Jesus is the Messiah

Reading from the Acts of the Apostles»On the day of Pentecost, Peter said to the Jews: (36) “Let the whole house of Israel know with certainty that this Jesus, whom you crucified, God has made both Lord and Messiah.” (37) When they heard this, pain pierced their hearts, and they said To Peter and the other apostles: “What shall we do, brothers?” (38) Peter said to them: “Repent and let each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (39) After all, that promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far away, to all whom the Lord our God calls.” (40) And with many other words he swore and encouraged them: “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation! ” (41) They accepted his word and were baptized; and about three thousand souls joined that day.

When we use the phrase Lord Jesus Christ, we rarely realize the consequences of what we are actually saying. These three expressions are not just a dull part of our Catholic greeting, which seems so long to us and therefore tends to be shortened to a minimum in the form of “commend”. They hide a depth, part of which helps us explore today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles; right in its introduction, all three are found. The meaning of the name Jesus – God is salvation – perhaps there is no need to elaborate. It is a little different with the terms Lord and Christ.

The two Easter readings so far from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 10; Acts 2) have led us to the knowledge that Jesus is the messiah/anointed one (Gr. christos; and hence our Christ). Isaiah’s prophecy about the anointing of the spirit (Isaiah 61) applies to him, as well as the psalmist’s words that his body will not decay in the grave (Psalm 16). Israel’s messianic expectations and ancient promises were thus fulfilled in Jesus. But he is not the messiah/anointed one for himself; he wants to share the anointing with the Spirit and the experience of a new life. This dimension of the person of Jesus is repeated by Peter even today: God made the crucified Jesus the Messiah.

Along with the title of Messiah, Peter gives Jesus the title of Lord. The word Lord (Gr. Kyrios) is the biblical designation of God. Peter actually says that God made Jesus God (Kyrios). Not that Jesus was not God (the second person of the Holy Trinity) before that, but let’s realize that from the point of view of the Acts of the Apostles, the clear formulation of the doctrine of the Trinity and precise Historically statements will lead to a relatively long way.

When Peter says that Jesus is Lord, he is making a connection for his listeners with the prophet Joel. He quoted from it a little while ago the prophecy about the outpouring of the spirit. He ends his quote with the words: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Acts 2:21; Joel 3:5) The Old Testament prophet was thinking of the name of the God of Israel. From the Acts of the Apostles, we know the practice of invoking the name of Jesus (cf. Acts 9:14, 21; 19:13; 22:16). Again we see an ancient text being applied to Jesus to reveal something of his divine identity.

There is one more reference to Joel’s prophecy in today’s reading. Here we are talking about the promise of the Spirit, which belongs to “all whom the Lord our God calls” (Acts 2:39). Who is it that calls and distributes the Spirit? It is of course the God of Israel that Joel writes about. But it is also Jesus, Lord and Messiah, in whose face we recognize God’s face. Let us give thanks today and rejoice that the selection of candidates for the gift of the Holy Spirit is not made by some person or committee, according to their criteria, based on nepotism, bribery, or the weather, but that it is in the hands of Jesus – God with a human face and a man with a divine face.