There is no new part of the gospel: there are no myths. There is nothing clever. Peter is repeating what has already been taught.
Peter sees his death coming, and like Moses long sermon (Deuteronomy), he is reminding people of what they already know.
12 Therefore I intend to keep on reminding you of these things, though you know them already and are established in the truth that has come to you. 13 I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to refresh your memory, 14 since I know that my death will come soon, as indeed our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain.
The interesting thing is that Peter had to say this. This implies that already:
- There were people saying it was a myth. That Jesus had not risen, the disciples had stolen the body and buried it (see Acts).
- That the message of Jesus was spiritual and did not have any earthly meaning — that what we do here does not matter, and the body does not matter. This led to the gnostic error.
- That there is more that Jesus provided. That there is a deeper meaning — again a gnostic error — or a deeper teaching (from the Law of Moses, or some syncretic movement. There is but what Jesus provided from through the Holy Spirit.
Peter needs to repeat this. We need to have it repeated. For the error of this age is to ignore our evil and, like the Cathars, pretend we are perfect, and (again, like the Cathars) complain and even riot when we are reminded of our imperfections. Christ was offensive.
12Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a den of robbers.”
14The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he cured them.
We need to be reminded that Jesus was not afraid to remove those who exploited — particularly from the temple — and to help those in need. One of the reformed mottos is semper reformans — always reforming. We need to continually be measuring ourselves against the standard set by Jesus, and the apostles. As a church, we need to be continually reminding oursleves that our speculation is of limited value.
But the Gospel has the power to save. There is no other. And that needs repetition — for those who are lost to hear, and for those who know it not to stray into error.