2 Peter 1:16-21

Context

Text Clues

While all pericopes, of course, need to be read in context, sometimes we get clear textual clues that we are to do this. In this week’s text we get that by way of a bookended “for” (gar) and “but” (de) in verses 16 and 22, explicitly connecting our opening verse to the logic of the preceding text, and the subsequent passage to the argument of our highlighted lectionary text.

The opening verses of 2 Peter 1, which lead into verse 16’s “for,” speak of supporting and confirming one’s faith, with an emphasis on memory and recall (don’t be “forgetful of the cleansing of past sins”; “I intend to keep on reminding you of these things,” and to “refresh your memory”; the importance of…