16 We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming 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 the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
Peter has had an unbelievable experience that, for him, affirmed everything that Jesus taught. Jesus is God's Son. He was the revelation of Divine power. Peter had an earthly glimpse of the remarkable evidence of the afterlife when he, James and John, were up on the Mountain of Transfiguration. What Peter is telling them is not any invented story or fable or fiction. It was a miracle from God. When he saw Elijah and Moses and Jesus on that Mountain, he didn't want to leave and suggested they build a tabernacle there and stay.
People will try to use cleverly invented stories about Jesus to explain away truth. False teachings abound. I read a book called The Passover Plot which was popular a few years ago consisting of a theory by Hugh Schonfield, a liberal theologian. He concocted an idea how the death and resurrection of Jesus could have been a hoax by His disciples. He went into much detail explaining that Jesus read the Scriptures and sought to carry out the events from of its prophecies since He was already born in Bethlehem.
Schonfield asserted Jesus was crazy, believing He was God, but also worked out an elaborate hoax knowing He was going to go to the cross. The disciples, according to Schonfield’s theory, mixed a concoction of drugs and placed it in the vinegar without the soldiers knowing it. When Jesus was given a drink, He would swoon causing the body functions to slow way down and seem dead like. After a period of 24 hours, He would revive to normalcy again.
Joseph and Nicodemus were part of the plot when they buried Him in the sepulcher. The swoon theory then proposes that Jesus didn't really die, but only appeared to be dead, so the disciples came to rescue Jesus while the soldiers were asleep.
As ridiculous as that sounds, there are people who say, “O that must be the way it happened.” only because they wouldn’t believe the real story. They choose invented fables. In Peter’s day there were lots of fables invented by the Jews explaining away the facts of Christ.
Peter says "I didn't invent it! The truth I am sharing I received from the authority of Jesus Christ, God’s Son. There were three of us on the mountain during the holy transfiguration when God's voice came from heaven and said, "This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him."
A deacon in my former church would say often "A man with an experience has it all over a man with an argument.”
I had the privilege of going back to Olivet Baptist for one of their anniversary celebrations. It was a great encouragement to talk with men and women who were kids when I worked with them and see what God had been doing in their lives. One of the highlights was a man who was a junior in High school when I left. He told me he met the Lord in a real way 5 years ago. He fought God and gave all the arguments why he shouldn't trust the Lord. He was into pornography and had a rebellious spirit as a high schooler. He thanked me for my faithfulness and indicated that with all the arguments and attitudes he threw at me, the thing he couldn't deny was there was something real in the relationships. God met him in a dramatic way as an adult. What a life change, even noticed in his face. That authority doesn't come by convincing arguments; it comes by turning one’s heart over to the authority of Jesus Christ.
Nobody was going to convince Peter of anything because the truth of Jesus was confirmed by His life, His miracles, His death, His resurrection and with the announcement from the heavenly voice on the mountain. The joy of the heavenly visitation surpassed all the worldly pleasures and atoned for all the earth’s appeal as far as Peter was concerned.
There are some people who have a dramatic experience at their salvation or sometime later in their life. It is often a life-changing moment, but there are many others who, like the whisper of wind on the mountain with Elijah, realize the revelation of God from a still small voice. That voice never the less is truth. Jesus is revealed as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. đŸ¤”Listening and reading their stories is an encouragement of God’s work of grace.
Dale
