Acts 2:24 kjv
Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
Acts 2:24 nkjv
whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.
Acts 2:24 niv
But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
Acts 2:24 esv
God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
Acts 2:24 nlt
But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip.
Acts 2 24 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Rom 1:4 | and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. | Resurrection declared Him Son of God in power. |
| Eph 1:19-20 | that working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead… | God's immeasurable power in raising Christ. |
| Col 2:12 | having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. | Believers united with Christ in resurrection. |
| Phil 3:10 | I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection… | Knowing the power of Christ's resurrection. |
| Acts 3:15 | You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. | God, not man, raised Jesus. |
| Acts 4:10 | It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead... | Emphasizes God's act in raising Jesus. |
| Acts 5:30 | The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you murdered by hanging him on a cross. | Divine initiative in resurrection, contrast with human action. |
| Acts 10:40 | but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. | God is the agent of resurrection, specific timeframe. |
| Rom 8:11 | if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you… | God's Spirit as the power of resurrection. |
| 1 Cor 6:14 | By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. | God's power is the cause of resurrection for both Christ and believers. |
| Gal 1:1 | Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a human agency, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead. | God the Father as the one who raised Jesus. |
| Hos 13:14 | “I will deliver this people from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?” | Prophecy of death's defeat, echoed in Christ's victory. |
| 1 Cor 15:54-57 | Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?…Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. | Death's ultimate defeat through Christ's resurrection. |
| Rev 1:18 | I hold the keys of Death and Hades. | Christ's authority over death and the grave. |
| Acts 2:25-28 | David said about him: ‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.’ | Psalm 16, directly quoted by Peter, foretells resurrection. |
| Ps 16:10 | because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. | The Old Testament prophecy fulfilled by Christ's resurrection. |
| Heb 2:14-15 | so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those… | Christ's death and resurrection destroyed death's power. |
| 1 Pet 3:18 | For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. | Christ's death led to being made alive. |
| Jn 10:18 | No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. | Christ's authority over His own life and death. |
| Rom 6:9-10 | For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. | Resurrection is a permanent victory over death. |
| Rom 4:25 | He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. | Resurrection essential for justification. |
| Ps 2:7 | You are my son; today I have become your father. | Prophecy of Christ's sonship often linked to resurrection. |
| Jn 5:21 | For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. | Christ's divine power to give life. |
Acts 2 verses
Acts 2 24 Meaning
Acts 2:24 declares that God himself raised Jesus from the dead, liberating Him from the binding power of death. The verse powerfully asserts that it was an impossibility for death, with all its inherent dominion, to keep its grasp on Jesus. It underscores the divine triumph over death and highlights Jesus' unique nature and destiny, aligning with the foretold prophecies of the Messiah who would not undergo decay in the grave.
Acts 2 24 Context
Acts 2:24 is a pivotal statement within Peter's sermon on the Day of Pentecost, delivered to a large Jewish audience in Jerusalem. This sermon is the inaugural proclamation of the Christian kerygma (the core message of the Gospel) following the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Peter has just explained the supernatural events of Pentecost by quoting Joel's prophecy of the Spirit's outpouring. He then immediately transitions to presenting Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah. The surrounding verses in Acts 2 (vv. 22-23) recount Jesus' ministry, His crucifixion by the audience's hand, and His death according to God's predetermined plan. Verse 24 is the central turning point of Peter's argument: God's powerful vindication of Jesus through His resurrection. Peter subsequently grounds this resurrection not merely as a historical event, but as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, particularly Psalm 16 (Acts 2:25-31), demonstrating that David was prophesying about Christ's imperishability and not his own. This directly addresses any Jewish skepticism regarding resurrection and the Messiahship of Jesus, especially from groups like the Sadducees who denied the resurrection (Acts 23:8).
Acts 2 24 Word analysis
But God: (Ἀλλὰ ὁ Θεός, Alla ho Theos) – The opening "But" signals a strong contrast. While humanity acted in crucifying Jesus (v. 23), "God" (the Divine Father) acted oppositely, powerfully, and sovereignly. This highlights God's ultimate plan overriding human evil and emphasizes His omnipotence. It firmly establishes divine agency as the cause of the resurrection, not human effort or natural means.
raised him: (ἀνέστησεν αὐτόν, anestēsen auton) – From anistēmi, meaning to cause to stand up, to raise. This verb is consistently used in Acts for the resurrection of Jesus and also for believers. It signifies a decisive, active bringing back from a state of death to life. The action is definitively from God, the one who initiates and accomplishes.
from the dead: (ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν, ek tōn nekrōn) – This phrase signifies complete liberation from the realm and power of death, the physical state of being dead. It’s not a mere resuscitation but a resurrection to a new, immortal life, conquering the dominion of death itself.
freeing him: (λύσας, lysas) – A participle from lyō, meaning to loose, unbind, release, dissolve. This powerful imagery conveys breaking chains or undoing bonds. It speaks of the effective act of release.
from the agony of death: (τὰς ὠδῖνας τοῦ θανάτου, tas ōdinas tou thanatou) – This phrase is critical. Ōdin (ὠδίν) literally means "birth pangs" or "travail." However, in the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament), it translates the Hebrew ḥevel (חֶבֶל), which can mean "cord," "snare," or "bands" (e.g., Ps 18:4/2 Sam 22:5 "cords of death," Ps 116:3 "pains of Sheol"). Therefore, "agony of death" is best understood in this context as "cords," "snares," or "bondage" of death/Hades. It emphasizes the coercive grip of death. God "loosed" or "dissolved" these deathly bonds, implying that death had Him "tied up" but could not ultimately hold Him. This is not about Jesus' suffering, but death's attempt to hold Him captive.
because it was impossible: (καθότι οὐκ ἦν δυνατὸν, kathoti ouk ēn dynaton) – This clause establishes divine necessity. God’s act of resurrection was not optional but compelled by the nature of who Jesus is (the Holy One, Ps 16:10) and God's sovereign purpose. Dynaton (δυνατὸν) means possible, able. Thus, "not possible."
for death: (κρατεῖσθαι αὐτόν, krateisthai auton) – krateō (κρατέω) means to seize, grasp, hold fast, prevail. Here, it is in the passive voice, "to be held fast by." Death is personified as a power or entity attempting to exert control.
to keep its hold on him: (κρατεῖσθαι αὐτόν, krateisthai auton) – Literally "to be held by it/him." This re-emphasizes the idea of death’s grip or captivity. It indicates that death tried to maintain its power and hold over Jesus but utterly failed.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- "But God raised him from the dead": This segment encapsulates the central fact of Christian faith: the divine, miraculous resurrection of Jesus. It is the core of the Gospel message and God's primary act of vindication.
- "freeing him from the agony/cords of death": This describes the effect of the resurrection – a complete liberation. It means that Jesus was released from the binding power or enslaving grip of death. The imagery shifts from pain to bondage.
- "because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him": This clause provides the theological reason for the resurrection. It was not merely a choice or an arbitrary act; it was a divine imperative, flowing from the nature of Jesus as God's Holy One. Death's hold over Him was fundamentally contradictory to God's plan and character, hence, impossible. This affirms Jesus' victory as total and absolute.
Acts 2 24 Bonus section
- Theological Necessity: This verse implies a theological necessity for Jesus' resurrection, rooted in the divine decree and the prophetic word (e.g., Psalm 16:10). It wasn't just a miraculous event but an intrinsic component of God's redemptive plan that had to occur.
- Proof of Messiahship: Peter uses this statement to prove Jesus' claim as Messiah. A dead Messiah would contradict key Old Testament prophecies; therefore, His resurrection is indispensable for validating His identity and office.
- Public Testimony: The context is a public sermon. Peter's statement is not a private theological reflection but an open proclamation of a historical event witnessed and testified to by the apostles and later by numerous others (1 Cor 15:5-8).
- Sovereignty of God: Acts 2:24 powerfully underscores God's absolute sovereignty, even over the greatest adversary, death. While human evil crucified Jesus (Acts 2:23), God acted with greater power to accomplish His purpose through the resurrection.
Acts 2 24 Commentary
Acts 2:24 is a cornerstone of the Christian faith, directly affirming the resurrection of Jesus as an act of God. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, makes this bold assertion to a Jewish crowd, countering the finality of crucifixion with the ultimate victory of God's power. The "agony of death" is not Jesus' suffering, but rather the 'cords' or 'bonds' of death itself, implying that death, personified as a captor, tried but failed to retain Jesus. The impossibility of death holding Jesus captive speaks to His unique nature as the Holy One of God (foretold in Psalm 16:10). It highlights that the resurrection was not a rescue from a natural demise, but a divine and necessary triumph over the ultimate enemy, death. This foundational truth establishes Jesus' messianic identity, validates His claims, and underpins the hope of resurrection for all believers, demonstrating God's sovereign authority and irresistible power over mortality.