¹²It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look.

True prophets did not prophesy for their own benefit, as though it was their decided career choice with a comfortable stipend. Further, they understood that their primary role was to serve God’s people. Would that more preachers, ministers, and church leaders today followed their example. Later in this letter, Peter addresses elders:

[S]hepherd the flock of God among you . . . voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness . . . (1 Peter 5:2)

The prophets understood their messages from God were not for just their own time and place but also for future generations of believers. Of course, some prophecies had immediate fulfillment, like the message God spoke through Moses to Israel as they stood between Pharaoh’s army and the Red Sea:

“Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever.” (Ex. 14:13)

But many prophecies reflected future things, as Peter writes here. The prophets knew their messages contained profound truth that they could not yet understand; not even the angels were privy to some of it, excited as they were to learn more about it. But then Christ was revealed. And the revelation of Christ is the gospel message, as it was now being preached to Peter’s audience. In particular, Peter refers to the message as the apostles preached it. This is what the writer of Hebrews said:

[The gospel message] was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will. (Heb. 2:3–4, also Acts 1:8, 2 Cor. 12:12)

The prophets preached what would not be fully known until Christ came, when the message would come into focus. What a privilege we have today to have the full knowledge of Christ as the fulfillment of OT prophecies.

Lord, thank You for the faithfulness of the prophets who selflessly proclaimed Your word, even though they didn’t fully understand what they were saying.