Acts 2:22-28 – “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 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.25 David said about him: “‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope, 27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’
“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.” Family, don’t listen to the supposed scholars and critics who say that Jesus did not do all the signs and wonders mentioned in the Bible. If anyone was going to oppose that Jesus did supernatural signs as evidence that He was from God and is God, it would have been the Jews. It would have been the Jews who were present at Pentecost. Yes, these Jews could have contested that Jesus had done all the miracles He did, but they did not, because they had witnessed them and had heard of them from dependable witnesses. The fact that Jesus did miracles was a known fact. These biased supposed scholars, or bogus spiritual leaders, build their objections on old arguments that have long ago been disproven. The Jews knew the truth and when Peter brought it up, they knew He was right and did not contest what He was saying.
“This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.” God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge. God knows the heart in every person. He knows if it is hard or if it is soft. He knows how every person will react in every situation. He knows if the person will obey Him or reject Him. God used Pharaoh’s reactions to magnify His glory and to show that He is the only God and all others are false god’s. God did not make Pharaoh sin, but He knew what Pharaoh would do and He used that. God has always not only used people who were obedient to Him but also those who were hard hearted to Him. For example, suppose a wife had an urgent message to get to her husband before he left on a flight out of town. The husband had his cell phone off on his way to the airport. She called a friend who was along the husband’s route to the airport and had that friend intercept her husband and give him the message. That would only be possible to one who knew exactly how the husband would travel. Someone who did not know could not plan the interception. God knows how everyone will react and what everyone will do in every scenario of their lives. He uses His knowledge of everything to accomplish His will. When mankind fell from grace in Eden, God, knowing everything, already had everything planned out for His Son to save the world from eternal death. Always His will shall be done. In His perfect omniscience all is planned out. So God is sovereign in every way, and yes He uses men, but we know He has given men free will. However, God knows how that free will shall play out in the lives of all. So He makes His plans based on what we will do. The Word of God clearly states that God does not tempt us to sin (James 1:13). So God did not make the Jews reject Jesus, but rather He used what He knew to bring about the salvation of all, including the ones who would choose to send Jesus to His death. Only God can bring about all His will while giving all mankind free will. God indeed is wonderful and His ways mysterious and beyond our ways. How wonderful that is! How true are the words of J.B Phillips (English Bible Scholar) who famously said “If God was small enough for us to figure out, He wouldn’t be big enough for us to worship.” Praise the God whose ways are above our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9B). The Jews killed their Messiah, but still, He died for them, and for us. Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God