The Man Death Could Not Hold (Resurrection Sunday)

Let's turn to Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

! We are taking a break from our series in Matthew for Resurrection Sunday.

! Acts chapter 2. Acts is in the New Testament.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

! The second, fourth of the book.

It's the fifth book in the New Testament.

After John.

Let me pray now for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

Heavenly Father, what...

What amazing grace that...

You take sinners like us...

and adopt us as your sons and daughters.

Lord...

You are so high and lifted up.

And what grace, Lord, that you...

employ someone as lowly as me to proclaim and herald your Son, Jesus Christ.

So, Lord, grant us all...

Ears to hear.

Eyes to see.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all of our hearts as we listen be pleasing in your sight.

Oh, Lord, our rock and our Redeemer.

Amen.

Amen.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

If you are able, please stand and join me for the reading of God's Word to honor God as He addresses us from His written Word in Acts chapter 2, verses 22 to 32.

Acts 2:22–32

Jude 22.

Men of Israel, hear these words.

Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God

with mighty works and wonders and signs

that God did through him in your midst,

as you yourselves know,

this Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan

and foreknowledge of God,

you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

God raised him up, losing the pangs of death

because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

For David says concerning him,

I saw 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,

my flesh also will dwell in hope,

for you will not abandon my soul to Hades

or let your Holy One see corruption.

You have made known to me the paths of life.

You will make me full of gladness with your presence.

Brothers, I may say to you with confidence

about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried

and his tomb is with us to this day.

Being therefore a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him

that he would set one of his descendants on his throne,

he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ,

that he was not abandoned to Hades,

nor did his flesh see corruption.

This Jesus God raised up,

and of that we all are witnesses.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

Please be seated.

No serious historian doubts that Jesus was a real historical figure

who lived between 6 BC and 33 AD

and was crucified by Pontius Pilate.

As Mark Allen Powell,

a professor and founding editor of the Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus,

writes,

quote,

150 years ago,

a fairly well-respected scholar named Bruna Bauer

maintained that the historical Jesus never existed.

Anyone who says that today,

in the academic world at least,

gets grouped with the skinheads who say there was no Holocaust

and the scientific holdouts who want to believe the world is flat.

Even Bart Ehrman,

an avowed atheist and outspoken critic of Christianity

who teaches New Testament and religion

at the University of North Carolina,

writes this,

Jesus certainly existed

as virtually every competent scholar of antiquity,

Christian or non-Christian, agrees.

How else do you explain tens of thousands of ancient New Testament manuscripts

speaking of Jesus?

With Paul's letters,

included in the New Testament,

being written in the 50s and the 60s AD,

within the lifetime of Jesus' own family members,

Jesus is an unusually well-attested historical figure.

Likewise,

no serious historian doubts

the historical and cultural impact of Jesus.

Historian and sociologist Rodney Stark

puts it simply,

Western civilization would not exist

had not there been Jesus.

H.G. Wells

is today best remembered for his fictional work,

The War of the Worlds,

The Time Machine,

but during his lifetime,

his best-selling work

was actually a history book

entitled The Outline of History.

In 1935,

Wells wrote a newspaper article

entitled Greatest in History,

where he mused about

the greatest figures in human history.

And even though he was an atheist,

H.G. Wells argued that

Jesus is the single individual

who has left the most permanent impression on the world.

He writes this,

Now, it is interesting and significant

that a historian,

without any theological bias whatever,

should find that he cannot portray

the progress of humanity honestly

without giving a foremost place

to a penniless teacher from Nazareth.

Yet,

more than 1900 years later,

a historian like myself,

who does not even call himself a Christian,

finds the picture

centering irresistibly

around the life and character

of this most significant man.

It is one of the most revolutionary changes

of outlook that has ever stirred

and changed human thought.

The world began to be a different world

from the day that doctrine was preached.

Maybe you've seen the widely circulated quote

of uncertain origin,

probably an excerpt from an otherwise forgotten sermon

from an unknown preacher like me.

It's entitled, usually,

The Greatest Man in History.

Jesus had no servants,

yet they called him master.

He had no degrees,

yet they called him teacher.

Had no medicines,

yet they called him healer.

He had no army,

yet kings feared him.

He won no military battles,

yet he conquered the world.

He did not live in a castle,

yet they called him Lord.

He ruled no nations,

yet they called him king.

He committed no crime,

yet they crucified him.

He was buried in a tomb,

and yet he lives today.

The tiny group of Jesus' disciples

around 40 AD

spread from Jerusalem

all the way to Turkey,

Asia Minor, Greece,

Rome, Ethiopia, Egypt,

as far as Spain and India

by the end of the first century.

Historians estimate

that the number of Christians

grew by 40% every decade.

And by the fourth century,

they numbered in the millions,

and since then,

Christianity has remained

the world's largest religion

for 1,700 years straight.

The cultural and intellectual impact

of all the followers of Christ

is incalculable.

This one man, Jesus,

from the no-name town of Nazareth,

as it says in verse 22,

had a singular, unparalleled impact

and influence on this world.

He is the pivot

upon which world history turns

from before Christ

to Anno Domini,

the year of our Lord, AD.

And his followers,

as their detractors once said

in Acts 17, 6,

have turned the world upside down.

Who is this man?

Acts chapter 2, 22 to 41,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

which we just read,

teaches us that Jesus Christ

is the risen Lord

to whom we bear witness.

We're going to first see

how he was attested by God

and then delivered up by God

and then raised by God

from the dead

and then finally

that he is witnessed to by men.

Peter says in his sermon

in verse 22,

man of Israel,

hear these words,

Jesus of Nazareth,

a man attested to you by God

with mighty works and wonders

and signs that God did

through him in your midst,

as you yourselves know.

Peter addresses men of Israel,

but this is what grammarians

call the generic usage

of the word man,

which is inclusive

of both men and women.

We know this for a fact

because a few verses earlier,

in verses 17 to 18,

Peter confirmed

that there were both

sons and daughters,

male servants

and female servants

in the audience

that received the gift

of the Holy Spirit.

But Peter's choice

of the word men

puts extra emphasis

on the introduction

of Jesus

as a man

attested to you

by God.

In other words,

Jesus was a man

just like you all.

He was truly,

really human

like the rest of us.

This is the reality

of Jesus' incarnation.

The Son of God

became a Son of Man.

He took on human flesh.

He has a real earthly hometown

called Nazareth,

and He has a real earthly

human mother called Mary.

As Hebrews 2.17 says,

in order to represent humanity

and save humanity,

Jesus had to become human

in every respect.

In the same way

that sin and condemnation

and death

came into the world

through one man, Adam.

So the free gift

of God's grace

and righteousness

and justification

and eternal life

can only come

through a man,

the one man,

Jesus Christ.

But this humanity

and manhood of Jesus

is brought into sharp relief

by what?

By this remarkable fact

that He was a man

attested to you

by God.

To attest

is to demonstrate

or to prove something.

Men who write books

need other men

to write endorsements

on the back cover.

Men who publish

academic articles

need to be peer-reviewed

in order to be credible.

Men who are doctors

need degrees

from medical schools

attesting that they are

qualified to practice.

Men who would be lawyers

need to pass

the bar exam

administered to

by other men

in order to be licensed.

We all seek out

recommendation letters

and references

in job applications

because we need

other people

to attest

to our credentials.

But Jesus

needs

no attestation

from man

because He

was attested

to us

by God.

He says in

John 2, 24

that Jesus

on His part

did not entrust

Himself to man

because He knew

all people

and needed no one

to bear witness

about man.

Jesus did not

seek approval

or commendation

from people

because He

didn't need it.

Jesus said

in John 5, 37

the Father

who sent me

has Himself

borne witness

about me.

God Himself

testified

to the kind of man

that Jesus is.

God Himself

put His stamp

of approval

on Jesus

by doing mighty works

and signs

and wonders

through Him.

try to put yourself

in the shoes

of people

listening to

Peter's sermon

in the first century.

Notice that Peter

doesn't even attempt

to prove

that Jesus did

signs and wonders

and miracles.

Imagine

if you were

trying to make up

you know

if you were

a charlatan

let's say

trying to sell

some fake

miracle drug

that's a panacea

to cure all things

wouldn't you

then invent

fantastic stories

and hire people

to write

fake reviews

online

and to provide

fake testimonials

but Peter

makes no attempt

to prove

that Jesus

did mighty works

and wonders

and signs.

Why?

Because He

doesn't need to.

Jesus did

all of them

out in the open

in plain sight

of the public.

So Peter

simply says

a man

attested to you

by God

with mighty works

and wonders

and signs

that God

did through

Him

in your

midst

as you

already

know.

The crowds

have already

been

witnesses

of Jesus'

miracles

themselves.

So Peter

doesn't need

to call up

oh hey

Mary

remember

Jesus

cast out

seven demons

from you

come here

come here

share your

testimony

for Lazarus

come up here

remember

he raised

you from the

dead

I mean

maybe you

don't remember

that

because you

were dead

but you

came back

to life

remember

come tell

everybody

what happened

it's

redundant

the crowds

are themselves

witnesses

of Jesus'

mighty works

and wonders

and signs

it's fascinating

that when you

read the gospel

narratives

and you see

the clash

between Jesus

and the Jewish

leaders

Jesus'

naysayers

the Jewish

leaders

who opposed

him

never questioned

that Jesus

did miracles

miracles

they only

ever questioned

how Jesus

did those

miracles

for example

they argued

that the

miraculous powers

at work

in Jesus

were because

he was in

league with

the prince

of demons

that was

their accusation

Jesus doing

miracles

he's like

yeah yeah

he's doing

miracles

but it's

because he's

in concert

with the prince

of demons

which doesn't

make any sense

why would

the prince

of demons

help Jesus

cast out

demons

we see

that same

assumption

even in

the non-biblical

historical

accounts

of Jesus'

life

the first

century

Jewish

historian

Josephus

who did

not believe

in Jesus

as the

Messiah

writes this

about this

time

there lived

Jesus

he was

one who

wrought

surprising

feats

and was

a teacher

of such

people

as

accept

the truth

gladly

he won

over many

Jews

and many

of the

Greeks

some other

translations

render surprising

feats

wondrous

feats

it's a

reference

to signs

and wonders

to miracles

similarly

Chalcis

a second

century

Greek

philosopher

who debated

Origen

who was a

Christian

minister

debated him

extensively

and wrote

a comprehensive

tract

against

Christianity

he said

this

Jesus

performed

miracles

by means

of

magic

notice

once again

that he

takes for

granted

that Jesus

performed

miracles

because the

fact in

that day

and age

was indisputable

and therefore

it was fruitless

to argue

against it

instead

he dismisses

the miracles

as being

performed

by means

of Egyptian

magic

that's what

he attributes

it to

Jesus

was attested

to you

by God

himself

through the

signs

the mighty

works

and the

signs

and the

wonders

he did

through him

there are

people who

come to

church

sometimes

to critique

and to

evaluate

and to

judge

the

teachings

and

claims

of

Jesus

Christ

but

Jesus

does

not

need

the

attestation

or approval

of any

man

I once

heard a story

and I've

shared this

with the

church

a long

time

ago

before

I once

heard a

story

about

college

art

students

who took

a trip

to Paris

to visit

the Louvre

the world's

largest

museum

they were

examining

a famous

masterpiece

I wasn't

told exactly

what it

was

maybe

a Da Vinci

or a

Raphael

or Rembrandt

when one

of the

students

who was

evidently

immature

and arrogant

began

to rant

and criticize

the

painting

the

professor

that was

leading

the

group

grew

impatient

and

after

losing

his

patience

he

rebuked

the

student

saying

this

is

an

undisputed

masterpiece

by one

of the

greatest

masters

in history

the

artistic

superiority

of this

painting

was

established

400

years

ago

and

is

no

longer

open

to

judgment

it

is

not

the

painting

but

your

taste

that

is

open

to

judgment

and

has

not

been

found

lacking

Jesus

himself

does

not

need

your

or

my

attestation

but

what

we

make

of

Jesus

means

a

great

deal

for

us

because

it's

a matter

of

eternal

life

or

eternal

death

in

hell

Jesus

was

attested

to

by

God

and

he

was

delivered

up

by

God

this

Jesus

Peter

continues

in

verse

23

delivered

up

according

to

the

definite

plan

and

foreknowledge

of

God

you

crucified

and

killed

by

the

hands

of

lawless

men

in

his

description

of

Jesus

trial

in

Luke

22

to

23

Luke

who

is

also

the

author

of

the

book

of

Acts

which

we

were

just

reading

paints

the

Jewish

leadership

as

being

the

driving

force

of

Jesus

condemnation

and

crucifixion

and

here

since

he

is

speaking

to

the

Jews

who

were

in

Jerusalem

at

the

time

he

holds

them

responsible

for

Jesus

death

and

he

says

you

crucified

and

killed

him

it's

possible

that

some

of

the

people

who

were

in

the

crowd

at

the

time

of

Peter's

preaching

were

part

of

the

very

mob

that

weeks

earlier

were

yelling

crucify

Jesus

crucify

him

but

the

Jews

are

not

solely

responsible

for

Jesus

death

Peter

says

you

crucified

and

killed

by

the

hands

of

lawless

men

the

phrase

lawless

men

does

not

merely

mean

immoral

men

or

law

breaking

men

it's

referring

to

those

who

are

outside

the

law

in

other

words

from

a

Jewish

perspective

the

Gentiles

the

Jews

at

that

time

were

under

Roman

rule

and

did

not

have

the

authority

therefore

to

execute

capital

punishment

so

they

relied

on

Pontius

Pilate

the

Roman

governor

and

he

authorized

Jesus

execution

and

the

Roman

soldiers

carried

!

it

out

and

even

though

both

Jews

and

Gentiles

are

the

approximate

or

immediate

cause

of

Jesus

death

they

are

not

the

ultimate

cause

we

see

this

in

verse

23

this

Jesus

delivered

up

according

to

whose

plan

the

definite

plan

and

foreknowledge

of

God

himself

there's

a

wonderful

interplay

here

between

human

responsibility

and

divine

sovereignty

on

the

one

hand

the

Bible

repeatedly

puts

the

blame

for

the

unjust

execution

of

Jesus

on

wicked

sinful

men

in

Acts

5

30

Peter

and

the

apostles

say

to

Jewish

council

you

killed

him

by

hanging

him

on

a

tree

but

on

the

other

hand

the

Bible

also

repeatedly

says

that

Jesus

death

on

the

cross

was

precisely

according

to

God's

definite

!

plan

Romans

3

25

says

God

put

Jesus

forward

as a

propitiation

by

his

blood

Romans

8

32

says

God

did

not

spare

!

Isaiah

53

10

prophesied

that

it was

the

will

of

the

Lord

to

crush

his

son

Jesus

and put

him

to

grief

these

dual

realities

offer

wonderful

comforts

to us

if we

understand

it

if the

greatest

injustice

in human

history

the

most

heinous

evil

the

worst

abuse

ever

perpetrated

by

mankind

the

crucifixion

of the

innocent

blameless

perfectly

righteous

son

of

God

if

that

turns

out

for

our

salvation

and

redemption

and

the

glory

of

God

then

even

the

most

acute

suffering

in

your

life

and

even

the

deepest

disappointments

of your

life

and

even

the

hardest

losses

that

you

experienced

in

this

life

can

turn

out

for

good

that

is

in

fact

what

God

promises

in

Romans

8

32

as

Lauren

shared

earlier

for

those

who

love

God

all

things

work

together

for

good

for

those

who

are

called

according

to

his

purpose

no

matter

the

injustices

and

sufferings

that

you

endure

at

the

hands

of

sinful

men

in

this

broken

world

we

can

rest

assured

that

all

that

is

happening

according

to

the

definite

plan

and

foreknowledge

of

God

and

that

what

wicked

people

intend

for

evil

against

you

God

himself

intends

for

good

for

the

good

of

all

those

who

love

him

but

let's

not

move

past

the

shock

of

this

truth

too

quickly

why

why

would

God

deliver

up

to be

killed

the

very

man

that

he

has

attested

to

himself

why

would

God

plan

to

have

his

only

son

Jesus

Christ

crushed

and

put

to

grief

why

would

the

loving

father

the

loving

heavenly

father

do

that

the

answer

to

answer

the

question

we

must

understand

two

attributes

of

God

first

God

is

holy

and

just

and

therefore

must

punish

sin

and

evil

Romans

3

21

to

26

says

that

it

would

be

unjust

and

unrighteous

of

God

to

pass

over

sins

without

punishing

them

we

make

light

of

mercy

and

clemency

until

we're

the

victims

of

grave

injustice

and

then

we

all

cry

out

for

justice

only

a

corrupt

judge

turns

a

blind

eye

to

evil

so

Nahum

1

2

says

the

Lord

is

avenging

and

wrathful

the

Lord

takes

vengeance

on

his

adversary

and

keeps

wrath

for

his

enemies

Habakkuk

1

13

says

of

God

you

are

a

pure

eyes

God

bent

to

see

evil

and

cannot

look

at

wrong

Ecclesiastes

12

14

says

God

will

bring

every

deed

into

judgment

with

every

secret

thing

whether

good

or

evil

what

despicable

thing

have you

done

in

secret

maybe

you've

stolen

something

that

doesn't

belong

to

you

maybe

you've

shoplifted

or

you've

been

less

than

honest

fully

honest

in

your

taxes

maybe

you've

pirated

movies

maybe

you've

cheated

on

your

partner

if

not

in

physical

adultery

by

viewing

porn

on

the

internet

in

your

private

window

or

staring

lustfully

at

passerbys

your

entire

life

is

completely

open

to

God

and

not

only

for

what

you

have

done

Jesus

says

in

Matthew

12

36

I

tell

you

on

the

day

of

judgment

people

will

give

account

for

every

careless

word

they

speak

you

will

be

judged

for

every

careless

word

you

speak

how

many

times

have

you

said

something

mean

and

harsh

and

said

oh

I

didn't

mean

that

I

take

it

back

you'll

be

judged

for

that

careless

word

because

words

are

like

paint

you

can't

unsay

your

words

any more

than you

can

unspill

paint

and

clean

up

is

messy

in

both

cases

how

many

times

have

you

angrily

berated

someone

or

sarcastically

mocked

them

putting

them

down

a

notch

so

you

could

elevate

yourself

a

notch

how

many

times

have

you

uncharitably

gossiped

about

someone

else

you

will

be

judged

for

every

careless

word

you

speak

and

not

only

for

what

you

have

said

Hebrews

4

12

says

that

God

discerns

the

thoughts

and

intentions

of

the

heart

maybe

you

did

some

good

thing

or

said

some

nice

thing

to

somebody

but

really

in

your

heart

of

hearts

you

had

selfish

motives

you

were

doing

it

to

impress

other

people

to

make

it

seem

like

you

are

a

better

person

than

you

actually

are

you

were

doing

it

to

elevate

your

social

standing

before

others

by

flattery

God

sees

peers

into

all

of

that

all

the

ugly

hidden

thoughts

of

your

heart

the

secret

lustful

fantasies

the

bitterness

and resentment

that you

harbor in your

heart

toward

others

the

arrogant

self

absorbed

way

that you

think

yourself

better

than

others

smarter

than

others

nicer

than

others

better

looking

than

others

cooler

than

others

more

spiritual

than

others

God

sees

all

of

it

it's

a

fearful

thought

when

you

look

at

me

on

Easter

Sunday

you

see

my

Sunday

best

clothes

and

it

seems

like

oh

he's

the

pastor

he's

so

holy

righteous

but

if

you

could

see

all

the

sins

of

my

past

the

sinful

deeds