Acts 2:25

"whom God raised up, having freed him from the agony of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it."

Key Reflection

In Acts 2:25, Peter quotes Psalm 16:10 from the Greek Septuagint version, affirming that God raised Jesus from the dead and freeing him from the confines of death, which was impossible to hold forever. This assertion would have been profoundly significant for first-century Jewish listeners who believed in the resurrection of righteous souls but also held the common view that once a wicked person died, they were consigned to an eternal state of torment. Peter’s claim here challenges both the belief in the permanence of death and the notion that God might allow such a fate for even a just individual like Jesus.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Verses 25-28. For David speaketh, etc. This doctrine that the Messiah must rise from the dead, Peter proceeds to prove by a quotation from the Old Testament. This passage is taken from Ps 16:8-11. It is made from the Greek version of the Septuagint, with only one slight and unimportant change. Nor is there any material change, as will be seen, from the Hebrew. In what sense this Psalm Can be applied to Christ will be seen after we have examined the expressions which Peter alleges. I foresaw the Lord. This is an unhappy translation. To foresee the Lord always before us conveys no idea, though it may be a literal translation of the passage.

Related Verses

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