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The Best Evidence
Acts 2:29-36
Today’s Scripture
Acts 2:29-36
Today’s Insights
In Acts 2:34-35, Peter quotes Psalm 110:1 in his Pentecost message: “The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’ ” James Montgomery Boice, in his commentary Psalms, Volume 3, notes that this verse “is quoted directly or alluded to indirectly at least twenty-seven times,” making it the most quoted Old Testament verse in the New Testament. Peter was likely in the audience when Jesus quoted this psalm in Matthew 22:44 as He challenged the Pharisees’ understanding of the Messiah. While Christ was the son of David and therefore human, He was also David’s “Lord”—He was Himself divine. Convinced of Jesus’ resurrection and exaltation to the Father’s right hand, Peter proclaimed that Christ is “both Lord and Messiah” (Acts 2:36). Such is the message that believers in Jesus proclaim on Easter and every day.
Today’s Devotional
Lee didn’t believe in God, and he didn’t believe in the resurrection of Jesus. But Lee was a journalist with an analytical mind. When his wife believed in Jesus, he decided to study her new faith for himself. After two years of research, he gave in—to God, to the resurrection, to faith in Christ.
The change in him was noticeable. After a few months, his five-year-old daughter said to his wife, “Mommy, I want God to do for me what he’s done for Daddy.” And the daughter of Lee Strobel put her faith in Jesus too.
Many people refuse to believe in the resurrection. But reputable eyewitnesses saw the risen Jesus. One of those eyewitnesses, the disciple Peter, told a large crowd that King David was certainly dead and buried (Acts 2:29). Then Peter pointed to a prophecy David had made. “[David] spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah,” he said (v. 31). Peter concluded, “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it” (v. 32).
The best evidence for the resurrection is the changed lives of the eyewitnesses, including Peter. At the crucifixion, the disciples had gone into hiding. Peter actually denied Christ (John 18:15-17, 25-27). Once they saw Jesus alive, everything changed. Filled with courage, they began to share the truth of the one great hope of the world—the risen Christ.
Reflect & Pray
What do you believe about the resurrection of Jesus? How does that belief affect your life?
Father, I’m so grateful for the reality of Jesus’ resurrection that changes my life and gives me real hope.
