Acts 2:32
in Acts 2God has raised this Jesus to life, to which we are all witnesses.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
This Jesus did God raise up, whereof we all are witnesses.
KJV
This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
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This verse in Acts 2
Commentary
10 notes on this verseWhereof we all are witnesses - That is, the whole 120 saw him after he rose from the dead, and were all ready, in the face of persecution and death, to attest this great truth.
This site's exposition
the patriarch David
on Acts 2:29-32
The patriarch David, Peter argues, is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day, a tomb every hearer could walk to; therefore the psalm's uncorrupted Holy One cannot be its author. Being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn the oath of 2 Samuel 7, David spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption: the exegesis is the sermon's engine, promise plus empty tomb equals identification. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses: the argument closes on testimony, one hundred and twenty witnesses standing behind the speaker, and the resurrection witness formula sounds here for the first of its many times in this book.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
"This Jesus" - observe how he does not call Him otherwise - "hath God raised up; whereof all we are witnesses. Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted": again he takes refuge with the Father, and yet it had been enough to say what precedes: but he knows what a great point this is. Here he has hinted at the Ascension also, and that Christ is in heaven: but neither does he say this openly. "And having received," says he, "the promise of the Holy Ghost." Observe how, in the beginning of his discourse, he does not say that Jesus Himself had sent It, but the Father: now, however, that he has mentioned His signs and the things done to Him by the Jews, and has spoken of His resurrection, he boldly introduces what he has to say about these matters, again adducing themselves as witnesses by both senses: "He hath shed forth this, which ye do see and hear." And of the resurrection he has made continual mention, but of their outrageous deed he has spoken once for all.
"And having received the promise of the Holy Ghost." This again is great. "The promise," he says; because promised before His Passion. Observe how he now makes it all His "He hath poured forth this", covertly making a great point. For if it was He that poured it forth, it is of Him that the Prophet has spoken above, "In the last days I will pour forth of My Spirit on My Servants, and on Mine handmaids, and I will do wonders in the heaven above." Observe what he secretly puts into it! But then, because it was a great thing, he again veils it with the expression of "His having received of the Father." He has spoken of the good things fulfilled, of the signs; has said, that He is king, the point that touched them; has said, that it is He that gives the Spirit.
"He hath poured it out," he says; not requiring worthiness: and not simply gave, but with abundance.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Again he points to the Father, although the previous indication was sufficient. But he knew how beneficial this was for the listeners in their acceptance of what was especially necessary.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He foreseeing this, spake of the resurrection Of Christ - St. Peter argues thus: It is plain, David did not speak this of himself. Therefore he spake of Christ's rising. But how does that promise of a kingdom imply his resurrection?
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
This Jesus hath God raised up,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The Psalm is then affirmed to have had its only proper fulfilment in JESUS, of whose resurrection and ascension they were witnesses, while the glorious effusion of the Spirit by the hand of the ascended One, setting an infallible seal upon all, was even then witnessed by the thousands who stood listening to Him.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
This Jesus - Peter, having shown that it was predicted that the Messiah would rise, now affirms that such a resurrection occurred in the case of Jesus. If it was a matter of prophecy, all objection to the truth of the doctrine was taken away, and the only question was whether there was evidence that this had been done. The proof of this Peter now alleges, and offers his own testimony, and that of his brethren, to the truth of this great and glorious fact. We are all witnesses - It seems probable that Peter refers here to the whole 120 who were present, and who were ready to attest it in any manner. The matter which was to be proved was that Jesus was seen alive after he had been put to death. The apostles were appointed to bear witness of this. We are told by Paul 1Co 15:6 that he was seen by more than five hundred brethren, that is, Christians, at one time. The 120 assembled on this occasion were doubtless part of the number, and were ready to attest this. This was the proof that Peter alleged; and the strength of this proof was, and should have been, perfectly irresistible: (1) They had seen him themselves. They did not conjecture it or reason about it; but they had the evidence on which people act every day, and which must be regarded as satisfactory the evidence of their own senses. (2) The number was such they could not be imposed on. If 120 persons could not prove a plain matter of fact, nothing could be established by testimony; there could be no way of arriving at any facts. (3) The thing to be established was a plain matter. It was not that they “saw him rise.” That they never pretended: Impostors would have done this. But it was that they saw him, talked, walked, ate, drank with him, being alive, after, he had been crucified. The fact of his death was matter of Jewish record, and no one called it in question. […]
The words behind it
11 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| τοῦτον | touton | This | G3778 → | 1381 times |
| τὸν | ton | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| Ἰησοῦν | iesoun | Jesus | G2424 → | 908 times |
| ἀνέστησεν | anestesen | has raised up | G450 → | 107 times |
| ὁ | ho | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| θεός, | theos | God, | G2316 → | 1312 times |
| οὗ | hou | of which | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| πάντες | pantes | all | G3956 → | 1235 times |
| ἡμεῖς | hemeis | we ourselves | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| ἐσμεν | esmen | are | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| μάρτυρες. | martures | witnesses. | G3144 → | 35 times |
τοῦτονThis
toutonG3778 →1381 times
τὸν<the>
tonG3588 →19766 times
ἸησοῦνJesus
iesounG2424 →908 times
ἀνέστησενhas raised up
anestesenG450 →107 times
ὁ<the>
hoG3588 →19766 times
θεός,God,
theosG2316 →1312 times
οὗof which
houG3739 →1405 times
πάντεςall
pantesG3956 →1235 times
ἡμεῖςwe ourselves
hemeisG3165 →1936 times
ἐσμενare
esmenG1510 →2333 times
μάρτυρες.witnesses.
marturesG3144 →35 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Acts 1:8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
it leads to
- Matthew 28:19
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
- Mark 16:15
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
- Romans 15:19
by the power of signs and wonders, and by the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.
- Acts 4:33
With great power the apostles continued to give their testimony about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And abundant grace was upon them all.
- Acts 5:32
We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
- Matthew 28:19
Through
Acts 4:33With great power the apostles continued to give their testimony about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And abundant grace was upon them all.
it leads to
Through
Acts 3:15You killed the Author of life, but God raised Him from the dead, and we are witnesses of the fact.
it leads to
- Acts 2:24
But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for Him to be held in its clutches.
- Acts 2:24
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies25
On this chapter
- Afterlife Vocabulary
- Baptism in the Holy Spirit (the Acts Evidence)
- The Twelve
- The Deity of Christ
- The Fall Feasts
- The Hebrew Feasts
- Fire
- Head Coverings
- Jesus on the Holy Spirit
- Miracles of Jesus
- The 153 Fish
- Pentecost
- The Suffering Servant
- The Church
- The Day of the LORD: yom YHWH
- The Intertestamental Period
- The Jewish Day and the Watches of the Night
- The Promise of the Father
- The Right Hand
- The Sects of Second Temple Judaism
- Water Baptism
About Acts
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Acts of the Apostles; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 6; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts.