Acts 10:38-42 - God raised Him from the dead

10:38

Jesus was anointed. Jesus declared as much at the beginning of His ministry (Luke 4:18), “Christ” also means anointed one. There was a visible anointing of Jesus at His baptism (Matt 4:16,17). They knew that Jesus went around doing good, healing people who were “oppressed by the devil”. This latter aspect of Jesus’ ministry is something the church needs to get a better hold of today. Partly because some individuals or groups give “exorcism” a bad name the reaction of most is to avoid this aspect of the church’s ministry altogether. This is a mistake. We do need to be careful, and we do need to exercise wisdom, but demonic activity is real and has a harmful effect in people’s lives, but Jesus has power over the devil. We have much to learn in this area, but we must learn from Jesus.

10:39

Peter was a witness to all the things that happened during Jesus’ ministry. Note that in Acts 1:21,22 this was a criterion they had for choosing a replacement apostle. “Hanging on a tree” could be “hanging on wood”. In Deut 21:22,23 it is seen as a sign of being cursed by God. See also Galatians 3:13 where Paul speaks of Christ becoming a curse for us. Note that Peter and Paul had the same idea of the cross.

10:40-42

The cross was not the end though, for the resurrection followed. And God made Jesus to appear to witnesses. These were not vague appearances, but solid events, for He ate and drank with those who knew Him.

These witnesses were then commanded to preach to the people. This preaching was not merely saying that Christ has risen, but highlighting the consequences of it. They were to testify that Jesus is the One appointed by God to judge the living and the dead. Contrast this with some of the rubbish that is often preached today. First, there is the “do not judge” nonsense. Part of the gospel is that Jesus has been appointed as judge. Jesus is not just your “friend”, He is also the judge. This world, and everyone in it, will be judged by God. Then there is a tendency among some apologists today to say that the fact that Jesus is raised from the dead is all that matters. It isn’t, the consequences are just as important, and Peter and the apostles knew that this was so. It isn’t just the event, it is the meaning of the event.