For this my heart hath been glad, and my tongue hath rejoiced: moreover my flesh also shall rest in hope.
δια τουτο ευφρανθη η καρδια μου και ηγαλλιασατο η γλωσσα μου ετι δε και η σαρξ μου κατασκηνωσει επ ελπιδι
5 Church Fathers comment on this verse
"Moreover my flesh also will dwell in hope." Since Jesus, having accepted death, put off the flesh which He had assumed according to the plan of the divine economy, in order to raise it again from death, His flesh rightly sustained itself in hope while awaiting the Resurrection.
Then the twelve Apostles come forward to the people, and Peter speaks to them. He is no longer the former Peter, timid and fearful, but courageous and fearless. He says that the extraordinary event now taking place among them is the action of the Holy Spirit, whom God once promised to send upon His servants. He says that Jesus Himself sent down this Spirit upon them, the disciples of Jesus. This was the same Jesus whom the Jews had recently crucified here, whom God raised from the dead, glorified, and seated at His right hand. Therefore Jesus is the Christ. The recent teachings of the Risen One Himself had shown that Christ had to suffer and enter into His glory only by this path.
The present illumination of the Spirit of God opened for Peter's speech a new source of power and proof in the prophecies. Until now they had been obscure, and could not so strongly influence the minds of the Jews. Now they were intelligible to everyone who wished to know the truth. The sign from heaven, which the Jews had so often and vainly asked of Jesus, now appeared by itself from Him who had ascended into heaven. It testified where the Crucified One dwelt, whom they had considered powerless. The ability to speak in new and unknown tongues was an extraordinary gift among miracles known from ancient and more recent times.
Verses 25-28. Yet an explanation of the mystery of the death of Jesus Christ, according to the union in Him of the divine and human natures, was not yet suited to the hearers and was not timely. Therefore, in explaining the Resurrection of Jesus, the Apostle again turns his hearers' attention to the words of Holy Scripture, which they could not but believe. He speaks further as if saying: "Do not think that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which we proclaim, is something new and an unexpected accident. Do not reason from that side, as though asking whether it is possible. Turn to the psalms known to all of you, so often repeated and read every Sabbath in your synagogues. In them David long ago foretold that such a resurrection had once to occur.
"For David says concerning Him, concerning Jesus: 'I foresaw the Lord always before Me; for He is at My right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore My heart was glad, and My tongue rejoiced. Moreover My flesh also will dwell in hope. For You will not leave My soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to Me the ways of life. You will fill Me with joy before Your face.'" The words, "I foresaw the Lord always before Me," "You have made known to Me the ways of life," and "You will fill Me with joy before Your face," clearly show this as well. The One speaking this way about the resurrection of His flesh Himself knows the passage from death to life. He has unbroken and close communion with the Lord, as one Person with another equal Person.
"Therefore He was glad," and so on: this expresses the Messiah's full and perfect joy from His perfect union with God, joy in His whole earthly human being. The heart is taken here as the organ of personal self-consciousness, the central point of feeling. Instead of "tongue," the Hebrew original has "soul," as the designation of the whole inner being of human nature. In the Septuagint, "tongue" is used as the organ of the outward expression of inner joy and gladness of heart. For joy is one of those feelings that least remain hidden in the soul and strive toward outward expression in speech. "Even My flesh," the lower material part of human being, in this spiritual union with God will rest.
That is, it will die and be deprived of life, "in hope" or in expectation (compare Rom 4:18), meaning the Resurrection. This is clear from the following words and from the Apostle's explanation (verses 30-31). "Since Jesus, having accepted death, laid aside the flesh He had assumed according to the plan of the divine economy, in order to raise it again from death, it is rightly said that His flesh nourished itself on hope while awaiting immortality" (Theophylact).
Heartfelt joy, with its expression on the tongue and its reflection in the whole being through the repose of body and soul, is given to all people by complete hope in God. It is understandable that all this could also be in Jesus Christ. His heart was pure, His tongue sinless, and His body without blemish. Therefore their repose in God could be fuller, and the joy arising from it most perfect. Likewise, His hope was not limited by the bounds of the body's temporal existence, but extended into its far future state beyond the grave.
According to the explanation of one of our respected interpreters, Jesus Christ is depicted here as speaking in this way: "Since I always behold the Lord near Me, helping and consoling Me, My heart is filled with spiritual gladness from the sense of God's presence. My tongue also rejoices, that is, it utters joyful words and songs, the psalms. I also rejoice that My flesh will dwell in hope, that is, My body too will rest in the hope of the Resurrection." "Since Jesus, having accepted death. Laid aside the flesh He had assumed according to the plan of the divine economy, in order to raise it again from death, it is rightly said that His flesh nourished itself on hope while awaiting immortality."
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 20 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS