2nd Sunday of Easter, 2004
Acts 5:27-32
Psalm 118:14-29 or Psalm 150
Revelation 1:4-8
John 20:19-31
The passages for this week begin to build a connection between the resurrection and the church. In particular this comes from combined theme of obedience and reception of the Holy Spirit. In John 20:19-31 we see the move from unbelief to belief, and the reception of the Holy Spirit along with the specific commission?the believer is sent into the world as Jesus was. In Acts 5:27-32 we see the obedience in action, as Peter ties in obedience to God rather than man with the gift of the Holy Spirit, in this case offered to those who obey. Revelation 1:4-8 points forward to the culmination of the mission, when Jesus is seen coming with the clouds, and yet here we still see the Spirit in the form of the seven spirits before God?s throne. In either Psalm 118 or Psalm 150 we have the call to praise and worship, which can be tied into the other topics in various ways, but particularly as a celebration of the new life promised through the resurrection and the promise of the Spirit.
Some suggested themes:
The Holy Spirit and the Great Commission ? Acts 5:27-32 and John 20:19-31 (focus on obedience)
Obedience and the Holy Spirit ? Acts 5:27-32 and John 20:19-31
Where are we Going? ? Revelation 1:4-8
Belief and Doubt ? John 20:19-31
Acts 5:27-32
|
Translation |
Notes |
|
(27) Then they brought them before the Sanhedrin and the High Priest asked them, (28) “Didn’t we command you not to teach about this name? And look now! You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you want to bring on us the bloodguilt for this man.”
(29) But Peter and the apostles answered and said,
“We must obey God rather than people. (30) Our ancestors? God raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. (31) God raised him up as ruler and savior to his right hand side to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. (32) And we are witnesses of these things along with the Holy Spirit which God gave to those who obey him.? |
Bloodguilt for this man ? or blood of this man. Possibly a reference to Genes 9:5-6. It should be noted that these are the specific people involved in the crucifixion and that nothing general about the Jewish people as a whole should be drawn from such passages. Also, note that the accusation was false. The disciples did not have any desire to deal with assigning blame?they wanted to bring forth belief.
The Exposition section of the Interpreter?s Bible on Acts 5:29-32 is excellent on this passage. I strongly recommend reading it. It has been replaced by the New Interpreter?s Bible, but many libraries have copies.
Obey ? Greek peitharcho. This is tied to verse 32, where the Holy Spirit is promised to those who obey (same Greek word) God.
Obey ? see above. The word ?obey? brackets Peter?s speech. |
Psalm 118:14-29
A particular note of interest for this Psalm in connection with today?s passages is the idea of rejection followed by restoration and success. It can be a rejoicing song of those who are saved.
|
Translation |
Notes |
|
[See Easter Sunday lectionary notes for introduction to this passage and verses 14-24.]
(25) We ask you YHWH save us! We ask you YHWH prosper us! (26) Blessed is the one who comes in the name of YHWH. We bless you from the house of YHWH.
(27) YHWH, God, will surely shine on us.
Join together in a festal dance with tree branches.
Up to the horns of the altar. (28) You are my God and I will praise you My God, I will exalt you. (29) Ascribe praise to YHWH for he is good. For his graciousness is eternal. |
The one who ? or he who, probably addressed to the king. Notice the use of this in Matthew 21:9 (Weiser, OTL Psalms)
Shine ? cf priestly blessing, Numbers 6:25.
Hebrew here is difficult. My translation depends on Dahood (AB Psalms III) and Milgrom?s description of Sukkoth (AB Leviticus III, p. 2044).
Horns of the altar ? H. C. Leupold suggests that the word ?bind? (translated ?join together? above) refers to binding the sacrifice to the altar horns. But there is no indication that this was the practice in scripture, and in fact the sacrifice was slaughtered and spent no great time, if any, alive on the altar (Leupold, Exposition of Psalms). |
Psalm 150
Commentators generally regard this Psalm as an excellent one with which to end the Psalter, which is nice of them, considering that it does end it. It is a simple and universal call to praise God everywhere and in all ways. Some particularly good comments, usable in sermon development, are made by Artur Weiser (OTL Psalms). It is a short Psalm, but it is wide open and general in its coverage of praise. If we used the attitude of this Psalm in our prayer, we?d certainly have more fun!
|
Translation |
Notes |
|
(1) Praise YH. Praise God in his sanctuary.
Praise him in his mighty firmament.
(2) Praise him for his heroic acts, Praise him according to his multiplied greatness. (3) Praise him with the sound of the shofar, Praise him with the lyre and harp. (4) Praise him with the timbrel and dance. Praise him with stringed and wind instruments. (5) Praise him with sounding cymbals. Praise with cymbals that crash.
(6) Let every person who breathes praise YH. Praise YH! |
Sanctuary ? based on parallelism, many hold this to be God?s heavenly sanctuary. If that is the case, the Psalm may have some eschatological significance as it looks forward to a day when every living thing expressed praise to God.
Mighty firmament ? NJPS reads ?Praise him in the firmament, his stronghold.? Also see Psalm 8, particularly verse 3. Dahood (AB Psalms III) also supports this general translation.
Shofar ? While many of these instruments are hard to identify, this one is pretty clear.
Cymbals ? Both refer to significant sound, but the second line is especially referring to the crash of cymbals rather than the type of gentle sound that a percussionist might make during the quiet portions of music. The call is to be enthusiastic and uninhibited in the praise of God. Praise can be loud!
|
Revelation 1:4-8
Many people from Revelation frightening because it is so difficult to get a detailed interpretation of all the symbols. But there are many lessons that can be learned from Revelation, especially about our spiritual struggle, the struggle between good and evil, and the victory promised through Jesus Christ. That would be the focus I would have here. Jesus is the one who was, is and is to come, and he is the one who brings the message. That message is the same from God and the Spirit (the seven-fold spirit) as stated in this passage. Using this passage with John 20:19-31 can provide a good eschatological theme in the more general sense.
|
Translation |
Notes |
|
(4) John, to the seven churches that are in Asia, Grace to you and peace from the one who is and who was and who is coming and from the seven spirits that are before his throne
(5,6) and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
Let all the glory and power go forever to the one who loved us and freed us from our sins by means of his blood, (6) and made us a kingdom, priests to God and his father, Amen. (7) Look! He’s coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him and those also who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him! Yes, Amen!!! (8) ?I am the Alpha and the Omega,? says the Lord God, the one who is and who was and who is coming, the all powerful. |
Seven spirits ? some say this is the sevenfold spirit, based on Isaiah 11:2-3a in the LXX. In Hebrew there are only six listed, but the LXX has 7. LXX reads: ?And the Spirit of God will rest on him, a spirit of wisdom and comprehension, a spirit of counsel and strength, a spirit of knowledge and piety, and the spirit of the fear of God will fill him.? Many reject this explanation because the Hebrew text doesn?t support it, but the author of Revelation might well have used the LXX as his source here. Other explanations see the number seven as an indication of completeness. Witherington (New Cambridge Bible Commentary, Revelation), relates them to the angels of the seven churches. |
John 20:19-31
See the Easter Sunday lectionary for a teaching suggestion that can continue from this passage and parallels this week. Note that the story of doubting Thomas is told only in the gospel of John, so this will provide an excellent opportunity to ask the question why is it that John places this story here? What is the theological purpose? Is it something other than simple reporting?
You might consider verses 30 and 31 where the purpose of the gospel is given. Does the story of Thomas give any thoughts about the process of coming to believe in Jesus? What might one show someone today as something they can see to convince them of Jesus? (Consider Matthew 25:31-46.)
Consider our CD series on John
|
Translation |
Notes |
|
(19) Now it was evening on the first day of the week and the doors were closed where the disciples were because of fear of the Jews, and Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them, “Peace to you!” (20) And when he had said this he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced because they had seen the Lord. (21) Then Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! In the same way as the Father sent me, I send you.
(22) And when he had said this, he breathed
and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
(23) When you forgive anyone their sins, they will be forgiven, and if you retain them, they will be retained.”
(24) But Thomas, one of the twelve, who was called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. (25) So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “If I don’t see the prints of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and put my hand in his side, I will never believe.” (26) And after eight days his disciples were inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus entered while the door was closed and stood in the midst and said, “Peace to you.” (27) Then he said to Thomas, “Bring your finger here and note my hands, and bring your hand and put it in my side, and don’t be faithless but faithful.” (28) Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” (29) Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed? Blessed are those who believe even when they haven’t seen.
(30) Jesus performed many other signs before his disciples which are not written in this book. (31) But these things were written so that you might believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and so that by believing you might have life in his name. |
Seen ? seen and presumably recognized. Recognition was a problem for the disciples after the resurrection.
Breathed ? normally translated ?breathed on them,? but the form is the same very as used in the LXX of Genesis 2:7 for God breathing into the nostrils of the newly created human being the breath of life so he would become a living being. The same word is again used in Ezekiel 37:9 (LXX): ?And he [God] said to me [Ezekiel], ?Prophesy, mortal, prophesy over the wind and say to the wind, ?Thus says the Lord, ?Come from the four winds and breath into these dead people, and let them live.??? Both Genesis 2:7 and Ezekiel 37:9 use the same Hebrew word as well. Jesus is here breathing new life into the disciples. Things are different now. The promise of the Holy Spirit is not merely a slight alteration, it is not just the provision of gifts to otherwise unchanged people, it is the spiritual sentence of life, just as the removal of God?s breath is the sentence of death (Psalm 104:29-30). Man becomes a living physical being through the in-breathing of breath and he becomes spiritually alive through the inbreathing of the spirit or breath of God. This was what was experienced by the bones under Ezekiel?s preaching. If you want to preach this portion of the passage with conviction, go back to Ezekiel 37 and meditate on it, and then you can connect the resurrection life with the spiritual life that the disciples would proclaim after that.
Morris (NICNT John) comments that there is no reason to regard this as a singular experience or one only for the apostles. In fact, while there were 10 apostles present, there is no statement that they were the only one?s there. The Holy Spirit is clearly shown as a gift to all believers throughout the rest of the New Testament. Morris cites Acts 4:8, 31, 9:17, 13:9, Romans 5:5 and 1 Cor. 2:12, but there are many others.
Morris again relates this to groups. The most important point, however, is that this power is only given to those filled with the Spirit. In other words, if you are completely under the power of God?s Spirit, you can declare what God is doing in terms of forgiveness of sins.
Thomas has a really bad reputation as doubting Thomas. I have a great deal of sympathy for him, however. There was little basis for him to believe in a resurrection of a dead person. He wants physical evidence. Eventually, he is presented with it.
Thomas sees and believes. There is no statement that he actually carries out his intent to touch the various wounds on Christ?s body. The simple sight is adequate for him. |