David Bahn – Reflections

Light from the Word and through the lens

Acts 2:22-36

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him,

“‘I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
my flesh also will dwell in hope.
27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
or let your Holy One see corruption.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,

“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
35 until I make your enemies your footstool.”’

36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Thousand Tongues | Mwanza, Tanzania | June 2023

All promises of God are fulfilled, ultimately, in Jesus Christ. He is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. He lived out God’s commandments perfectly. He did the things promised by the prophets. He fully embodied the identity spoken of in the Old Testament descriptions of the coming messiah. Jesus is the ultimate expression of God’s love and man’s obedience.

This is good news. For none of us fulfills God’s law. None of us is the perfect embodiment of man as God intended and demands. We don’t do all that God requires. We do the things God prohibits. So when we lean on the righteousness of Jesus, we have a Savior. We are surely comforted by this truth.

The ultimate fulfillment of God’s promises through Jesus will be experienced in the life of the world to come. In the meantime, however, there are blessings here and now to be enjoyed. Consider how David expressed his hope in the moments of his distress. Even though the ultimate deliverance would be on the Great Last Day, he still sought God’s help in the here and now. He even said, “I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living (Psalm 27:13).

Peter is quoting David in regard to the manner in which Jesus fulfilled these words. Truly Jesus is the ultimate hope and fulfillment of God’s good will for all believers. But we who live in faith, can also reach out and touch the fringe of God’s promises and receive his blessings in the here and now.

Some people are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good. We who hope for heaven must keep in mind that we live our lives this side of eternity and so do our neighbors who need our love and support. The real-life-today blessings of God are only an echo of the eternal blessings of God in Jesus. But they are a welcome echo to those who yearn for his blessings today.


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