Acts 2:32
“This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses.”
What does Acts 2:32 mean?
Peter is speaking to a crowd in Jerusalem just weeks after Jesus' crucifixion, declaring that God brought Jesus back to life. The word "witnesses" here doesn't mean they saw Jesus rise (most didn't), but rather that the disciples and others saw the risen Jesus alive with their own eyes after his death, and that's what they're testifying about. This statement was radical and costly to make publicly, especially to the very people whose leaders had orchestrated the execution. Peter is essentially saying: we're not telling you a story we heard secondhand or a spiritual metaphor, we're telling you about someone we knew, who we watched die, and who we now know is alive.