The Life and Death of Jesus

Joel’s prophecy of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the last days includes the prediction of various “wonders in the heavens and on the earth” (Joel 2:30). Since Peter says that this prophecy was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost under the new covenant (Acts 2:14–21), we should expect to see that these signs and wonders happened as well. Indeed, they did, when we remember what we learned in our previous study concerning the last days that Peter speaks about in reference to Joel’s prophecy. The last days include the entire period between the first and second comings of Christ. When Jesus hung on the cross, there was a three-hour period of darkness when the “sun’s light failed” (Luke 23:44–45). During the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70, there were reports of strange astronomical phenomena, and many commentators have taken the Roman destruction of the city that year as an instance of God’s judgment associated with the day of the Lord.

After explaining that the speaking in tongues on the day of Pentecost indicated the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy, Peter proceeded to preach the gospel. Peter’s sermon gives us an excellent outline of the truths to be presented whenever we share the good news of Jesus. He proclaims the basic facts of the life of Jesus, the crucifixion and resurrection of our Savior, and Christ’s ascension and enthronement as Lord over all (Acts 2:22–36). In today’s passage, we read Peter’s brief summary of Jesus’ life and the fact that God bore witness to His messianic office through Christ’s miracles (v. 22). We will focus, however, on the Apostle’s description of the crucifixion.

Peter, in Acts 2:23, attributes the death of Jesus both to God and to the men who put our Lord on trial and nailed Him to the cross. There are two equally true answers to the question, “Why did Jesus die on the cross?” One, Jesus was crucified because God established in His eternal plan and foreknowledge that He would die. Two, Jesus was crucified because lawless men—men who did not obey the law of God that forbids the murder of an innocent person—put Him on the cross. Two causes were at play, each operating in its respective sphere. God, the First Cause, ordained the death of Jesus at the hands of evil men, the morally responsible secondary causes. Sinners did what is really and truly evil, and they did so of their own volition. God did not force them to kill Jesus, even though He had ordained the death of His Son at their hands. They freely chose to sin.