this jesus, pt. 2 - listen and look

On Acts 2:22-36...

Listen and look – now Peter calls witnesses for what he says next. Jesus the crucified Nazarene wasn't the end of the story. Nor was that the end of his life. THIS JESUS, Peter says, God raised up again. And Peter doesn't just claim it on pure faith, sight unseen. He is surrounded by others who witnessed a living Jesus themselves. He says that in v. 32 – "…we are all witnesses." Twice he says it: "God raised him up again." Peter witnessed God at work and he claims the legal and practical support of an eye-witness.

We, unfortunately, are removed from the eye-witnesses of the Jesus raised from the dead. And yet, there are eyewitnesses of God at work, even today. Jesus is in Heaven with God the Father, ascended back to his Heavenly home. But he left the Holy Spirit to remain with us. The Spirit, says Jesus, is invisible, but like the wind blowing the leaves of the trees, it can be seen when it is working among us.

The Christian witness to the world is that God is still at work – both in the world and in our lives. Are you a witness of God at work? Have you seen or heard God? Think – your first answer might be, "No." But consider how you "see" God. You who are Christians are the eyewitnesses that God answers prayer, that the Holy Spirit is living and active in your life, and that God has indeed rescued you from death into life. God speaks through His written Word, the Bible. God acts through the Holy Spirit. God meets us in worship and goes before us in His mission to the world.

How will someone who has not trusted in God hear news of THIS JESUS God raised up again? It will be because you who are Christians are witnesses to God's presence and power.