Acts 2:14a, 22-32; Psalm 16;
I Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19 -31.
The apostles, witnesses of the resurrection, open the scriptures and
offer forgiveness.
In the Easter season, the first
reading in the Lectionary each Sunday is from the witness of the Apostles to
the risen Lord instead of from the prophecies of the Messiah by the
Prophets. It is the one time in the
Church year when readings are taken from the Acts of the Apostles.
Even so, Peter’s speech to his
Judean audience at Pentecost includes long quotations from the Judean
scriptures, which are interpreted as prophecies of Jesus’ resurrection, his
exaltation to heavenly power, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit creating
the body of Jesus’ followers.
[Footnote on terminology: When discussing New Testament texts I use “Judean” instead of “Jew” and “Jewish.” This follows New Testament usage, as well as many European languages, such as German and Spanish – retaining the “d” sound in the word. “Jew” and "Jewish" developed in some European languages in the middle ages – from Old French into English, for example. “Jew” and “Jewish” has now long been modern English usage and is applied by Jewish people to themselves, and I use these terms when referring to modern people. I adopted this usage for the New Testament about 2017 – better late than never.]
Acts 2:14a, 22-32.
We hear the message of
Pentecost, even though that event itself will come at a later date.
First, Peter’s Judean audience in Jerusalem
is reminded of the man Jesus.
“Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power,
wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know
–” (verse 22, NRSV). They know about Jesus
and his doings. They also know about his
death – because they shared responsibility for it! “This man…you crucified and killed by the
hands of those outside the law” (verse 23).
However, whatever humans may have
had to do with it, Jesus’ death took place “according to the definite plan and
foreknowledge of God” (verse 23). Things
much vaster than the politics of Judean social and religious elites, or than Roman
anxiety about provincial disturbances, were involved. Something of multi-national and
trans-cultural magnitude was coming about here, and that would override
small-scale human concerns. Such human
things are overshadowed by the event
to which the disciples are witnesses.
“But God raised up [Jesus of
Nazareth], having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be
held in its power” (verse 24). That
“definite plan” of God had to do with this triumph over death. Therefore, what looked like a dastardly human
plot when viewed only in terms of worldly motives and deeds is seen as the
working out of God’s plan for salvation, starting with Jesus’ triumph over
death.
The clinching argument that this
was a transcendent act of God comes from its prophecy in scripture. Psalm 16 – read as the Anointed One speaking
to God – says, “For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One
experience corruption” (verse 27).
David, who originally chanted these words, was an ordinary man, who died
and whose near-by tomb was well-known.
The words, says Peter, were a prophecy, which can be fully recognized
now, now that their true reference has appeared in Jesus’ resurrection.
Thus, the death of Jesus is not
important now as a crime, but as a wonderfully saving act of God.
That is Peter’s good news to his
Judean audience.
Psalm
16.
The Psalm reading is integral to Peter’s speech, but we may also
listen to it as an Israelite liturgical composition.
The opening lines of this psalm
are pretty uncertain, as different translations show. However, in general they seem to exalt loyalty
to the Lord and condemn those who follow other gods.
At verse 5 the metaphor of
inherited property is introduced, and the speaker affirms that Yahweh is
one’s “heritage” – one’s chosen portion, one’s cup, the “pleasant places”
enclosed within one’s boundaries.
Actually, the speaker may not be a land owner at all, but rather a
landless servant of God’s court, like a Levite who belonged to the Lord and
could not own land in Israel.
Thus the “heritage” would be entirely
metaphorical, even though the security it provides is very sure (verses
6-8).
The speaker’s sense of safety
encompasses the entire person:
“My heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure”
(verse 9). The speaker’s welfare
includes the body. This is the
part of the psalm in which the early Christians heard Jesus speaking to his
Father, referring to Jesus’ triumph over death:
For you did not give me up to
Sheol,
or let your faithful one see the Pit. (Verse 10, NRSV.)
The Israelite psalmist may have
had in mind narrow escapes from the hazards of active life, but the disciples
heard a far more profound declaration, which was good news for all of God’s
“faithful ones”!
I
Peter 1:3-9.
The voice of Peter speaks again in
the Epistle reading. (First Peter is the source of all the Epistle
readings in Easter season this year.)
The letter of First Peter, after
its salutation, opens with a blessing that repeats two of the themes of the
Acts and Psalm readings. The
resurrection: God is blessed for
giving us “a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead.” And this hope is
“an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven
for you” (verses 3-4, NRSV).
The letter addresses its hearers
as “exiles of the Diaspora,” applying terminology of scattered Israel to people
who were probably non-Judean Christians, learning the Judean scriptures and the
Christian traditions as the movement spread through the Roman provinces of
northwestern Asia Minor (listed in 1:1).
The believers are encouraged to endure persecutions that come on them
because they are Christians, and to maintain responsible moral conduct. The framework of their hope is the coming
revelation of Jesus Christ (verse 7).
They may be second generation Christians
but they still share fully in the revelation!
“Although you have not seen him,
you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and
rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy” (verse 8).
John 20:19-31.
The Gospel reading takes us to the evening of the first Easter day,
as reported in the Gospel According to John.
This is the appearance of the risen Jesus to commission and empower the
disciples to continue his work. They are
gathered fearfully in a locked room when Jesus materializes before them. Jesus’ first words each time he appears are,
“Peace be with you.”
The disciples have two tasks. The first is to be witnesses to the
resurrection, and for this Jesus shows them his pierced hands and
side. They rejoice in seeing that this
is really their risen Lord. Then, after
another peace blessing, Jesus makes them “apostles,” ones who are “sent” on
behalf of another. “As the Father has
sent me, so I send you,” and he breathes on them the gift of the Holy Spirit
(verses 21-22, NRSV).
The second task of the disciples
is to bring to others the most powerful and precious gift of the Spirit, the forgiveness
of sins. “If you forgive the sins of
any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained”
(verse 23.)
This pronouncement envisages an
awesome authority exercised within the emerging Christian church by those
recognized as apostles.
This is probably the tradition of
the churches around Ephesus, the
capital of the Roman province of Asia. The same authority is exercised in the name
of Peter in the Gospel according to Matthew (16:18 ),
which is probably the tradition of the churches of the province
of Syria with its capital at Antioch. The great liberation the apostles bring to the
nations is the forgiveness of sins, made effective through the resurrection and
the power of the Holy Spirit.
Our reading also expands on those
who will believe after the time of the apostles.
The role of “doubting Thomas”
is to reinforce the special status of the apostles as witnesses. Disciples must SEE the risen Lord –
and touch him. That makes them
apostles. Thomas insists upon this
seeing and touching. “Unless I see the
mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and
my hand in his side, I will not believe” (verse 25).
The apostles have done this seeing
and touching on behalf of all the later followers, on behalf of all those who
doubt such a resurrection when they first hear of it. The apostles have seen and touched on our
behalf. Thus, the real punch line of
the Thomas episode is, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come
to believe” (verse 29).
These later folks come to believe
because they have the testimony of the apostles.
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