Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, ¹¹inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. ¹²It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

This is a great description of salvation. It describes the wonder and greatness of salvation, the glorious truth that God saves men from death and exalts them into the glories of heaven. Salvation is so glorious that even the angels are aroused to look into it and to understand what it means.

(1) We are told two things about the prophets. First, they searched and enquired about the salvation which was to come. Second, the Spirit of Christ told them about Christ.

Here we have the great truth that inspiration depends on two things—the searching mind of man and the revealing Spirit of God. This passage tells us that God’s truth comes only to the man who searches for it. In inspiration there is an element which is human and an element which is divine; it is the product at one and the same time of the search of man’s mind and the revelation of God’s Spirit.

Further, this passage tells us that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, was always operative in this world. Wherever men have glimpsed beauty, wherever they have laid hold on truth, wherever they have had longings for God, the Spirit of Christ was there.

Never has there been any time in any nation when the Spirit of Christ was not moving men to seek God and guiding them to find him. Sometimes they have been blind and deaf, sometimes they have misinterpreted that guidance, sometimes they have grasped but fragments of it, but always that revealing Spirit has been there to guide the searching mind.

(2) This passage tells us that the prophets spoke of the sufferings and the glory of Christ. Such passages as Psalm 22 and Isaiah 52:13–53:12 found their consummation and fulfillment in the sufferings of Christ. We need not think that the prophets foresaw the actual man Jesus. What they did foresee was that one would come some day in whom their dreams and visions would all be fulfilled.

(3) This passage tells us for whom the prophets spoke. It was the message of the glorious deliverance of God that they brought to men. That was a deliverance which they themselves never experienced. Sometimes God gives a man a vision, but says to the man himself, “Not yet!”

Introduction

When Christians encounter suffering, they often lose their perspective and begin to complain about things which are really not as bad as they appear. Tears in our eyes distort our perspective.

Those to whom Peter writes are undergoing suffering for their faith. Peter does not offer them pity or sympathy. How can one be pitied in circumstances in which they should rejoice? But often we do pity ourselves when we suffer. We become absorbed in the “pain” of our lives and lose perspective that God is using our suffering for His glory and our good.

As we live our lives in this sinful, fallen world among those who hate God, we do suffer for the time being, but our suffering has been sent our way by God to produce a very positive effect. On the one hand, it demonstrates the reality of a genuine faith, and on the other it strengthens our faith—all to the glory of God. In this we are to rejoice as we await the outcome of our faith, the salvation of our souls (1:6-9).

In verses 10-12, Peter helps his fellow-believers keep their suffering in perspective by making two comparisons. He first compares the Old Testament prophets to New Testament saints. Secondly, Peter compares New Testament saints to angels. What he concludes from this comparison might surprise you.

How often we look back to the Old Testament saints to whom God spoke directly and wish we could have lived in their times. “Ah, for the good old days,” we reason. “If only I could have lived then and walked in such intimacy with God. If only I could have had God tell me personally what to do and what He was going to do.” Peter takes the nostalgia out of this kind of thinking and brings us to a very different view of our present circumstances.

Profiting From the Prophets (1:10-12a) … The Contribution of the Prophets

The Old Testament prophets contributed far more to us than they realized at the time of their prophecies. As Peter calls our attention to these prophets, he points out the ways in which their ministry touched our lives. Consider the following:

(1) The Old Testament prophets suffered greatly due to their calling, and as such, they provide us with an example of perseverance in persecution.

Like our Lord in the text above, when Peter calls our attention to the prophets he seems to be reminding us that we must also suffer like the prophets for the sake of Christ and His kingdom. The blessings we have received through these prophets, which Peter summarizes in our text, came at great cost to them.

(2) God spoke to us through the prophets because they were inspired by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ.

(3) The prophets of old were speaking (prophesying) of a future day. The prophets spoke to the men and women of their own time, but they also spoke of things yet to come to pass. They spoke to men of God’s program for the future, so they might live in the light of the promises of divine blessing and divine judgment.

(4) The Old Testament prophets spoke of the salvation to be accomplished in the future, a salvation by grace. They spoke of God’s salvation by grace and not by works. Here, Peter sums up all of God’s future blessings in one word: grace (1:10).

(5) Specifically, the prophets of old spoke of the coming of Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ, the Messiah, so that the things they foretold are those which are now proclaimed by those who herald the good news of the Gospel.

(6) The prophets spoke of salvation in terms of sufferings, followed by glories. The use of the plural in reference to both suffering and glory is noteworthy, for just as the sufferings of our Lord were many (see Hebrews 5:7-10), so the glories will be many which flow from His death, resurrection, and ascension.

(7) The salvation of which the Old Testament prophets spoke was a salvation for the Gentiles, as well as the Jews. For a long time, Peter, like his Jewish brethren, resisted this reality. So firmly is this truth now embedded in Peter’s heart and mind that he speaks of the Old Testament prophets as having ministered so as to serve the Gentiles.

The Confusion of the Prophets

It may be difficult to grasp that Peter is contrasting our understanding of the gospel with the “ignorance” of the Old Testament prophets. Consider with me the reasons for this “ignorance” of which Peter speaks.

(1) First, we must realize that being a prophet means you have a message, not that you understand its meaning. Peter’s words indicate the prophets had the message of salvation, by grace, through Jesus Christ, for Jews and Gentiles. But he also indicates they did not fully comprehend all of this. They conveyed the message of God’s coming salvation, but the meaning of their message was not known until Christ actually came.

(2) Many prophecies were not even recognized as prophecies. Few of the prophecies fulfilled in the first coming of our Lord were recognized as such at the time they were given or even later on. When we come to the Gospels, we frequently find an expression like this: “that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled … ” (Matthew 1:23).

The prophecy of the virgin birth of Christ in Isaiah 7:14 was not regarded as a prophecy until after its fulfillment. So it was also with the prophecies that Jesus would come up from Egypt (Matthew 2:15, citing Hosea 11:1) and that He would be called a Nazarene (Matthew 2:23). Jesus having come from Nazareth was viewed as a problem rather than as a prophecy (John 1:44-46).

Unless Paul had told us, who would have imagined that our Lord was the Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7) or that He was the “rock” which followed Israel in the wilderness (1 Corinthians 10:4)?

(3) Old Testament prophecies were often perplexing, because of unclear distinctions, or apparent contradictions, which would not be harmonized until Christ’s coming. This confusion is evident in the answer given to our Lord’s question:

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He began asking His disciples, saying, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; some Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets” (Matthew 16:13-14).

The people were unclear about which prophecies were truly Messianic and which were not. They were not clear even about just who the Messiah would be.

Jesus capitalized on this ignorance by asking this question of His opponents:

Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying, THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT THINE ENEMIES BENEATH THEY FEET?”’ If David then calls Him ‘Lord’, how is He his son?” (Matthew 22:41-44).

They had been asking Him questions seeking to embarrass and discredit Him publicly. Let them answer His question. How could the Messiah be David’s Lord and David’s Son at the same time? Here was another mystery, solved only in the coming of our Lord as God incarnate.

(4) The prophets were given only one small piece of a much larger puzzle. The prophets had trouble understanding the meaning of their “piece” of the puzzle, let alone being able to see the entire picture of God’s prophetic plan and purpose.

The Prophets’ Private Revelation

While the Old Testament prophets made a monumental contribution to the cause of the gospel, they were confused. They were confused because they could not understand how the events they predicted would take place. Our text tells us they carefully searched and studied their own prophecies, “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” (1:11).

They would have to wait to learn the answers to all their questions. But let these prophets know this: they were a link in the chain of God’s eternal purpose to save a people for Himself, a people that would include both Jews and Gentiles. Theirs was the privilege of playing a part in this plan. They, like every saint throughout history, would have to live by faith, suffering now while assured of the glory of God, their future hope.

The Saints’ Advantage Over Angels (1:12b)

… things into which angels long to look. (parakúpsō, from pará (3844), to, beside, and kúptō (2955), to bend, stoop. To stoop down near or by something, bend forward or near in order to look at something more closely.^[1])

Amazingly, with all the glory we find associated with angels, Peter tells us their eyes are fixed on the earth. There is a greater glory yet to be fulfilled, and the angels cannot wait to witness it. They, like the prophets of old, do not seem to understand in advance just how these things will come to pass. Peter informs us of their intense interest in the things presently taking place on earth in light of what is yet to come.

Conclusion

• Do we feel overwhelmed by our suffering? Our troubles are no match for the Old Testament prophets.
• Do we wish we could live in the “good old days” when God spoke directly to men? No one has ever had it as good as we do now. Why? Because Christ has come, and the mysteries concerning His first coming are now openly proclaimed in the preaching of the gospel. What the prophets, who were “insiders” in days gone by, yearned to know, we now know.

These very angels would seemingly be happy to change places with us. Their eyes are fixed upon the earth, eager to see the unfolding of the glory of God as He fulfills His promise of an eternal kingdom.

Before us have gone the prophets, who ministered to us by speaking of the things we now enjoy in Christ. We now understand those things which were a mystery to them.

While we may suffer, few will ever experience the persecution that was theirs. And yet they were faithful to their calling, fulfilling their mission and ministry to us.

The angels too are a part of the divine plan, and they also eagerly look on to see how God’s plans and promises will be fulfilled. No one has ever been more privileged than we. With this firm foundation, we can go about our lives unshaken by persecution and tribulation, with our hope fixed on the grace that is yet to come.

^[1] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).