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The argument from the resurrection of Christ:
v. 30. But God raised Him from the dead;
v. 31. and He was seen many days of them which came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses unto the people.
v. 32. And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,
v. 33. God hath fulfilled the same unto us, their children, in that He hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the Second Psalm, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee.
v. 34. And as concerning that He raised Him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, He said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.
v. 35. Wherefore He saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption.
v. 36. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption.
v. 37. But He whom God raised again saw no corruption.
Paul boldly places the statement at the head of this section of his discourse: But God raised Him from the dead. The full importance of the resurrection of Jesus for Christian faith must ever be kept in mind, since it is fundamental for the understanding of Christ's redemption. The first proof which Paul brings for the resurrection is the testimony of the eye-witnesses. Jesus was seen many days by those that had traveled with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who were now kept busy bearing witness of that fact to the people. Because of the certainty of this miracle not only the eye-witnesses, but also the present speaker and Barnabas were bringing their hearers the Gospel-news, that the promise given to the fathers God had fulfilled for those that were present, their children, in this fact, that He raised Jesus from the dead. And in case the testimony of the eye-witnesses were not deemed sufficient by them, Paul brings proof from Scriptures. There were the words of the Second Psalm: Thou art My Son, today have I begotten Thee. He was the eternal Son of God, in full possession of eternal life. It was impossible for Him, therefore, to remain in death; He must arise and give full expression to the life which was His from eternity. The second Scripture-passage which Paul adduces to prove that the resurrection of Christ was in accordance with prophecy, that God raised Him up from the dead, and that He should never return to corruption and decay, which seemed to envelop Him as He lay there in the tomb, was taken from Isa_55:3, quoted from the Greek text. There God promises His people to make an everlasting covenant with them by giving them the holy and sure blessings of David. The sacred promises given to David could be realized only in the triumph, the resurrection, of God's Holy One; only by the living Christ can the blessings of the Gospel be ratified and assured. "If now this Christ, through whom this covenant is made, true man, as He was promised to David of his blood and flesh, should bring and give eternal grace, for which reason He must be God, to whom alone it pertains to give this: then He must not remain in death, though He die like a natural man, but Himself must rise from the dead, in order that He may deliver others also from death and give them eternal life, that He may in truth be called and be an eternal King of grace, righteousness, and life, as God has firmly promised. " The final passage which Paul quotes is the same one which Peter had used in his great Pentecost sermon, Psa_16:10 : Thou wilt not give Thy Holy One to see corruption. For, as the speaker rightly argues, these words cannot apply to David, since he, after having performed the work of his office for his own generation, fell asleep according to the will of God and did see corruption and decay in death. But this Christ, whom God raised up from the dead and also exalted to heavenly glory, did not see corruption, did not become subject to decay. A more direct and explicit prediction of the resurrection of Jesus cannot be found in the entire Old Testament, and the force of the words must have been felt by all the hearers.