I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets …
Summary: What do you think of when you recall the words of the holy prophets? If we turn to Jesus, he makes it easy for us.
The Bible is an amazing text. If you look at it as if it were a collection of historical writings, it is interesting. When you realize the Bible is a personal message from God, it takes on a majestic and sometimes mystical quality.
Today’s passage is one of those mysteries. What words does Peter want us to recall? Which prophets is he thinking about?
But wait! Is the Bible a collection of individual writings, or is it the voice of a single Being spoken through a thousand people over thousands of years?
If you believe as I do, then there is only one Voice. It is the Voice of the Creator, the God of all creation, speaking to us through the prophets and their sacred writings. If we believe that Jesus lived, walked the earth and died for our sins, then Jesus is the Son of God and spoke with the same Voice as his Father in heaven. Believing as we do, we believe Jesus when he summed up all the Law and the Prophets this way:
“Jesus replied: ‘ “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’” (Matthew 22: 37-40)
We may not recall all the words of all the holy prophets, but we can recall their message. Love God. Not in the same way we might “love” going to the movies or “love” a puppy. The word Peter uses is the Greek verb “agapaó.” It is the verb, or action form of “agapé,” a love rooted not in emotion but in a knowledge of what is morally right. In the same way, we are to love, or care for and look out for, our neighbor, just as we look out for our own interests.
If you want to understand what our Lord meant by saying, “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments,” look no farther than the cross. The word “hang” that Jesus uses in this sentence is the same word used to describe Jesus on the cross.
“They killed him by hanging him on a cross…” (Acts 10:39)
Just as the love of God was made man and allowed himself to hang on a cross, so all the words of the prophets hang on two commandments. Maybe this is why Peter wants us to remember them.
Application: Love God above all else and your neighbor as yourself, and remember why.
Food for Thought: What else might Peter have had in mind when he wrote today’s passage?
I do wonder if they had puns and if God had them put some in the Bible but things got lost in translation.
Mr T,
If puns are truly the highest form of humor, it is hard to imagine that there would not be at least one in the Bible! 🙂
Thank you for another excellent devotion brother. I like the cross graphic with the great commandment very much.
Based on where Peter goes next, he may have also been alluding to what we see in verses 5 through 13 of this passage. Looking back at the Scriptures about the origin and end of this world as we know it.
Rich,
You are welcome to use the cross graphic. The inspiration for it felt like God sharing a new perspective with me.
I appreciate your take on the Peter’s thought, too. The biblical perspective is certainly part of Peter’s thinking as he wraps up his letter.
How many times does God tell His people to remember? Or to do something as a memorial? I haven’t counted, but it’s a lot. He doesn’t want us to forget all the ways He has interacted with His people. Don’t forget Noah and the ark, and the covenant that continues today because of that. Don’t forget Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the covenant promises and how they are fulfilled. Don’t forget Egypt and the Passover, God’s redemption. Don’t forget God’s faithfulness in the wilderness, or through the times of the Judges when the Israelites were making mistakes. Don’t forget, don’t forget, don’t forget…….
A prophet’s job is to tell others what God has said, to be a mouthpiece for His voice. So perhaps, this is Peter’s conclusion for speaking about the false teachers, remember what God has spoken through His prophets as a guard from believing false teaching. Nothing true should be in contradiction with what God has said before.
Or as Rich mentioned, it could be the preface to Peter’s next point, in the last days. Remember what the prophets said concerning the last days!
A,
Is Peter making a point about false teachers? Could be! I love the layers of insight here. Thank you!
12-03-2021, 2 Peter 3:2a, What else might Peter have had in mind when he wrote today’s passage?
“I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets.”
I have often heard people speak of the Bible being contradictory and showing two different God’s. One an angry judge , punishing the innocent while the other is loving. forgiving and so very kind to all. Prayerful study and guidance by the Holy Spirit is required to begin to understand how the New and Old compliment each other.
The fact is, the entire bible is the inspired, preserved Word of God who has always required His people come to Him and by faith live in submission to His will over their own. Jesus Christ is the power that binds the Old to the New as those of the Old Testament wrote of and looked forward in faith to the coming Christ while those of the New Testament, look at His arrival, ministry and sacrifice for all mankind. The OT looks forward to the Cross, and the NT looks back to the cross. Both teach salvation by faith and judgement of the rebellious.
Abraham is identified as the father of our faith. He believed God, his faith was credited to him as righteousness and he was called God’s friend.
Romans 4:1-3, Romans 4:16, James 2:23
Jesus teaches us He did not come to abolish the law or the Prophets but to fulfill their teachings. Later Paul was inspired to write to Timothy that all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
Matthew 5:17, 2 Timothy 3:16
The entire bible has been written and preserved by our God for our benefit. We should prayerfully study and apply the entire word of God to our lives. God is Holy, has provided a way for the humble to be seen as holy through faith in His Son, and rejects all contaminating sinful works of mankind. Cling to our faith in Jesus and be blessed, Reject Christ, cling to our works and receive eternal separation. It’s not God, it’s the choices made by human beings that determine their future.
Ron,
As I was reading through your comment I couldn’t help think about the people you mention, those who complain that the Bible represents two different Gods. It is as if they themselves never change their expression! Do they not realize that they themselves are angry sometimes and loving at other times? Or are they in denial, just choosing to ignore their faults and repress those memories they don’t like?
We are made in God’s image! (Genesis 1:27) Why would the God who made us not express the same range of emotion that he created us with?
In fact, as you point out, our God goes far beyond any human’s ability to love in providing his Son, Jesus, as sacrificial lamb and redeemer for all of mankind. At least for those who choose to believe.
Thank you!
Great point Jeff, I think you’re right. Their lie meets their standards as being proof God and His Word are inconsistent and therefore fallible. At Judgement, God will open their hearts tear down their barriers to the truth, and they will receive the eternal separation they so desperately desire.