The Lord Jesus Christ and His Church

Sermon is here in the book of Acts. A few weeks ago, we're in chapter 2 today, verses 22 to 41.

Acts chapter 2, verses 22 to 41.

Acts 2:22–41

Amen.

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, and 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 there for 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.

Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God,

and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit,

he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.

For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,

The Lord said to my Lord,

Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.

Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ,

this Jesus whom you crucified.

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart,

and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles,

Brothers, what shall we do?

And Peter said to them,

Repent, and be baptized, every one of you,

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 for your children and for all who are far off,

everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.

And with many other words, he bore witness and continued to exhort them,

saying, Save yourselves from this crooked generation.

So those who received his word were baptized,

and there were added that day about 3,000 souls.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

God, we pray that you would speak to us as you spoke through Peter on that day of Pentecost,

that you would move among us in power,

that you would bring conviction,

that as we hear the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ,

that our hearts would be cut to the heart,

that we would be cut to the heart,

that we would be filled with your spirit,

that there would be repentance, faith, baptisms.

We look to you, Lord.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

If you have ever walked into a Christian bookstore,

or actually any bookstore,

you know that there's a glut of self-help books out there.

But what you might not be aware of

is that there's also a glut of church-help books out there.

There are hundreds of books

that purport to have the silver bullet of church growth.

You have to create an inviting atmosphere

and a welcoming experience.

You have to have a better and bigger musical production.

You have to make your sermons shorter

and tell more stories

and talk less about the Bible.

You need to be more woke and relevant for your culture.

You have to canvass your neighborhood

and talk about the issues that they care about.

You have to have certain kinds of small groups.

You have to have a better assimilation strategy

for getting first-time visitors to become regular attendees

and then eventually members.

There are all kinds of ideas out there.

Some are more helpful than others.

And pragmatically speaking,

all of those strategies work.

The problem, however, is that

though they are effective in gathering a crowd,

they cannot grow a church

because the church grows by the Spirit-empowered

preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Even the records of the best church growth experts

pale in comparison to what happens here

in Acts chapter 2, verses 22 to 41.

Acts 2:22–41

In Acts 1, verse 15,

Acts 1:15

the church was about 120 people.

But in Acts chapter 2, verse 41,

Acts 2:41

there were added that day about 3,000 souls.

25-fold growth in one day.

But we see no brilliant human strategy or production at all.

Only a bold proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ

among people whom the Spirit of God was working in.

And throughout the book of Acts,

Luke provides summary statements

that tell us about the state of the church.

And if you examine those statements,

they often use language like this.

Acts chapter 6, verse 7 says,

Acts 6:7

And the word of God continued to increase,

and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly.

When the word of God increases,

the number of the disciples multiplied.

Acts chapter 12, verse 24,

Acts 12:24

The word of God increased and multiplied.

Acts chapter 19, verse 20,

Acts 19:20

So the word of the Lord continued to increase

and prevail mightily.

This is because the church grows

by the Spirit-empowered preaching

of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So in verses 22 to 36,

we see the gospel proclamation.

And in verses 37 to 41,

we see the church's growth,

the people's response to the gospel proclamation.

In the preceding passage we talked about last week,

Peter cited Joel chapter 2

Joel 2 · chapter mention

to explain the sound like a mighty rushing wind

and the divided tongues as a fire

that came upon the people

and how they spoke in other tongues,

other languages.

And we saw that this was a fulfillment

of Joel's prophecy,

that in the last days,

the Spirit of God would come upon

all of his people in power.

And at the end of that citation,

he said in verse 21,

And it shall come to pass

that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord

shall be saved.

And now he pivots from that point on,

starting in verse 22,

to get to the meat of his sermon,

to explain who this Lord is

that we must call upon

in order to be saved.

He says in verse 22,

Peter addresses the Jews from every nation

that are in the audience as men of Israel,

and then he introduces Jesus as Jesus of Nazareth,

a man.

In other words,

Jesus was a man,

just like you men.

This is the reality of Jesus' incarnation,

that the Son of God took on human flesh.

He became a Son of Man.

He was born in Nazareth.

Or,

he grew up in Nazareth.

In our passports,

we have our birth date

and a place of birth.

And Jesus,

the second person of the Trinity,

the only begotten Son of God,

had a birth date in human history,

and he had a birth place on earth.

That's the mind-boggling reality

of the incarnation.

But this man, Jesus,

though in one sense

he was an ordinary human being,

in another sense was extraordinary.

Because it says

he was attested to you by God

with mighty works and wonders

and signs that God did through him

in your midst,

as you yourselves know.

God himself testified

to the kind of man that Jesus was.

By doing mighty works

and wonders and signs through him.

And notice that Peter

doesn't even feel the need

to prove this,

to demonstrate this.

He doesn't have people stand up

to give testimonials.

He doesn't say,

hey, Mary Magdalene,

you,

yes, you,

you've been,

you know,

healed by Jesus.

You've had seven demons

cast out of you.

Why don't you come on up here

and tell this crowd

about what happened?

Peter doesn't do that

because he doesn't need to.

He says that God did

these mighty works

and wonders and signs

through Jesus

in your midst,

as you yourselves know.

This is taken for granted.

If you look at the controversies

between Jesus

and the Jewish religious leaders

in the Gospels,

like in Matthew 9 or 12

or Mark chapter 3,

Mark 3 · chapter mention

Jesus' naysayers never questioned

that Jesus did miracles.

They questioned

how Jesus did miracles.

They accused him

of using the power

of the prince of demons

to cast out other demons.

But of course,

that's an absurd argument

because Jesus was driving out demons

and healing people.

So Peter is here

starting out

with what the crowd

already knows.

It doesn't need to be proven.

Everyone there knows

that Jesus was attested

by mighty works

and signs and wonders.

That's not in question.

But then when he begins

to challenge them

in verses 23, 24,

he doesn't mince his words.

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.

In his description

of Jesus' trial

in Luke chapter 22 and 23,

Luke 22 · chapter mention

Luke portrays

the Jewish leadership

as really driving

Jesus' condemnation

and eventual crucifixion.

And here,

since he's speaking

to Jews

who were in Jerusalem

at the time

for Pentecost,

Peter holds them

responsible for Jesus' death.

You crucified

and killed him.

It's possible,

even likely,

that some of the people

who were witnessing

the events of Pentecost

were the very people

who were among the mob

that yelled,

crucify him,

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 refers to those

who are outside the law,

Gentiles.

In other words,

Jews,

as well as

the Romans,

the Gentiles,

were responsible

for Jesus' execution.

Both are to blame.

And though they are

the immediate cause

of Jesus' death,

they're not the ultimate cause,

and we see this

in verse 23.

This Jesus delivered up

according to

the definite plan

and foreknowledge

of God.

There's a wonderful

interplay here

between divine sovereignty

and human responsibility.

The Jews

and Gentiles

are responsible

for their unjust

killing of Jesus.

But all of that

happened according

to God's definite plan

and foreknowledge.

The divine sovereignty

and human responsibility

are like

two ends

of a guitar string

that needs

to be held

taught

for it to make sound.

As soon as you

try to resolve

that tension

by letting go,

it becomes useless.

On the one hand,

if you find yourself

thinking and saying

things like,

well, God wouldn't

do something

so despicable

as giving up

His own son to death,

putting Him forward

as a sacrifice,

God didn't do that.

Humanity killed Him

and then God

used it for good.

If you find yourself

saying things like that,

then you're letting go

of the divine sovereignty

side of the string.

because Romans 3.25

says,

God put Him forward

as a propitiation

by His blood.

Romans 8.32

says,

God did not spare

His own son

but gave Him up

for us all.

It says here

in Acts 2.23

clearly that Jesus

was delivered up

according to

the definite plan

and foreknowledge

of God.

On the other hand,

if you find yourself

thinking and saying

things like this,

it's ultimately

God who put Jesus

on the cross

so the Jews and Gentiles

really had no choice,

then you're releasing

the human responsibility

side of the string.

It's a mystery

that must be held

in tension.

Both are true.

This Jesus delivered up

according to the

definite plan

and foreknowledge

of God,

you crucified

and killed

by the hands

of lawless men.

And when you hold

these truths

in tension together,

it offers wonderful

comforts for the Christian.

The worst things

that other people

have done to you,

a malicious gossip

that made you

lose your best friend,

a vindictive co-worker

that made you

lose your job,

a domineering relative

who abused you,

whatever they did to you,

they are fully responsible

for what they have done

and they will be held

accountable

by our just God.

So God is not

to blame for it.

At the same time,

you can rest assured

that even the most

heinous and harmful

things that people

have done to you

did not happen

outside of God's

definite plan

and foreknowledge.

God is not

to blame for it.

It's not that God

was unaware

that it might happen

or that He was powerless

to do something about it.

Imagine such an ignorant

and impotent God.

He would not be

God at all.

He knew

it was part

of His definite plan.

Why?

Because

it will make you

more like Jesus.

Because it will prepare you

for the glory

that He has in store

for you.

Because He loves you.

Because we know

that for those

who love God,

all things work

together for good.

For those who are called

according to His purpose.

So God put Jesus forward

as a propitiation

by His blood

that we might be justified

through faith in Jesus.

God did not spare

His own Son

so that He might spare

sinners like us.

That was God's plan

of salvation all along.

And though it says

that the Jews

crucified and killed

Jesus by the hands

of Gentiles,

it says in verse 24,

God raised Him up

losing the pangs of death

because it was not possible

for Him to be held by it.

Notice the contrast

between verse 23

and verse 24.

You crucified

and killed Him

but God raised Him up.

The phrase

losing the pangs of death

teaches us that

death is a form

of captivity.

It keeps men bound.

We must be freed from it.

We must be freed from it.

Losed from it.

The administrative

maximum facility

in Florence, Colorado,

known as

the Alcatraz

of the Rockies,

is the most secure

prison

in the world

has ever seen.

It's classed

as a super max prison

which means

it's more secure

than a maximum

security prison.

Each prisoner inside

is under 24-hour

supervision

and are confined

in single cells

23 hours per day

which is made of

poured,

reinforced concrete.

Their one hour

per day

out of the cell

is unpredictable

and can occur

at any time

in the day

and the windows

of their cells

are so narrow,

four inches to be exact,

it's impossible

for them to make out

even where they are

inside the complex.

And they made it

like this

so that no prison

would even plan

an escape.

They can't even

plan an escape.

No one has ever

attempted to escape

from this prison.

And yet,

even this prison

has only a 27-year history

and has kept

only hundreds of people

within its concrete walls.

But that's nothing

compared to death.

Over the many millennia

of human history,

death has kept

over 100 billion people

in captivity.

And no one

who has ever died

has escaped

its chains permanently.

Even the few

who had been

miraculously raised

from the dead

eventually succumbed

to death again

because that's

our human destiny.

As people have sinned

and rebelled

against our Creator,

we can't ever

escape this grip

of death on our own.

That's why people

fear death.

Do you fear death?

Are you afraid

of its bondage?

Do you fear

its pain?

Because if

that's the case,

you're right to fear it.

Because there's no hope

of escape from it

except

in Jesus Christ.

God raised Jesus

up from the dead

so that He

never dies

again.

And now

whoever believes

in Him

should not perish

but have

eternal life.

That's the hope

that's given

only to those

who follow Jesus Christ.

Jesus has broken

free

from that eternal

prison

and if you

follow Him

you can follow

Him out.

But how was it

that it was not

possible for Jesus

to be held

by death?

Peter explains

by citing

Psalm 16,

8-11

in verses 25-28.

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.

In this Psalm

David asks God

for protection

from a mortal threat

that He is facing

and then He ends

the Psalm

by expressing

his confidence

in God's deliverance.

But Peter

as well as Paul

later on

in Acts 13-35

interpret this Psalm

typologically

to be about Jesus

because David

is a type

of Jesus Christ.

He foreshadows

Jesus Christ.

He's a figure

that points

to the coming

of the Messianic King.

So let's look

at Peter's explanation

in verses 29-31.

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

before he saw

and spoke

about the resurrection

of the Christ

that he was not

abandoned to Hades

nor did his flesh

see corruption.

Though David

was delivered

from that moral threat

that he was

crying out to God

about in the Psalm,

his deliverance

was only temporary

because he did

eventually die

of old age.

1 Kings 2,

1 Kings 2:10

verse 10

tells us that

David's buried

in the city of David.

You can go

and visit it.

And his body

has been thoroughly

decomposed.

And for that reason,

Peter argues

that David

was speaking

prophetically

of a Messianic King

who would come

from his dynastic line

who will overcome

death once

and for all.

So then a thousand years

before Jesus is born,

there's a prophecy

of his resurrection.

It's possible

for a spirit-inspired

prophetic speech

to have double meaning

like this.

We see an example

of it in John

John 11:49–51

chapter 11,

verse 49-51

when Caiaphas

talks about

how it's advantageous

politically

for them to kill

Jesus

so to suppress

the movement

and not

incur the wrath

of the Romans.

But that prophecy

actually ends up

having a double meaning

because he says

it is better

for one man

to die for the people.

It ends up speaking

through the spirit

of the death

of Jesus Christ

as an atoning sacrifice

for the salvation

of his people.

And so that's

what's happening here

in Psalm 16 as well.

What David said

was true

of his own situation

but it's true

in an even deeper sense

with Christ's situation

because David

was prophesying

that the messianic king

would be raised

from the dead.

Though he would

enter Hades

the realm of the dead

he would not

be abandoned there.

Though he would die

his body

would not see

corruption

he would be raised

from the dead

to enjoy fullness

of life

in God's presence.

And Peter

along with the rest

of the apostles

personally witness this.

Peter says

in verse 32

this Jesus

God raised up

and of that

we all

are witnesses.

Jesus' disciples

did not

anticipate

the resurrection

because the Jews

did not have

an expectation

for a resurrection

like Jesus.

They expected

a resurrection

a general resurrection

at the end

of the days.

And when they

first saw Jesus

risen from the dead

it says in Luke 24

Luke 24:37

verse 37

that they were

startled and frightened

and thought they saw

a spirit.

Jesus' resurrection

is not a mere

myth

or metaphor.

It's a fact

of history

as real

as his death

on the cross.

This is a

distinguishing

characteristic

of Christianity.

Islam

began

with

private

visions

that

Muhammad

had

in a cave

which can

never be

historically

verified.

Buddhism

similarly

does not

stem

from

historical

events

but from

the

personal

philosophical

musings

of

Siddhartha

Gautama.

The veracity

of neither

religion

can be

established

from a

historical

standpoint.

But

Christianity

makes

historical

claims.

This

Jesus

God

raised up

and of

that

we all

are

witnesses.

This

is a

historical

claim

that's

either

true

or

false

and

the

entirety

of

Christianity

depends

on it.

1 Corinthians

15

14

says

if

Christ

has

not

been

raised

then

our

preaching

is

in

vain

and

your

faith

is

in

vain.

And

generation

after

generation

of

Christians

since

then

have

been

bearing

witness

to

the

fact

that

Jesus

was

raised

from

the

dead.

And

it's

precisely

because

Jesus

was

raised

from

the

dead,

precisely

because

Jesus

has

ascended

to

heaven,

that

he's

now

able

to

pour

out

the

Holy

Spirit.

Peter

says

in

verse

33,

being

therefore

exalted

at

the

right

hand

of

God

and

having

received

from

the

Father

the

promise

of

the

Holy

Spirit,

he

has

poured

out

this

that

you

yourselves

are

seeing

and

hearing.

And

this

too

is

a

fulfillment

of

Old

Testament

prophecy.

Peter

cites

Psalm

Psalms 110:1

110

verse

1

in

verse

34

and

35.

For

David

did

not

ascend

into

the

heavens,

but

he

himself

says,

the

Lord

said

to

my

Lord,

scene

where

God

basically

appoints

someone,

puts

someone

on the

throne.

And

David

says,

the

Lord

said

to

my

Lord,

sit

at

my

right

hand

until

I

make

your

enemies

your

footstool.

So

the

right

hand

of

someone

is

a

position

of

honor

and

power

and

authority.

It's

the

place

of

the

second

in

command,

the

king's

most

trusted

agent.

But

this

identity

of

the

second

Lord,

who

is

this

that

has

baffled

Jews

for

hundreds

of

years?

Because

the

subtitle

of the

psalm

says,

a

psalm

of

David,

and

David

is

the

king

of

Israel.

So

who

is

this

king

that

David

is

calling

Lord?

When

he

says,

the

Lord

God

said

to

my

Lord,

this

is

exactly

the

argument

that

Jesus

himself

used

in

Luke

Luke 20 · chapter mention

chapter

20

to

prove

that

he

is

the

messianic

king

that

David

is

calling

Lord

in

that

psalm.

Peter

makes

the

same

point

but

from

a

different

angle.

He

argues

that

David

could

not

possibly

be

the

Lord

that's

in

view

in

that

psalm

because

God

says

to

him,

sit

at

my

right

hand

because

David

never

ascended

into

the

heavens.

Israel

kings

reigned

at

God's

behest

but

they

never

sat

at

the

right

hand

of

God's

heavenly

throne.

So

this

it's

a

reference

to

Jesus

the

Son

of

God

the

messianic

king.

And so

Peter

concludes

in

verse 36

let all

the

house

of

Israel

therefore

know

for

certain

that

God

has

made

him

both

Lord

and

Christ

this

Jesus

whom

you

crucified.

Jesus

is

both

Lord

and

Christ.

God

has

made

him

Lord.

That

means

he's

given

all

authority

in

heaven

and

earth

to

him.

He

has

been

raised

above

every

name

God

has

subjected

all

things

under

him.

That's

what

it

means

to

be

made

Lord.

God

has

also

made

Jesus

Christ

which

means

anointed

one.

He

is

the

promised

messianic

king

who

brings

forth

the

kingdom

of

God.

And

this

according

to

Peter

is

what

Pentecost

is

all

about.

The

outpouring

of the

Holy

Spirit

is

for

Peter

proof

that

Jesus

is

the

risen

and

ascended

Lord.

Because

only

such

Lord

could

pour

out

the

Spirit

of

God

as

they

were

witnessing

at

the

time.

Jesus

said

in

John

John 16:13

16

verse

13

and

14

when

the

Spirit

of

truth

comes

he

will

guide

you

into

all

truth

for

he

will

not

speak

on

his

own

authority

but

whatever

he

hears

he

will

speak

and

he

will

declare

to

you

the

things

that

are

to

come

he

will

glorify

me

for

he

will

take

what

is

mine

and

declare

it

to

you

this

is

the

wonderful

thing

about

the

Spirit

of

God

the

Spirit

of

God

does

not

glorify

himself

the

Spirit

of

God

always

glorifies

the

Son

of

God

wherever

the

Spirit

of

God

is

powerfully

present

Jesus

is

central

and

his

name

is

exalted

even

at

Pentecost

when

the

Spirit

of

God

appeared

as

divided

tongues

as

a

fire

and

rested

on

each

believer

Peter's

sermon

does

not

focus

on

the

experience

of

the

Holy

Spirit

nor

on

the

wondrous

signs

but

on

Jesus

Christ

whom

the

Spirit

of

God

points

to

a

truly

Spirit

empowered

church

is

always

a

Christ

centered

church

Jesus

is

what

the

Bible

is

all

about

and

Jesus

should

be

what

our

church

should

be

all

about

the

name

Peter

is

mentioned

156

times

in the

New

Testament

Paul

158

times

even

the

word

love

only

occurs

259

times

but

the

name

Jesus

occurs

917

times

his

title

Christ

occurs

529

times

the

word

God

occurs

1317

times

there

are

four

books

in

the

New

Testament

entirely

dedicated

to

the

life

the

person

and

work

of

Jesus

Christ

the

church

is a

gathering

of

God's

people

and

if

we

are

not

preaching

this

crucified

risen

and

ascended

Christ

then

we

have

no

business

being

in

business

at

all

do

you

proclaim

the

risen

Lord

Jesus

Christ

with

your

family

members

with

your

friends

with

your

neighbors

it's

scary

yes

note that

speaking in

front of

thousands of

people

probably

didn't

come

naturally

to

Peter

who

was a

fisherman

by

trade

Peter

was also

very

aware

that

just a

few

weeks

ago

they

killed

Jesus

his

master

he

knows

that

he

is

inviting

their

scrutiny

and

persecution

when

he

stands

up

to

proclaim

the

gospel

but

the

spirit

of

God

enables

him

to

do

it

and

when

he

does

faithfully

the

church

grows

that's

what we

see in

verses

37

to

41

it says

in

verse 37

now when

they heard

this

they were

cut to

the heart

and said

to Peter

and the rest

of the

apostles

brothers

what shall

we do

the Jews

in the audience

are pierced

in their

conscience

when they

hear Peter

say that

Jesus

that they

crucified

was the

messianic

king

who had

come to

save

them

when

the

movie

passion

of

the

Christ

first

came

out

which

portrays

the

suffering

and

death

of

Jesus

Christ

I

remember

there

was

a lot

of

debate

and

controversy

with

some

people

accusing

the

film

of

inflaming

anti-Semitism

because

of its

depiction

of Jewish

involvement

in the

killing

of

Jesus

while

still

others

expressing

concern

that

it's

well

if you're

going to

argue

that

you could

also

argue

that

it

fuels

anti-Italianism

through its

depiction

of Roman

officials

but

all of

this

is

missing

the

point

because

Christ

died

for

us

according

to

the

definite

plan

and

foreknowledge

of

God

as

Jesus

said

in

Matthew

Matthew 26:53

chapter

26

verse

53

he

could

have

appealed

to

the

father

and

he

would

have

at

once

sent

him

more

than

12

legions

of

angels

to

deliver

him

in

2

Samuel

24

we

see

one

angel

of

the

Lord

stretch

out

his

hand

and

70,000

men

die

with

pestilence

imagine

the damage

that

12,000

angels

can

do

and