Moreover I will
endeavor that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in
remembrance. For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made
known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were
eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory,
when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard,
when we were with him in the holy mount.
Example 1: Did you hear about the guy who had his head
explode because he went in a centrifuge too long? I heard that he was trying to
set a world record for longest time in a centrifuge, and his head literally
popped like a tomato. I think it was because he was spinning really fast, all
of his blood rushed to his head, and because of the pressure, well….splat!!
That is pretty gross.
Example 2: Did I ever tell you about the time that I went to
Kennedy Space Center and rode in a centrifuge? After about 30 or 40 seconds, I
could feel the force of gravity increasing and I felt like I weighed as much as
an elephant. It started getting hard to breath without grunting, and I felt the
skin on my face start to sag. I will never forget, after I was done, I felt
really dizzy.
What was the difference between the two examples I just gave
you? Of course, one was a bit more graphic and gross, but beyond that, what was
the big difference? I hope you noticed the big difference was that one of the
examples was “hear-say,” and pretty unbelievable “hear-say” at that. The second
one was a personal experience, from my life, and it was loaded with facts, and
even at times it was a bit embarrassing for me. This difference, hear-say vs.
personal experience, is what Peter points out in reference to his personal
faith in Jesus. It isn’t good enough for Peter to have heard it through the
grape vine and hoped for the best. Peter had personally experienced the things
that he taught about Jesus. So what about us? Well, Peter and other gospel
writers wrote those specific accounts down, so that two-thousand years later,
we have the perfectly preserved account of the very things that we can believe.
We don’t have to believe in Jesus like we believe in Santa, Jesus was real, and
all He taught was real, and what He did - die for our sins, was absolutely
real. And we can believe that.
Food For Thought:
What could Peter be assured of what he believed? How can we believe the things
that Peter tells us about Jesus?
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