Jesus: A Man Attested by God—Lectionary Reflection for Easter 2A (Acts 2)

Acts 2:14a, 22-32 New Revised Standard VersionUpdated Edition

¹⁴ But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, . . .

²² “Fellow Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know— ²³ this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. ²⁴ But God raised him up, having released him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. ²⁵ For David says concerning him,

‘I saw the Lord always before me,

    for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken;

²⁶ therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;

    moreover, my flesh will live in hope.

²⁷ For you will not abandon my soul to Hades

    or let your Holy One experience corruption.

²⁸ You have made known to me the ways of life;

    you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

²⁹ “Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. ³⁰ Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. ³¹ Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying,

‘He was not abandoned to Hades,

    nor did his flesh experience corruption.’

³² “This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses.

*****************

                Having celebrated the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday, we now move into the afterglow of that glorious event. During the weeks to come until we gather for Pentecost, the church (that follows the lectionary/Church year) ponders Jesus’ continuing presence with his followers, now as the risen Christ. It is during these weeks following Easter that the first reading takes us to the Book of Acts. It is, in fact, the one time during the year that the lectionary focuses on the Book of Acts. At the same time, we step away from our readings from the Hebrew Bible. In any case, on this Second Sunday of Easter, we gather on the Day of Pentecost to hear Peter proclaim the good news that Christ the Lord has risen from the dead.

                Contextually, our reading follows the dramatic events in the upper room. A crowd has gathered as a result of these activities. The gathered crowd isn’t sure what to make of what they hear. They are, Luke writes, “amazed and perplexed,” wondering if these folks might be “filled with new wine.” That is, the folks in the upper room appear to be drunk (Acts 2:12-13). With that Peter goes out and tries to explain what the crowd is observing, assuring them that no one is drunk. Rather, what they are seeing and hearing fulfills the promise of Joel, that in the last days, God will pour out the Spirit on the people (Acts 2:14-21). The lectionary omits these details, but it is worth taking note of them before we get into the portion of Peter’s sermon chosen for this moment.

                The lection includes the opening words of verse 14, where we’re told that Peter with the eleven, emboldened by the Holy Spirit who had indwelled the People earlier in the day (Acts 2:1-4), raises his voice and addresses the crowd. From there we skip down to verse 22, omitting the word about the new wine. In verse 22, Peter addresses his fellow Israelites, telling them that Jesus of Nazareth is “a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you.” 

                The next word is problematic in that Peter puts the blame for Jesus’ death on the people gathered before him. According to Peter, in this polemical message, God had attested Jesus to be the Messiah, but the people of Israel (Jews) had rejected him and had handed him over to be “crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law.” While the Romans had executed Jesus by crucifying him, Peter accuses his fellow Jews of collaborating with the Romans (those “outside the law”) to have Jesus killed. In Peter’s mind, as Luke records, the Romans simply carried out the desires of the Jewish leaders. Unfortunately, texts like this have been used through the centuries to justify the charge of Jews being “Christ killers.” It is a charge that we, as Christians, must reject. While it is possible, even likely, that certain Jewish leaders collaborated with the Romans in the execution of Jesus, it would have been for political not theological reasons. Thus, as we consider a text like this we must not cast aspersions on Jews, vilifications that have often led to violence against Jewish people. Let us, therefore, avoid the blame game and instead consider Peter’s witness to the resurrection.  

                Whoever participated in the execution of Jesus, Peter wants the crowd to know that it was done according to the plan and foreknowledge of God. The good news here, the good news that Peter wishes to share with the crowd, is that the one who was crucified and buried was now alive. Yes, God had raised him up, freeing him from the grip of death, “because it was impossible for him to be held in its power” (Acts 2:24). What those who participated in Jesus’ death didn’t know was that death couldn’t hold Jesus.

                Even as Peter drew on a passage from Joel to explain the coming of the Spirit on the people (Acts. 2:17-21), he now turns to the Psalms to explain the resurrection of Jesus. According to Peter, David had declared: “For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One experience corruption” (Acts 2:27; Psalm16:10). Peter drew on the common belief that David had authored the majority of the Psalms, including Psalm 16. In his reading of the Psalm, Peter makes the interpretive leap by applying the Psalmist’s message to Jesus. According to Peter, when David shared this word, it ultimately applied not to David but to Jesus. While David had long before “died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day” (vs. 29), God had raised Jesus from the dead. Thus, Peter interprets the Psalm speaking prophetically of the Messiah, who would claim David’s throne and from that position conquer death through his resurrection. Thus, according to Peter, it is Jesus who speaks these words, not David. It is Jesus whose “flesh will live in hope” and whose soul will not be abandoned to Hades, and who will know the ways of life and be made full of gladness. Now Peter stands before the people, serving as a witness to this truth revealed in the Psalm and embodied in Jesus’ resurrection.

                We might quibble over whether Psalm 16 has messianic implications or speaks to Jesus’ death and resurrection, but in Luke’s mind, it provides the foundation for proclaiming the message that Jesus is in fact the Messiah and had been resurrected. Peter tells the crowd, drawing on this Psalm, that David spoke prophetically, knowing that God had sworn (made a covenant) with David to put one of his descendants on his throne. Not only that, but David had foreseen the resurrection of the Messiah, who according to the Psalm would not be abandoned to Hades or see his flesh corrupted. Therefore, Peter declares: “This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses” (Acts 2:31-32). With this declaration, the lection ends, though the sermon continues.

                We would be wise to follow the sermon to its conclusion. Though verse 32 lets us know that Peter and the eleven stand as witnesses to the resurrection, if we continue reading further to verse 33, Peter declares that God had exalted Jesus to God’s right hand, and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit, Jesus had poured out the Spirit on the people, as the crowd had witnessed earlier. While this portion of the sermon speaks of Jesus’ ascension, the sermon ends with the proclamation that God had made Jesus Lord and Messiah. As Karoline Lewis notes, in the closing sentences of the sermon Peter offers “the so what of the resurrection. That is, we will be hard-pressed to make sense of the resurrection for and in our lives without the help and presence of the Holy Spirit” [Connections: A Lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship (Kindle Locations 6949-6950)].

                When Peter proclaimed the message of the resurrection of Jesus, he likely faced a skeptical audience. That shouldn’t surprise us since the Gospels suggest that until they actually encountered the risen Jesus, his followers didn’t quite understand what Jesus had been saying about the resurrection. While many Jews embraced the idea of resurrection (the Pharisees embraced this perspective) the expectation was that the resurrection would take place at the end of time. But here we have a word about the resurrection of a particular person. It’s not something that is part of the people’s expectations, and yet here Peter seeks to make the case that Jesus had died, been executed, and yet death could not hold him. With this word to the crowd, Peter makes it clear that the church, those filled with the Spirit, are called to proclaim the message of Jesus’ resurrection and ascension.

                Turning again to Karoline Lewis, we are reminded that proclaiming the message of the resurrection is the “primary call of the church.” Yes:

This is a primary call of the church: not just to assume the resurrection or even to apologize for it, but to testify that Jesus’ resurrection is the upending act that has set the Spirit loose. The very preaching of this sermon at this moment insists that the resurrection can never be an event located in the past of the church but is preached again and again when the Spirit’s presence is sensed and professed. Moreover, the Spirit itself preaches the ongoing promise of the resurrection. The Spirit gives voice to this truth and gives us voice to utter this truth. [Connections (Kindle Locations 6954-6957)].

So, as we continue the journey through Eastertide, we can take hold of this calling and continue proclaiming the good news that Christ the Lord has risen from the dead and has been exalted to the right hand of God. We do this knowing that our proclamation is empowered by the same Holy Spirit who fell upon the church on the Day of Pentecost.