2 Peter 1:16-21
Postmodern
sages would have us believe that certainty is only an illusion in the minds of
fanatics and fools. Despite such aspersions, the human mind continues to seek
after certainty because the human heart craves security. Certainty begets security.
Because
we live in such uncertain times, we are prone to feel insecure. Every change of
color in our National Homeland Security alert system ratchets up our sense of
insecurity. We increasingly find ourselves interpreting the world by a hermeneutic
of suspicion.
Our
personal psychological make-up further compounds feelings of insecurity by predisposing
some of us to doubt. Bitter experiences have conditioned others among us to the
same end.
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God
understands the desire for certainty. Doubts don’t offend Him. I wish a seasoned
saint had told me as much in my early days of following Christ. Like many new
converts, I vacillated between confidence one minute and suspicion the next.
How
did I know for sure that what I felt, what I believed, was real? Maybe what I
took to be the Spirit’s assurance that I was a child of God was really just
my mind calming anxieties wrought by a belief in superstition and myths. How could
I know for sure?
The
Bible doesn’t give irrefutable proof for the claims of the Christian faith.
(Otherwise, it could no longer be called “faith.”) The Bible does, however,
substantiate many of its claims with a preponderance of evidence.
At
the core of the Christian faith is belief in the deity of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus
Himself encouraged such a belief and often provided evidence for it. To Peter,
James, and John He gave special proof when He allowed them to witness His Transfiguration.
Jesus’
Transfiguration verified His identity.
We
first read about this monumental event in Matthew 17:1-9. (Read the text.) All
the glory Jesus manifested before His incarnation, and all the glory He will manifest
at His return, was manifested on that first century mountaintop. As if the visual
splendor of the moment were not enough, the voice of the Father sounded forth
the praise of His Son.
Years
later Peter recalled the event and what it meant for him as well as us. (Read
2 Peter 1:16-18.)
Had
there been any shred of doubt in Peters mind about Jesus’ identity, even
following his wonderful profession, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God,” in Matthew 16:16, the Transfiguration erased it. Peter knew
that he had not followed “cunningly devised fables.” Furthermore, he
knew that neither he nor the apostolic band had preached such fables. They were
eyewitnesses to Christ’s divine glory.