10 As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries,
11 seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look.
vs. 10-11 - "this salvation" - Peter speaks of this in the previous paragraph - the salvation of your souls.
"prophets who prophesied of the grace... " The prophets told of the grace of God that was to come, but they did not know who the Christ was to be, or when He would come. The Holy Spirit was guiding them in their prophecy. They predicted the sufferings of Christ (see Isa. 53), and the glory of His return. You can bet that these prophets spent time with God, asking to understand what they were saying. We are the beneficiaries of their prophecies. The prophecies did not make it happen; they did tell us it would. Christ's arrival in the world turns out to not be a surprise after all.
If a person shows up unannounced and proclaims to be one with God, and to be a savior, most of us would be skeptical. And well we should. The Jews, especially the Pharisees and Sadducees, were unsure that Jesus was the One. When they became stubborn, they convinced themselves He was wrong. But they were incorrect. This shows two things - ideology trumps evidence, personal arrogance or self-aggrandizement overpower the call to belief. It also shows that we, you and I, can choose to believe. "God does not overwhelm, He can only woo." Screwtape ("Screwtape Letters", C.S. Lewis).
vs. 12 - "...they were not serving themselves..." - The prophets did not predict for themselves but for a later time, for you and me. Their predictions were fulfilled in the gospel. See 1 Cor. 15:3-4 - For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. The real mystery of Christianity is the death and resurrection of Christ. If you accept and believe the fact of Christ's resurrection there is no argument against committing, nor any reason to not commit your life to the Lord.
A book review in 'The Weekly Standard' magazine of the "The Crucifixion" by Fleming Rutledge, noted the 'death of Jesus generates more material every decade and has for centuries' than any subject of any study in a well stocked university library. Why? Because the subject of Jesus death, burial, and resurrection goes to the core of our being - what is the meaning of life? How do we regulate our lives? Is there life after death? How do we know where we'll be when we die?
These questions must be answered. Where else do you find the answers to these questions?
"the gospel" - That is where you get the answers. The prophets did not know the gospel. They did not know the meaning of the resurrection. They knew God and believed Him. They spoke the words He told them to speak.
"by the Holy Spirit" - In our time, the time of the church, the gospel is preached by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit has been given to us to help and teach. See John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7 Spiritual questions are answered in the Bible. I was going to say "All spiritual questions..." On the other hand, I suspect there are lots of questions that may have no direct scriptural reference answer. Some will need to wait until we see Jesus face to face. Some of those questions will then appear to be silly, and part of our passive rebellion against giving all to Him. There are lots of questions about how we direct our lives that also have no specific answer in the scripture. These questions are answered "obliquely". There is no scripture that says, "Don't smoke cigarettes." There is no scripture that says, "Don't beat your wife," nor "don't nag your husband incessantly." Instead we are given, "Love one another, as I have loved you", and "Love your neighbor as yourself."
"angels long to look" - that little phrase causes me to stagger a bit. Angels in the presence of our Lord don't understand some of things He has planned for us. They stand agape. As it says in 1 Corinthians 2:9,10 But just as it is written, "Things that no eye has seen, or ear heard, or mind imagined, are the things God has prepared for those who love him." God has revealed these to us by the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. Wow! Think about that. God has given us everything. His life is ours. His love is ours. His Holy Spirit lives within us to guide, teach, direct us. Are we willing? Will we commit? He has done His all, and awaits our response. Like salvation being our voluntary decision, so living the Christian life is our decision.
You know you are His child. Consider this fact in making your life decisions. Yield to Him as He directs you each day. Be obedient to His calling. See Rom. 6:6, 11, 13, 16.
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