Acts 10:39-41 39And we ourselves are witnesses of all the things he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40but God raised this one on the third day and caused him to appear, 41not to all the people but to us who had been chosen beforehand by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
The next major point Peter related was about Jesus’ death and resurrection. We included Peter and other early believers. It is possible that some of the “brothers from Joppa” of verse 23 were also eyewitnesses of the miracles of Jesus, or Peter could simply be referring to other believers, particularly the apostles. The important fact is that Peter was a link between the historical Jesus and Cornelius, and he was not the only eyewitness to all the events. Peter briefly summarized Jesus’ death was being caused by the Jews by hanging him on a tree (see 5:30). Tree (xylon) can also be translated as “cross.”
Death did not claim victory over Jesus. The good news of the gospel results from Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, which came by the power of God. It was crucial for Peter to continue the story of Jesus with the claim of his resurrection. Early Christian preaching was built on the theological foundation of Jesus’ resurrection on the third day. Christians, pastors, and theologians must follow this example to remain true to the good news of Jesus as Messiah and Lord. There cannot be any compromise that Jesus was a real human, lived and ministered to the needy through miracles, died on a Roman cross, and rose three days later. This story was considered the kerygma, the message proclaimed throughout the early church. Christianity is not about good moral teaching or the best truth among many claims of truth. It is about a person. Peter added proof to his claim about Jesus’s physical resurrection with reference to eating and drinking with him. He was not a phantom or spirit but resurrected flesh. He was really alive!
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