But God Raised Him Up Again
Acts 2:22-36
March 31, 2024
This morning we gather as the church
To celebrate the high day on the Christian calendar.
• It is resurrection Sunday.
• It is the pinnacle day of Christianity.
• And for us, it is everything.
This morning we celebrate the fact that
After Jesus was crucified at the hands of evil men,
God raised Him from the dead.
And the resurrection matters so much to us primarily because
It is the ultimate validation that His work on the cross was effective.
Romans 4:25 “He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.”
We know the crucifixion worked because God raised Him.
John MacArthur wrote:
“The resurrection is the crowning proof that God accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Without it, His death becomes the heroic death of a noble martyr, the pathetic death of a madman, or the execution of a fraud.”
(MacArthur, John [The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Acts 1-12; Moody Press, Chicago, IL; 1994] pg. 64)
BUT JESUS WAS NO FRAUD.
• He was the only righteous man who ever lived.
• He was crucified to pay for sins He did not commit.
• God verified this by raising Him from the dead.
We celebrate because those sins He paid for were ours.
It was my debt He paid.
THIS MORNING the church gathers to celebrate that reality
And to give all glory and honor and praise to Jesus Christ for what He did.
The way we are going to do that this morning
Is by studying this text from Acts 2.
You may immediately recognize that Acts 2 is not an “Easter sermon”.
The only recorded Easter sermons in Scripture are contained in the 4 gospels and most of them are preached by angels at the tomb.
For example:
Matthew 28:5-7 “The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. “Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”
There is one recorded sermon by Jesus that was given on Easter found in John 20 when Jesus enters the upper room and encourages the disciples and offers them peace.
And there was one Easter sermon given by Jesus that was not recorded and I really wish it would have been:
Luke 24:25-27 “And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.”
• We know one of those guys was named “Cleopus” and when I get to heaven I’m going to ask him why he didn’t take any notes.
But the sermon we look at this morning was not an Easter sermon.
It was a Pentecost Sermon.
Pentecost was a Jewish feast.
• Also known as “The Feast of Weeks”
• It occurred 50 days after the Passover
• It was one of 3 Jewish feasts that every Jewish man was required to attend.
• It’s the feast celebrated at the end of harvest when all the crops had come in.
And on this day we see that the harvest started coming.
By the end of the day there will be 3,000 new believers
And the church will be off and running.
The reason we are looking at this sermon this morning is because
• What Peter has to say to the Jews here is not only highly evangelistic,
• But is of great encouragement to the church.
And in our dark days,
I believe the church needs all the encouragement she can get.
Well first, let me give you THE CONTEXT.
• As noted it has been 7 weeks since Jesus was crucified.
• He has since risen from the dead and ascended to heaven.
• But for 7 weeks the church has been in hiding.
There is only about 120 people represented in the church
And they are sticking close together. It is a turbulent time for them.
But on this day Jesus will send them
The “power from on high” that He had promised.
He will send them the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:1-4 “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.”
This WAS NOT the mindless, blasphemous, phony gibberish that is associated with tongues today.
• These believers were speaking actual known human languages.
• That becomes evident as you read on in the chapter.
It WAS miraculous because
• None of these people had ever learned the languages they were speaking.
• The Holy Spirit had caused this and they were “speaking of the mighty deeds of God”.
HOWEVER, the Jews in Jerusalem didn’t understand what they were saying and accused them of being “drunk”.
And Peter, now filled with power from the Holy Spirit,
Stood up to correct their faulty thinking.
Peter reveals that
• This is a fulfilled promise of God found in the book of Joel
• And that what they are witnessing is pouring out of God’s Spirit upon men.
So you have the backdrop of the day.
And then Peter takes the opportunity
To deliver the sermon we want to study this morning.
We want to break Peter’s sermon down into 4 points.
#1 JESUS’ IDENTITY WAS OBVIOUS BUT IGNORED
Acts 2:22
Peter starts his sermon with what they know.
And what they knew, whether they wanted to admit it or not is that
JESUS HAD WORKED A TON OF MIRACLES.
• He turned water into wine
• He healed the synagogue officials son
• Cast out thousands of demons (over 5,000 from one man)
• Healed Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever
• The miraculous catch of fish (twice)
• The cleansing of multiple lepers
• The paralytic lowered through the roof
• The cripple at the Bethesda pool
• The man with the withered hand
• The bleeding woman who touched His garment
• The Centurian’s servant
• The man born blind
• The man with dropsy
• The woman bent double for 18 years
• The two blind men on the Jericho road
• He raised Jairus’ daughter
• He raised the widow’s son
• He raised Lazarus
• He calmed the storm
• He fed 5,000 and then 4,000 miraculously
• He walked on water
• He healed the man whose ear Peter cut off
And of course following that we throw in the mention of John what wrote:
John 21:25 “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.”
Many of His miracles just say things like, “many sick arrived and He healed them all…”
BUT YOU GET THE IDEA.
Jesus had worked many miracles and demonstrated His power everywhere and this was common knowledge.
In fact Peter says, “just as you yourselves know”
When Nicodemus came to question Jesus, he said:
John 3:2 “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
What Peter points out is that it was clear that
GOD WAS ATTESTING TO THE VALIDITY OF JESUS.
God was working miracles through Him to prove that He had sent Jesus.
Even the blind man could see that:
John 9:30-33 “The man answered and said to them, “Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. “We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. “Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. “If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.”
Jesus Himself said:
John 5:36 “But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.”
IT WAS OBVIOUS.
“Jesus the Nazarene [was] a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know.”
The problem was not the obvious nature and source of His power;
The problem was the stubbornness of the Jews who ignored it.
For example:
Matthew 9:32-34 “As they were going out, a mute, demon-possessed man was brought to Him. After the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel. But the Pharisees were saying, “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”
Matthew 12:22-24 “Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?” But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”
John 10:37-39 “If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him, and He eluded their grasp.”
John 11:45-48, 53 “Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done. Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. “If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation…So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.”
This issue WAS NOT a failure on God’s part to attest to Jesus,
The issue WAS that the Jews didn’t want to see it.
They ignored the obvious fact that Jesus had been sent from God.
But make no mistake, God sent Him and it was obvious.
• Can you see that?
• Have you acknowledged that?
Are you willing to look at the life of Jesus and unequivocally state that “Yes, Jesus was sent by God”?
Jesus’ Identity was Obvious but Ignored
#2 JESUS’ DEATH WAS DETERMINED BUT DESPICABLE
Acts 2:23
All through Jesus’ ministry
We saw the stubbornness surrounding Him and a wholesale refusal on the part of the Jews to believe in Him.
But clearly that stubbornness and refusal hit a climax
When the Jews called for Jesus’ death
And coerced Pilate to crucify Him.
That is the next event Peter calls to their attention.
Another fact they were well-aware of.
What Peter does first however, is reveal to his audience that
Just as Jesus’ miracles were part of God’s plan, so was His death.
In fact, Jesus was “delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God”
“delivered over” is a Greek word used only here and it speaks of someone being “handed over to their enemies or even betrayed”.
And this is what happened with Jesus.
• It was God who devised the plan.
• It was God who enforced the plan.
• It was God who sovereignly saw it carried out.
Jesus made no bones about it,
That He was sent to this world that He might die on a cross
To redeem His people from their sins.
John 12:27-28 “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. “Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
We even remember Jesus standing before Pilate.
• Pilate was amazed that Jesus wasn’t begging him for help.
John 19:10-11 “So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
And there are many other places we could look to demonstrate this,
But the greater look even comes from the Old Testament.
We could read Psalm 22 Which actually speaks of the actual crucifixion
• Where Jesus’ hands and feet would be pierced,
• Where He would be offered vinegar to drink,
• Where soldiers would gamble for His clothes.
We could read Psalm 118 Which speaks of that champion
• Who trusted God even amidst a corrupt trial
• And who was surrounded by His enemies like bees.
But without a doubt the most definitive chapter is Isaiah’s 53rd.
Isaiah 53:7-10 “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.”
It was the plan of God to send His only begotten Son into the world.
• That Son would live a holy life and satisfy the righteous requirements of God.
• That Son would then offer His holy life to God as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of His people.
“The wages of sin is death”
And “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness”.
So Jesus Christ was sent by the Father to die for His people.
This was the plan of God.
As Isaiah said:
“the LORD was pleased to crush Him…If He would render Himself as a guilt offering…”
But just because it was God’s plan
DOES NOT ABSOLVE His murderers of the guilt they incurred.
It was a determined plan, but it was still A DESPICABLE MURDER.
In order to fulfill His plan of atonement God “delivered over” Jesus
Into the hands of these vile and sinful men
Who did exactly what they wanted to do to Jesus all along.
They secretly arrested Him.
They corruptly tried Him.
They openly mocked Him.
They unanimously conspired against Him.
And they used the Roman government to have Him cruelly and brutally murdered.
The list of Jewish laws that were broken in this corrupt trial is staggering. Things like:
• A trial could not be held at night.
• Nor could it be held in secret, it was a public affair
• Furthermore a trial could not be held during a feast
• A man could only be condemned upon the testimony of two credible witnesses.
• Furthermore if a man was condemned, the first person to strike the blow to the condemned had to be the person who first bore witness against him.
• Furthermore the accused could not be forced to testify against Himself. Even a detailed confession was not viewed as adequate evidence to condemn a man.
• 23 votes were cast in order determine a person’s fate.
• It took 13 votes to condemn, but only 11 to acquit
• And if all 23 voted to condemn, the man was automatically acquitted since it was viewed that mercy was lacking and the court was flawed.
• When the votes were cast they voted in order of youngest to oldest so that the vote of the older did not influence the vote of the younger
• If a man was condemned, the law required that he could not be sentenced until the morning of the third day.
• And even after sentencing as the man was going to his punishment, if on the way he or anyone else remembered evidence that might deliver him, immediately the execution was stayed and the trial was re-opened.
• And if a man was condemned his property could not be seized, it passed to his heirs, in order to keep a man from being condemned for his possessions.
Also shocking were the evil alliances that were made that day as well.
• Pharisees and Sadducees becoming friends for a common purpose.
• Pilate and Herod became friends that day.
Also shocking is the gross hypocrisy from a crowd
• That on Sunday sang “Hosannah” as He entered the city
• And then on Friday cried “crucify” and begged for His execution.
It all boiled down to the fact that they didn’t just ignore God’s Son,
They hated Him. They hated Him so much they murdered Him.
They ignored Him and then they brutally murdered Him.
It was blatant, godless, evil hatred against God and His Son.
• Sort of like a president who tries to name today as a vile day of remembrance for gross immorality.
• It is more than rejection, it is hatred.
BUT HOW ABOUT YOU?
• Are you eager to silence Christ’s influence in your life?
• Would you silence His reproof and stop Him from confronting your sin?
Well now Peter moves to the part of the sermon that they didn’t know, but needed to.
#3 JESUS’ RESURRECTION WAS PROMISED BUT MISUNDERSTOOD
Acts 2:24-32
This is the longest segment of Peter’s sermon.
But the point is concise in clear.
You murdered the obvious Son of God, “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”
What a remarkable statement!
• “God raised Him up again”
• God didn’t allow Him to stay dead.
WHY?
“it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”
Adam was very clearly told in the Garden of Eden that he should not transgress the command of God or else he would surely die.
• Adam did transgress God’s commands, and Adam died.
• And so did all of Adam’s descendants who inherited Adam’s sinful nature and then followed in Adam’s footsteps of sinful behavior.
And since Scripture is clear that “the wages of sin is death”,
All those who sin must die and subsequently stay dead.
But Jesus was the exception.
• Jesus never sinned.
• His death could only be seen as an unjust execution.
• He had no sin of His own and death was forced to release Him.
Death has no claim on a righteous man.
And Peter proves this point by quoting Psalm 16:8-11
(25-28) “For David says of Him, ‘I SAW THE LORD ALWAYS IN MY PRESENCE; FOR HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN. ‘THEREFORE MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE EXULTED; MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL LIVE IN HOPE; BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES, NOR ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY. ‘YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; YOU WILL MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH YOUR PRESENCE.’”
God could not and would not “allow [the] Holy One to undergo decay”
• He was Holy.
• Death had no right.
• Jesus must be delivered, and He was!
This was a promised resurrection and God fulfilled it.
• It was again and obvious piece of evidence that Jesus is in fact God’s Son.
• There is no doubt that Jesus is the Messiah.
But, so far the Jews had failed to ignore this fact as well.
They sort of dismissed the claims of His resurrection.
Remember how they formed a conspiracy to say that His disciples came and stole the body?
And when someone would say, “Well what about Psalm 16?”
The Jews would just answer, “That was about David.”
So Peter answers that misunderstanding.
(29-31) “Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. “And so, because he was a prophet and knew that GOD HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SEAT one OF HIS DESCENDANTS ON HIS THRONE, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SUFFER DECAY.”
If you think Psalm 16 is about David then we have a problem.
Namely David’s tomb and David’s occupancy inside of it.
• David is dead.
• His body is dead.
• His body is decaying.
• If Psalms 16 is about David then God is a liar and His Bible is not true.
No, Psalm 16 was NOT about David.
• David was a prophet.
• David wrote about Jesus.
And Peter says, (32) “This Jesus, God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.”
Again Peter is pointing out that Jesus is in fact the Son of God.
• Not only evidenced by His obvious power.
• But also evidenced by His prophetic atoning death.
• And evidenced by His vindicating resurrection.
Jesus is the Messiah, and thus far
You have been unwilling to recognize that or submit to it.
Now, at this point we stop for some of our own INTERNAL EVALUATION.
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH JESUS?
Have you acknowledged that His power is real and that He most certainly must have been sent by God?
Have you acknowledged that His atoning death is the only means of salvation for sinners?
Have you acknowledged that God raised Him from the dead because He is the Holy One of God?
The evidence is overwhelming that Jesus is in fact God’s Messiah.
Or, have you turned a blind eye to His miracles,
Playing the part of a Pharisee and trying to offer logic or even demonic power as an excuse to explain away who He was?
Or have you joined the crowd and chosen to crucify Jesus to yourself?
Hebrews 6:4-6 “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.”
Is that you?
• Have you sought to crucify His authority over your life?
• Have you sought to push Him aside?
Psalms 2:1-3 “Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!”
Has that been you?
Have you failed to acknowledge that God did raise Jesus from the dead and has vindicated His saving work and testified that Jesus is God’s Son?
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH JESUS?
What are you doing with Jesus?
• Are seeking Him and loving Him and trusting Him and obeying Him?
• Or are you ignoring Him, overlooking Him, rejecting His commands, and simply
doing your own thing?
That is what this audience had done.
• They had ignored His miracles.
• They had participated in His death.
• They had rationalized His resurrection.
And they were feeling pretty good about it.
Well, to that crowd Peter has one more point to make.
#4 JESUS’ REIGN WAS REJECTED BUT FULFILLED
Acts 2:33-36
Everything the Jews had done regarding Jesus during His ministry all screamed the same point. WE DON’T WANT YOU TO REIGN OVER US.
In Luke 19 Jesus told a parable
• About a man who sent out his servants giving them money to do business.
Luke 19:14 “But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’
• When the master returned he took issue with those slaves who rejected his
reign.
Luke 19:27 “But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.”
Matthew 21 Jesus told a parable about the Jews.
• He spoke of a vineyard owner who tried to gather the fruit of the vineyard,
• But the tenants refused because they hated the thought of that vineyard owner
having control over them.
Matthew 21:38 “But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’
• Those vineyard tenants murdered the owners son and vengeance was exacted
on them.
BUT YOU GET THE IDEA.
• They did not want to submit their lives to God or His Son.
• They did not want Christ to reign over them.
• They did not want to do what Jesus said.
• They did not want to bow the knee.
So they ignored His miracles, refused His authority, murdered Him
And turned a blind eye to the reports of His resurrection.
BUT ON THIS DAY SOMETHING HAD HAPPENED.
On this day the Holy Spirit had been sent from heaven.
IT WAS OBVIOUS. IT WAS EMPHATIC.
These people who were filled with the Spirit
Were speaking languages they did not know and had not learned.
THIS WAS UNDENIABLE.
BUT WHAT DID IT MEAN?
(33-36) “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. “For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.” ’ “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”
What it meant is that the Jesus who was crucified
And raised from the dead was now back with His Father.
And this Jesus had sent His Holy Spirit, just as He promised.
The presence of the Holy Spirit was now proof that
THE JESUS YOU REJECTED HAS BEEN EXALTED BY THE FATHER.
You may have sought to cast off His cords and prevent His rule,
BUT IT HAPPENED ANYWAY.
Psalm 2:1-6 “Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!” He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”
You may reject God’s King,
But there is something you should know before you do.
IT IS NOT AN ELECTION.
And God didn’t ask you.
• God selected His King.
• God selected His Messiah.
• And God selected Jesus.
Even David knew this was coming:
(34-35) “For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.”
Here is what is interesting about Peter quoting that verse here.
You may remember that
• The week before Jesus was crucified, that He had entered Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt.
• When Jesus entered Jerusalem He entered the temple and drove out the money changers with whips.
• And for 3 days Jesus had control of the temple.
• And what you get are a constant barrage of debates between Jesus and the religious leaders who do not like Him acting like He owns the place.
• They grill Him about almost everything.
But let me show you the argument of Jesus that put an end to the debate.
Matthew 22:41-46 “Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying, ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET” ’? “If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question.”
In Psalms 110:1 David spoke of two Lords.
“The LORD said to my Lord”
The first LORD is obviously Yahweh, God the Father.
But who is the second?
• Well it has to be the Messiah, the Christ.
And Jesus said, “If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?”
And the answer of course is because the Christ is also the Son of God,
Is eternal and He existed long before David.
That was the riddle the Jews couldn’t solve and Peter comes right back to it here.
We have been looking for the Christ.
• The One whom God would send and somehow signal to us who He was.
• The One whom God would send to atone for our sin.
• The One whom God would send to conquer death.
• The son of David who is also the eternal Son of God
HAVE YOU SEEN ANYONE LIKE THAT?
I’m sure at this point you could hear a pin drop.
So Peter answers for them:
(36) “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”
What is the point?
• YOU HAVE REJECTED YOUR SAVIOR
• YOU HAVE REJECTED THE MESSIAH
But here is the deal.
• Your rejection meant nothing.
• He is King whether you like it or not.
• He will return to judge whether you like it or not.
It is not for you to vote for Him.
It is not for you to elect Him.
It is not for you to keep Him in office.
YOU DON’T MAKE HIM LORD.
God made Him Lord, it is your job to submit your life to Him.
For He is “both Lord and Christ.”
What a comforting thought for the church!
• In this world of absolute chaos and corruption.
• In this world of rejection and depravity.
• We live in a post-Christian culture.
• We live in an “out of season” culture.
We see a world that loves sin and depravity and vile immorality
We live under world rulers who do everything they can to promote it and cram it down our throats.
There is a global effort to dethrone Christ
And remove God’s authority from our lives.
GOOD LUCK!
Christian it may feel like we are losing, but it only feels that way.
• Jesus Christ is King!
• He is reigning at the right hand of God.
• He is Lord and Christ!
• He is coming again to destroy His enemies and to rule this world in
righteousness.
God declared that when He pulled Him out of the grave
God confirmed that when Jesus sent the Holy Spirit.
BE COMFORTED CHURCH!
And if you are currently in a state of rebellion against Jesus, just know that it will not end well.
HE IS KING WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT.
SO WHAT DO WE DO?
What if we have been in rebellion?
(Keep reading)
Acts 2:37-40 “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!”
Repent of your rebellion, your indifference, AND your sinfulness.
• Submit your life to Christ.
• Believe in Him as the only Savior.
• Publicly proclaim Him as Lord and BE SAVED.
Jesus Christ is King!
