Read Acts 2:12-41
Peter’s Argument
As the Spirit falls upon the disciples who begin to speak in tongues, the people are naturally inquisitive and asked, “What does this mean?” Some explain it through natural means, “They are drunk.” But Peter stands up and addresses their response with a reasonable rebuttal saying, “They are not drunk, since it is only the third hour of the day.” In other words, men typically don't get drunk in the morning, that is reserved for in the evening. Then after dismantling their objection, he gives a reasonable answer to their question.
Note the logic of Peter's argumentation. He builds an extensive case, referencing three OT passages, which finally culminates in demonstrating the Lordship and Messiahship of Jesus.
First, Peter argues that the prophet Joel had already attested to this phenomenon. Peter knew that his audience was Jewish, thus he builds his defense upon the Hebrew scriptures:
This is what was uttered through the prophet Joel (v16)
Second, he argues that God attested about Jesus' authority by way of his miracles. And these miracles were not unfamiliar to the people:
Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and sings that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know (v22)
Third, he argues that the events surrounding Jesus' crucifixion were no accident, but were according to the meticulous plan and foreknowledge of God. Even the peoples' wicked act of murdering Jesus was included in this plan:
This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men (v23)
Fourth, he argues that God raised Jesus from the dead to vindicate Jesus' authority:
God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. (v24)
Peter then quotes David in the Psalms, who prophesied that God would not abandoned him to the grave:
For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption (v27)
But Peter notes that David cannot be speaking about himself, for he most certainly died and was buried and his remains are still in the tomb. Rather, David foresaw the resurrection of the Christ who would not experience corruption.
Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. (v30-31)
Finally, Peter argues that since Jesus was raised up, exalted at the right hand of God and received the promise of the Holy Spirit, that he poured out his Spirit upon the disciples, evident by the tongues.
Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.
Therefore, according to Peter, all of this demonstrates that God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ. And this is the one whom the people killed:
Let all the house of
Inductive and Deductive Argumentation
I want to belabor this point because I think this passage is a clear example of how we should reason when building an argument. There are mainly two forms of arguments, inductive and deductive. Can some one explain the difference between the two?
Inductive – specific to general
“I notice that when I throw the ball up, it always falls back down, so I guess that the next time I throw it up, it will fall back down again.”
Deductive – general to specific
“
- Which form of argumentation does Peter mainly use? Inductive
- Give me examples of his inductive reasoning.
An Overview of Peter's Argument to defend the Lordship of Jesus (Acts 2:12-41)
1) Tongues and prophecy → (sites Joel 2:28-32)
- because (immediate grounds)
2) Jesus was resurrected and ascended → (sites Psalm 16:8-11)
- because (ultimate grounds)
3) Jesus is Lord and Christ → (sites Psalms 110:1)
OBJECTION: Jesus never claimed to be God. While Jesus may have been special in many ways, and perhaps one of the world's greatest moral teachers, he was just a human being. In fact, Jesus himself never actually claimed to be God!
· IF I SAY, “I AM GOD” THEN I BLASPHEME, FOR I AM NOT THE WAY, THE TRUTH, OR THE LIFE.
1. I SAY: Prophets spoke for God: “Thus says the Lord ...”, but Jesus spoke as God: “truly, truly, I say to you ...” or “You've heard it said, but I say to you ...”
2. I AM: God was identified as the great I AM (Ex 3:14), Jesus attributes himself as the great I AM (Jn 8:24, 58; 13:19)
3. BLASPHEMY: Many times the Jewish people attempted to kill Jesus for blasphemy, that is, claiming to be God. John comments that the people were seeking to kill him because he was “calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God” (Jn 5:18). And later, Jesus told his disciples that there was no distinction between himself and God the Father. Jesus said, “I and the Father are one” (Jn 10:29). His hearers understood what he was saying and picked up stones to kill him “for blasphemy, because he, being a man, was making himself God” (Jn 10:33).
4. THE WAY: Jesus told his followers that when they saw him, they saw God; if they knew him, they knew God, and if they loved him, they loved God (Jn 14:6-9; 23)
5. THE LIFE: Jesus predicted his death and his resurrection (Mat 12:40; Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34). The tomb is empty because contrary to all other "good moral teachers" he is alive.
Jesus did, in fact, repeatedly use words to claim that He was God. If we recognize the fact that Jesus was a great moral teacher, shouldn't we accept the fact that He would not, therefore, lie about His own identity and nature? If we trust the teaching of Jesus, we need to accept His teaching about His own Divinity.
Further study
- This is a great article with a different perspective on Lewis' Lord-Lunatic-Liar argument.
- Greg Koukl from Stand To Reason presents a great layout of Jesus' Unique Claims.
- A superb website addressing the major objections to Christianity. Here he presents the arguments for the Person of Jesus Christ.
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