Peter testifies to the Jewish people of the Deity of Jesus Christ.

Acts 2:22-35

• Jesus Christ put to death through lawlessness but God resurrected Him to life.
• David prophecies about Jesus Christ being his Lord and the eternal Savior.

Jesus Christ put to death through lawlessness but God resurrected Him to life.
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.” Acts 2:22-24

Peter speaks to the Jewish culture about Jesus of Nazareth. Nazareth was thought of by many people as being a bad neighborhood, as quoted, “Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” John 1:45-46 The Jewish people probably turned sour when Peter said that. Today, that is what the born-again experience is all about, bringing people from a bad lifestyle into a life based on faith in Jesus Christ with a heart full of the Holy Spirit. Our circumstances do not define us in the eyes of God but what is happening within us is what He looks at.

God provided many proofs of His Spirit working through our Lord Jesus by miracles, wonders, and signs performed among the Jewish people. Even though He was from Nazareth, the Spirit of God was on Him but the Jewish leaders wouldn’t believe, as quoted, “And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!” But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.” Matthew 9:33-34 As followers of Jesus Christ, we know how He changed our life, our heart, our way of thinking, our attitude, and made us willing to be separate from today’s culture to live for Him. Even then, the testimony of Jesus is opposed in today’s atheistic society and considered to be a plague on their culture, which is global.

The determined purpose and foreknowledge of God for Jesus Christ was for Him to be “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29 This is quoted in this verse, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 However, how Jesus arrived to be crucified on the Cross, beside criminals, is on the hands of the Jewish leaders. They chose to conspire to kill Him instead of choosing to say “Yes” to Him as Lord and Savior. They took Jesus by lawlessness to have Him put to death, as quoted, “But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them. Pilate answered and said to them again, “What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” So they cried out again, “Crucify Him!” Then Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, “Crucify Him!” Mark 15:11-14 They preferred to have a murderer and rebel released, which is what Barabbas was.

Today, the governing authorities and the community culture prefers to crucify Christianity and to put it to death as they serve the atheistic entity that gives them what to speak, do, feel, and think. The will of the masses has become the law, which is lawlessness towards belief in God, acknowledging the need for Jesus Christ, and welcoming the presence of the Holy Spirit. Click here for a post on the extinction of Christian births from Revelations 12.

Jesus died on the Cross to atone for sin, but He was not left in the grave because God raised Him up. The sting of death has been removed because it is not possible that death can hold Him down, “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” Revelations 1:18 “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” 1 Corinthians 15:54-55 His victory and power over death is what gives us the resurrection within our born-again experience and is the proof that we will also be resurrected from the dead into eternal life.

David prophecies about Jesus Christ being his Lord and the eternal Savior.
^“For David says concerning Him: ‘I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’” Acts 2:25-28

From Acts 2:25-28, Peter is quoting from Psalms 16:8-11

Peter describes Jesus Christ from those quoted verses, and Jesus Himself said that the Psalms are prophecies about Him, “Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” Luke 24:44 This is known as the “scarlet cord” of the Old Testament that points to Jesus as the fulfillment of prophecy, the Christ, and Son of God.

“Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.” Acts 2:29

Peter is making it known that nothing is in the Old Testament scripture about king David being resurrected from the grave. Yet, David prophesied about the resurrection of the Christ.

“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…” Acts 2:30

Peter refers to David as being a prophet, and God promised to David that from his lineage [in the flesh] would rise up the Christ to sit on his throne. Like David, our Lord Jesus was from the tribe of Judah, the same family tree. “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.” Revelation 5:5 Jesus is the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David.

“…he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.” Acts 2:31

David foresaw the resurrection of Jesus Christ when he said in the Spirit, “His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.” When David died, his body was left in the grave, and it saw corruption in that it rotted away [God will resurrect David when Jesus returns, with all Believers]. In contrast, the body of Jesus did not suffer any corruption and was not left in the grave. God resurrected Him from the grave after three days.

“This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.” Acts 2:32

The Apostles of Jesus Christ are eyewitnesses to His resurrection, as were many others. Jesus walked on this earth for 40 days after His resurrection showing Himself to many, “to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” Acts 1:3

“Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.” Acts 2:33

Our Lord Jesus ascended into Heaven and given a place at the right hand of God. Jesus received the promise of the Holy Spirit that He has poured out on everyone who believes in Him. As Christ Jesus said, “I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.” John 16:7 God has given the authority for the pouring out of the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ.

“For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”’ Acts 2:34-35

Peter makes it clear that David prophesied about Jesus Christ because David did not ascend into the heavens, but our Lord Jesus did. David calls Christ his Lord, and the Lord God said to his Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” Jesus also said, “How can they say that the Christ is the Son of David? Now David himself said in the Book of Psalms: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool. Therefore David calls Him ‘Lord’; how is He then his Son?” Luke 20:41-44

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:11