Monday 18 September 2023

Psalm 119:113-128

Background

This second letter of Peter is thought to relate quite closely to the letter of Jude (the penultimate book of the New Testament) and it may be that one is dependent on the other, or that they have used a common source. They were both written to counteract the influence of false teaching in early Christian communities. Although attributed to Peter, it is now thought unlikely he was the author and that it was probably written after his death. The language and ideas are certainly very different from those used in the first letter of Peter, suggesting different authorship. It was not uncommon at the time for speeches or letters to be linked with important or heroic figures in this way.

The letter is written as from a dying man (1:14) who is concerned that the followers of Jesus Christ should remain committed to the true faith once he is gone. One of his persuasive tools is to compare the ‘cleverly devised myths’ of the false teachers with the power and credibility of his own eyewitness testimony. This includes referring to the baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:17) and the Transfiguration (Luke 9:35) when he says he heard the voice of God saying "This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." (v. 17)

In our modern world, I wonder if we can imagine the vulnerability of those early Christian communities and the perceived threat of false prophets and teachers? There are now well established creeds and doctrines, and ways of testing out new ideas, for example through reflecting on Scripture, tradition, reason and experience. Little of this was available to those early Christians and hence the concern of church leaders as expressed in this letter. And hence we realise why it was important to claim the authority of eyewitness testimony and that direct link with the person and teaching of Jesus.

To Ponder:

• If you are a member of a Christian community, in your own life how do you feel about other voices and beliefs?
• How are you working out what you believe? How helpful is the idea of weighing up Scripture, tradition, reason and experience, preferably in the company of others?
• How do you reflect on the suggestion that this letter was almost certainly not written by Peter?

Prayer

Living God, thank you for the testimony of those who were with Jesus and heard your voice. Thank you for the way they kept the faith and past it on, often at great cost. Help us to be faithful witnesses to your love and good news in our own lives. Amen.