Acts 2:24-28 - But God

2:24

Man did this, but God did that. The decisions that we make and things that we do absolutely matter, and we are responsible for them. What the Jewish leaders did, what the Roman authorities did, what the ordinary people did all matter and they are responsible for their actions. But God raised Him from the dead. This was all part of God’s plan, and His plan with a good purpose. God fred Jesus from the “agony of death”. Death could not hold Him down, death was defeated. This whole issue of man’s responsibility (and/or free will) and God’s sovereignty causes immense problems for our understanding. The truth is that the way the two things interact and work out is beyond our understanding. We know for sure from the Bible that God is absolutely sovereign, so the open theism nonsense is just that, and is a deeply unbiblical heresy. We also know from virtually every page on the Bible that what we do with our lives matters and has an effect. We need to interpret the Bible and to live our lives in the light of both these truths. And we need to accept the limitations of our ability to understand just how they work together. When we are dead set on understanding how they work we run the real danger of making an idol out of our understanding. A current trendy idea is Molinism (though it has its roots from many centuries ago). Molinism is good in that it affirms God’s sovereignty and human responsibility, but it goes astray in its attempt to understand how the two can work together, and makes an idol out of understanding.

2:25-28

Peter then quotes from Psalm 16:8-11. As was common in those days, the quote comes from the LXX version. Peter attributes the psalm to David, and we see here an example of the common feature of Old Testament prophecies and psalms having both an immediate relevance and fulfilment, along with a much greater future fulfilment, almost always, as here, in the person of Jesus Christ. The events of the Old Testament happened partly in order to point ahead to what would see its fulfilment in Christ.

Christ was facing the most terrible event imaginable. As well as the normal horror of crucifixion there was the fact that He was going to receive the punishment that should have been ours, for all our sins. But even in this darkest hour Jesus knew that the “Lord was always before him”. So he was resolute in facing the cross. More than that, his heart was glad and his tongue rejoiced, and He knew that the final outcome would be that His body would rest in hope. He would be raised from the dead. We too, when the time to face death arrives, can rest in the sure hope of the resurrection. Jesus knew that His Father would not abandon Him to the grave.

Jesus had always been with the Father, so He knew the paths of life, and He had experienced the joy of being in the Father’s presence. Here on earth He knew the paths of life and the presence of His Father. And He knew He would be filled with joy forever in the Father’s presence.

We can apply this to our own lives as well. Jesus has shown us the paths of life, He has shown us how to live. This isn’t just the things we do and don’t do, though that of course is of great importance, but includes living in fellowship with the Lord. And we can be sure that He will not abandon us to decay, but we will live with joy in His presence forevermore.