Acts 2:14, 22-33 (commentary)
1. Commentary on Acts 2:14, 22-33
When the Spirit fell upon the apostles at Pentecost it was Peter who delivered the inaugural sermon in Church history. He called upon his Jewish audience for their attention. Then he went on to use what was referred to, in the Dead Sea Scrolls, as pesher, i.e., an understanding of biblical passages as having been fulfilled in the present or recent history of the community. Peter’s proclamation, the 3rd longest in Acts, focused on Jesus as the Nazorean from Galilee. It is a very early expression of the kerygma, or core Christian teaching. He pointed out three things.
Ø Firstly, that Jesus the Messiah, as they all knew, had performed confirmatory miracles, signs and wonders, as God’s agent of salvation.
Ø Secondly, in spite of this fact, the Jewish people had delivered him up to be unjustly crucified, a killing that the Roman pagans carried out, implying that it was the sin of the whole world that led to the crucifixion of the innocent and uniquely good, Jesus Christ.
Ø Thirdly, and paradoxically, where their sin abounded, in God’s benevolent providence, God’s grace more abounded when Jesus was vindicated by being raised from the dead.
The resurrection of Jesus confirmed that he truly was who he claimed to be. From verse 25 to 31 St Peter went on to quote from Ps 16:8-11, which expressed confidence that when it said that God would not abandon David, whose dynasty would last forever, to the grave. He applied that promise to Jesus. Since David died and was buried and decayed, David must have been speaking in a prophetic way about the resurrection of his Messianic descendant whose body would not and in actual fact did not see decay.
Acts 2:29-36 is the third and final section of Peter’s address. Here, he uses scripture to argue that David’s prophecy applies to Jesus. Alluding to Ps 132:14, “This is my resting place for ever and ever; here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it,” and Ps 16:10, “you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.” Peter interprets both as prophecies of the resurrection and ascension of the Messiah. Appearing for the first time in Acts 2:31, the Hebrew word Messiah or Christ in Greek, refers to the anointed one in the line of David who would restore the kingdom of Israel. Since David had died and his grave was in Jerusalem, Peter confidently testified that the patriarch David could not have been referring to himself. To further strengthen his argument, Peter cited yet another psalm, Ps 110:1, “The Lord says to my lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet,” i.e., that God had promised David that one of his descendants would be called to God’s heavenly throne. Since David never ascended into heaven, the words of Ps 110 could not apply to him. Peter argues that since Jesus has been raised from the dead, exalted at the right hand of God, and given the promise of the Father’s Spirit, Jesus the Nazorean is indeed both Messiah and Lord. Jesus fulfils all the ancient prophecies and divine promises.
Peter’s profession about Jesus is one of the most profound Christological statements in the New Testament. By confessing that Jesus is the risen and exalted Messiah and Lord he ultimately declares that Jesus is the rien Messiah and Lord.
