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Matthew Henry
From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry comments on passages, not single verses — this entry covers 2 Peter 1:16–18.
Here we have the reason of giving the foregoing exhortation, and that with so much diligence and seriousness. These things are not idle tales, or a vain thing, but of undoubted truth and vast concern. The gospel is not a cunningly devised fable. These are not the words of one who hath a devil, nor the contrivance of any number of men who by cunning craftiness endeavour to deceive. The way of salvation by Jesus Christ is eminently the counsel of God, the most excellent contrivance of the infinitely wise Jehovah; it was he that invented this way of saving sinners by Jesus Christ, whose power and coming are set forth in the gospel, and the apostle's preaching was a making of these things known. 1. The preaching of the gospel is a making known the power of Christ, that he is able to save to the uttermost all who come to God by him. He is the mighty God, and therefore can save from both the guilt and the filth of sin. 2. The coming of Christ also is make known by the preaching of the gospel. He who was promised immediately after the fall of man, as in the fulness of time to be born of a woman, has now come in the flesh; and whosoever denies this is an antichrist (Jo1 4:3), he is actuated and influenced by the spirit of anti-christ; but those who are the true apostles and ministers of Christ, and are directed and guided by the Spirit of Christ, evidence that Christ has come according to the promise which all the Old Testament believers died in the faith of, Heb 11:39. Christ has come in the flesh. Inasmuch as those whom he undertakes to save are partakers of flesh and blood, he himself also took part of the same, that he might suffer in their nature and stead, and thereby make an atonement. This coming of Christ the gospel is very plain and circumstantial in setting forth; but there is a second coming, which it likewise mentions, which the ministers of the gospel ought also to make known, when he shall come in the glory of his Father with all his holy angels, for he is appointed to be Judge both of quick and dead. He will come to judge the world in righteousness by the everlasting gospel, and call us all to give account of all things done in the body, whether good or evil. 3. And though this gospel of Christ has been blasphemously called a fable by one of those wretches who call themselves the successors of St. Peter, yet our apostle proves that it is of the greatest certainty and reality, inasmuch as during our blessed Saviour's abode here on earth, when he took on him the form of a servant and was found in fashion as a man, he sometimes manifested himself to be God, and particularly to our apostle and the two sons of Zebedee, who were eye-witnesses of his divine majesty, when he was transfigured before them, and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light, exceedingly white, as snow, so as no fuller on earth can whiten them. This Peter, James, and John, were eye-witnesses of, and therefore might and ought to attest; and surely their testimony is true, when they witness what they have seen with their eyes, yea, and heard with their ears: for, besides the visible glory that Christ was invested with here on earth, there was an audible voice from heaven. Here observe, (1.) What a gracious declaration was made: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased - the best voice that ever came from heaven to earth; God is well pleased with Christ, and with us in him. This is the Messiah who was promised, through whom all who believe in him shall be accepted and saved. (2.) This declaration is made by God the Father, who thus publicly owns his Son (even in his state of humiliation, when he was in the form of a servant), yea, proclaims him to be his beloved Son, when he is in that low condition; yea, so far are Christ's mean and low circumstances from abating the love of the Father to him that his laying down his life is said to be one special reason of the Father's love, Joh 10:17. (3.) The design of this voice was to do our Saviour a singular humour while he was here below: He received honour and glory from God the Father. This is the person whom God delights to honour. As he requires us to give honour and glory to his Son by confessing him to be our Saviour, so does he give glory and honour to our Saviour by declaring him to be his Son. (4.) This voice is from heaven, called here the excellent glory, which still reflects a greater glory upon our blessed Saviour. This declaration is from God the fountain of honour, and from heaven the seat of glory, where God is most gloriously present. (5.) This voice was heard, and that so as to be understood, by Peter, James, and John. They not only heard a sound (as the people did, Joh 12:28, Joh 12:29), but they understood the sense. God opens the ears and understandings of his people to receive what they are concerned to know, when others are like Paul's companions, who only heard a sound of words (Act 9:7), but understood not the meaning thereof, and therefore are said not to hear the voice of him that spoke, Act 22:9. Blessed are those who not only hear, but understand, who believe the truth, and feel the power of the voice from heaven, as he did who testifieth these things: and we have all the reason in the world to receive his testimony; for who would refuse to give credit to what is so circumstantially laid down as this account of the voice from heaven, of which the apostle tells us, (6.) It was heard by them in the holy mount, when they were with Jesus? The place wherein God affords any peculiarly gracious manifestation of himself is thereby made holy, not with an inherent holiness, but as the ground was holy where God appeared to Moses (Exo 3:5), and the mountain holy on which the temple was built, Psa 87:1. Such places are relatively holy, and to be regarded as such during the time that men in themselves experience, or may, by warrant from the word, believingly expect, the special presence and gracious influence of the holy and glorious God.
Historical interpretation
Eight Centuries of Reception
5 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.
Select a marker to jump to its quote. Markers stagger vertically where authors wrote within a few decades of each other.
Now the Logos of God controls all these; the first begotten Child of the Father, the voice of the Dawn antecedent to the Morning Star.
Tradition says that the transfiguration took place on Mt. Tabor.
This was the third time this happened. The first was at Jesus’ baptism, and the second was when the Son cried to the Father: “Father, glorify me with the glory which I had with you before the foundation of the world.” The transfiguration was therefore the third time.
And we heard this voice brought from heaven, etc. Some deny that this Epistle was written by the blessed Apostle Peter; had they carefully attended to this verse and what follows: When we were with him on the holy mountain, they would by no means doubt the author of this Epistle. For it is established, according to the faith of the Gospels, that Peter, along with his fellow apostles James and John, heard that aforementioned voice when the Lord was glorified on the mountain.
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was brought to him by the majestic glory: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." We ourselves heard this very voice brought from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain.
When Peter had said that they should diligently attend to themselves, and that those things which had been announced to them were indeed so, and he had explained this at length, frequently: although he knew and they had heard in various ways, he now adds their confirmation and says: I do not apply a vain diligence to these matters, but since I know the truth of them to be certain and undoubted, I dwell on them. And what is this?
We made known to you the power and coming of our Lord, not by human wisdom with adorned speeches, as if deceiving your hearing with tricks, as the Greeks and heretics do: indeed, the Greeks using elaborate speech and deception; the heretics, however, with fabricated words: just as the Valentinians fleeing into profound depths and silence9. For it is likely that they were beginning to arise. Therefore, there is nothing of this kind to be found in us, but we have delivered to you the teaching in a simple and humble manner: which Paul also says to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 2:1): and those things which we have from the sight of our own eyes, we who ascended with him to the holy mountain. Peter says, however, that the Lord showed them on the holy mountain the glory of the Only Begotten (Matt. 17:1), and the voice that they heard from the Father brought down from heaven concerning the Lord. Moreover, since we have known through the things themselves and experience what was proclaimed by the prophets, he says, we judge their prophecy to be more sure through these things: for the things themselves have followed the sayings and oracles.
Furthermore, here through the things that are now proposed. "For he received from God the Father." This participle λαδὼν is either placed in the position of the indicative verb ἔλαδεν, that is, he received: since according to the consequence of the participle, the discourse does not subsequently correspond. Or if this is not pleasing, but someone wishes to take λαδὼν as a proper participle, the discourse will necessarily fall into disorder: if, however, the participle is taken in place of the indicative verb, it will be consistent with what is added, for example: For he received glory from God the Father: and from this we have more firmly whatever has been announced about this by the prophets before: not that any prophecy was delivered from the voice of the Father from on high, but that we have been confirmed by the heavenly voice of the Father which testified that he is the Son, so that all the prophecy of the prophets undoubtedly carries testimony from the Father.
"Here is my beloved Son." (Matt. 3:17) Three times the Father testified to the Son: at baptism, at the passion when He said, "And I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again" (Jn. 12:28); and on the holy mountain.
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Summary
Second Peter 1:18 serves as a foundational anchor for the apostle Peter's authoritative teaching, grounding his message in a direct, eyewitness account of Jesus' divine majesty. Peter recounts the pivotal moment of the Transfiguration, where he, along with James and John, heard God the Father's audible voice from heaven, affirming Jesus as His beloved Son, while on the sacred "holy mount." This personal, verifiable experience underscores the truthfulness of the apostolic message and refutes any notion of their teachings being mere fabrications.
Context
Literary Context
This verse is strategically placed within Peter's opening argument for the divine origin and reliability of his apostolic message. In the preceding verses, Peter asserts that he and the other apostles did not follow "cunningly devised fables" but were "eyewitnesses of his majesty" (2 Peter 1:16). Verse 17 explicitly mentions God the Father speaking from the "excellent glory," declaring Jesus as His beloved Son. Therefore, 2 Peter 1:18 functions as the direct, experiential proof of this declaration, providing concrete evidence for the divine authentication of Christ. It immediately precedes Peter's statement about the "more sure word of prophecy" (2 Peter 1:19), suggesting that while the Transfiguration was a powerful personal experience, the written prophetic word offers an even more enduring and accessible foundation for faith.
Historical & Cultural Context
The event referenced in 2 Peter 1:18 is the Transfiguration of Jesus, recorded in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28-36). This event occurred on a high mountain (traditionally Mount Tabor or Mount Hermon), a significant location in biblical narratives often associated with divine encounters and revelations (e.g., Mount Sinai for Moses). In Jewish thought, a voice from heaven (a "bat kol") was sometimes understood as a divine communication, especially after the cessation of prophecy. For Peter, a Jewish apostle writing to a predominantly Gentile Christian audience facing false teachers, recounting this specific, public, and divinely attested event served as irrefutable proof of Jesus' deity and the truthfulness of the Gospel, countering any claims that the apostles were merely inventing stories for personal gain or influence.
Key Themes
Second Peter chapter 1 is deeply concerned with the authenticity of the apostolic message and the divine nature of Christ. Peter's emphasis on "eyewitness testimony" directly addresses the challenge of false teachings by providing a verifiable foundation for Christian faith. The "voice from heaven" powerfully highlights the divine affirmation of Jesus' identity as the Son of God, a theme central to the Gospels' portrayal of Christ's baptism (Matthew 3:17) and Transfiguration. Furthermore, the event on the "holy mount" foreshadows the future glory and power of Christ's coming (2 Peter 1:16), reinforcing the eschatological hope for believers. These themes collectively underscore the reliability of God's revelation and the imperative for believers to grow in godliness based on this sure foundation.
Exposition and Analysis
Key Word Analysis
This term denotes a clear, articulate sound or an address. In this context, it emphasizes the objective and undeniable reality of God's communication from heaven, not a subjective or internal impression. It signifies a divine utterance that was audibly perceived by the apostles, confirming the objective truth of the event.
This primary verb means "to hear" in various senses, including to give audience to, or to understand. Here, it stresses the physical act of hearing the divine voice, reinforcing Peter's claim as an eyewitness. It underscores the verifiable nature of the experience, distinguishing it from a vision or internal revelation.
Composed of G40 (sacred, consecrated) and G3735 (mountain, as lifting itself above the plain). This phrase highlights the sacredness and set-apart nature of the location where this profound divine encounter took place. The mountain was made "holy" by the manifest presence of God and the revelation of Christ's inherent glory, akin to other mountains in biblical history where God revealed Himself (e.g., Mount Sinai).
Verse Breakdown
"And this voice which came from heaven we heard"
This clause directly asserts the reality of the divine communication. The "voice from heaven" is unequivocally identified as God the Father's audible declaration, as confirmed in the Synoptic accounts of the Transfiguration. Peter emphasizes "we heard," highlighting the collective, verifiable experience of himself, James, and John, thereby lending undeniable credibility to his testimony. The origin "from heaven" signifies its divine source and supreme authority.
"when we were with him in the holy mount"
This phrase specifies the precise setting and company for this extraordinary event. "With him" refers to Jesus, indicating their close proximity and personal involvement as privileged witnesses. The "holy mount" designates the sacred location where Jesus' glory was revealed and God's voice was heard, further emphasizing the unique and set-apart nature of the experience. The combination of the divine voice, Jesus' transfigured appearance, and the sacred location underscores the profound significance of this event for Peter's understanding of Christ's identity and mission.
Literary Devices
Peter employs several powerful literary devices to underscore the truthfulness and authority of his message. Foremost is Eyewitness Testimony, as he directly states "we heard," placing himself and his companions (James and John) as direct, sensory witnesses to the divine event. This personal experience serves as irrefutable proof against "cunningly devised fables." The "voice which came from heaven" is a clear instance of Divine Revelation and Auditory Imagery, emphasizing that God Himself intervened audibly to affirm Jesus' identity. The phrase "holy mount" functions as Symbolism, imbuing the physical location with spiritual significance, reminiscent of other mountains in biblical history where God manifested His presence and delivered His word. This specific, tangible memory grounds Peter's abstract theological assertions in concrete, historical reality.
Theological and Thematic Connections
The divine voice from heaven at the Transfiguration, as recounted by Peter, serves as a powerful theological affirmation of Jesus' unique Sonship and divine authority. It echoes the declaration at Jesus' baptism, confirming His identity and mission from the very outset of His public ministry. This event underscores the intrinsic glory of Christ, a glory that was veiled during His earthly ministry but briefly revealed to His closest disciples. For Peter, this experience was not merely a personal spiritual high, but a foundational pillar for his apostolic teaching, demonstrating that the Gospel message is rooted in objective, divinely attested truth, not human invention. It provides an unshakeable basis for faith in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God, validating every aspect of His life, death, and resurrection.
Reflection and Application
Peter's vivid recollection of the Transfiguration in 2 Peter 1:18 offers profound encouragement and a call to steadfast faith for believers today. In a world saturated with competing narratives and skepticism, Peter's emphasis on eyewitness testimony reminds us that the Christian faith is not built on myths or philosophical speculation, but on historical events attested by credible witnesses. The divine affirmation of Jesus' identity on the holy mount should bolster our confidence in His supreme authority and His rightful place as our Lord and Savior. This powerful memory serves as a reminder that God actively intervenes in human history and speaks to His people, validating His Son and His Word. It calls us to ground our faith not in fleeting emotions or popular opinions, but in the unshakeable truth of who Jesus is, as revealed by God Himself. This foundation then empowers us to live lives that reflect the glory of the One we serve, diligently pursuing godliness in light of His magnificent promises.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What is the significance of the "voice which came from heaven" in 2 Peter 1:18?
The "voice which came from heaven" is profoundly significant as it represents God the Father's direct, audible, and authoritative declaration concerning His Son, Jesus Christ. This event, known as the Transfiguration, is recorded in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 17:5, Mark 9:7, Luke 9:35). The voice explicitly identifies Jesus as "My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew) or "My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!" (Luke). For Peter, this was not a subjective experience but an objective, verifiable event that provided irrefutable proof of Jesus' divine identity, authority, and the truthfulness of the apostolic message. It underscores that the Gospel is not based on human cunning but on divine revelation.
Christ-Centered Fulfillment
Second Peter 1:18, by recounting the Transfiguration and the divine voice, points powerfully to the Christ-centered fulfillment of God's redemptive plan. The "voice from heaven" declaring Jesus as "My beloved Son" is the ultimate divine endorsement, confirming His unique status and role as the Messiah. This event is a prefigurement of Christ's ultimate glory and kingship, foreshadowing His second coming "with power and great glory" (Matthew 24:30). The Transfiguration revealed a glimpse of the resurrected and glorified Christ, demonstrating that the humble Nazarene was indeed the Son of God, the very effulgence of God's glory (Hebrews 1:3). Peter's eyewitness testimony to this event authenticates the entire Gospel narrative, from Christ's incarnation to His atoning death and triumphant resurrection, all of which culminate in His mediatorial reign and future return as the King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16). Thus, the voice on the "holy mount" is a divine stamp of approval on the one through whom all God's promises find their "Yes" and "Amen" (2 Corinthians 1:20).