Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Acts 2:36

KJV
Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

JFB commentary
Therefore—that is, to sum up all.
let all the house of Israel—for in this first discourse the appeal is formally made to the whole house of Israel, as the then existing Kingdom of God.
know assuredly—by indisputable facts, fulfilled predictions, and the seal of the Holy Ghost set upon all.
that God hath made—for Peter's object was to show them that, instead of interfering with the arrangements of the God of Israel, these events were His own high movements.
this same Jesus, whom ye have crucified—"The sting is at the close" [BENGEL]. To prove to them merely that Jesus was the Messiah might have left them all unchanged in heart. But to convince them that He whom they had crucified had been by the right hand of God exalted, and constituted the "LORD" whom David in spirit adored, to whom every knee shall bow, and the CHRIST of God, was to bring them to "look on Him whom they had pierced and mourn for Him."

VERSES 34, 35
34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool.

PNT
34 For. Peter now shows that David had foretold the exaltation of Christ.
David . . . saith. See Ps 110:1. Jesus quotes the same passage and applies it to himself (Mt 23:32.).
The LORD. God, the Father.
My Lord. Christ.
Sit thou on my right hand. See Ac 2:33. "To sit at the right hand" implies participation in the Supreme Government.
35 Until I make, etc. When the work of the Mediator is ended and all conquered to Christ, then all power is given up to the Father. See 1Co 15:23-28.
36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know, etc. This is the grand climax, the conclusion to which the whole discourse had been directed.

Psalms 110:1
JPS
A Psalm of David. The LORD saith unto my lord: 'Sit thou at My right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.'

"Rashi sites the opinion of the rabbis that Hashem addressed these words to the Patriarch Abraham... Sforno says that this psalm is dedicated to the future King Messiah. He is on God's right hand nad the ministering angels are on the left. The armies of Gog and Magog will attack, but Hashem will subdue them until they come crawling to the feet of the Messiah."
ArtScroll/Psalms 110

In the rabbinic tradition the word adon is here read as 'master'.

"Abraham was universally recognized as master of the world, because he taught everyone that God alone is the true Master." ibid.

It is in this sense that all of Peter's audience could have clearly understood his meaning concerning Yehoshua being made by God both adon/master and Messiah. It is not only that Yehoshua would have been made 'master' by God in the sense that Abraham was made 'master' by God, actually fulfilling the promise of Abraham's role. It is also that Peter would have been showing the meaning of David's prophetic saying could only have been fulfilled by one who fulfilled the promise of Abraham's role being raised from the life of this world into life in God's eternal realm to be seated at God's right hand and from there to commence his rule through the actions of God over the nations.

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