With Peter On the Rooftop in Prayer

With Peter On the Rooftop in Prayer: As was his custom, Peter climbed the steps to the rooftop and knelt in prayer. The night was coming on, and the cold, salt-laced wind pulled at his roughspun cloak, the scent of drying fish filling the air. Jerusalem shimmered in the twilight, a chaotic tapestry of flickering lamps and echoing voices, but upon his heart, a mist of God’s presence descended, obscuring the outward and lifting his attention to higher things and more profound concerns related to his calling and burden of leadership among the twelve. The risen Jesus, the ascended Son of God, and the daunting task of proclaiming the inexplicable truth of salvation to the world felt overwhelming. The perplexing phrase, “Which things the angels desire to look into,” lingered in his mind, a faint thought in the back of his mind brought there from the Spirit that so often moved upon him from time to time.

He bowed his head, tugging thoughtfully at the edges of his beard. The thought turned over and over in his mind: “Angels longing to understand what humanity had been given?” It seemed impossible. He closed his eyes, seeking the Lord’s guidance and praying for the revelation of this mystery.

The city noises faded, replaced by an uncanny stillness and a sense that he was not alone. He seemed at that moment more in the glory than on the windswept roof, and a weight of unseen watchers around him was profound, and he squeezed his eyes more tightly shut, hesitant to look upon things that perhaps might not be intended for mortal eyes. Then, he heard them: whispers like the rustling of countless wings, yet clear as the chime of a silver bell. It was as though he walked into a conversation in progress that he couldn’t help feeling like an interloper and unexpected interruption as the messengers, the angels in the realm between heaven and earth, were discussing matters of great concern to them.

“…the Lamb’s sacrifice… incomprehensible…”

“…how can such love be poured out on creatures of clay?…”

“…the union of divine and human… a mystery beyond our comprehension…”

He dared not open his eyes, fearing to break the fragile thread of this divine eavesdropping. He recognized the voices: the heavenly host, the angels who had sung at Jesus’ birth, who had ministered to Him in the garden that Peter was present to witness a few short years before.

One voice, resonant and clear, spoke with profound awe. “These humans were given the very Spirit of God to dwell within them, to understand what we can only observe from afar. They are granted the intimate knowledge of the Lamb’s blood, the very heart of redemption.”

Another angel responded, a note of longing in its tone. “We see the glory of the Father, the power of the Son, but the why of this sacrifice, the deep, intimate understanding of its application to fallen humanity, eludes us. We see the tapestry, but they are given the loom, the threads, and the very hands that weave it.”

“They were given free will, a choice to reject or accept, a risk we were never given,” a third being spoke. “And yet, in their weakness, they are shown the strength of God’s mercy.”

His heart pounded in his chest. These were not mere observations; they were expressions of yearning, of a profound desire to grasp the depth of God’s plan. The celestial beings, the watchers of creation, were humbled by the grace poured out on humanity.

He understood then. The angels, witnesses to the dawn of creation and the unfolding of God’s majesty yearned to understand the intimate, personal experience of salvation. They saw the grand design, the cosmic drama, but humanity, through the Spirit, experienced the very heart of it.

The voices faded, the city noises returned, and the wind whipped his cloak once more. He opened his eyes, tears streaming down his face. The weight of the Gospel was still heavy, but now it was a weight of wonder, of overwhelming gratitude. What angels were constitutionally unable to comprehend, God has ordained through the gospel mankind would grasp and understand with blazing clarity.

Angels were simply messengers, but men were inheritors and witnesses to a mystery so profound that even the angels desired to look into it. They were given the privilege of experiencing God’s love in a way that surpassed the understanding of even the most glorious of His creations. This was the truth Peter would carry to the ends of the earth.

[1Pe 1:12 KJV] Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.