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6. Peter’s Sermon at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-36)
ACTS 2:24-28
24 whom God raised up, having freed him from the agony of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him, ‘I saw the Lord always before my face, For he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. 26 Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced. Moreover my flesh also will dwell in hope; 27 because you will not leave my soul in Hades, neither will you allow your Holy One to see decay. 28 You made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of gladness with your presence.
God’s triumph over death is the banner over Christians. The symbol of this triumph is Christ, who was raised from the dead. Christ lives and will never die. He is the guarantee of our resurrection, and the security for our everlasting life.
Peter openly testified of God’ prevailing over the opposition of the Jews. God accepted the One they had rejected, and raised up the despised young man of Nazareth. He removed from Him the bonds of death (Psalms 18: 5- 6), for it was impossible for the grave to hold Him. Since He is holy death had no power over Him. Jesus died because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. This raising of Christ signified to the Jews God’s piercing judgment. At the same time, it was the greatest of comforts for Christians.
Following this, the Holy Spirit clarified, through Peter, how King David had looked at the mysteries of the Holy Trinity, in and through the insight of Christ. He confessed that the Son saw the Father before Him at all times, unhidden in all His glory. Jesus was the last Adam, God’s pleasure and His true image. He was full of power, beauty, and glory, living with God in a union of harmony, always doing His Father’s will.
Before the crucifixion, the Son saw His Father at His right hand. We also know that after His ascension He sat down at the right hand of His Father. Once again, we see that each Person of the Holy Trinity humbly and incessantly honors the other, regarding Himself to be the least. In this prophecy Christ said that He would continue on in God’s triumph, and would not be troubled by seeing Him. How we, too, need to look to our Father at all times, so that we may not fall into temptation.
The constant, close relationship between the Father and the Son cannot be disturbed by pride or sin, but remains full of joy, love, pleasure, and gladness. God Himself proclaimed that He was the God of pleasure when He said: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Before He was crucified, Christ, as the Lamb of God, had seen His death coming upon Him. His insight, however, extended beyond death into the eternal realm. He did not die hopelessly on the cross, but remained untroubled in hope. He knew that His Spirit and soul would not remain imprisoned with the dead, for He had committed Himself into the hands of God. David foretold that the body of Jesus would not see corruption, for He is holy. This has become the Christians’ hope, for they know that their body will also would be sanctified and raised up. Their forgiveness is complete, and entirely purifies their body. Cleansing is a gift from the Creator. Christ’s resurrection is our power, joy, and the cause for our thanksgiving. Jesus knew all the mysteries and ways of everlasting life, so that He could say: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” In Christ we see the resurrection of all the believers in brief. He became the life giver to all His followers. Without Him and outside His expanses there is no true life.
At the last day Christ will have a great abundance of joy when He sees that His death redeemed millions of people. His dying gave them life to continue with Him, united before the throne of grace. Moreover, the Holy Spirit made them members of His spiritual body, brought them into the reality of God’s love, and revealed the truth of everlasting life. Our faith is very great, indeed, for it is founded upon joy, gladness, and hope.
ACTS 2:29-32
29 Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 31 he foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was his soul left in Hades, nor did his flesh see decay. 32 This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses.
In his sermon Peter addressed the hearers as brethren, even though they had not yet joined the family of God. He saw, however, the Holy Spirit working in their hearts. He made clear to them that King David’s prophecy, mentioned in (Acts 2: 25- 28), could not refer to the king himself, since David, who was the father of numerous offspring, had clearly died. His well-known tomb had not remained empty. He was a true prophet, anointed with the Holy Spirit, and received a promise from God that no other prophet, king, or priest had ever received. This prophecy made clear that one of his sons would also be the Son of God, whose kingdom will not be destroyed (2 Samuel 7: 12- 14). All the Jews knew this well-known promise about Christ, and waited longingly and expectantly for this Son of Man who would also be the Son of God. The scribes thought much about the coming Christ. They searched the Scriptures to realize that this divinely anointed One would also overcome death, for He would be born of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, His body could not be corrupted, and His soul could not remain bound by the power of death. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, for He had overcome the power of death. He did not reign as a mortal, temporal king, for He is the everlasting King of Kings, one with God the Father.
Then, urged by the Holy Spirit, Peter testified openly that the Jesus who was crucified and rejected is, indeed, the promised Son of David, the everlasting King whom God had raised up. Peter did not fear his enemies, nor did he discuss all matters with them. In the power of God, he simply witnessed to the fulfillment of this great truth. He had eyed God’s triumph and heard words of forgiveness for his own sins from the living Christ. Jesus ate together with His disciples after He rose from the dead. He met them in His resurrected body, and showed them the print of the nails in His hands. The Son of God is not dead, but has risen. Are we, dear believers, witnesses for Him?
With this statement, the third part of the Holy Spirit´s sermon ended on Peter’s tongue. First, he had clarified to them that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was a fulfillment of the prophecy in Joel. Second, he called the Jews the killers of the One who had been crucified. Third, he proved to them from the Scriptures that Christ had truly been resurrected from the dead.
PRAYER: O Lord Jesus Christ, You are the Prince of Life. We worship You and believe in Your resurrection and life. You are our King and Life-Giver. You are our only hope. Fill many people with Your Holy Spirit, and turn them to You so that they may live.
QUESTION:
- What did Peter want to clarify to his hearers in mentioning David’s prophecy?