I Feel a Sermon Comin' On

We’ve seen the beginning of this

Peter and John healed the lame man

The crowds were “filled with wonder and amazement”

We now have a second mob scene

First was the normal crush of the crowd going to the Temple at the time of prayer

This one the gathering out of “shock and awe” of having seen what happened

Our text says “utterly astounded”

Interestingly it’s an expansion of the same word used “wonder” in the previous verse

…a growing excitement…an increasing sense of wonder at what had happened

This is a good place for a Sermon…Peter did not disappoint! His pattern would become to NEVER pass up a good opportunity for a sermon

The Apostles didn’t have to do anything intended to draw the crowd; what they did—the healing—made the crowd come to them

One thing they had to do first, was direct attention away from themselves, to the God who had done the healing Acts 3 12

Acts 3:12 ESV

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?

That set up the second of Peter’s sermons, woven into it are lessons in history, theology and responsibility

We start with the first of three lessons:

A Lesson in History

Two parts of this:

Solomon’s Portico was on the east side of the temple, in the Court of the Gentiles, some think it may have been a surviving part of the first temple (Solomon’s Temple)

Site of Jesus’ teaching in John 10, at the Feast of Dedication, Pastor Sean has referenced this in his lessons on Hanukkah

Likely the site within the temple where the early Christians met (until the temple authorities drove them out—effectively exiling them from their kinsmen)

The second part is the recent history

Peter addresses the “men of Israel”

Seems more inclusive than the sermon of Chapter 2

Addresses the people of the region

He starts with their current situation—the astonishment of a lame man having been healed

What had happened to Jesus

First: it was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of THEIR fathers, who had glorified Jesus

Then, they had delivered Jesus over to the hands Pilate and denied Him—asking for the release of a murderer—instead of Jesus

Implicit here is a separation between Jesus and His followers and the murderer/insurrectionist/robber and his type

We find this vividly played out in the 19th chapter of John’s Gospel

Pilate had asked them ...shall I crucify your king?

Their answer: We have no king but Caesar!

…and in so doing, they had KILLED THE AUTHOR OF LIFE

Finally, God had raised Him from the dead!

Now, they’re astonished at a miracle done by the same God who had raised the dead

There had been instances of the dead being raised by prophets—and there was Lazarus—but this was THREE DAYS later

In Jewish tradition, at that point, the soul would have departed the body—this still in some Jewish tradition

This discourse then raises issues and takes us into matters of theology, and so...

A Lesson in Theology

He takes the discussion to the topic of Jesus and gives some additional things to think about

First is to look at God glorifying His servant Jesus

He makes sure to draw the connection to the the one true God—their God (collectively, the one they came to worship at the temple), the God of Israel; the God of Jesus!

Nerd stuff: He was God’s “servant” interestingly not “doulos” which could be understood as bondservant or even slave; but “pais” which could also mean boy servant or young servant, even child

That use would take their mind to what they were expecting in their Messiah:

They would have been accustomed to reading the Septuagint which used the same term in places clearly indicating the messiah

Isaiah 42:1 (ESV)

Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.

and...

Isaiah 52:13 (ESV)

Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.

For a crowd that had been looking—but had rejected—their Messiah, this would have been cutting

He was the HOLY AND RIGHTEOUS ONE

In the Jewish mind, OT and other Jewish literature, only God is referenced as the Holy One

Though other may have been referenced as righteous (Enoch, Noah, some other teachers/Rabbis) linguistics make the two terms inseparable

Not “the holy one and the righteous one” but “the holy-and-righteous-one

There is only one truly holy and truly righteous being—God himself…clearly making Jesus God (as Jesus himself had taught)

Now, Peter changes to a different set of qualities for Jesus

Author of Life…an interesting term

Some translate it “prince of life”

The term was used in Greek literature for founders/protectors of cities, commanders, or other heroes

Here it takes on a new dimension

One lexicon “having primacy of authority”

We understand it as Jesus having primacy of authority over life

John 1:3 ESV

All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Hebrews 1:2 ESV

but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

They may not have seen it that clearly…or they may have, understanding that God was the creator, as it was the opening of the Torah

They should have seen it—with the resurrection now in view—as the one who led the way to resurrection: a new life

It was faith in the name of this Jesus—Son of God—that had made the lame man whole

We have John 1 12 that helps flesh that out for us a bit

John 1:12 ESV

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

We may…and should ask the question, whose faith? Was it the lame man’s, or was it the faith that Peter and John had in the power of the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth?

Some scholars argue one way or the other, I hold with those who argue both are implied: Peter had the faith to begin with, the lame man took on the faith based upon the statement of Peter

A Lesson in Responsibility

Once again, we get the YOU KILLED HIM statement

It was set up by the lesson in history

Enhanced by the lesson in theology

…and tossed directly into the faces of those who were hearing the words of Peter

They cannot escape the reality that their traditions, their leadership had denied the very one they had been expecting, hoping for...

We must remember, even though they were responsible, it was all under the sovereign plan of God to have it work out this way

WITFM?

Many similar things here as last week’s message

Our Own History

All of us are sinners

All of us living in a fallen world, like it or not we are influenced by the culture around us

All of us, on some level, hang onto things that are not proper for us—as did the crowd with their adherence to the traditions of the Jewish culture

All of us have been guilty, at some point in time, rejecting Jesus…at best guilty of shutting Him out of some portion of our life

Quite simply put: Rom 3 23

Romans 3:23 ESV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

…which should influence...

Our Own Theology

We start it here

Romans 6:23 ESV

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The healing was done in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth—very specific

Peter wanted to be sure that the people who heard were FULLY aware of who Jesus was…and we must be sure of who He is

No doubt that He is God incarnate

…holy, righteous, author of life

Within this—we’ve touched this before—is being sure we’re talking about the RIGHT JESUS

By the dawn of the second century, there were heresies…we still have them

All of them have some reduction of who Jesus is—true God, true man; the epistles abound with rebuttals of these…and new ones seem to come down the pike daily

We can have differences of opinion on a lot of things, but not on the identity of Jesus Christ of Nazareth

In Him and Him alone must we place our faith

We must know, and be trusting in, the right Jesus!

There’s a lot more than this to theology…but this will do for today

That matter of “perfect health”

That was granted, per the text

We will not get perfect health in this lifetime; but in eternity we will be bound by no such limitations

Our Own Responsibility

First, it was our sin that nailed Him to the cross—in essence, WE killed the Author of Life

Though He died so that we might have life, life more abundantly

It is our faith in Christ—His work…our faith in that work…that saves us!

We must make that individual decision; this is that part about within His sovereignty, God gives us real decisions to make

If we follow the pattern of this man who had been healed, he went into the temple praising God—how much do we praise God

...how visibly?

…how enthusiastically?

Peter looked for any place/time/opportunity to preach a sermon, should we not look for any to praise God?