About this episode
There are two focus points in this episode. The first is Acts 3:6, specifically the concept of the “name” and the NT understanding of the term “Christ” (Greek: Christos). Is the term merely an adjective (“anointed”)? Is it a proper name, like a last name? Or is it a title—and if so, who can bear that title? The second is Acts 3:18, where Peter claims, via the words of Luke, that “what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled.” The concept of a suffering messiah (mashiach) is not found in any verse in the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament. Peter does not cite a specific verse from the Hebrew Bible here, but makes a blanket statement, as though to say that, as a collective whole, the Old Testament points to a suffering messiah. How is this possible? Here is the paper referenced in the show: Christ – Anchor-Yale Bible Dictionary