Acts 2:34-36 - Let all Israel be assured

2:34,35

Psalm 110 is a favorite messianic psalm, and one quoted by Jesus Himself (Matt 22:44). Note the implications here when Peter says “David did not ascend to heaven”. It is assumed that Jesus did ascend to heaven and is in direct contact with the Father. It is also implied that this took place after the ascension. Again we have David seeing things that were beyond his own experience. This Psalm also tells us something about what is happening in the present age. Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father and all His enemies will be made a footstool. We should also note that sitting here implies a place of authority, it is not implying a place of sitting down and putting one's feet up!

2:36

This is one of the most important verses in this chapter, “Let all the house of Israel ...”. Jesus is the Messiah and He is Lord. Israel had crucified Christ, but God has made Him “Lord and Christ”. The people made their choice, but their choice counts for nothing, for it is God’s choice that determines the outcome. Israel needs to come to recognise Christ as Lord. It is also significant that He is “Lord and Christ”. Jesus is not just the Messiah, He is Lord, He is God. It isn’t just God acting through Him, but He is God. Now what Israel needs to know is also what all of mankind needs to know. Man has many opinions, and these do not include Jesus being Christ and Lord, but all of them are wrong.

We should also note the responsibility assigned to the Jews “Jesus whom you crucified”, and this rightly sounds warning bells. For there have been many times in history when the “church” has used this as an excuse for persecution of the Jews. Even Luther in his later years said some terrible, and terribly wrong, things about the Jews. In response to our revulsion at these things is to airbrush these sorts of comments out of the Bible, to pretend they aren’t there, or at least should not have been said, and we should not pay any attention to them. This is an unhelpful response. Where does the error lie? It is not in saying that the Jews held responsibility for crucifying Jesus, they do have responsibility. But they are not the only ones. At the time the Romans, representing the non-Jewish world, also shared in that responsibility, as the Bible makes clear. The whole of humanity has rejected Christ, as John 1:10 makes clear, and as a look at the world today confirms. We are all guilty, Jews and Gentiles alike, and we all need to recognise who Jesus is. The danger with our modern approach to this matter is that we do away with the whole concept of guilt.