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But Peter [said] … “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it. For David says concerning Him, ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for He is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For You will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let Your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; You will make me full of gladness with Your presence.’ Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried …. Being therefore a prophet … he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, [Jesus] has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David … himself says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool.”’ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” (Acts 2:14a, 22-29a, 30a, 31-34-36)
What amazes me about this sermon is the man who’s preaching it. I mean, this is Peter. He’s a fisherman, not a rabbi! But somehow he knows the Scripture well enough to use Psalm 16 and Psalm 110 to explain what God has done to save us through His Son Jesus. He explains how God the Father sent Him into the world to suffer and die for us on a cross, and then raised Him from the dead to live forever—and now, Jesus is at the right hand of God the Father, and has sent us the Holy Spirit to live in us.
I’m not surprised 3,000 people came to faith and were baptized! Clearly, God is working through him. But what about those Bible verses—where did that knowledge come from?
Acts 4:13 clues us in. It says, “Now when they [the elders and rulers of the people] saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.”
It is Jesus who makes the difference in Peter and John. It is Jesus who makes the difference in us, people who have come to faith in Him through the work of the Holy Spirit. It doesn’t matter what we have been in the past. Now we are with Jesus, and the Spirit of God is remaking us to be like Him—teaching us, taking away our fear, and working to save others through us.
WE PRAY: Dear Lord, bring me closer to You! Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
- Do you remember a time before you knew Jesus?
- If so, what difference do you see now? If not, how have you grown in your faith over your lifetime?
- How do you spend time with Jesus?
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