Hope Series Week 2 : Day 2
Hope: Devotional series
Week 2: Verses from 1 Peter 1:3-21
Day 2:
Welcome to day 2 of week 2 in our series about Hope and today we focus on 1 Peter 1:10&11.
The prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired about this salvation; they inquired what person or time was indicated by the Spirit of Christ within them when predicting the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glory.
“Why are you watching your opponent,” the coach asked the young tennis player. “If I see his movement, I can adjust my shot,” the boy answered. “I really want to win,” he then added. “That’s good,” the coach said, “but the first thing you must master is to focus on the ball. When you learn to watch the ball, your brain will pick up on the movements of your opponent as well.”
Our theme for this year is hope, and our main focus is to behold the King and His kingdom. Hope will become clearer when our focus is right. We see something of this in today’s verses. The prophets wrote about many things that God promised: a new covenant, a new temple, a new creation, and many other things summed up with this word “Salvation.” But when they searched to understand this hope, their focus was inquiring about Christ.
Just to clarify again: Long before Jesus was born, God promised a King. He told David that one of his sons will reign forever. God said: “He will be a son to me and I will be a Father to him.” The word “Christ” literally means “anointed,” and for the prophets, the Christ would be this anointed King God promised. Remember when you read the word “Christ,” it is not another name for Jesus. It is His royal title. This is the glory the Spirit directed the prophets’ attention to, even before the King was born. And that’s what they wrote about.
Today’s verses encourage us to behold Christ, and it helps with the “how.” A desire to understand, the Spirit of Christ directing attention, and engaging with the Scriptures are things we pick up from the prophets. And this even before there was a Person to behold.
We spoke about beholding and prayer last week. Throughout this letter, Peter encourages us to receive God’s word. Prayer and engaging the Bible are ways we behold Christ. We still have the Law, Psalms, and Prophets in, what we call, the Old Testament. But we also have the Gospels and the teachings of the apostles because there is now an actual Person to behold: Jesus is the Christ. Let us be just as diligent as the prophets to master our focus on the Master. The same Spirit is, after all, working in us.
So, we pray: Thank you, God, for your Spirit and the Bible by which we can behold Jesus the Christ. Help us to be diligent in our beholding so that we can know and represent the Hope of your Kingdom. In Jesus' name. Amen.
