by Giuseppe Monno
Acts 3:13
“The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and then disowned in the presence of Pilate after Pilate had decided to release him.”
These words of Peter, spoken at Solomon’s Portico after the healing of the lame man, reveal the depth of the mystery of Christ. The apostle calls Jesus the “servant of God”—an expression that might at first seem difficult to reconcile with faith in his divinity.
Yet, in the light of Revelation, its meaning becomes clear. The title “servant” recalls the figure of the Suffering Servant foretold by the prophets. At the same time, it reveals the Son’s free obedience to the saving will of the Father. It does not diminish his divine dignity. Rather, it shows how that divinity is lived out: as self-giving love, humility, and total surrender.
Seen in this way, Peter’s words do not create tension but shed light on the mystery of the Incarnation. In Jesus, true God and true man are united inseparably, in perfect communion of will and love with the Father.
Jesus as “Servant of God” in His Human Nature
When Peter speaks of the “servant of God,” he is referring to Christ in his human condition. The eternal Son of the Father, in taking on our nature, freely chose the form of a servant:
“Though he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming as human beings are” (Philippians 2:6–7).
This self-emptying—kenosis—does not lessen the Son’s divinity. On the contrary, it reveals its true greatness: a love that gives itself completely and obeys in freedom. In his humanity, Jesus appears as the perfect Servant, wholly given over to the Father’s will.
The prophets had already prepared for this mystery. In the Songs of the Servant in Isaiah (42:1–9; 49:1–6; 50:4–9; 52:13–53:12), we see the outline of a gentle and faithful servant, called to bring justice and to bear the suffering of his people.
“Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom my soul delights. I have put my spirit on him” (Isaiah 42:1).
Peter recognizes that these words are fulfilled in Jesus. He is the Servant who, through obedience unto death, takes upon himself the sin of the world. For this very reason, he is glorified by the Father in the resurrection. The path of humiliation thus becomes the path to glory, and service is revealed as the highest form of divine lordship.
The Glorified Servant as Son of God
Peter continues: “The God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus.” In the New Testament, this “glorification” refers to the Paschal mystery: Christ’s resurrection and exaltation at the right hand of the Father (John 12:23; 17:1; Acts 2:33).
Here, in a striking way, the Father’s glory is revealed precisely in the humanity of Jesus. The obedience of the Son is acknowledged and brought to completion (Hebrews 5:8–9). The one who humbled himself unto death is now raised up in glory.
The “servant” is therefore revealed as the Lord. His glorification is not only a return to the eternal glory that is his as Son. It is also the exaltation of his humanity, now drawn into the life of God.
“God raised him high and gave him the name which is above all other names, so that all beings in heaven, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus” (Philippians 2:9–10).
In this way, Peter’s proclamation captures the full movement of the Christian mystery: the one who lived as Servant is revealed in glory as Son and Lord, so that all may come to recognize him as Savior.
The Servant and the Author of Life
Peter then makes an even more striking statement: “You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead” (Acts 3:15).
Here, any apparent contradiction disappears. The Servant is also the Author of life—that is, God himself. The Crucified One is the risen Lord, through whom all things were made and in whom all life has its source (cf. John 1:3–4; Colossians 1:16–17).
Scripture consistently affirms this unity. The one who, in his humanity, obeys and serves even to the point of death is the same one who, in his divinity, gives life and sustains it. There are not two subjects, but one Person: the eternal Son of the Father, acting both in the weakness of the flesh and in divine power.
For this reason, the Servant is also the Lord. His human obedience reveals, rather than conceals, his divine identity. Precisely because he is the Son, he has the power to give life and to take it up again.
Jesus himself had said: “Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). His resurrection is therefore not only the work of the Father, but also an expression of his own divine authority.
In the Paschal mystery, the truth of Christ stands fully revealed: one Lord who saves—Servant in his humanity and Author of life in his divinity.
The Witness of Tradition
From the beginning, the Church has understood the title “servant of God” in a fully Christological sense. It does not diminish Christ but reveals the mystery of the Incarnation.
The Council of Chalcedon (451) teaches that Christ is one Person in two natures, divine and human, “without confusion, without change, without division, without separation.”
What is said of Christ as “servant” refers to his human nature. Yet it belongs to the one divine Person of the Son. This unity is the foundation of our redemption: God himself has entered into our human condition and taken the form of a servant in order to save us.
Concluding Reflection
By proclaiming Jesus as both “servant” and “author of life,” Peter expresses the very heart of the Christian faith. The eternal Son of the Father became man in order to serve (Mark 10:45), offering his life as a ransom for many. Through this obedience, he reveals the glory of God.
In him the words of the prophet are fulfilled:
“Look, my servant will prosper, will grow great, be lifted up, be highly exalted” (Isaiah 52:13).
The path of the Servant—from humiliation to glory—reaches its fulfillment in the Paschal mystery.
Thus, the Church confesses Jesus Christ as both the obedient Servant and the glorious Lord: true God and true man, one divine Person who accomplishes redemption in the humility of the flesh and brings humanity into communion with God in glory.
In him we see the ultimate meaning of salvation: not only freedom from sin, but a share in the very life of God. The glorified Servant stands at the center of God’s saving plan and is the source of humanity’s glorification in him.