Acts 2:33: What Did Jesus Receive?
What does Acts 2:33 actually teach? The verse implies that Jesus ascended into Heaven and was exalted to the right hand of God. The apostles were all witnesses of the Lord’s resurrection (v. 32), but we know that Jesus was not exalted (as verse 33 describes) until He ascended into Heaven, which the apostles also witnessed (Acts 1:9-11). His exaltation to the right hand of God did not occur on earth—but rather in Heaven. Jesus’ ascension is further implied by the statement made in Acts 2:34-35:
“For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”’”
This verse is quoted from Psalm 110:1. What Peter referred to in Acts 2 was also mentioned by Daniel. Here is what the prophet saw:
“I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And brought Him near before Him.
Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all people, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, and His kingdom shall be the one which shall not be destroyed” (7:13-14).
While it is true that pre-millennialists strangely view this Jesus coming to earth to establish a kingdom, they have misunderstood the directions and are lost. Jesus is not coming down; He is going up—to the Ancient of Days, Who is generally thought to abide in Heaven. Jesus did ascend to Heaven—to the Ancient of Days, at which time He received the kingdom. To combine both of these passages, which are speaking of the same event, we notice these truths.
1. For 40 days after His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His apostles, and He spoke to them of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3).
2. In their sight He ascended “into heaven” in the clouds (Acts 1:8-11) to meet the Ancient of Days (Dan. 7:13).
3. At that time He received a kingdom, an everlasting kingdom (Dan. 7:14).
4. Peter refers to this event as being “exalted to the right hand of God” (Acts 2:33).
5. Peter also says that Jesus was asked to sit at the right hand of God until His enemies were made His footstool (Acts 2:34-35).
These are an equivalent way of saying that He has been given His kingdom. A review of related passages shows this assertion to be the case.
The Right Hand
Romans 8:34 teaches that Jesus is at the right hand of God and making intercession for us.
Ephesians 1:20: “…when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.”
Colossians 3:1 exhorts Christians to “seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.”
Hebrews 1:3 tells us that, after Jesus had “by Himself purged our sins,” He “sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high” (cf. Heb. 10:12).
Hebrews 1:8 has the Father telling the Son: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom.”
The book of Hebrews ties together Jesus’ priestly functions along with His sitting on the throne. This linking together of His being both king and priest is not unexpected. The same Psalm 110, which Peter quoted also mentions the Lord as being a priest forever according “to the order of Melchizedek” (Ps. 110:4). We see His function as high priest mentioned almost continually in the middle chapters of Hebrews.
Hebrews 8:1 reveals that our high priest “is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.”
Hebrews 12:2 not only calls Jesus “the author and finisher of our faith,” but adds that He “has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
1 Peter 3:22 emphasizes more of the kingly aspects. Jesus “has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.”
The Kingdom
Jesus does indeed have a kingdom. When Paul was sent to the Gentiles, he was commissioned “to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith” in Jesus (Acts 26:18).
In Colossians 1:13 Paul writes that God has “delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.”
In Colossians 4:11 Paul refers to some brethren as his “fellow workers for the kingdom of God.”
1 Thessalonians 2:12 consists of an exhortation that brethren have “a walk worthy of God who calls” them “into His own kingdom and glory.”
In 2 Thessalonians 1:5 Paul’s desire is that they “may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God….”
In Revelation 1:9 John said he was “in the kingdom.”
Mary was promised before Jesus was ever born that her Son would “reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:33). When Jesus ascended into heaven to the Ancient of Days, He received glory, a throne at the right hand of God, a kingdom, and a priesthood.
As Peter, on the Day of Pentecost, is discussing David and how Jesus fulfills what David prophesied, he says the following words about David in Acts 2:30: “Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn to him with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne….” Shortly, he quotes what David wrote in Psalm 110:1.
What Did God promise David?
Peter does not quote 2 Samuel 7:12-16 directly, but he referenced it. In that text God promises that which relates to the Acts 2 text: 1) “…I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom” (v. 12). This is what Peter alluded to in Acts 2 and which several texts demonstrate, as already shown; 2) “And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever” (v. 16).
Yes, God promised David that one of his descendants—one who came from his own body—would receive a kingdom, an everlasting throne. Peter taught that Jesus received that kingdom. He received it in the manner that Daniel described.
What is the Promise of the Holy Spirit?
In light of all of the texts in the Old and New Testament and especially the context of Acts 2:22-35, it would seem that the promise of the Holy Spirit would be that throne, that kingship that had been promised David. He is said to be at the right hand of God, and He had received the promise of the Holy Spirit—that is, the throne. But some, when they read the passage think that the Holy Spirit is the promise—instead of the kingdom and throne promised by the Holy Spirit.
Is it possible that the text means to insinuate that Jesus was given the Holy Spirit personally? For what reason? He is already God. He had already finished His earthly trials and triumphed gloriously in His resurrection from the dead. And where had He ever been promised the Holy Spirit as a reward for ascending into Heaven? It is easy to understand why people on earth might get excited about receiving the Holy Spirit, but what would this mean to the Lord?
Since it is the case that He did receive a throne and a kingdom, along with being seated on the right hand of God, is it not more likely that receiving the kingdom (which includes all three) was, in fact, what the Holy Spirit promised and therefore what Jesus received? Having been given that authority, Jesus began immediately to let the world know about His kingdom, the church. He authorized the Holy Spirit to give spiritual gifts to men on the Day of Pentecost.
The Holy Spirit Was Also Promised
What confuses some people is that there is another promise that is also in the context. Prior to His ascension into Heaven (to receive the promise the Holy Spirit had made with respect to His kingdom), Jesus told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem “for the Promise of the Father, ‘Which,’ He said, ‘you have heard from Me’” (Acts 1:4). We do not need to speculate concerning what that promise was. The Lord explains it: “for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:5).
What happened on Pentecost was the fulfillment of Joel 2:28-32, but it was also mentioned by John the Baptizer early in His ministry (Matt. 3:11). Jesus had reminded the apostles of what John preached in Luke 24:49. On the Day of Pentecost, when the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit, then what Joel, John, and Jesus had foretold came to pass. The proof of that is Peter affirms it in Acts 2:16: “But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel.”
However, we must make an effort to be certain that we can identify properly which promise is being discussed in a particular verse. It’s even more complicated than what we have shown thus far because there is a third promise mentioned in Acts 2, also. Verse 39 records: “For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” This is not the promise of the kingdom made to David, nor is it the promise of the Holy Spirit, which was made to Jesus’ apostles in Acts 1:4-5 and fulfilled on Pentecost.
This promise refers to the one made to Abraham, which involves salvation, the heart of the message in Acts 2. In Genesis 22:18, God told Abraham, “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed….” Paul discusses the fulfillment in Galatians 3:14-18, Christ being that seed (Gal. 3:8, 16). This promise entails salvation and its attendant blessings. Acts 2:38 deals with salvation, and that promise is made to all. The Jews were looking for this promise to come to pass, also. Thus, Jesus received a promise (the kingdom), the disciples received a promise (the Holy Spirit), and all mankind received a promise (salvation).