What does "not let Your Holy One see decay" teach about Jesus' divinity?

The promise voiced: “Your Holy One will not see decay” (Psalm 16:10)

“For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.”

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David’s pen, God’s grandeur

• David wrote the psalm, yet speaks beyond himself.

• David died, was buried, and—Peter notes—“his tomb is with us to this day” (Acts 2:29). His body certainly decayed.

• Therefore the Spirit-inspired words point to Someone greater than David.

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“Holy One” identified by the apostles

• Peter: “Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ” (Acts 2:31).

• Paul: “David served his generation…fell asleep…and saw decay, but the One God raised did not see decay” (Acts 13:36-37).

• Both apostles treat the verse as a direct prophecy of Jesus.

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Why the absence of decay declares divinity

• Ordinary humans succumb to corruption; escaping decay places Jesus outside the ordinary.

• Resurrection without corruption fulfills Isaiah 53:10-11—“He will prolong His days.”

• Jesus’ body is “imperishable” (1 Corinthians 15:42-44), sharing God’s eternal nature (Psalm 90:2).

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Resurrection validated by divine authority

• Jesus said, “I lay down My life… I have authority to take it up again” (John 10:17-18).

• Romans 1:4: He “was declared to be the Son of God with power…by His resurrection from the dead.”

• Death had no power to decompose Him because He is “the life” (John 14:6).

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A promise too great for mere man

• If Psalm 16:10 were only poetic comfort, David’s decay would not pose a problem.

• The precision of “not see decay” demands literal, physical fulfillment—met in Jesus alone.

• Thus the prophecy insists that the Messiah possesses divine life incompatible with corruption.

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Faith-strengthening insights

• Scripture’s accuracy: A 1,000-year-old promise matches the exact outcome of Easter morning.

• The resurrection is not an add-on but integral—proof that Jesus is God the Son.

• Because His body did not decay, ours will be raised incorruptible (1 Corinthians 15:51-54).