It was impossible for Jesus to be held by death. In his first public address to the people in the wake of Jesus’ resurrection, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, proclaims the resurrected Christ and the good news foreshadowed by it. His speech sums up the doctrine of the resurrection even as it seeks to vindicate Jesus’ life and ministry. Peter’s interest in giving the speech was not to offer an apologetic defense of the resurrection of Jesus. He did not use either the post-resurrection appearances or the empty tomb as proofs (as one would ordinarily expect) that Jesus had indeed been raised from the dead. Rather, he based his argument for Jesus’ resurrection on Jesus’ life and ministry, and on the Scriptures. In other words, Peter was pointing to the fact that we can better understand the resurrection by knowing who Jesus is: “Jesus was from God, as the mighty works and signs that God worked through him proves. Jesus didn’t happen just by chance. He was sent by God. As a matter of fact, God recommended him to us! He had a job to do, and he completed the task and has returned to the Father.”
Jesus’ resurrection rests on God’s plan. It is God’s interest in life that made Jesus to happen. As such, it is unthinkable that God would then abandon Jesus to death and to its corruptive power. How can Jesus who gave life to many of his brothers and sisters by releasing them from the powers of darkness himself be subject to death’s corruptive power? How can a giver of life himself not have life? It is impossible for Jesus to be held by death. The life and works of Jesus are enough proof of his resurrection. Peter needed not to meet the resurrected Jesus for him to testify to Jesus’ resurrection. Having witnessed the Scriptures unfold in Jesus’ life, Peter had sufficient proof that Jesus had already overcome death and its corruptive powers.