Acts 10 40

Acts 10:40 kjv

Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly;

Acts 10:40 nkjv

Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly,

Acts 10:40 niv

but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.

Acts 10:40 esv

but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear,

Acts 10:40 nlt

but God raised him to life on the third day. Then God allowed him to appear,

Acts 10 verses

Acts 10 40 Meaning

Acts 10:40 succinctly proclaims two fundamental truths about Jesus Christ: His resurrection by God the Father, and His visible post-resurrection appearances. It states that God definitively reversed Jesus' death on the precise third day, confirming His victory over sin and the grave. Furthermore, this resurrected Jesus was then revealed openly to a select group of witnesses, thereby providing undeniable evidence for this central event of Christian faith.

Acts 10 40 Context

Acts 10:40 is part of Peter's pivotal sermon to Cornelius and his household in Caesarea, which marks a significant turning point in the early church—the first widespread embrace of the Gospel by Gentiles. Peter is explaining the core Christian message (the kerygma) to this uncircumcised, Roman centurion and his friends. This sermon, delivered under the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:19-20, 34-35), provides a summary of Jesus' life, ministry, death, and particularly His resurrection (Acts 10:36-43). The immediate verses (Acts 10:39-43) highlight the death, burial, resurrection, appearances, and the command to preach. Peter emphasizes that God raised Jesus from the dead, which is the undeniable proof of His identity and power, making it a central point in demonstrating Jesus' authority to judge and forgive sins, applicable now to Gentiles as well as Jews.

Historically and culturally, the Jewish expectation was for a conquering Messiah, not one who would be crucified and then rise. The idea of bodily resurrection was a contentious issue even within Judaism (Pharisees believed, Sadducees denied it). For a Gentile audience like Cornelius', the concept of a divine being dying and resurrecting in the body was even more unusual, possibly scoffed at by many Hellenistic philosophical traditions. Peter's sermon, especially his emphasis on God's active involvement ("God raised up") and the undeniable physical appearances to "chosen witnesses," directly counters such skepticism, laying a solid, factual foundation for belief in Christ's triumph over death.

Acts 10 40 Word analysis

• Him (αὐτὸν - auton): The personal pronoun in the accusative case refers directly to "Jesus of Nazareth" (Acts 10:38), already established as "Lord of all" (Acts 10:36) and the subject of the sermon. Its placement emphasizes the specific person whom God raised.
• God (ὁ θεὸς - ho Theos): Refers to God the Father. This is crucial as it asserts divine agency, indicating that the resurrection was not a natural occurrence or self-resurrection but an intentional, powerful act initiated and executed by God. It affirms the sovereignty and omnipotence of God over death itself.
• raised up (ἤγειρεν - ēgeiren): Aorist active indicative of egeirō, meaning "to wake, raise up, arouse." This verb consistently points to God's powerful action in bringing Jesus back from the dead to a new form of life. It implies more than resuscitation; it is a creative act leading to an indestructible, glorified existence. It counters any suggestion of mere survival of the spirit.
• the third day (τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ - tē tritē hēmera): This dative phrase specifies the exact timing. It's a critical detail because it aligns with Jesus' own predictions (e.g., Mk 8:31) and Old Testament foreshadowing (e.g., Jonah and Hosea 6:2). This precision allows for the verification of prophecies and lends historical credibility to the accounts of the witnesses.
• and (καὶ - kai): A simple conjunctive, linking the two key divine actions concerning Jesus: His resurrection and His subsequent manifestation.
• shewed him openly (ἔδωκεν αὐτὸν ἐμφανῆ - edōken auton emphanē): This phrase is a Greek idiom meaning "made him manifest" or "caused him to appear."
  • ἔδωκεν (edōken): Aorist active indicative of didōmi ("to give, grant"), here used to express granting an appearance or making something visible.
  • αὐτὸν (auton): Again refers to Jesus.
  • ἐμφανῆ (emphanē): Adjective, meaning "manifest, visible, evident." The implication of "openly" is that the appearances were clear, tangible, and undeniable to the designated individuals. It stresses the verifiability of the resurrection by selected eyewitnesses, making it distinct from a secret event or mere spiritual presence.

Words-group analysis:

• "Him God raised up": Emphasizes divine causation. The resurrection was God's decisive act to vindicate and exalt His Son, validating Jesus' claims and authority. It shifts the focus from human responsibility for the crucifixion to God's sovereign power.
• "the third day": Anchors the resurrection in precise historical time, connecting it to prophecy and making it a concrete, dateable event crucial for the veracity of the Gospel.
• "and shewed him openly": Points to the verification of the resurrection through visible, post-mortem appearances. This "showing openly" was not to all people but to designated, chosen witnesses, making the resurrection demonstrable and forming the basis for the apostolic testimony (Acts 1:22; 10:41). It guards against misinterpretations of the resurrection as merely spiritual or metaphorical.

Acts 10 40 Bonus section

The "openly" in "shewed him openly" in this verse, when read in conjunction with Acts 10:41 ("not to all the people, but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses"), implies not a universally public appearance but rather an unmistakable and undeniable manifestation to the specifically designated eyewitnesses. This limited but verifiable scope was deliberate. Had Jesus appeared to "all the people," particularly His adversaries, it might have led to coercion rather than faith born of conviction. Instead, God ordained chosen witnesses, people who had known Jesus during His earthly ministry, who could genuinely attest to His pre- and post-resurrection identity. Their credibility rested on direct, personal, and tangible encounters, making their testimony the divinely appointed means for the propagation of the resurrection truth, safeguarding against claims of mere hallucination or fabrication. This methodology emphasizes the reliability and purposeful nature of God's plan for proclaiming the Gospel.

Acts 10 40 Commentary

Acts 10:40 is a condensed yet potent statement of the bedrock of Christian faith: the literal, bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. It meticulously highlights God the Father's active role, underscoring that the resurrection was not a natural event but a sovereign, supernatural act. The specific mention of "the third day" serves as a precise chronological marker, fulfilling Old Testament foreshadowings and Jesus' own predictions, providing irrefutable evidence of a historical event. The phrase "shewed him openly" further confirms the physical, visible nature of the risen Christ's appearances to selected witnesses. These public, unmistakable manifestations were critical not for mass viewing, but for equipping authoritative eyewitnesses. They provided empirical proof for the apostles' kerygmatic proclamation, thereby establishing the objective truth of Christ's victory over death and serving as the foundational guarantee of God's forgiveness and future judgment, ultimately leading to the inclusion of Gentiles like Cornelius into the household of God.