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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - 2 Peter 1:16 - 1:18
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 2Pe_1:16-18
16For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, "This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased" 18and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.
2Pe_1:16
NASB "cleverly devised tales"
NKJV "cunningly devised fables"
NRSV "cleverly devised myths"
TEV "made-up stories"
NJB "cleverly invented myths"
This is a perfect passive participle, which implies a permanent state of delusion (perfect tense) brought on by an unidentified, outside agent (passive voice) which could be the false teachers themselves or the evil one. We get the English word "myth" from this Greek word, which is found only in
1. 1Ti_1:4; 1Ti_4:7
2. 2Ti_4:4
3. Tit_3:9; Tit_3:14
4. 2Pe_1:16
Since these false teachers (from the description of 2 Peter 2) were incipient Gnostics with some Jewish tendencies (i.e., #2), these myths could refer to
1. angelic levels between a holy god and lesser spiritual beings (aeons) and their secret names
2. genealogies related to the Messiah as the heavenly man distinct from a truly human Christ
3. the purposeful theological separation of salvation and ethics/morality
For a good discussion of the different ways "myth" is used, see G. B. Caird, The Language and Imagery of the Bible, chapters 12-13, pp. 201-243.
▣ "coming of our Lord" This is another central theme of the book. The term parousia, defined as "coming" or "presence" (same root in 2Pe_1:12), is used in the koine Greek papyri for a royal visit of a king. The term parousia usually refers to the Second Coming (cf. 2Pe_3:4; 2Pe_3:12), but it can refer to the Incarnation. It may refer to that here because of the contextual allusion to the Transfiguration in the next phrase.
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▣ "we were eyewitnesses of His majesty" This asserts Peter's authorship by being an eyewitness of Jesus' earthly life. This specifically refers to the Transfiguration (cf. 2Pe_1:18 and Mar_9:2-8). This phrase was also used of initiates into the mystery religions experiencing oneness with a god. Peter, like Paul, often used his opponent's phrases as a means of refuting them or giving their proper meaning.
Jesus is described by the term "majesty." In the next verse (2Pe_1:17) God the Father is identified by the same term "Majestic Glory." The essence of deity within Jesus was unveiled to the inner circle of disciples (i.e., Peter, James, and John) on the mountain.
▣ 2Pe_1:17 "honor and glory" This is a possible reference to the "Shekinah Glory" (what the rabbis call the cloud in Exodus and Numbers), the cloud out of which God spoke (cf. Mar_9:2-8). See hyperlink at 1Pe_1:21.
▣ "Father" See Special Topic at Mar_13:32.
▣ "an utterance" The rabbis call this a Bath Kol (i.e., a voice out of heaven), which was a confirmation of God's will during the time from Malachi to John the Baptist in which there was no prophetic voice. The Father affirmed Jesus both at His baptism and His Transfiguration (cf. Mar_1:11; Mat_17:5-6).
▣ "My beloved Son" This is a Messianic title from Psa_2:7.
▣ "with whom I am well-pleased" This is an allusion to Isa_42:1 (cf. Mat_3:17; Mat_17:5). By linking Psalms 2 and Isaiah 42, Peter emphasizes both the royal and suffering servant aspects of the Messiah. These two aspects also define His two comings: Incarnation = Suffering Servant; Second Coming = King and Judge!