Monday in the Octave of Easter
(Acts 2:14.22-33; Matthew 28:8-15)
The first Christians had various kinds of evidence for Jesus’
resurrection. There was the testimony of the apostles to Jesus’ empty tomb and
to his appearances. As conclusive as
these types of confirmation seem today, there was another, equally important
source of belief. Fulfilment of Old
Testament prophecy gave gravity to the Christians’ argument. This is seen in Peter’s initial sermon after
receiving the Holy Spirit in today’s first reading.
Peter addresses Jews from around the Mediterranean world in Jerusalem
for their Feast of Booths. He makes his
case for Jesus as the Messiah based on Jesus’ fulfillment of Psalm 16, quoted in
the reading. The psalmist, considered to
be David, speaks of being saved from the throes of death. Because David’s tomb
was known, Peter refers the passage to Jesus, David’s descendant and heir, whom
God raised from the dead.
Peter is appealing to Jews to believe in Jesus as the
Messiah. We should hear him urging us to
believe in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and something more. He wants us to adhere to Jesus’ teachings in
a world agnostic to the claims of faith and traditional morals.
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