Luke the physician wrote after the Holy Spirit came upon the people in the upper room, a crowd gathered who wondered if they were intoxicated. Jesus' disciple “Peter” told them, “this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel. And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. You men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as you yourselves also know. Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain”, and in chapter two and verse twenty-four of the book of Acts Luke shared how Peter said to the multitude about Jesus, “whom God has raised up, having loosed the pains of death” where we read:
Whom God has raised up, having loosed the pains of death:
because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
The verse begins, “Whom God has raised up, having loosed the pains of death:” Luke began with the words, “Whom God has raised up” which means “that God the Heavenly Father resurrected and brought forward”, “having loosed the pains” or “releasing, setting free and discharging” “of death” which means “belonging to loss of life, misery of the soul arising from sin and the miserable state of the wicked dead in hell”. Luke shared how “Peter” continued to tell the multitude how “God the Heavenly Father” raised Jesus from the dead and by doing so “released and set mankind free” from the “penalty and miserable state” which is the result of a life of sin.
The verse goes on to say, “because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.” Luke continued with the words, “because it was not possible” or to “since and on account that it was in no way capable or doable” “that he should be holden of it” which means “that he, Jesus, would be overpowered, mastered and ruled by death”. Luke shared how “Peter” told the multitude it was “impossible” for “death” to have power over Jesus.
When we think through Luke's words in this verse, we learn how “God the Heavenly Father” resurrected Jesus from the grave and thereby “freed” everyone who believes and trusts in Him as their personal “Savior and Lord” to be forgiven of their sins and granted everlasting life. There was “no way” for Jesus to be “held” by “death”, and because He overcame the “penalty for sins”, people may be “saved” from eternal separation from God and granted the ability to live with Him forever.
Next time Luke shares how Peter tells the multitude King David said, “I foresaw the Lord always before my face”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
No comments:
Post a Comment