The earliest Christians followed a Jewish tradition of pausing to pray, preferably together, first thing in the morning, about mid morning, at noon, about mid afternoon, and in the evening. “Just a Note” posts are brief observations made from Scripture readings not related to a lectionary. If I have one to post, it normally appears about 9:00 in the morning, at “the hour of prayer.”
In Acts chapter 2 Peter, along with the other apostles, finds a new ability to proclaim and interpret the Scriptures. In chapter 1 Peter had made the venture of seeking out another apostle to complete the number. But now, in chapter 2, after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, he is using the Scriptures very boldly. In verses 22-28 he refers to Jesus’ activities which he had done and which the crowd knew about. He then says that it was impossible for Jesus to remain dead, citing Psaln 16.
The foundation of Peter’s argument is that Jesus is the Lord who cannot remain dead. The resurrection of the body is central to all of Christian thought. God is victorious over death - his own and ours.
All the signs and miracles that God performs point only to this fact. God in Christ is redeeming the world to himself. He is the Lord who is greater than all the sin that the world has entered into. He is the God who is greater than the death which I would expect. This is the great hope of the Christian.
With that said, Peter has just begun his sermon. It will continue for several more paragraphs, and we have reason to believe (Acts 2:40) that the account we have in Scripture is an abbreviated summary. What are the Jews going to do with this Jesus who is risen from the dead? What are we going to do with him?
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