Acts 2:22-36 “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 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. 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 live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’ “Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, “`The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” ‘ “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

When Peter preached his Pentecost sermon in Jerusalem, he reminded the crowd of all the things that God, the heavenly Father, had put on Jesus, His Son. The Father had lovingly put His blessing on Jesus at His Baptism when he declared, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” But the Father also placed the heaviest burden of all on His Son. He placed the weight of the cross on His Son’s shoulders. While “evil men” certainly played a part in the passion and suffering of our Lord, it was all part of the divine plan of the Father to sacrifice His Son for the sins of the world. That is what God had foretold through His servant Isaiah: We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)  The iniquity of us all was put on Jesus even though it belonged to us!

The way our sin was put on Jesus was for Him to be put on a cross. The death penalty was called for, and there would be no last minute reprieve or stay of execution from the governor. If there had been, He would have rejected it. He wanted our sin to be put on Him so He could pay the penalty in our place. He wanted to be our reprieve. That is what He was, and that is what He did.

After the heavy weight of the cross was put on Jesus, after Jesus was placed on that cross and killed, Peter pointed out that the Father then put something else on His Son: new life. God raised Jesus from the grave. 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.

Peter continues his Pentecost sermon by describing how after that, the Father called His Son home to heaven and exalted Him to the highest place. The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” After all of this took place, after Jesus had done everything required to earn your forgiveness and had ascended to heaven, the Spirit came. The Father had put the Spirit on the Son so that He could pour it out on all people, something else Isaiah had foretold: Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.  (Isaiah 42:1)

Because the Father put all those things on Jesus, our Father now puts his blessing on us, His children by faith.