and obedience to God that Moses did what he did. King David dreamed about the temple and wanted so badly to build this magnificent structure of worship to Almighty God, but it was not to be. He had shed too much blood. So, David did all he could, with the energy that he had, in a time of peace to prepare, plan, and provide for the building he never saw. He worked so others could experience the majesty of worship in the grandeur of the building. He worked for others, and he was obedient to God. 

 

We see the greatest of prophets, John the Baptist, pointing people to get prepared for the coming Messiah. He longed for the deliverance and peace which he knew Jesus was to provide, but what happened to John? He died before he realized the full implication of his message. These people were recipients of all that which Moses, David, Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel and John longed to see. We are privileged to know 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 commit their lives to Him. We know that God speaks to us, uses 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.

Application:  Are you praying, working and helping others to see what a great God we have?

Prayer:   Father, thank you for all these prophets and prophecies that point to Your Son Jesus.  Most of all, thank you for Your Word and the Redemption that He provided for me.