“You who are children of Israel, hear these words. Jesus the Nazorean was a man commended to you by God with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs, which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know. This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God, you killed, using lawless men to crucify him. But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death, because it was impossible for him to be held by it. For David says of him:
I saw the Lord ever before me, with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed. Therefore, my heart has been glad, and my tongue has exulted; my flesh, too, will dwell in hope, because you will not abandon my soul to the nether world, nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.
My brothers, one can confidently say to you about the patriarch David that he died and was buried, and his tomb is in our midst to this day. But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne, he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he abandoned to the netherworld nor did his flesh see corruption. God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses. Exalted at the right hand of God, he poured forth the promise of the Holy Spirit that he received from the Father, as you both see and hear.” (Acts 2:14, 22-33)
Luke put these words in Peter’s mouth, so it seems. Luke, the author of Acts, voicing Peter said: “You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem. Let this be known to you and listen to my words…This man [Jesus], delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God, you killed, using lawless men to crucify him.” Just after Easter and at the beginning of the Octave of Easter we read of more condemnation of “the Jews.” We likely will hear more of this throughout the Acts of the Apostles. In fact, it can be worse for those not believing that Jesus was the Christ.
Today we hear Peter say: “My brothers, one can confidently say to you about the patriarch David that he died and was buried, and his tomb is in our midst to this day. But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne, he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ.” Luke, through Peter, has us believe that David was Jesus’ ancestor thereby building Luke’s support for Jesus being the Christ.
The genealogy of Jesus, as presented by Luke, has Jesus being the “son of David.” Therefore, this reading from Acts builds upon David’s words and prophecy in anticipation of Jesus. God raised Jesus, and although we are not direct witnesses of that which happened about 2,000 years ago, through our words and deeds we give witness to his importance in our lives and the lives of many others.
Deacon David Pierce
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