The Bible presents Jesus as being fully God and fully man. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:1, 14). "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form" (Col. 2:9, NASU). This is an incredible claim. Deity taking on human flesh is a great mystery to us (1 Tim. 3:16). How can Jesus be 100% God and 100% man? This seems impossible, yet it is a fact of the gospel that must be accepted and believed if we are going to be saved (John 8:24; 20:30-31; 1 John 4:2-3). What evidence exists to support this incredible claim?
There are a pair of statements made in Peter's epistles regarding the evidence that Jesus was both God and man. The apostle Peter sets forth himself as an eyewitness of both the Deity and humanity of Jesus Christ.
"For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain" (2 Pet. 1:16-18, emphasis mine - HR).
In this passage, Peter has reference to himself, James, and John seeing the divine glory of Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-5; Mark 9:2-7; Luke 9:28-36). It was on this occasion that Peter saw Jesus as He truly exists. Not cloaked in flesh but radiating in glory. To help Peter understand the significance of what he was witnessing, God's voice declared, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him" (Matt. 17:5).
The apostle also claims to be "a witness of the sufferings of Christ" (1 Pet. 5:1). On the night that He was betrayed, Jesus took His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane. Leaving the rest, "He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, 'My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me'" (Matt. 26:37-38).
Just as these three men had seen Jesus transformed on the mountain, they also saw Him transformed in the garden. It was there, in the protective presence of His close friends, that Jesus began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. He confessed this sorrow to them. Why? Because the pain and agony of the cross was just hours away. Jesus was succumbing to the terrors of the hour and experiencing them as a man.
Peter did not understand what was happening on the mountain, neither did he understand what was taking place in the garden. However, years later he could look back on these events and proclaim with certainty that Jesus was fully God and fully man. His preaching was not based on cunningly devised fables. Peter was an eyewitness of both the majesty and suffering of Christ. He boldly preached Jesus as the glorified Christ who overcame physical death and offers salvation to all men.
I was not on the mountain, nor was I in the garden, but neither were the recipients of Peter's letters. They didn't see Jesus, but they believed in Him because they believed the testimony of one who did (2 Pet. 1:16). I share the same faith because I believe the same testimony.