Acts 5:29-31 – But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
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Jesus lives! He is risen! Peter and the disciples were able to stand confidently in the presence of the religious opposition, because they knew that Jesus is alive. The Jews, via the Romans, killed Jesus by hanging him on a tree. Jesus, in his death, was cursed by God, though he deserved no such curse. He allowed this to happen, however, in order to redeem us from the curse that should have fallen on us. Paul writes, concerning this, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (Galatians 3:13). No mere mortal could ever live again after suffering the curse for sin, because “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). But Jesus lives, proving that he fully paid the price for our sins and has conquered death.
We, like the disciples are witnesses to these truths. We are witnesses, not with our physical eyes, but with the eyes of our hearts. We know that Jesus is risen because the Holy Spirit of God has convinced us that Jesus is risen. We trust in God, and we believe his word to be true.
Lord Jesus, I praise you for rising from the dead. You defeated sin, not by ignoring it, but by paying the price for the consequences of our sin. You rose from the grave, and showed the entire world that you are superior even to death. You are the risen Lord, and I worship you. My entire faith and my entire soul rests in the fact that you live again, and that you paid the price for my sins—a price I could never pay.
Pastor Travis Peterson 