The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.

ACTS 5:30KJV
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Acts 5:30 (KJV)

What does Acts 5:30 mean?

Acts 5:30 says that the God worshiped by the ancestors of the Jewish people brought Jesus back to life after he was killed by being put to death on a tree. The verse points out that those hearing the message were responsible for Jesus’s death, but God reversed that outcome by raising him up.

Peter, one of Jesus’s closest followers, is speaking to the Jewish council (the Sanhedrin) after being arrested for teaching about Jesus. Peter directly connects Jesus to the God of Israel (“the God of our fathers”) and uses strong language to confront the council with their role in Jesus’s crucifixion. The mention of Jesus being “hanged on a tree” is a way of describing crucifixion, which carried a sense of shame and curse in Jewish thinking.

The Greek behind Acts 5:30

  • θεός (theos, G2316): This is the Greek word for “God.” Peter emphasizes that the same God their ancestors worshiped is the one who raised Jesus, making a direct link between Israel’s history and Jesus.
  • ἀνέστησεν (anestēsen, G1453): Translated here as “raised up,” this Greek word often means to “raise from the dead.” It highlights that God actively brought Jesus back to life, not just figuratively but literally.
  • ξύλον (xylon, G3586): This word means “tree” or “wood.” In this context, it refers to the wooden cross used in crucifixion. For Jewish listeners, being “hanged on a tree” echoed Deuteronomy 21:23, which associated such a death with being under God’s curse, adding weight to Peter’s accusation and God’s vindication of Jesus.

Why Acts 5:30 matters

  • Acts 5:30 clarifies that the resurrection of Jesus is not a break from Jewish tradition but a fulfillment of it, tying Jesus’s story to the God of “our fathers.”
  • The verse confronts the listeners with their responsibility in Jesus’s death, but also shows that God’s power and purpose overrule human actions.
  • By calling the cross a “tree,” Peter uses language that would have reminded his Jewish audience of Old Testament law, deepening the impact of his message and showing the shame and reversal involved in Jesus’s death and resurrection.