This Man You Nailed To A Cross

by Chris Simmons

Following the ascension of Christ to the right hand of the throne of God, Peter took his stand with the eleven, having received the Holy Spirit which had been promised to the apostles, and responded to the accusation that the apostles were drunk as they spoke in tongues. In Acts 2:15, Peter points out that such devout Jews as the apostles would not be so intoxicated at the third hour of the day, which is the hour of prayer (nine a.m. as we would know it). Then, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he establishes that what they were witnessing was the fulfillment of the prophecy spoken by Joel when he states “this is that which hath been spoken through the prophet Joel” (Acts 2:16-21; Joel 2:28-32). Having defended the twelve and established what it is that they are witnessing, Peter then takes the offensive and begins to teach and convict the multitude. He begins to teach them about Jesus of Nazareth, convict them of what they had done to Him, and then in contrast, establish what God had done for Him.

In Acts chapter 2, we read in verse 22 that Peter first establishes that Jesus was proven by His works to be from God. “Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs.” The word “attested” in the Greek means that Jesus was demonstrated, exhibited or accredited to be the divine Son of God. During His ministry, a multitude came to Jesus and asked in John 6:30, “What then do You do for a sign, that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform?” Just prior to that, in John chapter five, in addition to citing the witness of John the baptist (verse 33), the Father (verse 7) and the scriptures (verse 39), Jesus also spoke to the witness of His works when He says in verse 36, “but the witness which I have is greater than that of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish, the very works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.” At least some recognized this about Jesus, as Nicodemus in John 3:2 said, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

Not only did Peter point out the works that Jesus did that “attested” to His divine status, but in Acts 2:22 he also points out that they were “performed…in your midst, just as you yourselves know.” There was no need for Peter to argue his point regarding the “miracles and wonders and signs.” The works performed by Jesus were not done in secret. The fact that they were performed was irrefutable. They could not be denied. The only thing that could be done by His enemies was to try to ascribe them to the power of the “ruler of the demons” (Matthew 12:24), which argument Jesus proved to be fallacious in verses 25-29 where He stated “if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand?” The mighty works performed by the apostles were likewise irrefutable as the Jewish council noted regarding the healing of the lame man in Acts chapter 3, “what shall we do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it” (Acts 4:16).

Next, in Acts 2, Peter teaches that Jesus’ deliverance unto “godless men” was not from divine inability to rescue Him or establish Him as a physical King, but rather was part of God’s eternal plan. “This Man (was) delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23). The crucifixion of Jesus was not an accident. It was part of God’s “predetermined plan and foreknowledge.” The word “predetermined” means “what is defined, marked out, or bounded; as, to mark out or define the boundary of a field" (Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database by Biblesoft). The word “plan” carries the idea of one’s purpose, decree or will. Thus, it was God’s will or purpose, “before the foundation of the worlds” (Ephesians 1:3-12) that marked out or defined the salvation of man to come through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ upon the cross and the blood He shed. Jesus “laid down His life” (John 10:14-18). It was not taken from Him against His will but was according to the will of God.

However, though it was God’s will that Christ bear the sins of the world, Peter makes sure that the multitude understands that they are guilty of sin because of what they have done. He states in verse 23 regarding this Jesus of Nazareth, that “you nailed (him) to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.” Peter makes it clear that all who took part and those who simply shouted their encouragement and support “crucify Him” (Mark 15:13-14) were guilty of murdering the Son of God. To the Jews, to make someone die by nailing him to a cross (crucifixion) was to make him to die as the worst of criminals. “To the Jewish people, crucifixion represented the most disgusting form of death: ‘He who is hanged is accursed of God’ (Deuteronomy 21:23; Galatians 3:13). Yet the Jewish Sanhedrin sought and obtained Roman authorization to have Jesus crucified (Mark 15:13-15)” (Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary). The fact that the one who claimed to be the “King of the Jews” (Matthew 27:11) was put to death in such a horrible and demeaning way presented a most imposing stumbling block for many Jews to claim Him as their “Lord and Christ” and to accept Him as the true Messiah. Paul summed up the crucifixion in this way, “we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (I Corinthians 1:23-24).

In Acts 2:24, Peter then emphatically establishes that the effort of those godless men, who nailed Him to a cross, to thwart the “predetermined plan” of God by putting Him to death failed because “God raised Him up again.” We see the contrast of the feeble will of man (“you put to death”) versus the immutable, sovereign and “predetermined” will of God (“God raised Him up”). His resurrection is the foundation for our hope & salvation, and the culminating declaration of Jesus’ divinity and victory. We read in I Corinthians 15:14-19, “…if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we witnessed against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” Also in Romans 1:1-5, “…the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Peter concluded his sermon in Acts 2:36 regarding this Jesus who they had nailed to a cross, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ – this Jesus whom you crucified.” Those Jews then asked, “What shall we do?” We too, must give attention to the question, “What shall we do with the crucified Christ?”