February 10, 2023: 1 Peter 1:8-9 - Whom Having Not Seen We Love

“…whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith - the salvation of your souls.” - 1 Peter 1:8-9

This passage of scripture was written by the apostle Peter. Peter was one of twelve men chosen by Jesus to follow Him. We have many accounts of the times that Peter spent with Jesus. One of those is when Peter and the other disciples were in a boat after Jesus had performed a miracle of feeding more than 5,000 people with only five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus had told His disciples to get in a boat and go to the other side of where He was going. They did, but that night, there were high winds in the sea, tossing the boat to and fro. Jesus then went to them, walking on the sea, and when they saw Him, they thought He was a ghost and cried out with fear. Jesus said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” Jesus did, and Peter did go to Him. Peter was walking on water! However, when Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and saw the boisterous wind, he became afraid and started to sink. Peter cried out to Jesus, “Lord, save me!” Jesus did save Peter. Jesus stretched out His hand to his, saying to Peter, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” You might read these words and think that Jesus spoke them in a derogatory tone, but I don’t think that would have been how Jesus spoke them. I think it was instead spoken with love to Peter, reminding him that with God, all things are possible, even walking on water. The disciples then worshipped Jesus and said to Him, “Truly You are the Son of God.” (Matthew 14:22-33)

Peter was one of only three apostles - Peter, James, and John - whom Jesus took with Him to a high mountain when He was transfigured:

“…and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.'‘ While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!’ And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and said, ‘Arise, and do not be afraid.’ When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.” (Matthew 17:1-8)

While Peter may have had good intentions in what he said, he had wrongly put Jesus on the same level as Moses and Elijah. Moses represented the Law, and Elijah represented the prophets, but Jesus is God, and He has existed from the beginning. As the apostle Paul would later write in the book of Colossians:

“…giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” (Colossians 1:12-18)

The words that Peter wrote in today’s scripture verse in 1 Peter 1:8, “though now you do not see Him, yet believing” may have been especially meaningful to him. Peter loved Jesus, and when Jesus told him and the other apostles that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things, be killed and on the third day be raised, it was Peter who took Jesus aside and said to Him, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” Jesus rebuked Peter, saying to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” (Matthew 16:21-23) We might consider this as harsh but Peter did not realize that he was speaking for Satan. Satan wanted to prevent Jesus from going to the cross because Satan does not want anyone to be saved from their sins but for all to worship him instead of God. Peter did not understand the greater plan of God.

Before Jesus was arrested and was crucified, He had told His disciples, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’” Peter then said to Jesus, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.” “Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.’ Peter said to Him, ‘Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!’ And so said all the disciples.” (Matthew 26:31-35) As Jesus had told him, Peter did deny Jesus three times and immediately after the third time, a rooster crowed. What was Peter’s response when he heard the rooster crow? He remembered what Jesus had told him and he wept bitterly.

After Jesus died, was resurrected, and walked the earth for forty days with His disciples before ascending to heaven, He was by the sea, eating breakfast with Peter and six other disciples. Jesus asked Peter three times if Peter loved Him. Peter had denied Jesus three times before Jesus died, and now in Jesus’ restoration of Peter’s faith, Peter answered Jesus three times that he loved Him. The first time Peter answered that he loved Him, Jesus said, “Feed My lambs.” The second time, Jesus said, “Tend my sheep.” And the third time Peter told Jesus he loved Him, Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” (John 21:15-17)

Peter did go on to feed Jesus’ sheep, preaching the good news of Jesus to both Jew and Gentile. And here we are today, reading the words of Peter, being fed the good news of Jesus. Peter wasn’t perfect, but He believed in Jesus as the Son of God, as the Christ. He had walked with Jesus, eaten with Him, saw Him perform many miracles, heard Him preach and teach to many people, even as many mocked and scoffed at Him. After Jesus was arrested, Peter knew from his own failings that he had denied Jesus, but after seeing the resurrected Jesus, his faith in Him was restored. Then after Jesus ascended to heaven and Peter and the other disciples were carrying out the great commission that Jesus had given to them - to go and make disciples of all nations - Peter pointed out in his first epistle (1 Peter) that here were people who believed in and loved Jesus, whose faith was being tested by persecution, and yet they never even saw Jesus with their own eyes.

Though we too see not Jesus with our eyes, we see Him with our heart. We read His word and we get to know all about Him, from the very beginning in Genesis, to the prophets of old who foretold of His first coming, long before it happened. We hear from those who were with Jesus when He lived and walked the earth, even from His mother when she sang a song before her Son was born, her spirit rejoicing in God her Savior. We get to know Jesus’ love for His disciples and even His love for those who persecuted Him and crucified Him, asking God the Father to forgive them, for they knew not what they were doing. We read of His deep love for us, being obedient to God the Father even to the point of death so that we - sinners in need of a Savior - would be saved from all our sins if only we believe in Him as our Savior. Oh, yes, and we read all about Him in the book of Revelation, and how He is coming again to this earth, but this time in judgment for those who choose sin over redemption, darkness over light, evil over good. We also see Jesus with our heart when we pray and talk to Him. He is always there, and He hears our prayers, all of them. We see Him through His Holy Spirit within us, guiding us and teaching us about Jesus in His word. You see, we don’t need to see Jesus with our own eyes to love Him and to believe in Him, because the Bible has taught us what faith is all about: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” (Hebrews 11:1-3)

Peter knew that he would soon die and before he did, he wrote in his second epistle the following passage of scripture:

“For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:16-21)

As a believer in Christ as my Savior, I urge you to stand firm in your faith as the unbelieving world grows darker and colder, and keep your love of Jesus in your heart by reading His word and praying to Him every single day, reading of all the prophecies that were fulfilled by Jesus’ first coming and all that will be fulfilled at His second coming, and the eyewitness accounts of Jesus, including that of Peter. May we hold onto His truth until that day comes when we finally do see Him face-to-face, and oh what a glorious day that will be! ✝️