2 Peter 1:17: For When He Received Honor And Glory From God The Father, And The Voice Was Borne To Him By The Majestic Glory

2 Peter 1:17
[17] For 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,” (ESV)

In the previous verse Peter made clear that when he speaks of Jesus Christ, he is not speaking of myths and stories. Rather, he was an eyewitness of the Son of God. In this verse he is referring to the event that we call the transfiguration. Jesus gave three of his disciples (Peter, James, and John), an opportunity to see him in a glorified state. We read about this happening in the gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 17:2-3 says, "And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him." Can you imagine being the Apostle Peter at that moment? If there was any doubt as to whether or not Jesus was the Son of God, it would have been eliminated at that moment.

This is also significant as we consider this letter that the Apostle Peter is writing. There were those who were challenging the reality of the deity of Jesus Christ. Peter is saying "We did not make this stuff up. We saw Jesus, in his glory. We heard the voice of God the Father, saying that Jesus is his Son." The fact that Jesus is God's eternal son speaks to him as being the same essence. Jesus is God.

One side note to this important event is that Moses was there. In Deuteronomy 32 we find that Moses was banned from entering the Promised Land because of his disobedience. On the mountain of Transfiguration Moses is finally in the Promised Land that he was not able to enter in his lifetime on earth. It seems to be a great demonstration of the grace of God that Moses is there.

Be encouraged about who Jesus is. Peter, an eyewitness to Jesus' glory, reminds you that he saw Jesus glorified. His promise is that Christ is coming again. May the hope of his return fill you with joy today.