Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. “People of Israel,” he said, “what is so surprising about this? And why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness? For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of all our ancestors—who has brought glory to His servant Jesus by doing this. This is the same Jesus whom you handed over and rejected before Pilate, despite Pilate’s decision to release Him.
You rejected this holy, righteous One and instead demanded the release of a murderer. You killed the Author of life, but God raised Him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact!
“Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes.
Acts 3:12-16
I couldn’t let it go just yet. This amazing in-your-face-statement of Peter’s needs just a little more investigation. In the context of Peter’s shock sandwich that I talked about in the last Gem, he concludes with this most shocking statement of all. This is after he has made the earlier statements including a series of already shocking statements.
Object/Patient | Subject | Verb/Action | Extenuating Circumstances |
---|---|---|---|
This same Jesus | you | handed over, rejected | despite Pilate’s decision to release him |
This holy, righteous One | you | rejected | instead (you) demanded the release of a murderer |
This Author of Life | you | killed | but God raised Him from the dead. |
Verse 15 is like the coup de gras. The death blow or the final statement in a series of heavy hits.
In any language it is shocking. Look at the various ways this verse has been translated.
- (AMP) But you killed the very Source (the Author) of life, Whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.
- (ASV) and killed the Prince of life; whom God raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
- (BBE) And put to death the Lord of life; whom God gave back from the dead; of which fact we are witnesses.
- (CEV) and you killed the one who leads people to life. But God raised him from death, and all of us can tell you what he has done.
- (EMTV) and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.
- (ESV) and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.
- (GNB) You killed the one who leads to life, but God raised him from death—and we are witnesses to this.
- (GW) and you killed the source of life. But God brought him back to life, and we are witnesses to that.
- (ISV) and you killed the source of life, whom God raised from the dead. We are witnesses to that.
- (KJV) And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
- (LITV) And the Author of Life you killed, whom God raised up from the dead, of which we are witnesses.
- (MKJV) And you killed the Prince of Life, whom God has raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.
- (MSG) You no sooner killed the Author of Life than God raised him from the dead–and we’re the witnesses.
- (Murdock) And that Prince of life ye slew; and him, hath God raised from the dead, and all of us are witnesses of it.
- NASB) but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.
- (NLT) You killed the Author of life, but God raised Him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact!
- (RV) and killed the Prince of life; whom God raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
- (Webster) And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; of which we are witnesses.
- (YLT) and the Prince of the life ye did kill, whom God did raise out of the dead, of which we are witnesses;
I love the way Eugene Peterson handles it in the Message. “You no sooner killed the Author of Life than God raised him from the dead–and we’re the witnesses.” His translation is interpretative. The sense which he brings out is not there in the original Greek but the inference is. I will pull the Greek apart for you in a moment.
I have even given you Indonesian readers the three Indonesian Versions I most often consult and have not made you wait until this verse comes out in the Permata:
But the verse is especially shocking in Greek:
τὸν δὲ ἀρχηγὸν τῆς ζωῆς ἀπεκτείνατε, ὃν ὁ Θεὸς ἤγειρεν ἐκ νεκρῶν, οὗ ἡμεῖς μάρτυρές ἐσμεν.
the but author of life {you (pl) killed*} whom the God raised from dead {of which} we witnesses {we are}
* ἀπεκτείνατε – “you (pl) killed” (at a moment in time – aorist tense)
Notice the Author of Life has been placed in the prime emphatic position: first in the sentence. Peter wanted them to realise you killed THE AUTHOR OF LIFE. At a particular moment in time His Creation killed the One who originated life. The word used is [archegos] the originator, the author, the source, the initiator, the One who started life in motion. Note the way versions handle the term.
- the very Source (the Author) of life
- the Prince of life
- the Lord of life
- the one who leads people to life
- the Author of life
- the one who leads to life
- the source of life
What is interesting is that the CEV and GNB use the term “the one who leads (people) to life”. Where does that come from? Simply put, it is an attempt to harmonize the true meaning of the word for “life”. Zoe is not just physical life on this planet. Zoe is the word used for eternal life by John in his Gospel. It is shocking enough that they would dare to kill the One who began life on earth. That you would dare to kill the One who originated life is ludicrous. But they did it nonetheless. But of course they didn’t for a moment consider they were killing the Coming One, the Messiah. Besides, they didn’t really know exactly Who the Coming One was. At least not in all of His Radiant Fullness. Even more so, they didn’t have a clue that He, this One they killed, was indeed the One who would usher in Life as God intended it to be in the future. Indeed the doorway to THAT Life – the restoration of the Life God intended in Eden – was around the corner. A short 50 days later. That is astounding! They didn’t just kill the One who started life on earth. That is shocking enough. But they dared to kill the One who had come to open the way to Eternal Life in the presence of God Himself. This One who had come is God Himself. Oh my goodness. The shock and the horror of it are enormous. But there is more.
What is more shocking is the idea that the Author of Life would allow this to happen to Himself when He has such big plans for Life on earth. As I pointed out in the last Gems (1402) it is inconceivable that the One who made you would allow you to kill Him. That thought is staggering. That is why Eugene Peterson quickly adds, “You no sooner killed the Author of Life than God raised him from the dead.” The Holy One of Israel would not abandon His Son to the realm of death and decay. No, not THIS ONE. In the twinkling of an eye, so to speak, God raises Him from the realm of the Dead Ones – that is what [ἐκ νεκρῶν] essentially means, and brings Him back to life. Because dear Gems readers – that life is the eternal life of the Age to Come. How can that life be snuffed out like a candle. IT CAN’T. It is everlasting.
Then Peter concludes with the statement, “and we are witnesses of this fact!” Ah, but what is he meaning? What are they witnesses to?
Now that is something we will leave for the continuing story.
God is your Creator, not your concierge; your Savior, not your slave. He is God, not a genie. You exist for him, not vice-versa.
Rick Warren
God is ‘The Great Engineer’, creating circumstances to bring about moments of divine importance, leading us to divine appointments.
Oswald Chambers
Don’t think you can dupe God by asking for a sign; He is the creator and inventor of signs.
Anon
He Who flung stars into space surrendered Himself to cruel nails for you.
Graham Kendrick
He who created us without our help will not save us without our consent.
Augustine