Acts 2:14a, 22-32

Acts, sometimes now referred to as a continuation of Luke, or as Luke/Acts, because it appears to be the same author, ties together everything that has come to us so far this year in the lectionary. Peter is addressing a crowd, mostly Jews, but people from all over, and they can understand him regardless of what language they speak. The lection skips over a bit of poetry and gets to the heart of the matter.

He talks not only of the prophecy of Jesus that is now fulfilled, but prophecies going all the way back to David. In Acts, it appears that these connections were all figured out in a matter of a few days or that they were already known at the time of the crucifixion, but the writing of the book is dated around 50 years later. By that time, they had searched their own scriptures and made these connections in an attempt to understand what had happened. It makes for a good story, but it seems unlikely they would be so convinced of Jesus' divinity so quickly after the crucifixion. Especially when you look back and notice they had not been discussing that openly just a few months earlier.

It seems unlikely they would be so convinced of Jesus' divinity so quickly after the crucifixion, when just a few months earlier they had not been discussing that openly. Sometimes explanations of this are given, sometimes not. It could be how sacrifices like this work, they need to be a secret because they shift power away from the people who perform them. Or it was good politics, no point in making wild claims about a resurrection, just do it and the results speak for themselves.

1 Peter 1:3-9

We will spend a little time with 1st Peter over the next few weeks. This introduction gives praise and reminds us of God's power and the importance of our own faith, as well as future revelation and salvation. These are foundational to Christianity.

1 Peter is referred to by other books and has consistency with other knowledge that Peter would have, but there are also problems with it being written rather late, perhaps even after he died. You can look into that yourself if you're interested. What's notable is, phrases like “in the last time” are now being used liberally. Note also that he is speaking to those who “have not seen him”. This is a critical period for creating a belief system that lives beyond the founding members. Peter is saying you don't need to have witnessed the miracles or touched the savior, but you can enter into a personal relationship with him.

Psalm 16

Just a quick note on “Sheol”. That is a word for “death” from the Old Testament. It doesn't seem to have been anything but a place you go, no fire and brimstone, or constant picnic in the sun. It was not “eternal life”, it was death. In Acts, the word is “Hades”, but that's a Greek word sneaking in, one you are probably more familiar with if you have come across just about any Greek mythology. Some translations say “grave” in that verse. Either way, we are seeing a major change in what happens after life at this point in the Bible.

John 20:19-31

In this verse, we hear similar language to what we heard in the last week of Lent, when Jesus said the Pharisees were blind. Jesus has now died and risen, so you really should be convinced now. This time it is for Thomas, and the comparison to the Pharisees makes this an insult. It is an opportunity to reinforce that you are a good person if you believe in Jesus without evidence. For centuries, that is primarily what we knew about Thomas, merely a character who doubts. Then in 1945, near Nag Hammadi, the gospel of Thomas was discovered.

It was not as much a story as it was a list of sayings of Jesus, but it also had a theme of the power of the Spirit existing within us without a requirement of faith. It was a matter of coming to know that power. So what we see in this verse is possibly something like what we see with Paul's writings, when he speaks of other sects. This is a statement by the Johnian leaders that those Thomasians don't get what faith is all about. Elaine Pagels lays this out much better than I could in her book, Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas.

We also see the beginnings of antisemitism here with “for fear of the Jews”. Johnian leaders are trying to set themselves apart from Judaism. They are claiming that speaking of Jesus as the messiah could lead to persecution.