Read
29My friends, it is right for me to speak to you about our ancestor David. He died and was buried, and his tomb is still here. 30 But David was a prophet, and he knew that God had made a promise he would not break. He had told David someone from his own family would someday be king.
31David knew this would happen, and so he told us Christ would be raised to life. He said God would not leave him in the grave or let his body decay. 32All of us can tell you that God has raised Jesus to life!
33Jesus was taken up to sit at the right side of God, and he was given the Holy Spirit, just as the Father had promised. Jesus is also the one who has given the Spirit to us, and this is what you are now seeing and hearing.
34 David didn't go up to heaven. So he wasn't talking about himself when he said, “The Lord told my Lord to sit at his right side, 35until he made my Lord's enemies into a footstool for him.” 36Everyone in Israel should then know for certain that God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ, even though you put him to death on a cross.
Reflect
Urgency and drama have always grabbed the headlines and today’s reading from Acts begs to be shouted out: “Jesus is our Messiah!”
Imagine for a moment stumbling across a game changer about everything in the way you approach life. That’s the shock and awe we find being communicated by Peter as he demands a hearing to explain why the biggest news maker of his audience’s world, Jesus, is no longer dead!
Peter reminds us that there were eyewitnesses to the miracle of Jesus’ resurrection, the body is gone, and Jesus now sits in sovereignty as King over the world that was, is, and is to come. That news was a game changer to Peter’s audience, and is a game changer now. In Peter’s day, the miraculous babble of speaking in different languages coming from the followers of Jesus caught the attention of the public as a dramatic evidence of the Holy Spirit’s presence to announce this news of Jesus. As promised by Jesus, the Holy Spirit is still the guiding presence in our lives today. We hear the language of God spoken into our minds, our decisions, and our actions.
In describing the Holy Spirit, theologian Dallas Willard reminds us “the most important things in life are invisible.” Indeed, the invisible Holy Spirit had so ignited the followers of Jesus that those observing them could not help but ask for an explanation.
But what about us today? Are we so connected to the Holy Spirit that it’s noticeable to those around us? Too little attention is paid to inviting and activating this invisible presence in our lives. Watch as you read through these next chapters and contemplate what it might mean to be fully engaged with the Holy Spirit.
Respond
Father God, thank you for the promises of John 14 and that you have given me the Holy Spirit. Lead me into that truth, lead me into the reality of the Holy Spirit filling and guiding me, being my Counselor. Oh Lord, fill me anew with your Holy Spirit. Amen.
Lorna Dueck
Lorna Dueck has explored the intersection of journalism and Christianity for over 30 years. That curiosity led to the creation of Media Voice Generation (MVG), a community-held Canadian charity that exists to create boundary-breaking media that reveals Christ. Context with Lorna Dueck is the flagship TV show and online production of MVG. As Executive Producer, Lorna enjoys interviewing culture-shaping guests for any evidence of God. Lorna is a regular commentary writer on faith and public life in Canada's leading national newspaper, The Globe and Mail, and a frequent media commentator. She has travelled the world reporting on church-led response to humanitarian crisis.