Acts 2:25-33 - For David says concerning Him (Jesus), "'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, 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 on his throne, 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, He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing."
Here, in Peter's famous speech on Pentecost, he is talking about David talking about Jesus. David is speaking of his Ancestor who would appear some thousand years later. In that great span of time, Jesus would assume David's throne—not in a physical, earth-bound rule in Jerusalem, but in a divine, spiritual rule, across the universe. And it was in Jesus, the coming Messiah, that David placed his hope, both in this world and in the life to come.
How wonderful it is that God works through Peter to connect the dots like this for us. As the Holy Spirit moved Peter to speak, he gave to those many listeners in Jerusalem on that first Pentecost, and by extension to us today, the truth of how God works in history. The full Old Testament narrative—the stories of the patriarchs, the judges, the prophets, and the kings—all together forms the varied mosaic of God's story of compassion pointing to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
Since Jesus, of course, God continues His work in history. Today, He works through us—just as He did Peter-to share His love with the world. It may be in a mass Lutheran Hour rally such as Dr. Oswald Hoffmann spoke to in the Hollywood Bowl in 1956, or it may be a gathering of many hundreds listening to the Gospel in Africa or China or Latin America. Whether it takes place on social media or across the fence with our neighbors, God is at work in us and through us so that all may "know for certain that God has made Him (Jesus) both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36b).
May God use us all as He continues His work in history.
THE PRAYER: Heavenly Father, lead us by Your Holy Spirit to share the Good News of Jesus. In His Name. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Paul Schreiber.
Reflection Questions:
1. Does it surprise you that God takes hundreds of years sometimes to fulfill a promise?
2. How important to their witness was it for the disciples to see Jesus alive after His crucifixion?
3. Do conversations you have about Jesus tend to occur any place in particular?
Today's Bible Readings: Psalms 17, 19 John 9:24-41
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