“But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” (Acts 2:24)

The central point of Peter’s message at Pentecost was Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Paul would later remind the church the importance to our message in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  “I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-5)

Our hope of eternal life is established by the resurrection of Jesus. “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” (1 Corinthians 15:13-14) At Pentecost, Peter gives his and the Disciples testimony to their personal experience with the resurrected Jesus. “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.” (Acts 2:32)

Peter’s encounter with the risen Christ, changed him from the one who denied knowing Jesus before the crucifixion to one who stood before the Sanhedrin and proclaimed Jesus with boldness. “Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11-12) Peter would remind the church of the change in our lives as we come to faith in Jesus, our risen Savior. “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” (2 Peter 1:3) As Peter encountered the risen Christ, so we encounter Him by faith and He changes us. We also can go from one who denies to one who proclaims.

From the time Peter was called by Jesus from his life as a fisherman to becoming a fisher of men, Peter grew in his relationship with Jesus. This happened from the days of the call through His time with Jesus, then as he was used to lead and encourage the church. Through his growth, he would encourage all followers of Jesus to grow in their relationship with Jesus. Thus, He writes, “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:5-8) May we grow daily as we walk with Jesus, being changed by Him every day.

In the Love of Jesus,

Michael Block