“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs which 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. But God raised him up, having loosed 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; moreover my flesh will dwell in hope. For thou wilt not abandon my soul to Hades, nor let thy Holy One see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou wilt make me full of gladness with thy presence.’
“Brethren, I may say to you confidently of the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne, he foresaw and spoke of 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, he has poured out this which you see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens; but he himself says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand, till I make thy enemies a stool for thy feet.’ Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Here we hear a transformed Peter. He proclaims the truth without fear, knowing exactly what it might cost him. The enemies of the Lord are also His enemies until they undergo a true conversion by the grace of God. Such conversion is constantly offered to them, but unfortunately they do not always accept it. Nevertheless, the truth must be told.
It is a witness for heaven and earth.
Peter does not shirk this obligation. It was the Holy Spirit who gave him the strength to proclaim openly that to crucify and kill the Son of God was an unparalleled crime, but he shows the Israelites that all that had been predicted in the Scriptures was fulfilled in Jesus, and that God had given up His own Son.
Peter then proclaimed the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead, again on the basis of the Scriptures, quoting the relevant passages from David and making his listeners understand that the Risen One was fulfilling the succession of David: God had sworn to David that “he would set one of his descendants upon his throne, he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption”.
The apostles now testify that with the Resurrection of Jesus, who has been exalted to the right hand of God, the promise has been fulfilled. Peter then refers to the sending of the Holy Spirit, which they had just witnessed: the wonderful presence of the Third Person of the Holy Trinity.
Peter’s enlightened discourse, based on biblical evidence and confirmed by the unmistakable sign of the descent of the Holy Spirit, led to the exhortation to the house of Israel to acknowledge the Crucified One as the Lord and Anointed of God. Thus the essential point had been made.
They were by no means drunkards telling incoherent stories, but were witnesses sent and accredited by God to proclaim salvation to men, even at the cost of persecution and death. They were intoxicated with the Spirit of the Lord!
The apostles knew very well that people, especially the children of Israel, would now have to make a decision: would they be willing to acknowledge and accept the Will of God, would they believe the testimony of the apostles and become disciples of the Lord through the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit?
Until today, the whole of humanity has to make this decision after receiving the authentic proclamation: will they believe in the Son of God, will they allow themselves to be enlightened by the Holy Spirit and will they be saved?
From Jerusalem, the message of the Risen One will now reach the whole world, and His witnesses will proclaim the Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit. This is what the Heavenly Father has willed and prepared everything for its fulfilment. Will people listen?
Peter’s speech was not in vain. Tomorrow we will hear how the Holy Spirit worked with power in the hearts of His listeners.
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Meditation on the Reading of the Day: https://en.elijamission.net/overcoming-jealousy-2
Meditation on the Gospel of the Day: https://en.elijamission.net/the-light-came-into-darkness-2
