God Raised This Jesus

3rd Sunday of Easter - Acts 2:14, 22-33

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven,

raised his voice, and proclaimed:

"You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem.

Let this be known to you, and listen to my words.

You who are Israelites, hear these words.

Jesus the Nazarene was a man commended to you by God

with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs,

which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know.

This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God,

you killed, using lawless men to crucify him.

But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death,

because it was impossible for him to be held by it.

For David says of him:

I saw the Lord ever before me,

with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.

Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has exulted;

my flesh, too, will dwell in hope, 

because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,

nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption.

You have made known to me the paths of life;

you will fill me with joy in your presence.

"My brothers, one can confidently say to you

about the patriarch David that he died and was buried,

and his tomb is in our midst to this day.

But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an oath to him

that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne,

he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ,

that neither was he abandoned to the netherworld

nor did his flesh see corruption.

God raised this Jesus;

of this we are all witnesses.

Exalted at the right hand of God,

he received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father

and poured him forth, as you see and hear."

One of the central claims of Christianity spelled out in the Nicene Creed is that Jesus “rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” Easter was not something unforeseen. Rather, unlike all other religious or political leaders, Jesus’ life and mission were foretold by ancient prophecies. This is precisely the point that St. Peter made on the very first Christian Pentecost.

You have to love the boldness of Peter. In the Gospels, it often works to his detriment, but after he is confirmed in the Spirit on Pentecost, his boldness is directed toward God’s purposes. Speaking to the gathered crowd, he reminds them about Jesus' life and ministry and that about a month ago they had killed him. As terrible as that is, this was no accident. Rather, it was “by the set plan and foreknowledge of God.” Peter even points out that God had revealed to humanity through Israel’s Scriptures that the Messiah would be raised from the dead. He follows the common assumption that the Psalms, many of which were written by King David, were prophecies about or in the very voice of the Messiah. Peter’s go-to Scripture to prove his point is Psalm 16:8-11, and the very same passage takes center stage in Paul’s first recorded sermon in Acts 13:35-37. You have to wonder if this was one of the Scriptures that Jesus interpreted along the road to Emmaus in this week’s Gospel. 

The Lord works by “set plan and foreknowledge.” The things that happen to you are not all actively willed by him, but everything that happens to you is allowed by God who “works all things for good for those who love him” (Romans 8:28). Nothing can surprise the Lord, and he is using all of it for your benefit. That surgery you endured, the job change you did not want, the difficult family dynamics you struggle through, none of it is meaningless and all of it is anticipated by our loving Father. He foresees all of it. Like the ancient Scriptures, his purposes are not always clear until the moment when they reach their fulfillment. Prayerful reflection can reveal the clear fingerprints of God on our lives. 

Jesus taught his disciples how to look back and interpret the prophecies in Scripture, and Peter, Paul, and the whole early Church were convinced that the Scriptures were incredibly fulfilled by Jesus. Jesus also wants to help us interpret his movements in our lives. Like those disciples on the road to Emmaus, it may just take a leisurely walk and an honest conversation with Jesus to see it.