Hear These Words

“Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by Him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that He should be holden of it”.  Acts 2:22-24

The people who stood before Peter on the day of Pentecost must have been intently listening to every word Peter spoke concerning the prophecy of the prophet Joel:  “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered (saved)” (2:32a).  The people were mostly men who were very familiar with the law and the prophets, some even considering themselves experts concerning the Messiah.  The believers on whom the Holy Spirit descended must have caused quite a stir among the Jews as the believers spoke in languages known to all who were there that day.

In case any of the Jews had forgotten the events of the last three plus years, Peter brought the climax of those years to their memory.  He said (paraphrasing), “Jesus of Nazareth, a Man approved of God among you by the miracles, wonders, and signs that God did through Him, was well known among you”.  All the events surrounding Jesus’ ministry in and around Jerusalem caused quite a stir among the Jews.  Some believed on Him, but most did not.  Whether they would admit it or not, most of the Jews were very familiar with Jesus.  When Jesus, not revealing His identity, met the two men on the road to Emmaus and enquired what all the commotion was about, they were surprised that He was unfamiliar of Jesus and His crucifixion, until, of course, He let them know that He was Jesus.

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were so fearful of all the attention that He was receiving and were worried of losing their power and status that they plotted to kill Him.  Had that not been God’s plan all along to allow Jesus to be crucified, they would never have been able to touch Him.  Peter didn’t mince any words.  He laid the blame of Jesus’ crucifixion directly on the Jews to whom he was speaking.  They could not blame the Romans because the Roman soldiers were only carrying out their orders.  The Jews, even those who had come to understand that Jesus’ death was predetermined by God Himself, could not lay the blame on the Father because it was their sin, and yours and mine, that necessitated the cross of redemption.

The good news is that Jesus didn’t stay dead and in the grave.  While the self-righteous leaders thought their efforts to banish the One whom they considered their arch enemy, God had other pre-determined plans.  God cannot die.  Jesus, who is God and Man, died in His human form, but was raised again to life.  Man’s physical body will suffer death and decay, but his soul and his spirit will never die.  Those who believe in Christ will be raised again in a new body joined with his soul and spirit to live eternally as a child of the King with Christ in paradise or, if they never surrendered to Christ, their soul will live with Satan in a place of utter misery and torment.  It was not possible that death could reign over Jesus just as darkness cannot overcome light.

The Jews who were standing before Peter had heard about Jesus’ resurrection.  Otherwise, why would they be standing there listening to Peter?  They were looking for an explanation.  They were searching for answers.  Peter, to reinforce the fact that Jesus was and is a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, quoted King David from Psalm 16:8-11 as David quoted Christ Himself.  Now we know that David lived about 1,000 years before Christ’s entry into this world.  The only way that David could quote Christ was by the Spirit of God.  Peter quoted this passage to show that David was not writing about himself but about the Savior who would come after him.  Christ was speaking through David acknowledging that the Father was always with Him, helping, supporting, and guiding Him.

Also, through David, Christ praised His Father because He knew that hope would sustain Him no matter the trials that He faced on earth.  He knew that His physical body would die, but only for a short time.  His soul would not remain in the place of the dead, Hades, nor would His body decay.  His life would be returned to Him, and His joy would be complete for all eternity.

I just read an article online that made two statements regarding the return of Christ.  The first statement was fairly obvious, that is, that modern-day Jews in Israel do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah.  They didn’t believe it 2,000 years ago and nothing has happened yet to change their minds.  However, what was surprising was that 45 per cent of Israeli Jews do not believe that the Messiah will ever come.  This is mostly due to the fact that many Jews no longer read the Torah and the Prophets of the Old Testament.  That falls in line with many Americans, Jewish or Gentile, who have very little familiarity with the Bible.  People are so blinded by sin and the devil that they can’t see the forest for the trees.  They are not able to associate sin with the degradation of our culture.  The people who stood before Peter that day at least desired to know the meaning of what they had just witnessed concerning the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  Unfortunately, many of our day do not have a clue as to what God has said in His word nor do they care.

Next time:  Peter continues to help his audience understand the gospel.