Acts 2:29-35: a reflection

29“Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 31he foreseeing this, spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul wasn’t left in Hades, and his flesh didn’t see decay. 32This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses. 33Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you now see and hear. 34For David didn’t ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit by my right hand 35until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’

In his sermon at Pentecost, Peter proves from Scripture that Jesus is the risen and reigning Lord. David, he says, died and was buried, and his tomb is still with us; so when David spoke of one whose body would not see decay, he was not speaking of himself, but foreseeing the resurrection of the Christ. This Jesus, Peter declares, God raised up, and we are all witnesses. And being exalted to the right hand of God, he has poured out the Holy Spirit, whom the people were now seeing and hearing.

Notice where the risen Christ now is: exalted to the right hand of God. Jesus is not merely risen; he is enthroned, seated at the place of highest honor and authority, reigning. And from that place of exaltation, Peter says, he has poured out the Spirit, so that the very thing the crowd was witnessing at Pentecost was evidence of the reign of the exalted Christ. The Lord who was crucified now reigns at the Father's right hand.

That truth shapes how we live. The Jesus we follow is not only the one who died and rose, but the one now exalted, reigning at God's right hand, with all authority. He is not absent or powerless; he reigns, and his Spirit, poured out from his throne, is at work in his people. Live under the reign of the exalted Christ. When the world seems out of control, remember that your Lord is enthroned at the Father's right hand, reigning still. Draw on the Spirit he has poured out, serve the King who reigns, and take heart that the crucified Jesus is now the exalted Lord, seated in authority, until all his enemies are put beneath his feet.

Lord, at Pentecost Peter declared that you raised Jesus from the dead and exalted him to your right hand, and that from there he poured out the Holy Spirit. Thank you that the Jesus I follow is not only risen but reigning, enthroned at the place of highest authority. He is not absent or powerless; he reigns, and his Spirit, poured out from his throne, is at work in his people. Help me live under the reign of the exalted Christ. When the world seems out of control, remind me that my Lord is enthroned at your right hand, reigning still. Help me draw on the Spirit he has poured out, serve the King who reigns, and take heart that the crucified Jesus is now the exalted Lord, seated in authority. I bow before the reigning Christ, and rest in his rule.