For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
2 Peter 1:16 NIV
Eyewitnesses
Canadians were asked to remember where they were when Terry Fox was running across Canada. Jana Mutch says this “I was 4 when Terry started his run. My brothers and I would run to the TV every time we heard his commercial, and we called him Run, Terry, Run. I loved him so much. When his funeral was on TV, my mom was too sad to watch it. I was 5 and sat by myself and watched his funeral. I was thrilled last summer to see his statue in St John’s.”
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There are just some things that are forever etched in our memories. We will never forget where we were “when.” The apostle Peter never forgot his years with Jesus, and particularly the moment he stood with James and John and was given a vision of the glorified Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. He would record a memory of that in 2 Peter 1:16: “For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” It’s impossible to forget seeing Jesus like this. Forever plastered on Peter’s mind, he uses it as an example of the certainty of the inspiration given him by the Holy Spirit to retell the entire narrative of his life with Jesus. You can trust the Gospels because they are the record of those who lived with, spoke with, ate with, and prayed with Jesus. The stories, Peter says, are not cleverly devised ones but a clear and perfect record of their years with Jesus. You can trust God’s Word. Completely.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley