Proclaiming the Risen Jesus

Good morning. Before we start, we just want to also just praise the Lord for a great women's conference yesterday.

! Despite some of the logistical last-minute changes, women gathered, they heard the Word taught, they prayed, the Holy Spirit worked.

It was a great day for all that I heard. If you were not able to make it, think about making the next one, because I'm sure there will be one.

And, Pamela, thank you and your team for putting that together.

And just wanted to recognize that that was part of our church life this weekend as well.

You know, when I was growing up, we attended my father's family church, which was a Unitarian church outside of Boston.

And our attendance there ended one Easter Sunday when I was young.

Because the pastor was preaching on Easter Sunday, and all he could say was about what Easter was about was,

something wonderful happened.

But he could not and would not talk about the resurrection of Jesus.

This is a church that did not believe that Jesus was risen from the dead.

They saw Jesus as a great teacher of ethics and morality, an example of humility, of humanity, of kindness.

Jesus showed great mercy to many, and this is what they held to.

But they could not confirm that he rose from the dead.

But only in some broad, numinous, metaphorical, non-real way that something hopeful happened on Sunday morning.

I wonder how many of you have asked the question about,

did Jesus really rise from the dead?

Maybe you haven't thought about it very much recently.

It just isn't something you're thinking about a lot.

Maybe you have thought about it, but you're doubting.

Because there are a lot of doctors in the room, and once someone is dead, they really stay dead.

That's our common experience.

And so, how could resurrection really happen?

Doesn't science disprove it?

Some of you may have grown up in church and known from the very beginning, you know,

Easter's about Jesus rising from the dead, but you've never really thought about why you believe that,

or why it's true, or how significant it is.

And maybe some of you have believed it because it's what you've heard,

but it's pretty much of a blind faith.

You haven't really thought about it.

Well, as we continue in our series in the book of Acts this morning,

this is the topic, the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

We're looking at Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

That's page 867 in the older printing and the 856 in the newer printing of our Bibles.

Fortunately, we have two different printings in our pews now.

So, 850-something, and then look for Acts 2.

And if you end up in John, keep going forward.

If you end up in Romans, go backwards, and you'll find it.

And so, we're going to be looking at Acts chapter 2 and Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

And if you've been here, you probably remember this, but if you're new here or if you have forgotten,

this is after Jesus rose from the dead.

He appeared to His disciples, and then He ascended into heaven,

and He told His disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait.

And then, in the beginning of chapter 2, we see that as they were gathered and waiting,

the Lord poured out His Holy Spirit upon them.

And they spoke in tongues that they did not normally…

in languages that they weren't not normally able to speak,

so that they could proclaim the good news about Jesus.

And the people are amazed by this, and they think,

how is it that these Galilean fishermen are speaking Cappadocian or whatever it was?

And so, Peter stands up, and he preaches a sermon.

And we're going to look at that sermon today.

We're going to read the whole thing.

Pastor Nick talked about the first part,

about how this was a fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy in Joel.

So, we're not going to focus on verses 14 through 21.

We're going to start in 22, and we're going to look at it together today.

So, let's read the book of Acts, chapter 2, starting in verse 14,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

and we'll read to verse 41.

So, let's read God's Word together.

But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them,

men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem,

let this be known to you and give ear to my words.

For these men are not drunk, as you suppose,

since it's only the third hour of the day.

But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel.

And in these last days it shall be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.

And your sons and daughters shall prophesy,

and your young men shall see visions,

your old men shall dream dreams,

even on my male servants and female servants.

In those days I will pour out my Spirit,

and they shall prophesy.

And I will show wonders in the heavens above,

and signs on the earth below,

blood and fire, vapor and smoke.

The sun shall be turned into darkness,

and the moon to blood,

and before the day of the Lord comes,

the great and magnificent day.

And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord

shall be saved.

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,

loosing 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 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.

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 responded 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 promises 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 they were added that day

about 3,000 souls.

This is God's word.

Let's pray.

Lord, thank you for your word.

Lord, we thank you for

the way that you have,

in various times,

in various ways,

Lord,

equipped people to write

so that we might know you

through your word.

Lord, we pray this morning

that as we sit under your word,

that you would help us

to not only understand it,

but to treasure it.

And Lord,

not to treasure your word,

but the thing that the word points to.

You,

our greatest treasure,

Christ,

the risen Lord.

Lord,

help me speak as I ought this morning

and be with us this morning,

all this morning,

that we would receive your word.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

As Peter transitions

from explaining

the coming of the Holy Spirit

to the significance,

what he really wants to say,

which is what the Holy Spirit

is coming to reveal,

he wants to tell us

about the resurrection of Jesus

from the dead.

This is the main theme,

and we're going to look at it,

we're going to see

four different things

that Peter wants us to know

about the resurrection of Jesus.

So the first thing we see

in verses 22 through 24

is this,

that the resurrection of Jesus

actually really happened.

Peter begins by asserting

that Jesus' life and death

and resurrection

was an actual historical fact,

not a dream,

not an ideal,

not a wistful aspiration,

not a mass hallucination,

but in fact,

it is historical

that if we could have gone,

if we could go back in time

and be there,

we could see Jesus

physically walk out of the tomb.

We could meet him

and talk with him

as we talk to one another

face to face.

This is the first thing he asserts,

and he does so

by just referring to the things

that the audience already knows.

You know this Jesus,

he was attested by God

that he was a special person

because he came with signs and wonders

that you all know about

because everyone in Jerusalem

at this point

had heard of Jesus

because he,

through his three years of ministry,

had caused quite a stir.

He had healed the lame

and the sick.

He had made the blind see.

He fed 5,000.

He raised Lazarus

from the dead,

brought him out of the tomb,

and he walked around

and lived the rest of his life.

Peter says,

this God did in your midst.

That is,

all of you have seen this,

right?

He was delivered

and you crucify him.

He's reminding them,

you knew of these events.

This didn't happen

in some hidden hidey hole

that they didn't know about.

And then Peter goes on,

he says,

and not only do you know

about his life and his death,

but his resurrection as well.

God raised him,

and we are all witnesses

of this fact,

right?

That's what he says

in verse 32 explicitly.

And you think about this,

right?

The gospel accounts

talk about Jesus

resurrected from the dead

encountering different disciples,

right?

They got to see him.

They ate with him.

They talked with him.

Remember what Paul writes

in 1 Corinthians chapter 15

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

and verses 3 through 8

about this well-known eyewitness account.

He said,

for I delivered to you

as of first importance,

what I also received,

that Christ died for our sins

in accordance with the Scriptures,

that he was buried,

that he was raised

on the third day

in accordance with the Scriptures,

and that he appeared

to Cephas

and then to the twelve,

and then he appeared

to more than 500 brothers

at one time,

most of whom are still alive,

though some have fallen asleep.

Then he appeared to James

and to all the apostles.

Last of all,

as to one untimely born,

he also appeared to me.

By any historical standard,

there are multiple eyewitness accounts

that said there is a good basis

for the historical fact

that Jesus rose from the dead.

Now, we live in an age of skepticism,

of mistrust of authority,

and of confusion about truth.

There are people today

who say the Holocaust didn't happen.

There are people who say

that Neil Armstrong

did not walk on the moon.

There are people who say

Elvis is still alive.

There are all sorts of things

that we,

and you guys know this,

in the last five or ten years,

there has been an increasing culture

of skepticism,

of doubt,

where we are prone

to believe nothing

unless we have seen it

with our own very eyes,

that we have to be eyewitnesses.

We need to recognize

that this is going to undermine

our ability

to believe any history at all.

Right?

Eyewitness account

is the basis

of historical fact.

And there's good reasons

to believe

that the biblical record

about the historical fact

of Jesus Christ

rising from the dead

actually happened.

And if you're wondering about that,

I tell you,

explore it.

Go read Tom Schmidt's book,

Josephus and Jesus,

or go to his website

and get the summary

because his book is great,

but it's super technical,

and it's wonderful.

But it's saying that

Josephus,

the non-Christian Jewish historian,

had access to eyewitnesses

when he wrote about

who Jesus was.

If you want another

technical book,

if you're in div school

or something like that,

read Richard Baucom's

Jesus and the Eyewitnesses.

It's a great resource.

If these feel overwhelming,

pick up a copy

of The Case for Christ

by Lee Strobel.

Lee Strobel was

an atheistic legal reporter.

He's actually a Yalie.

He went to Yale Law School

and then became an editor

at the Chicago Tribune.

And his wife became

a Christian.

And he reports this

about his own life.

He said,

I was an atheist,

a Yale-educated legal editor

for the Chicago Tribune

when my wife's conversion

to Christianity

prompted me

to investigate the faith

for nearly two years.

And his desire

was to disprove it

so he could go on

with his life

knowing that his wife

was wrong.

But he said,

ultimately,

I decided the evidence

was too strong

to ignore.

And I put my trust

in Christ.

You may know

the story

of Chuck Colson.

He was called

the hatchet man

for Richard Nixon.

That is,

he was in government

during Nixon's presidency

and was one of the ones

who was executing

some of his nefarious plans

to silence his enemies.

He went to jail

and when he was in jail,

he became convinced

of the resurrection of Jesus

and came to faith in Christ.

One of the things

that he wrote afterwards

was this.

Many people think

that the resurrection of Jesus

was something made up

by the disciples

to try to exalt Jesus

to a place

that he wasn't there,

that wasn't really true.

And they knew it.

And he said,

I was there

with a small group of men

who knew

that we were promoting

a lie

and we couldn't keep it.

Human beings

can't do it.

And when you look

at the disciples,

they died for this truth.

They died.

Men do not die

for something

they know is a lie.

So,

Peter is establishing

for us

something that has been

a cornerstone

of the Christian church

and the Christian faith

from the very beginning,

which is that

Jesus rose from the dead.

And if you're here

this morning

and you're exploring

is this true,

this is the question

you need to answer.

Because on it

hangs everything else.

Right?

And if you're here

this morning

and you are a Christian

but you've never really

thought through this

or you're doubting

or wondering,

we want to encourage you.

Pursue this.

Know this.

Develop confidence

that this really happened.

So,

Peter first,

in the first couple of verses,

just establishes

there's a reality

to this resurrection

that I want to establish

as fact.

But he goes on

in verses 25 through 33.

He says,

on top of that,

the resurrection of Jesus

was something

that was predicted

from long ago.

Right?

So,

look with me

in verse 25.

It says,

for,

he's explaining

what's coming before.

Why was Jesus

certainly going to

raise from the dead?

Well,

for,

David explains this

in the psalm

that Renan read earlier,

Psalm 16,

about,

sorry,

lost my train of thought.

David wrote this psalm

knowing that he was

looking forward to Jesus.

And Peter says,

this was predicted

from long ago.

Now,

Psalm 16

is a psalm of confidence

in God

in the face of enemies

who threatened him.

The psalmist is saying,

I will not be shaken

and I will rejoice in God

because God

will not abandon me.

He will not abandon me

to Hades.

And in this context,

Hades means it's the place

that's the opposite

of God's presence.

I don't want to get

into all the technicality

of the theology

of hell here,

but just,

right,

it's the opposite

of being with God.

But that God

would not abandon,

abandon him

to this place,

but instead

he would find

in God's presence

paths of life

and joy.

And so,

David wrote this

even though

he was a mortal man.

And this is what

Peter is saying.

Even though he knew

that he would die

and when he died,

his body would go

into the grave

and he says

to the first century audience,

you know this,

right?

Because you know

the account

in 1 Kings chapter 2

1 Kings 2 · chapter mention

about David's death

and burial

in the tomb.

And no one has wondered

whether David

has come back

from the dead.

Everyone knows

he died.

So when David

is writing this,

Peter says,

he knew he was looking

ahead to something greater.

Right?

He knew he was looking

to a resurrection.

And part of this

in his mind was

there was a fulfillment

of a promise.

Because back in 2 Samuel

2 Samuel 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7,

God gave David

a promise.

This promise is,

let me read it,

verses 12 and 13.

When your days

are fulfilled

and you lie down

with your fathers,

I will raise up

your offspring after you

who shall come

from your body.

I will establish

his kingdom.

He shall build

a house for my name

and I will establish

the throne

of his kingdom

forever.

David knew

that this was a promise.

And as he wrote

this psalm,

he said,

I know this isn't

ultimately going to be

about me.

But it is going to be

about something

greater than me.

And it's point,

and Peter says,

he was pointing

ahead to Jesus.

And that's why we know

Jesus rose from the dead.

Because not only is it

historical fact,

but it was also predicted

by God's word

from long,

long ago.

And this is so important

for the first century

Jews to hear

because the idea

of a crucified Messiah

was an oxymoron.

One commentator said,

it's like a burning

icicle.

Right?

It's like a crucified,

the Messiah was to come

to save with triumph

and victory.

And the fact that he died

couldn't compute

for these ones.

And Peter's saying,

do you see the beauty

of God's plan?

David foresaw it long ago

that he would both die

and rise from the dead

because death could not

hold him.

This is the foreknowledge

and plan of God.

And this is what

Peter's saying,

this is what you

in the first century

and this is what we

in the 21st century

are witnesses to

that we have heard of

and that we know

that the Savior

is one who lived

and died

and rose again

for us.

He rose

to bring life

to all

who are resurrected

with him.

This is a great joy

and a great promise.

This is God's plan.

So not only do we see

that the resurrection

is factually true,

but not only do we see

that this was predicted

from long ago,

but then in verses

33 through 36,

Peter moves on

to say

that the resurrection

of Jesus

confirms

his messianic rule.

All right?

Look with me again

because

Peter has, you know,

sort of brought

a summary together

in verse 32.

This Jesus

God raised up

and of this

we are all witnesses.

Then being therefore

exalted to the right hand

of God,

Peter says

not only was he raised

from the dead,

but he was raised

up to

in his ascension

to sit

at the right hand

of God.

Now this is a place

of honor.

This is a place

of power.

You read through

the Old Testament

the right hand

of God

is the place

everyone wants

to be.

Right?

It's like being,

well, there's no real,

there's no,

there is no analogy

I don't think

in our government

system today,

but being,

being God's

right hand man,

does that make sense

to you?

You have all his power,

you have all his authority

to accomplish

what God intends

to do.

And Jesus

is not only raised

from the dead

to walk the earth

the way Lazarus

did.

The interesting thing

is Lazarus

died again,

right?

But God was exalted

to this eternal place

at the right hand

of God,

fulfilling

the promise

in 2 Samuel

that he would have

an eternal seat

of power

and authority

and rule.

And this is what

David says

as he quotes

Psalm 110.

man,

the Lord said

to my Lord,

sit at my right hand

until I make

your enemies

a footstool

for your feet.

The Lord,

that is,

God the Father,

said to the Lord

of David,

who is Jesus,

sit at my right hand.

This is what,

this is,

he's interpreting

this Psalm 110,

this Messianic Psalm

and saying,

do you see,

David is saying

not only was Jesus

raised from the dead,

but he was exalted

to this place.

He is now the king.

He has defeated

the enemies

of God's kingdom.

And in the Old Testament,

people probably

would have read this Psalm

and thought about

the Philistines

or the Jebusites

and the Perizzites

and all the,

or maybe the Moabites,

the people who were

standing against God's enemy

in a very physical,

geopolitical day.

But we know now

that God had a greater enemy

to overcome.

And that is the power of sin

and the consequence of sin,

which is death itself.

And when Jesus rose

from the dead,

he declared his victory

over both of those things

and his ability

and his authority

to impart a life

that is not just nice now,

but is an eternal quality

and character.

That he is able

in his reigning rule

to give to all

who come to him

eternal life

because he is raised

to a place of authority

to do this

by defeating

sin and death

in his resurrection.

And as he ascends then

to this place,

right,

Peter says,

how do we know this?

Because you've seen

the Holy Spirit work.

Look at verse 35,

right?

Because the Holy Spirit

has poured himself out

on these people

and you've seen them

do something

that they could not

do humanly.

The Holy Spirit

attests

to Jesus' reign

and rule now

in this particular place

at Pentecost.

And friends,

if you're a theologian

and you're noting this,

recognize this.

The Trinity's at work.

God the Father

exalts the Son

to the right hand

and gives to the Son

the Holy Spirit

who then,

the Son pours out

the Holy Spirit

who then comes

to this work

in our lives

so that everyone

who calls

on the name

of the Lord

may be saved.

What a beautiful thing.

Peter's summary statement

then in verse 36

is so important.

Let all the house

of Israel know

therefore

for certain

that God

has made him

that is Jesus

both Lord

and Christ.

This Jesus

who you crucified.

Lord being the name

that is given

to God himself

and so he's exalting

Jesus and saying

this is,

this is,

Jesus is not just

a man who lived

and died

but this is

the man,

God man,

Jesus

who lived and died

and rose again

and now is exalted

to this place.

And he is the Christ,

the anointed one,

the Messiah,

the one in whom

all of the hopes

of Israel

were pinned on.

The resurrection

of Jesus

exalts Jesus

to this high place.

The promised kingdom

has come.

The promised king

has come.

Friends,

I just want to stop

for a minute

and think with us.

How do you think

of Jesus today?

Is Jesus small

in your life?

Do you think of him

as kind of like

a helpline

you call on

when things get rough?

Or maybe like

a neighbor

who can come over

and clean your gutters

when they're

overfilled with rain?

Is Jesus

just a little part?

Peter's saying

Jesus,

resurrected

and exalted,

claims a role

of king

over all of creation.

He says,

this is my world.

And he is a living

and exalted king today.

And he's at work

in the world today.

And he rules

and reigns today.

Now,

we live in the

in-between times.

We know that there's

a day coming

when he will return

and the fullness

of his kingdom

will be all of ours

and it will be glorious

beyond anything

we could imagine.

And no eye has seen

and no ear has heard

and no one can even imagine

what God has

for those who love him

who are called

according to his purposes.

That we can't believe

what it's going to be like

when the kingdom

comes in its fullness.

But we have the taste now

and we know

that he is seated

at his right hand.

At God's right hand.

We know that he's there

now.

And he will exert

any authority

he chooses to exert

in this time.

And friends,

as Pastor Nick

preached last week,

the greatest way

he shows this

is by delivering people

from darkness to light.

By saving us,

sinners,

from our sin

and bringing us

into his kingdom.

Changing us

from selfish,

ugly people

who struggle

and are broken

and so messed

to being

his beloved children

whom he graciously

and lovingly

shepherds

to be his people.

The exalted Christ

is at work today

with the power to save

and a hope that is sure.

And he is

both Lord

and Christ

today.

What a great joy

this is.

And Peter's not done.

Peter's now preached

the fact of the resurrection,

the prediction

of the resurrection,

the exaltation

of the resurrected Christ.

Now in verses

37 through 41,

there's a call

to respond.

The resurrection

of Jesus

changes the lives

of all who believe.

This is what we see

in verse,

because what happens

is,

in verse 37,

the crowd

hears what

Peter is saying

and they understand it.

They get

that this exalted Christ

now calls

for a response

from humanity.

Right?

And did you see

how he tucked in

at the very end?

This Christ

who is both Lord

and Christ

who you crucified.

Right?

The people

he's speaking to

are the people

who lived

in Jerusalem

and in Judea

in the time.

They were

the Jewish people

of the day

primarily.

That's the primary audience

that he's speaking

to today.

And he's saying,

do you see

you rejected him?

You refused him.

You didn't receive him.

You didn't follow him.

This Jesus

whom you crucified

and they're cut

to the heart.

Now,

I just want to say

this really quickly.

There has been

a tradition

in the church

that has called

the Jewish people

Christ killers.

It's a terrible

epithet

and we should not

ever say it

because when we look

at the Bible account,

yes,

the Jewish people

in the first century

were involved

in Christ's crucifixion.

There were people

who rejected him

and wanted it to happen.

The Romans

were the ones

who actually

crucified him

technically,

historically.

But friends,

when we read

the Bible,

do you know

what crucified

Christ?

The sinfulness

of humanity

because God

so loved us

that he sent

Jesus

to bear

our sin

on the cross

so that we

might be forgiven.

So yes,

the first century

Jews rejected

Jesus.

Yes,

the first century

Romans rejected

Jesus.

And yes,

the 21st century

New Havenites

and Connecticutites

and Nutmeggers

or whatever

we're called,

we too

reject Christ

in our hearts

apart from

his gracious work.

And that's

why Christ died.

This was God's

plan

from the very

beginning.

So let us

never fall

into that

unnecessary

and unhelpful

and primarily

untruthful

statement

about Jewish

people.

Let us recognize

it is the sin

of humanity

that caused

Christ to be

crucified.

And these people,

this audience

then hears this

and they are

cut to the heart.

They are convicted

of their sin

that they have

rejected.

They recognize

that their rejection

of Christ,

this risen

and exalted

Christ,

has broken

any claim

to a relationship

with God.

They have rejected

God himself

by doing this.

and they knew

that that put

them under

condemnation.

It knew,

they knew

that it would

put them

in a place

of spiritual

death and

alienation

from God

and they cried

out,

what are we

to do?

What do we

do?

And Peter's

response

in verse 38,

repent

and be baptized

every one of you

in the name

of Jesus,

in the name

of Jesus Christ

for the forgiveness

of your sins

and you will receive

the gift

of the Holy Spirit.

Now I want to spend

just a minute

on this

because it's so

important,

right?

The exalted

Christ

as we behold

him as he is

convicts us

of our sin.

How are we

to respond?

First we must

repent.

What does

repentance mean?

It means

turning around,

right?

It means

turning away

from sin,

from selfishness,

from life

apart from God,

from rejecting God.

It acknowledges

that sin is evil,

not just misguided

or unfortunate.

It agrees

that sin

is an offense

to a holy God.

It recognizes

that all of

our little sins

are expressions

in one way

or another

of rejection

of God

and His

rulership

in our lives.

But repentance

isn't just

turning away

from something.

It's also

turning towards

something.

Repent

and be baptized.

Turn towards

faith in Christ.

And this

baptism

is a

word that's

being used

here

to determine

it was a

right that

in the first

century

would express

a kind of

allegiance

or joining

a club.

And I don't

want to think

about baptism

in the church

as joining

club

because I don't

think it.

but it had

significance

outside of the

church

of identifying

with a group

of people.

And so

when the call

to be baptized

they were taking

a cultural form

and saying

in Christ

this is a

uniquely special

thing.

Being baptized

is an expression

of faith

that you have

repented from

your sin

and turned

and you are

now Christ's

people.

You are now

Christians

when you

weren't before.

Right?

And the beauty

of baptism

has this symbolism

of washing

so that we are

washed clean

from our sin

because Jesus

has borne

the penalty

for our sin.

And it has

this beautiful

picture of

baptism

where we go

down into the

water and being

raised to new

life.

In Romans 6

it talks about

being baptized

with Christ

into his death

and being raised

with him

in his resurrection

to new life

that by faith

being connected

to Jesus

brings this

new spiritual

life

and this

new person

we now become

new people

being God's

people

being followers

of Christ

for the first

time.

Peter is very

clear.

The baptism

is for the

forgiveness

of sins

because this

is the thing.

When we think

about the

resurrection

of Jesus

when we think

about its

significance

part of what

the resurrection

of Jesus

does

is it

sheds light

on the

sinfulness

of humanity.

Right?

You go back

to the very

beginning in the

garden

there was no

death.

There was no

sin.

But when sin

entered

death

entered.

Right?

And now

Christ comes

along

and Christ

is risen

from the

dead

defeating

sin and

death

and now

offering to

all who

call on the

name of the

Lord

forgiveness

of that

sin

the removal

of ultimate

spiritual death

and death

from separation

from God

and instead

bringing spiritual

life to all

who come.

This is the

very core

of the gospel

and this is why

the resurrection

is so important.

We have a

tendency here to

talk about the

death on the

cross that's

where Jesus

died for our

sins and

that's true.

But if Jesus

did not rise

from the

dead he's no

different than

David.

He's another

guy who kind

of followed

God in a

certain way

and he taught

some things

that's really

interesting but

he's just

another man

who died.

But that's

not true.

He actually

rose from the

dead and it

makes all the

difference in

the world.

And Peter

calls the

people and he

says because

this is true

repent and

be baptized

and you

will receive

the Holy

Spirit.

That is you

will receive

God working

in you to

change your

heart to

apply what

Christ has

done to you

so that you

can be a

saved person,

a new person,

a Christian,

a someone with

eternal hope and

eternal life

because of that.

And this is the

promise that you

will have.

love.

And friends,

it's so

important.

Listen to

Paul as he

writes in

1 Corinthians

15, just a

few verses

later, 1

Corinthians 15,

14, about

how important

this is.

And if Christ

has not been

raised, then

our preaching

is in vain and

your faith is in

vain.

We are even

found to be

misrepresenting God

because we

testified about

God that he

raised Christ,

whom he did not

raise, if it's

true that the

dead are not

raised.

For if the

dead are not

raised, then

even Christ

has not been

raised.

And if Christ

has not been

raised, your

faith is futile

and you are

still in your

sins, then

those also who

have fallen asleep

in Christ have

perished.

If in Christ we

have hope in this

life only, we are

of all people most

to be pitied.

this is the

question, friends.

If Christ rose

from the dead, it

changes everything.

And friends,

I want to preach a

whole other sermon

on what that means

for us, but I'm

not going to.

I didn't even give

this scripture to

Sam, so you're

all just going to

have to listen.

But I want to

read from 1

1 Peter 1 · chapter mention

Peter chapter 1

just to close

this sermon on

the glories of

what it means that

Christ has risen

from the dead for

his people.

So listen to

this.

Blessed be the

God and Father

of our Lord

Jesus Christ.

According to

his great mercy,

he has caused

us to be born

again to a

living hope

through the

resurrection of

Jesus Christ

from the dead

to an inheritance

that is imperishable,

undefiled, and

unfading, kept in

heaven for you,

who by God's

power are being

guarded through

faith for a

salvation ready to

be revealed at the

last time.

In this you

rejoice, though

now for a little

while, if necessary,

you have been

grieved by various

trials, so that

the tested

genuineness of

your faith, more

precious than gold

that perishes, even

though it is tested

by fire, may be

found a result in

praise and glory and

honor at the

revelation of Jesus

Christ.

Though you have

not seen him, you

love him.

Though you do not

see him now, you

believe in him and

rejoice with joy that

is inexpressible and

filled with glory,

obtaining the outcome

of your faith, the

salvation of your

souls.

Friends, this is the

fruit of Christ raised

from the dead for all

who believe.

faith.

And he calls us this

morning to repent and

believe.

Let's pray.

Lord, thank you.

What a glorious,

glorious passage and a

glorious truth that you

are not a wise teacher

dead in a grave, but you

are the exalted and

living King and Lord in

Christ over all.

Oh, Lord, cut our

hearts to the quick for

our sin.

Call us to repentance.

Thank you that the

blood of Christ is

sufficient for the

forgiveness of our

sins.

Thank you that the

resurrection of Christ

secures our hope of

life both now and

eternal with you.

Oh, Lord.

We worship you, the

risen Christ.

Jesus name.

Amen.