Lord and Christ

I. The Setting

A. The backdrop of Peter’s sermon marking the brith of the New Testament Church is the festival of Pentecost. Pentecost was a Jewish feast celebrating the end of the grain harvest.

B. Jews both in the land and dispersed Jews from among the nations would travel to Jerusalem to celebrate this feast.

C. After Jesus’ disciples, His brothers, His mother, and a company of women had been praying continually for ten days since Christ’s ascension, Pentecost had come.

D. As the disciples were gathered at the temple for the celebration of Pentecost, they were overcome by a dramatic move of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:1-4

The New King James Version Chapter 2

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

E. I should suppose that God wrought on this occasion a miracle of a truly holy kind by bidding an invisible sound to be created in the air more marvelous than all instruments and fitted with perfect harmonies, not soulless, nor yet composed of body and soul like a living creature, but a rational soul full of clearness and distinctness, which, giving shape and tension to the air and changing it to flaming fire, sounded forth like the breath through a trumpet an articulate voice so loud that it appeared to be equally audible to the farthest as well as the nearest. … Then from the midst of the fire that streamed front heaven there sounded forth to their utter amazement a voice, for the flame became articulate speech in the language familiar to the audience, and so clearly and distinctly were the words formed by it that they seemed to see rather than hear them

Conzelmann, H. (1987). Acts of the Apostles: a commentary on the Acts of the Apostles. (E. J. Epp & C. R. Matthews, Eds., J. Limburg, A. T. Kraabel, & D. H. Juel, Trans.) (p. 16). Philadelphia: Fortress Press.

F. Diaspora Jews from over fifteen different regions of the mid eastern and European world were gathered at the celebration when the all of them began to hear in their own languages the unknown tongues with which the disciples spoke.

G. Even after this move of the Spirit the reaction of the crowd was mixed.

Acts 2:12-13

The New King James Version Chapter 2

12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?”

13 Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”

II. Peter’s Sermon

A. Acts 2:14-16  But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day (9:00 am). 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: (Parentheses added).

1. The mixed reaction of the crowd at Pentecost was an opportunity for Peter to speak into the situation.

2. Peter’s word of clarity was that this isn’t just a new occurence, “this is that which was spoken.”

B. (Acts 2:17–18) ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. 18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy.

He didn’t say that just Apostles and Prophets or famous speakers would prophesy but that sons and daughters would prophesy.

C. (Ac 2:19–21) I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. 21 And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.’

What happened at Pentecost was a deposit of what is to come at the very end of the age.

This tells us two things:

The charismatic gifts are to continue until the end of the age.

what happened at Pentecost is a small deposit of what will happen globally in the generation the Lord returns.

What we underestimate about the pressure of the end times is the power of the Spirit upon the Church to walk through that hour in victory!

Make note of the “Name of the LORD” in verse 21.

D. (Ac 2:22–24) “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; 24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.

Peter now begins to lay forth something present in every evangelistic sermon in the book of Acts: that Jesus was crucified and that He was raised from the dead.

III. Lord and Christ

A. I want to believe about Jesus what the NT teaches about Jesus, what the Apostles proclaimed about Jesus!

B. (Ac 2:36)  “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Messiah

MESSIAH (מָשִׁיַח, mashiyach; “anointed” or “an anointed one”; “messiah”). Rendered into Greek as Χριστός (Christos), cognate to the verb χρίω (chriō, “to anoint”).

The question is anointed for what?

The Jewish Messianic hope was in a Davidic King of Israel, a Son of David who would be at the very same time the Son of God, who would rule the nations from Jerusalem with perfect peace and justice forever (1 Chron 17:10-14, Psalm 2,Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7, Daniel 9:25, Matt 1:1, 16:16, 24:42, Mark 1:1, John 1:49)

In the over 550 times that the NT uses the word Christ, this is what the authors have in mind: the Jewish Messiah who would one day establish perfect justice in His reign over all the nations.

The end times then is not just a side issue but it is the very outworking of who Jesus is as Messiah!

IV. The Resurrection establishes Jesus as Messiah

Quote Psalm 16:8-11

A. (Ac 2:25–28) For David says concerning Him: ‘I foresaw the LORD always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. 27 For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’

Note the use of the title LORD again in verse 25.

B. (Ac 2:29–32) “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 31 he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.

Peter here is saying that the resurrection furnishes proof that Jesus is the Messiah.

If it stopped right there Peter has already posed a huge problem to the crowd! “you’ve crucified you promised king!”

V. The Ascension Establishes Jesus as Lord

A. Acts 2:33 Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.

We may not think often about how the Ascension impacts our lives, but we see here that Jesus ascended in order that He might pour out the Spirit! It is because Jesus is on the throne that Holy Spirit magnifies Him with various demonstrations of power! Holy Spirit touches bodies with power, speaks prophetic insight, makes the love of God overwhelmingly tangible all because Jesus is alive and seated on the throne!

Verses below are quoting Psalm 110:1

B. (Ac 2:34–35) “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, 35 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.

Peter now furnishing proof through the ascension that Jesus is Lord!

VI. Lord and Christ

A. (Ac 2:36) “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

The problem that is posed to the crowd mounts even further with the realization that they did not only crucify their messianic king, they crucified the Lord of glory! God took on human flesh and lived as a man among them and they crucified Him and so did we!

B.  Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

1. They were not cut to the heart because of presentation style in preaching or because of pentecostal expression, they were cut to the heart with conviction of the gravity of what they had done!

2. Have you been cut to the heart with the realization that Jesus is Lord and it is right that your life be surrendered fully to His authority!?

C. (Ac 2:38–39) Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”