Zeroing in on the Resurrection: Acts 2:25-32
““29) Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30) And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne, 31) he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay. 32) This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.” Acts 2:29-32
Peter supported this portion of his message by quoting Psalm 16:8-11. He quickly used this passage to undergird the claim of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Acts 2:29, He pointed out that David was not talking about himself since he died and was buried and had been entombed for centuries.
Then he quickly shifts the focus to Jesus Christ. In the next two verses he states that David was a prophet and knew that one of his descendants would sit on his throne. The phrase “one of his descendants” implied that this king would have an eternal reign. There would be no end to His Kingdom.
Verse 31 becomes very significant. Peter states that David was prophesying about the resurrection of Christ. He was not abandoned to Hades nor did His flesh undergo decay, because God raised Him from the dead. He then drives home a key point… they were all witnesses of the resurrection. They had spent forty of the previous fifty days with the resurrected Christ. Their cups were full and overflowing.
Let’s pause for a moment and review his message. Peter used the phenomenon of Pentecost to preach the gospel. He pointed to Joel’s prophetic teaching about the giving of the Holy Spirit, then he pointed to David talking about the resurrection. His whole message was about the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But he really zero’s in on the resurrection. Why?
Let’s be pragmatic, people have dying and placed in graves for all of recorded history. Both good and bad, righteous and wicked, rich and poor, young and old, male and female… death and the grave ends the life of all people. It is permanent. Dead people are finished. It’s over for them. Death is a curse. Humanity has tried for centuries but has not found a cure for death.
That’s why Peter zeroed in on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection is what separates Jesus Christ from every other religious leader, philosopher or human that has ever lived. If the resurrection is true, Jesus is the hope of eternal life. He is indeed “the resurrection and the life.” (See John 11:25) He is the Promised Messiah and King of Israel. He will reign forever as King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the Savior of the World. The resurrection validates His claim of Deity.
The message Peter preached on the day of Pentecost was simple but profound. He took the current events of the public ministry and senseless crucifixion of Jesus Christ at the Passover 50 days earlier and fit it into the context of Old Testament prophetic revelation. He preached Jesus to them and the Holy Spirit added illumination, power and persuasiveness to His words. God used a common fisherman from Galilee to launch His plan for human redemption by faithfully preaching the Gospel. As we shall see, the results were Supernatural.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
