Acts 2:22-36 Apologetics - the case for Christ

Acts 2:22-32 Peter testifies of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, quoting Psalms. He follows a brief summary of the events that have just transpired with a quote from Psalm 16:8-11. Again, Peter is appealing to his audience; in this case that Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecy by rising from the dead. He points out that David died and was buried so that this prophecy of God's Holy One not seeing decay could not have been autobiographical on David's part. Peter further elaborates that God's oath that one of David's descendants would be seated on his throne (2 Samuel 7:12) is now fulfilled. From the Jewish perspective, that promise was fulfilled in Solomon who built the Temple, per 2 Samuel 7:13, but Peter is implying (without offending the audience) that Solomon was not the complete fulfillment of the prophecy given to David through Nathan. We can in retrospect recognize the Solomon's kingdom was not established forever as Nathan said (2 Samuel 7:13&16), as Jeremiah's curse on Jeconiah shows (Jeremiah 22:28-30). But this eternal kingdom was being established through Jesus, to finally fulfill the promise to David.

Acts 2:33-36 Peter makes the case that Jesus' resurrection proves that He was the Messiah and Lord. Peter's conclusion quotes Psalm 110:1 to the effect that God has promised his (David's and Peter's) Lord that He will sit at God's right hand and God will make His enemies a footstool to rest His feet upon. And so Peter is here saying to the Jews - those who rejected Christ and cried out for His crucifixion on the day before Passover (Luke 23:21&23) - that God raised Him from the dead and then raised Him into heaven where is is now seated at God's right hand.