[0:00] Please take your copy of God's Word and turn to the book of Acts chapter 3. But as a church, if we don't, each time we gather together, celebrate and learn more about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we're failing at the task put before us as God's people gather together.
[0:46] It's also good for a church to keep a schedule. And here, Christ's Only Church, we love verse by verse exposition. We want to get in deep into the scripture.
[0:58] We want to understand all that it has to say to us as God's inspired word. From time to time, I prove myself more clever than you might think.
[1:11] And both gets to happen on the same day. So we've been working through the book of Acts. And we have in Acts chapter 3 verses 1 through 19, the second sermon that Peter preaches.
[1:26] And he talks about the resurrection. There was great labor on the part of the disciples, which we'll talk more about soon, to prove that the resurrection was a reality.
[1:39] That this message that they were preaching, that this person that they claimed to follow was indeed alive. So this morning we have before us a short story, an event that happens, and then a sermon preached by Peter, which we will look at the first part of that sermon together.
[2:01] So I'm going to read to us Acts 3 verses 1 through 19. Before I do, let me remind you, this is God's word written to us for his glory and our good.
[2:18] We would all do well to listen to it, set aside the distraction and the fray of the morning in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.
[2:31] Acts chapter 3, beginning in verse 1. Now, Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
[2:43] And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the beautiful gate, to ask alms of those entering the temple.
[2:53] Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, look at us.
[3:06] And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, I have no silver and gold, but what I do have, I give to you.
[3:19] In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand and raised him up. And immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.
[3:33] And leaping up, he stood and began to walk and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God and recognized him as the one who sat at the beautiful gate of the temple asking for alms.
[3:52] And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what happened to him. While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's.
[4:07] And when Peter saw it, he addressed the people, men of Israel, why do you wonder at this? Or why do you stare at us as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?
[4:19] The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate when he had decided to release him.
[4:37] But you denied the holy and righteous one and asked for a murderer to be granted to you. And you killed the author of life whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.
[4:50] And his name, by faith in his name, has made this man strong whom you see and know. And the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.
[5:03] And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled.
[5:17] Repent, therefore, and turn back that your sins may be blotted out. Repent, therefore, and turn back that your sins may be blotted out. Now, church, we have before us quite a bit of text this morning.
[5:30] And whether we have much to cover or little, it's always helpful to have some outline to hang the text on top of. Right? To help us get our minds into it and to rightly understand it.
[5:43] There are many different ways you could outline a text, especially as robust as this one. But I've decided to do it this morning in three points. I'm going to give them to you in advance. If you're taking notes, give you some framework in which to think.
[5:57] So we're going to look at these 19 verses in this way. First, the confirmation of Peter's preaching. First, the confirmation of Peter's preaching. Second, the content of Peter's preaching.
[6:10] What was the message that was being preached? The content of Peter's preaching. And third, the call of Peter's preaching. So first, the confirmation of Peter's preaching.
[6:25] We see in Acts 3, 1 through 11, a miracle performed. Peter performs a miracle by the power of God in order to give confirmation to his message.
[6:39] This is why miracles have always been performed. This was the ministry of Jesus walking around healing. We read a story to the children just a moment ago about Jesus, the miracle man.
[6:53] The point of the miracles was to say to the people who were witnessing these things, listen to what I have to say to you. Surely, he came and he brought healing.
[7:05] He brought restoration. And those things are wonderful in this life. What Jesus ultimately came to do was to preach the gospel of the coming of the kingdom. That we might have eternal restoration.
[7:19] Temporal versus the eternal. The greater miracle. That by faith in Christ, we are brought to restored relationship with God. That our hearts are changed.
[7:30] That we no longer live for ourselves, but that we now live for Him. This is the purpose of miracles. And it happens here with Peter. In verses 1 through 11, we see Peter and John, his old friend.
[7:47] They owned a fishing business before they were called to be apostles. Going to the temple at the hour of prayer. These two were particularly close to Christ.
[8:00] Peter and John, along with John's brother James, were kind of part of the inner circle that Jesus spent some of the most intimate moments of His ministry with.
[8:11] Here we see them still together. These are the only two that followed Jesus to the high priest's house after His arrest. Their response to the arrest and crucifixion of Christ were dramatically different.
[8:27] They part ways. We can observe in Luke's narrative, his first narrative, John at the foot of the cross, being asked by Jesus to care for His mother.
[8:39] And we can read of Peter's three-fold denial of Jesus. Here we see them now reunited as the first disciples to visit the empty tomb after the resurrection.
[8:54] Imagine the amount of hopelessness they must have experienced at the crucifixion of Christ. Whether at the foot of that cross or off denying Jesus.
[9:07] This hopelessness. But they're the first two at the report of the women to run to see the empty tomb. And now we see them with such great boldness, giving leadership to the church.
[9:19] We see these two traveling and ministering together through much of the beginning of Acts. And here we see them going together to pray. And they're going up to the temple.
[9:31] Everything in Jerusalem goes up to the temple on the temple mount. It's always higher than everything else. So if you're going to the temple, you're always going up to the temple. The temple would be used for quite some time in the early church for the gathering of Christians.
[9:46] It was still a place of the worship of God. Now they're rightly understanding what that worship is to look like. That it's to happen through Jesus Christ. But they're still gathering at this place in order to do that.
[9:58] And they're able to do this until persecution arises. And the Jews begin to prohibit them from meeting at the temple. The temple was the obvious place to attend, to reason with Jews concerning Jesus.
[10:13] Those who had covenant promise of God to fully comprehend and to understand who the Messiah was. This was the obvious place to go. People who had come to worship God being told by the apostles how to worship God rightly.
[10:29] We see this incredibly often in the ministry of Paul when he goes to a new city. He starts at the temple in that city. A place where people were coming together in order to worship God.
[10:41] And they're doing so at the hour of prayer. So the ninth hour, the clarification is here by Luke. It's 3 p.m.
[10:51] The Jews counted the hours from sunrise. So 6 a.m. would have been the first hour. Noon would have been the sixth hour. The ninth hour is 3 p.m. in the afternoon.
[11:02] And this is significant for the narrative because this was also the time that the evening sacrifice began. The temple crowds would have been at their very height at this time.
[11:15] So they're going to pray without a plan. They're just going to pray. They're walking in and they encounter a man. This is the setting that Peter and John walk into.
[11:25] 2 p.m. Seeing this opportunity to display the loving kindness of God as they see this man. Verse 2. A man who is lame from birth.
[11:39] Luke records this for us to indicate that his case was hopeless. His inability to walk was not an issue that could be remedied by a doctor or with time.
[11:52] It wasn't that he had hurt himself and he needed some healing. He was lame from birth. It also indicates that he'd been lame for a very long time and that he had known nothing else.
[12:05] This man had never stood on his own legs. He had never walked. He's hopeless. He has to be carried, the text tells us. Carried and laid daily in this place.
[12:20] The imperfect tense of the verb translated was being carried along with the phrase they laid daily at the gate of the temple. That is called the beautiful gate.
[12:31] The beautiful gate is recorded by Luke to show us that this man was a permanent fixture at this location. For his livelihood, he was brought every single day to this place and sat there in order to collect alms or donations to the poor.
[12:52] Everyone, everyone who frequented this place would have been familiar with this man. It was a strategic location where he was at, right? To make this livelihood, begging for money as people came to express their piety at the temple.
[13:08] This was what they were coming to do, to make sacrifice for God. In Jewish tradition, it was a wonderful thing to give publicly. So I'm sure the man did well in this place, receiving alms from those who would pass by.
[13:24] And in expectance of that, you see in verse 3 and 4 and 5, he looks to these men, Peter and John, to give him alms.
[13:35] And as Peter says to him, look at us. They fix their gaze on him. Peter and John looking at him. Him looking back at them. What he expects is something from them.
[13:49] He received something to be sure, but not the alms that he was expecting. I think most of us have had some experience with the poor. Have taken a trip to Atlanta where somebody might be hanging out to Panhandle.
[14:03] And consider the way in which you encounter those people walking down the sidewalk. Somebody sitting on the side of the road that you're pretty confident is going to ask for money from you. Or when you pull up on the off-ramp at the light and there's the guy with the sign and he's walking.
[14:16] And you go, oh gosh, oh gosh, just don't look. If you don't look, he won't walk right up to the door because I never carry cash. And I don't think he's swiping credit cards. This feels awkward. I can't look at him in the face.
[14:27] Recognize that what's happening here is people are doing this as they're walking in. Even as some are giving to them, they're giving what they give and they walk on. But Peter and John have compassion for him as a person and they look at him.
[14:42] It's significant that Luke records this for us. They see him as more than that outward appearance. This man broken and lame, begging for money. They see him as an eternal soul.
[14:54] And they seek to grant him that which will be best for his soul. Make eye contact with him. And Peter says to him, verse 6, I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you.
[15:09] In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. Takes him by the right hand. Raises him up. Immediately. Immediately. The way God works.
[15:21] Miracles. Immediately. His feet and ankles were made strong. We see he leaps up. Peter supplied by God's power. Ultimately what the man really needed.
[15:33] Now, get this. You've got to read between the lines, right? He stood up and he walked. It was a good thing. It was a valuable thing. It was a temporary restoration. But what he ultimately needed was to have his affections turned toward God.
[15:48] Not sitting outside the temple expecting to receive money, but rather going in for the worship of God. And we see this begin to happen. Verses 8 through 11.
[15:59] Leaping up, he stood and began to walk. He entered the temple with him, walking and leaping and praising God. All the people saw him walking and praising God and recognized him as the one.
[16:13] Right? The one who sat, this permanent fixture, who sat at the beautiful gate of the temple. They'd seen him so many times. They knew this was the man that sat there at the beautiful gate asking for alms.
[16:24] Here he is now. All our lives, sitting in this spot. Here he is now, walking and leaping and praising God for what has happened. And they're filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
[16:40] I think we'd feel the same. God sets out this introduction to Peter's sermon and their attention is caught.
[16:51] But, as carefully as I try to craft some form of introduction for a sermon, I'm never going to get your attention the way this grabbed these people's attention.
[17:03] None of you jumping around, leaping and praising God, would capture the attention the way this man, who's been here for so long and is now restored, did.
[17:15] And he's clinging to Peter and John, which isn't to say that he couldn't walk, but he's desperate holding on to them. These men who have spoken into his life and he's become restored.
[17:26] He's treasuring them. He wants to be around them. He doesn't want to lose them in the crowd as these people astounded run together in the portico called Solomon's.
[17:41] Now, this was the porch that surrounded the court of the Gentiles. It was a large, expansive place. This was the same place that Jesus gave the good shepherd discord.
[17:52] So, to set that scene for you. This is the very place where Jesus stood and spoke of himself as the good shepherd. This miracle is setting up this great stage for Peter's message.
[18:03] Peter and John, going to the temple to pray, have now interceded by God's power and healed a man. And now Peter's about to preach his second sermon.
[18:15] Prepared. Knowing the word of God. Filled with the spirit of God. His stage is set for him. And he speaks. This miracle gives confirmation to this message that's about to be spoken.
[18:29] These people are astounded by it. They're drawn together. Their attention is fixed. As if God cries out to them in the miracle. Listen to the message to be preached in your hearing.
[18:43] So, there's a confirmation of Peter's preaching. Second, and the major part of our text, our time today, is the content of Peter's preaching.
[18:56] Verses 12 through 18 of chapter 3. The content of Peter's preaching. Now, before he really gets into the mix of it, verse 12 says that when Peter saw it, this clamoring crowd, their astonishment at what had happened, when he saw this, he addressed the people.
[19:23] He responded to the people. Some of your translations may say. It's a very common way in which a speech began in Greek. This introductory statement.
[19:35] He addressed the people. Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this? Or why do you stare at us? As though by our own power or piety, we have made him walk.
[19:50] Peter clears the air with two questions. He begins by saying, men of Israel, which is a term of respect. He's saying to them, listen to me, men of Israel, devout Jewish followers.
[20:04] It's a beginning of a harsh exhortation on their part, a rebuke even. He padded them up and he built some equity.
[20:16] Men of Israel. But it also serves to remind them that they were God's covenant people. They were Jews. These are Jewish people gathering at the temple in Jerusalem.
[20:28] They had the scripture. They were taught it from a very early age. And they should have had the answer to these questions that Peter asks.
[20:41] Two of them. First, why do you wonder at this? Why do you wonder at this? They knew God to be a miracle working God.
[20:54] Their history was wrought with stories of God's miracle working amongst them as a people. Many of the Psalms that they would have recited and sung go through the process of remembering the way in which God's people were delivered from Egypt and the miracles that happened to make this happen.
[21:16] They knew that God was a miracle working God. They had all kinds of knowledge of God's miraculous power. Father, they would have been familiar with passages like Isaiah 35, 5 and 6, which speaks of healings marking the beginning of the messianic age.
[21:40] Verse 5, Isaiah 35, Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap like a deer and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
[21:55] How familiar there. If they were paying attention to their scriptures, they would have seen the miracle working of Jesus and now the following miracle working of the apostles by the power of God as this inauguration of the messianic age.
[22:11] Paying attention. Why do you wonder at this? Of course this is happening. This is what Peter is expressing. And he also says, Why do you stare at us as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?
[22:26] It wasn't us to do this thing. Don't praise us. We're merely under shepherds of the great shepherd. Remember where they're standing when Peter's saying this. They couldn't have had the power or the piety to do this apart from the work of God through them.
[22:45] And this miracle creates a conundrum for the Jews. They believed that God works miracles. They knew this of their history. They saw it in their holy text.
[22:58] They had put Jesus Christ to death because he claimed to be God. And here are his followers performing miracles in the name of Jesus Christ.
[23:10] It puts them in a very tough spot. And he's setting this up. He's clearing the air to say to them, of course this is happening because Jesus is God.
[23:20] And he's going to say in a moment, and you killed him. And you killed him. After asking these two clarifying questions, Peter begins to preach. And what is the primary context of a sermon?
[23:37] The primary context, if it has a theme to it, it's the exaltation of Jesus Christ. The exaltation of Jesus Christ. It's showing who Jesus is.
[23:49] It's teaching about his person and his work. Presenting the right answer in his preaching to the most important question anyone will ever answer in their life.
[24:04] Who is Jesus? Who is Jesus? And I don't know so many of you this morning as I'm looking around. We have a lot of guests and I'm thankful for that.
[24:15] Who is Jesus? He said some astounding things. Claimed to do some incredible things. We didn't walk with him, but we have an account of it.
[24:29] And it puts you in a spot to consider he can't just be a good teacher. If he's just a good teacher, he said nutty, nutty things. He called himself God. He forgave sin.
[24:42] He told people they had to eat his flesh and drink his blood. So he either was just a liar or he was a lunatic, absolutely insane man or he is in fact who he says he is and he's Lord of heaven and earth.
[25:03] You need to answer that question. It's the most important question. And Peter's presenting to them the right answer. The proper aim of all preaching.
[25:19] And don't hear preaching as I'm saying that this morning is what I'm doing right now, although it does fall under that category. I would call this a subset of preaching.
[25:29] Speaking the good news of Jesus Christ to anyone who will hear. So whether it's from a pulpit or over a cup of coffee, we're all meant to preach the good news of Jesus Christ.
[25:42] If you are a disciple of Christ, you must preach the good news of Jesus Christ. A Christian life devoid of preaching the good news is no Christian life at all.
[25:53] We are ambassadors for Christ. We are sent out as His chosen ones to spread the aroma of Him everywhere. prayer. This is the task put before us.
[26:06] So it's important that we see the way in which we ought to preach. That affects the way I preach now and what I'm doing. It also affects the way we function and talk to our neighbors and our co-workers and beyond.
[26:19] An example of this, Acts 8.4. The persecution comes on the church and there's these very harmonious days. The church is being gathered and gathered and gathered in Jerusalem and the persecution comes and they're scattered.
[26:33] Acts 8.4 says, Now those who are scattered went about preaching the word. It's an interesting Greek word used here for preaching. It's not in the negative connotation of it but can mean that they gossiped it everywhere.
[26:49] It means they spoke it any time they had a chance. Someone was willing to listen and they told it to them. Everywhere they could go on the byways on the way home when they got home when they re-engaged in their jobs in their hometown.
[27:03] The job of the church is to make Jesus known by the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God the Father. That is our job. The job of the church is to make Jesus known by the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God the Father.
[27:16] We are to preach the good news of Jesus Christ. This is why Christ's family church exists to glorify God by experiencing, proclaiming, and displaying the supremacy of Jesus Christ in all things to all peoples.
[27:28] It is not the job of the church to create separate environments for people to make friends. It's not the job. As a local popular pastor recently suggested, it's not the job.
[27:42] The job of the church is to exalt Jesus Christ. That's what you need this morning. You need that more than you need friends. You need friends, but you need Christ exalted in your life more than that. John 3, 14 and 15, Jesus says, And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.
[28:04] Whether you are found in Christ this morning or not, you need Christ exalted before you. That we might look at Him, place believing faith in Him for the first time, or continue to place believing faith in Him.
[28:16] I need a fresh vision of Jesus Christ moment by moment by moment in my day. I need the gospel to run through my veins. No doctrine stays alive in the mind.
[28:27] It must be fed. Christian, if you're not in your scripture, you're not in Christian fellowship, you're not having Christ held up before you as often as possible, your heart will grow cold.
[28:41] You might find yourself in that place this morning. You might find yourself a fickle believer, nominal at best. Behold, Christ.
[28:54] That's what Peter's doing for us this morning. I hope in some explanation of the text, I hope that for you. If you're not found in Christ, if you haven't placed believing faith in Him, you may have had some walk the aisle, prayer prayer experience.
[29:09] That's possible to do that and not have placed believing faith in Jesus Christ. You believe in Jesus Christ and He will change you He will reorient your life. You won't look the way you used to look.
[29:21] You'll begin to look different by one degree and another. You'll begin to love things that you used to hate. You'll begin to hate things that you used to love. There's a measure to that, an evidencing of fruit.
[29:34] Examine your life. See where your heart is. Repent and believe. So Peter begins to exalt Jesus Christ and he does so by using five different names for him.
[29:49] Five different names is the way I'm structuring point two. Five different names for him. I want to point out to you that his first sermon as recorded in chapter two on the day of Pentecost is a citation and explanation of three different Old Testament texts.
[30:06] It's very scripture rich. This first one. We don't see him citing specific scripture in this case but I just want you to know to a Jewish audience these titles that he's pulling out to describe Jesus Christ would have accessed for their minds a multitude of scriptures that would have said these things.
[30:25] I want to show you some of them. Remember he's speaking to a particular audience that would have heard these titles and they would have been very significant to them. So he was bringing forth the scripture to give explanation to exalt Jesus Christ.
[30:39] Okay. So number one. He calls him God's servant. God's servant. Verse 13. He begins the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob the God of our fathers.
[30:53] He's saying don't be confused about the God I'm speaking about. Jewish audience. Do not be confused. This is God the Father. This is the God of Abraham of Isaac of Jacob of Moses glorified his servant.
[31:10] He calls Jesus God's servant. Now you may not be familiar with this but they were that this is a commonly used Old Testament designation for the Messiah.
[31:21] This promised one the anointed one that would come to God's people. It's most famously tied to predictions of Christ's suffering.
[31:34] Now I want you to turn to one of those with me as we consider the suffering and death of Jesus Christ in Isaiah chapter 52. 2. I'm going to the end of the chapter to verse 13 and then I'm going to read Isaiah 53 along with that.
[32:13] If you don't know this chapter verses are not inspired. It's good for us to sometimes look beyond. So we're going to begin in 52.13 and read through 53.
[32:24] Now what you need to be considering as I'm reading this to you is the speaking of Christ. Verse 13 says behold my servant. It's God speaking behold my servant.
[32:36] And this is a description this is a prediction of what was going to happen and what did happen to Jesus Christ. This was Jesus Christ suffering on the cross on our behalf.
[32:50] Both the physical suffering as well as the spiritual suffering as God pours his wrath out. As God turns his face away from the perfect union they had from eternity past as he punishes in Christ as a just God having to punish sin he punishes our sin in Jesus.
[33:09] Listen carefully. Behold my servant shall act wisely. He shall be high and lifted up and shall be exalted. As many were astonished at you his appearance was so marred beyond human semblance and his form beyond that of the children of mankind.
[33:31] So shall he sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths because of him for that which has not been told them they see and that which they have not heard they understand.
[33:45] Who has believed what he has heard from us and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground.
[33:56] He had no form of majesty that we should look at him and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised and we esteemed him not.
[34:16] Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we esteemed him stricken smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions.
[34:29] He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray.
[34:42] We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted yet he opened not his mouth like a lamb that is led to the slaughter and like a sheep that before its shears is silent so he opened not his mouth.
[35:03] 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 stricken for the transgression of my people.
[35:17] And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death although he had done no violence and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him.
[35:30] He has put him to grief. When his soul makes an offering for guilt he shall see his offspring. That's the church. He shall prolong his days. The will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
[35:42] Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied. By his knowledge shall the righteous one my servant make many to be accounted righteous and he shall bear their iniquities.
[35:56] Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many and he shall divide the spoil with the strong because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors yet he bore the sin of many and makes intercession for the transgressors.
[36:11] This is Jesus God's servant. Jesus himself said in Mark 10 45 for even the son of man came not to be served but to serve and to as a ransom for many.
[36:28] So Peter says before this Jewish audience that our God the God of our forefathers has glorified his servant who is Jesus.
[36:41] Number two he calls him Jesus he has glorified his servant Jesus whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate when he had decided to release him.
[36:55] The name Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua which means the Lord is salvation.
[37:06] You may recall in a dream an angel told Joseph Jesus' father what his son's name was to be. Matthew 1 21 records us for this says she being Mary will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins.
[37:28] He is the Lord fulfillment of salvation. Charles Spurgeon said of Matthew 1 21 the angel spake to Joseph the name in a dream that name so soft and sweet that it breaks no man's rest but rather yields a peace unrivaled the peace of God with such a dream Joseph's sleep was more blessed than his waking the name has ever more this power for to those who know it it unveils a glory brighter than dreams have ever imagined it is by this name by faith in this name our text says today that we are made whole we are made right we have peace with God Acts 4 12 and there is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved so he's
[38:30] God's servant he's Jesus thirdly Peter calls him holy and righteous one verse 14 but you denied the holy and righteous one you asked for a murder to be granted to you holy one the meaning of holy means to be separated to God Jesus is separated to God in his very nature unlike any other man who has lived both fully human and fully divine called the hypostatic union existed at all times when he was on earth and he was also separated to God in purpose in his first sermon Peter cites Psalm 16 10 that's in Acts chapter 2 which refers to Jesus as God's holy one again the Jewish minds accessing this knowledge
[39:32] Psalm 16 10 God's holy one in John 6 69 speaking on behalf of the apostles Peter says and we have believed and have come to know that you speaking to Christ are the holy one of God separated to God in nature and in purpose and he's also called the righteous one which is to say that he's innocent of any crime whatsoever I think too often the gospel gets kind of half preached and that is that Jesus died for our sins!
[40:06] He took away our guilt but that only brings us up to neutral we also need his righteousness it's called double imputation he lived a perfect life we need both that's why I say all the time we need to believe in Jesus person and his work both are true his active and passive obedience his life lived to God and for God perfectly as well as his death we need both things he accomplished both things if we believe in him 2nd Corinthians 5 21 says for our sake God made him Christ to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God Jesus righteousness given to us so Jesus by Peter is called the holy and righteous one!
[41:22] 15 and 16 and you killed to put to death the author of life whom God raised from the dead and to this we are witnesses!
[41:52] may say the prince of life ruling over life he's the creator of all things created as well as all things that will be created creation and new creation all things physically created as well as all things spiritually created substantial title given to Christ Colossians 1 15 through 18 I think helps us understand what it means Peter says the author of life Paul writes he is the image of the!
[42:20] God the firstborn or the more superior of all creation for by him all things were created in heaven and on earth visible and invisible whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things were created through him and for him and he is before all things and in him all things hold together and he is the head of the body of the church he is the beginning!
[42:51] the author of life put to death but God raised him from the dead worked the great miracle of resurrection and brought him back to life and again this juxtaposition set forth here the one who is the author of life put to death but raised again raised again to life how foolish it would be to call him the author of life if he were still dead if he didn't live and reign even now and you got to note with the apostles the timidity that existed with him but now the great boldness right he says to this the universe of team we are witnesses!
[43:40] What brings about this great boldness in them? The risen! Savior! He's alive! We're no longer heartbroken We're now extolling his greatness It's also the reason that they made such effort such labor and we're going to see it again and again and again in the book of Acts to show Christ as resurrected showed him Jesus that they had walked with as the fulfillment of all of the prophecy that he was in fact the Messiah the Christ the chosen one the anointed one of God Paul writes later in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 I'm sure there's a lot of sermons being preached on this text this morning there's this debate going on in the Corinthian church about whether or not resurrection is even a possibility if it's even a thing at all and Paul writes to them for if the dead are not raised not even Christ has been raised if you don't think there's such a thing as resurrection then even Christ hasn't been raised verse 17 if
[44:41] Christ has not been raised your faith is futile and you are still in your sins he doesn't have power over death he can't possibly be the author of life he was just a man a lunatic to be sure if he's not raised verse 18 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 fools we are fools if Christ is not raised praise God that he is and we can be fools for him right still think I'm a fool lastly fifth Christ he calls him Christ verse 18 but what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets that his Christ would suffer he thus fulfilled Christ is the Greek form of the Hebrew word Messiah which simply means anointed one this prediction this predictive language in the
[45:41] Old Testament scripture this was the one the Messiah the Christ was the one that the Jews were waiting for to fulfill these promises of God to them which they seemed to dramatically misunderstand at least pretty broadly they misunderstood because they were waiting for this Messiah to come!
[45:59] They thought he was going to be a king like David who would come and reign in the earthly realm they misunderstood that he was going to come and reign in the heavenly realm that he was going to bring his kingdom in the hearts of men this is the Christ though this is the fulfillment of that it's significant in verse 18 that Peter says this this!
[46:22] Christ the one that was spoken of beforehand the one that God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets none of this happened apart from the preordained plan of God God has been part of God's redemptive purpose to call together to himself a people I hope you're counted in that number this morning I hope you're part of that people that God's good purpose has been put in play from eternity past culminate in this great high moment of Jesus' death and his resurrection for your sake God foretold by the mouth of the prophets that Christ the Christ would suffer as Jesus did an Old Testament example of this Zechariah 12 10 and I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleased for mercy so that when they look on me on him who may have pierced they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and we bitterly over him as one!
[47:31] in Peter's previous sermon Acts chapter 2 verse 23 he says this Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men not only is God sovereign and good over all things what Peter is trying to establish for them and get them to consider that Jesus is the Christ he fulfilled!
[47:57] promise that was made so we have the confirmation of Peter's preaching we have the content of Peter's preaching the exaltation of Jesus through these names God's servant Jesus holy and righteous one author of life and Christ if you're paying careful attention I skipped verse 17 in the midst of a sermon Peter says verse 17 and now brothers I know that you acted in ignorance as did also your rulers you need to understand what he's saying he's not absolving them of their responsibility he's not absolving them of their responsibility but he's rather offering to them the possibility of forgiveness Jesus on the cross Luke 23 34 says father forgive them for they know not what they do Paul wrote in 1st Corinthians 2 8 none of the rulers of this age understood this he's just been speaking about
[48:59] Jesus being the Christ for if they had they would not have crucified the Lord of glory they would not have done it if they had known what they were doing Peter not absolving them of their responsibility for it as you see in verse 19 his call to them but he's just saying that forgiveness is possible you had the scripture you should have known but poor pitiful you you acted in ignorance so thirdly we see the call of Peter's preaching we're getting really close if you're wondering!
[49:33] verse 19 repent therefore and turn back that your sins may be blotted out to repent is to change one's mind or purpose but it's much weightier in the original text it's much more than just a simple intellectual decision I'm saying to you that if you have responded in faith you thought if you've raised a hand while no one was watching because you're so!
[50:03] how embarrassing I need to follow Jesus and you tiptoed down an aisle and you were taken off into a side room and someone said to you write this date in your Bible now you're a Christian it's hogwash it's absolute insanity and I'm not saying that you can't come to faith in Christ through that type of invitation I'm not suggesting that all I think that countless!
[50:25] people have but countless numerous multitudes of people have a false assurance of their salvation there's no evidence of their heart turned from their wickedness and turned to God they just simply walked down the Nile took a card folded it in their back pocket I grew up in a church that told me if I ever doubted my salvation to look at the date in the front of my Bible this is not biblical there's no language for this anywhere in the scripture how do we to be assured the evidence I have placed believing faith in Christ I me apart he's working righteousness into me please hear that carefully this morning we live in a culture that has probably counted you at some point and you're not a believer at all this is so much weightier than a simple intellectual decision
[51:27] John MacArthur said in his commentary on this text repentance is a change of mind that results in a change in behavior turn back this additional thing that Peter says repent therefore and turn back adds to this meaning it means to return it's used frequently to speak of sinners turning to God and it just reinforces that idea of what repentance looks like it's turning away from your sin and it's turning to God by faith in Christ repent repent and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ take up this person and work this is the language of the scripture this is the language of the scripture this is the call of the gospel it's Peter's call to those who are in his hearing repent and turn back now there's much talk in the world today about calling both for believers and otherwise people looking for cosmic signs for what they're meant to be doing with their lives let me tell you and clarify this for you
[52:34] God calls us to two things to two things first repentance here it is in Peter's preaching all men are called to repent and place faith in Jesus Christ Acts 17 30 Paul says the times of ignorance God overlooked but now he commands all people everywhere to repent place faith in Jesus Christ he's the only way of salvation your destruction is sure your damnation eternal if you don't believe in Christ secondly the other call for all of us is to preach repentance those who have repented are to preach repentance follow the example of Jesus and Peter and Paul Acts 20 20 and 21 Paul says I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable and teaching you in public and from house to house all kinds of ways I taught to you these things testifying both to Jews and to
[53:35] Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ we're called to believe we're called to bring about belief by the power of God in others so we see in our text the confirmation of Peter's preaching the content of his preaching and the call of Peter's preaching let's pray together to to to to to to!