How does Acts 10:40 connect with Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah? Setting the Scene in Acts 10 • Peter is preaching to Cornelius’ household, declaring the core facts of the gospel. • Acts 10:40: “but God raised Him up on the third day and caused Him to be seen—” • Two ideas stand out: 1) “raised … on the third day,” and 2) “caused Him to be seen.” Both are anchored in earlier Scripture. Old Testament Hints of a Third-Day Resurrection • Hosea 6:2 — “After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up…” • Jonah 1:17 — “Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” (cf. Matthew 12:40) • Genesis 22:4 — Abraham’s journey to offer Isaac reaches its climax “on the third day,” prefiguring substitutionary sacrifice and deliverance. • Exodus 19:11 — Israel meets God on the third day at Sinai, a pattern of divine revelation following waiting. → Acts 10:40 echoes this repeated “third-day” rhythm: God saves, vindicates, and reveals after a set, God-ordained period. Direct Prophetic Parallels to Resurrection • Psalm 16:10 — “You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor let Your Holy One see decay.” – Peter had already used this text in Acts 2:27–32 to prove Messiah’s bodily resurrection. • Isaiah 53:10 — “He will prolong His days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in His hand.” • Isaiah 53:11 — “After the anguish of His soul, He will see the light and be satisfied.” – “Prolong His days” and “see the light” require life after death; Acts 10:40 states when and how God fulfilled it. “Caused Him to Be Seen” and the Promise of Witnesses • Isaiah 52:15 — Nations “will see” what they had not been told. • Psalm 22:22 — “I will proclaim Your name to my brothers; in the assembly I will praise You.” – Resurrection leads to public testimony; Peter, an eyewitness, is fulfilling that role in Acts 10. • The Old Testament anticipates not only the fact of Messiah’s rising but also that people would physically witness Him alive. Why the Connection Matters • Validates Jesus as the promised Messiah: His resurrection on the third day is not random but the divine timetable foretold. • Confirms Scripture’s unity: one storyline runs from prophets to apostles, ending in the same risen Lord. • Grounds faith in history: “caused Him to be seen” ties prophetic promise to verifiable, eyewitness reality (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). Summary Acts 10:40 stands on the shoulders of multiple Old Testament streams: third-day deliverance patterns (Hosea, Jonah, Genesis 22), explicit resurrection prophecies (Psalm 16; Isaiah 53), and promises of post-suffering vindication witnessed by many (Isaiah 52; Psalm 22). Peter’s proclamation shows that what God fore-shadowed, He accomplished—raising Jesus bodily and publicly, just as the Scriptures said. |
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