The Wonder of The Gospel - 1 Peter 1:10-12

In this episode of The Long Obedience, Pastor Santosh dives into 1 Peter 1:10-12 to explore the profound salvation predicted by Old Testament prophets and the enduring pattern of Christ's suffering followed by eternal glory. Reminding listeners that earthly struggles are temporary, he shares the story of Moses to encourage believers and weary pastors to remain faithful, even when the eternal fruits of their daily labor remain unseen. Ultimately, the episode serves as a powerful reminder that we are uniquely blessed to experience the fullness of the gospel - a miraculous gift of grace that even angels longed to comprehend!

Transcript

Speaker 0:01

Hello, friends. Welcome back to the Long Obedience Podcast, teaching ministry of me, Santosh Ninan. And hope you're having a good day or week where you wherever you are in this beautiful world of ours. I am doing great and I am excited to jump into today's passage. In long obedience, we are studying the book of First Peter. And today we come to 1 Peter chapter 1, verses 10 to 12. 1 Peter chapter 1 verses 10 to 12. I'm going to read it in the Christian Standard Version Bible. It's the Bible I actually preach from. 1 Peter 1, 10 to 12. Concerning the salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that would come to you searched and carefully investigated. They inquired into what time or what circumstances the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when he testified in advance to the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you. These things have now been announced to you through those who preach the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Angels longed to catch a glimpse of these things. And then just for fun, this is the message translation. The prophets who told us this was coming asked a lot of questions about this gift of life God was preparing. The Messiah's Spirit let them in on some of it, that the Messiah would experience suffering followed by glory. They clamored to know who and when. All they were told was that they were serving you, you who, by orders from heaven, have now heard for yourselves through the Holy Spirit the message of those prophecies fulfilled. Do you realize how fortunate you are? Angels would have given everything to be in on this. All right. Three short verses, but a lot going on here. First, Peter says, Concerning this salvation. What salvation? One verse back, Peter says, You're receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. And now he says, concerning this salvation. So we need to ask ourselves, what does Peter mean by salvation? What is salvation? Salvation at its most basic meaning is being saved. According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, salvation is deliverance from the power and of effects of sin. It is liberation from ignorance or illusion. It is preservation from destruction or failure, or deliverance from danger or difficulty. Salvation is being saved or it is being protected. Without salvation, things fall apart, things decay, and things eventually die. So Peter is saying the goal of our faith is the salvation of our souls. We don't have a time to take a deep dive into what is meant by soul, but we can just say it is the salvation of us, of who we are. The goal of our faith is you and me being saved from decay, despair, and eternal destruction. Peter is saying this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that would come to you carefully searched and investigated. Who are the prophets? The prophets are the writers of the Torah, the Old Testament. There was a revelation given to the writers of the Torah about something that was coming that was way bigger and more powerful than anything they had encountered or could really imagine. The grace that was to come, the grace that was to come was the gift of life, which was the Messiah. You can't read very far into the Old Testament without bumping into this concept, this idea that a person was coming into the world who was going to save Israel. The Messiah was going to save the entire world, but the Jews would have been very ethnically and nationally bound and would have only had a perception of a Jewish Messiah coming to save the Jews and establish an eternal kingdom. The most explicit and obvious pointer towards the Messiah is found in Isaiah chapter 53. And I'm actually going to read the entire passage. Isaiah 53. Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He didn't have an impressive form or majesty that we should look at him, no appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from. He was despised and we didn't value him. Yet he himself bore our sicknesses, he carried our pains. But we in turn regarded him stricken, struck down by God and afflicted. But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities. Punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds. We all went astray like sheep, we've all turned to our own way, and the Lord has punished him for the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth, like a lamb led to the slaughter, and like a sheep silent before her shears, he did not open his mouth. He was taken away because of oppression and judgment, and who considered his fate? He was cut off from the land of the living, he was struck because of my people's rebellion, he was assigned a grave with the wicked, but he was with the rich man at his death, because he had done no violence and had not spoken deceitfully. Yet the Lord was pleased to crush him severely. When you make him a guilt offering, he'll see his seed, he'll prolong his days, and by his hand the Lord's pleasure will be accomplished. After his anguish he will see light and be satisfied. By his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many and will carry their iniquities. Therefore I will give him the many as a portion. He'll receive the mighty as spoil, because he willingly submitted to death and was counted among the rebels. Yet he bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels. You could preach a year's worth of sermons out of that passage that points out over and over again the various ways that the Messiah was going to provide salvation for his people. So there's this belief, this understanding that this grace, this gift of life is coming. And the prophets wanted to know, they searched, they carefully investigated, they wanted to know where and when Messiah was going to come. They inquired into what time or what circumstances the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when he testified in advance. The Spirit of Christ. The Holy Spirit was giving these writers insights into what was to come. They didn't get a complete revelation, but they were shown the sufferings of Christ and the glories that were to follow. Jesus has given us a pattern to follow of suffering and glory. Jesus suffered. We could, in one sense, that the very incarnation was a form of suffering, as it was an act of extreme divine deprivation. Philippians 2 says, Christ Jesus, who existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead, he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity, or the message translation, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, becoming human. Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. You see, Jesus suffered by experiencing all the same challenges that human beings face. Jesus got hungry. Jesus endured pain. Jesus endured emotional challenges. And of course, his sufferings reach their zenith and are at their sharpest leading up to his crucifixion. In the events leading up to his crucifixion, Jesus is betrayed. He is physically abused. He endures emotional and verbal bullying. He has the physical torture of being nailed to a piece of wood and then of being hung up naked in complete and total humiliation, dying in pain, the sufferings of Christ. But then what follows is the glory of Christ through his resurrection. His resurrection body is different from his pre-resurrection body. And then his ascension, and now his occupation on the throne of heaven, where he will reign in glory for all eternity. So he endures suffering and then he has glory through his resurrection and through his ascension. Remember, Peter is writing to Christians who are suffering. And in one sense, all Christians are suffering, because all human beings suffer in various ways. And Peter is saying there's a pattern here. There is suffering and then there is glory. Suffering is temporal, but glory is eternal. Now, this vision of future glory can help mitigate in some ways the suffering we face. In some ways, the sufferings we face right now on earth. A vision of heaven can enable us to endure the sufferings and indignities of life on earth because everything on earth is temporary. We are being prepared for eternity. They were serving Peter's writers, and they were serving us. The prophet's work and ministry had a future orientation. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Moses writing thousands of years ago on the other side of the planet, and their words endure translations and copies over and over again over generations until in 2026, I can open up my laptop and read the very words they have written. Their words were written for me, and they were written for you. If you're a pastor or Christian leader, this is very important to keep in mind that there is an eternal enduring quality to your work. Most pastors lead small churches. The average church size in Canada is 75 to 100 people. And pastors will all endure seasons of pain, challenge, and times where growth or fruitfulness appears to be so marginal, and growth just seems to be so incremental. I've been recently encouraged by an article written by Pastor Lee Elkov for Christianity Today. Elkov talks about how Moses never got to enter the promised land, but he was able to see it. God led Moses to Pisgah, where he was able to look over the land that the Jews were to live in. And then Elkov writes these words some of the dreams we envision for our ministry are unwise, well-intentioned, perhaps, good for someone else, but not God's direction for us. But there are other hopes pastors have that are biblical and that seem to rise out of our earnest prayers, but they just never come to pass. The money doesn't come in. Power struggles simmer, evangelism efforts fall flat. Despite prayers for young families, none come. It can get crowded on Pisgah. Lots of sighs are carried off on the wind. Even though Moses bore responsibility for the forbidden access, he pleaded for God's compassion. Sovereign Lord, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and your strong hand. For what God is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works you do. Moses had seen the exodus and wilderness, miracles, and then finally a generation ready to trust God's promises. But it was just a beginning. God's great finale lay just ahead, just beyond the river. We've wanted so badly to see our people cross over from wilderness, living into fruitfulness, to love one another, to be strong in the Lord, to accomplish something great. We've preached, we've prayed that they might be agents of God's grace in our community, ambassadors of salvation, and public examples of holiness. God has answered prayers. We've seen wonders. But then we must wait some more, or we must leave. You may yet lead your people into extraordinary experiences of God's fulfilled promises. They may yet build an altar of twelve stones, conquer obstacles, and settle together into the peace of God, but maybe not in your time, maybe never in this place. Regardless of what happens, we will not be left languishing on Pisga. Moses did not end his days pleading to see the God blessed land. He was buried by God on nearby Mount Nebo, and in God's good time, he appeared in glorious splendor with Jesus and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration. He did see the land of promises. He did see his people safely home. So will we. The saints entrusted to us will cross over. They will serve God day and night in his temple. They will be safe, holy, and blessed. Every promise fulfilled. Be patient and faithful and be ye glad. That's the end of the excerpt from the article. We don't always get to see all that God has done through us or through our ministry. But that's okay because someday we will. We are serving future generations through faithful small acts we do every day that are unseen. We just need to be faithful and have patience. Finally, Peter says, These things have now been announced to you through those who preach the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. We are the most blessed generation in history. Every generation born after the time of Christ is the most blessed generation because we get to see and experience the fullness of the gospel. The prophets really wanted to fully know all this stuff that we know now. And Peter adds this aside that the angels long to catch a glimpse of these things. The gospel is amazing. The gospel is astounding. Last week in my review of Orthodoxy, I shared about how Chesterton helped me to see the world as being this amazing place of grace and wonder. And this week, I want you to see the gospel for the wonder and miracle that it is. We need lots of help. We are broken. The world is broken. The jobs and institutions we work in are broken. The people we work with are broken. And there's this being whose sole purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy us. And into this hopelessness, into this incredibly challenging scenario, what happens? Then she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him tightly in cloth and laid him in a manger. When he saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to teach them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit. He took the child's father, mother, and those who were with him and entered the place where the child was. Then he took the child by the hand and said to her, Talatha kum, which is translated, Little girl, I say to you, get up. Immediately the girl got up. The men who were holding Jesus started mocking and beating him. After blindfolding him, they kept asking, Prophesy, who was it that hit you? When they arrived at the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals. The leaders were scoffing. The soldiers also mocked him. One of the criminals hanging there began to yell insults at him, and Jesus called out with a loud voice, Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit. Saying this, he breathed his last. On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. They went in, but did not find the body of Jesus. Now on that same day, two of them were on their way to a village called Emmaus, and while they were discussing and arguing, Jesus came near and began to walk with them. It was as he reclined at the table with them that he took bread, blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. They found the eleven and those with them gathered together and said, The Lord has truly been raised, and has appeared to Simon. I am the resurrection and the life. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. You are a broken person living in a broken world with broken people all around you. You are working in a broken system, and you have a malevolent power opposed to you. But thanks be to God for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God for salvation through Christ. Amen, amen, amen. Thanks so much for listening. This has been the Long Obedience Podcast, your host, Santos Ninan. Talk to you next week.