Preach!
Notes
Transcript
This is Peter’s second sermon recorded for us in the book of Acts—the first on the day of Pentecost, and now this one, some time later.
Here’s Peter preaching again. It’s the common action of the Lord’s people—preaching. Proclaiming. Sharing. Evangelizing. Good News-ing.
In fact, Christian, brothers and sisters, preaching is our mandate. It’s not just the preacher’s task or the elders’ responsibility. It’s yours. If you’ve been redeemed, reconciled to the Father, saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, you are called to preach, to proclaim.
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
You and your beautiful feet are to take the good news of Jesus with you. It is to be on your tongue. You are to proclaim it, boldly, verbally (that means, with words).
All that nonsense, that ridiculous quote about “preaching the gospel at all times and when necessary using words” is complete hogwash.
You must speak! You must open your mouth and preach—how else will they hear?
Whatever else you do, Christian, you are to preach with simultaneous boldness and gentleness, courage and respect.
In my favorite chapter of the New Testament, Jesus heals a man possessed with demons. The man begs to go with Jesus, but Jesus says “no” and gives him a task instead:
19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
Jesus’ says “Tell them...” and the man begins “to tell”. Jesus says, literally, ‘go and report’. What the man does is proclaim—same word for preach (kerusso). He runs all over the 10-city area, preaching Jesus.
This is our task, Christian; we are all preachers. I have the immense honor and privilege of preaching to preachers each week. And I’m beyond grateful. How I love you all.
You have the immense honor and high calling to share—with words—the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news about Him.
>We have numerous examples in the Bible of sermons, helpful examples of what it means to preach. Here, we have Peter’s “second” sermon to help us, to teach us, to encourage us.
The springboard for Peter’s sermon is the lame man who had been healed. That’s how the text introduces him in verse 11. It’s not just the man, but rather the lame man who had been healed.
Peter and John and the lame man who had been healed are still together in the temple courts. This is what we read:
11 While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. 12 When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
Let’s remember how public a miracle just took place—it happened right there in the temple courts. It happened to a man everyone knew about, a man everyone knew to be lame from birth.
And now he’s walking around, doing the two-step, working on his vertical jump for next year’s basketball season. This was some spectacle. People would be talking about this at the water cooler for a while; people would talk about this for 2,000 years and then some.
All the people were astonished...
When all the astonished people came running to Peter and John and the man who had been lame, Peter very simply asks, “Why are you all surprised?”
“Well, uh, Pete, is it? Let’s see…this man who was born crippled just put on a little song and dance for all of us to see. Stuff like this doesn’t happen every day; no, scratch that, stuff like this doesn’t happen. Why are we surprised?! Why are we surprised?!?”
All the people are surprised because no one expected God to act.
When I read verse 12, I think I realize where Don Swope gets the question he asks often: “Why are we surprised?”
In the time that I’ve been here in Rich Hill, I’ve heard Don ask this question over and over again.
When someone receives a clean bill of health after a long struggle, Don will ask, “Why are we surprised?”
When the Lord works mightily in our community in a way we can’t explain or in a person’s life in a way we can’t explain, Don will ask, “Why are we surprised?”
When the Lord continues to provide for our church financially amid economic downturns and pandemics, Don will ask, “Why are we surprised?”
The answer is always, “Well, yeah, you’re right…we shouldn’t be surprised, should we? We know the Lord is able and good. It shouldn’t surprise us when He proves Himself o’er and o’er.”
Sometimes, we today are surprised because we don’t really expect “the God Who Acts” to act; we don’t expect “the God Who Acts” to act in our lives and in our church.
Peter asks, “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you?”
The way Peter addresses his peers is telling. Think about it: what have his fellow Israelites known the Lord to do for them? Things more incredible than making a lame man walk again, to be sure.
He brought them out of slavery.
He parted the Red Sea and let them walk through.
He guided them, provided for them in the desert.
He brought them into the Promised Land, fought for them against their enemies, striking down great kings on their behalf.
The entire history of the people of God should inoculate them to surprise. Everything God has done for them should ensure a response, not of surprise, but of expectedness.
“Yeah, that’s what our God does. It’s what He’s always done and will do. It’s who He is. He’s the God who acts.”
Peter is implying that his fellow countrymen really shouldn’t be surprised, considering. We shouldn’t be surprised, either. Considering.
The only thing that should surprise is our lack of surprise.
We don’t take the miraculous for granted, but neither are we shocked when we see it or hear about it or when we’re involved in it.
The people shouldn’t have been surprised to see this man healed, restored. And if they were looking to the proper source of the miracle with spiritually understanding eyes, they wouldn’t have been.
Instead, Peter sees them looking at him and John. Staring, actually. Peter correctly redirects their attention.
“Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?”
There’s no power or magic in these two fishermen-turned-apostles. Nor does their godliness, their supposed worthiness.
“Don’t imagine it was any special ability or goodness of our own that we made this man walk. Don’t believe there’s anything wonderful about us.”
The temptation at this point for Peter and John would have been immense. Imagine: ‘Foot-in-mouth Peter’ and ‘Let me sit by your side John’ with the opportunity to take credit for a miracle and to be renown as healers right there in Jerusalem. If they hadn’t been transformed by Jesus, saved by Jesus, and sent out as ambassadors for Jesus, they could have made themselves great then and there.
Instead of preaching themselves, Peter preaches Jesus.
13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. 14 You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 16 By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.
Preach Jesus
Preach Jesus
Peter very intentionally redirects their stares and attention. He points them to Jesus, by whose powerful name the miracle had taken place.
What Peter does is direct the attention away from the lame man and from themselves— “It’s not about this man; it’s not about us” — Peter directs the attention away from the man, steers the conversation away from himself and John, and points all the people to Jesus.
The story is not the lame man miraculously healed.
The story is not Peter and John, miraculous healers.
The story is Jesus.
And Peter spends the rest of the chapter reorienting the peoples’ collective gaze toward Jesus.
This is our pivot. This is our strategy.
Whatever the Lord Jesus does in our lives, through us individually, through us as a local church, the story is not you or me or us. The story is Jesus.
In your proclamation, you can’t go wrong with pivoting to Jesus. There’s nothing more important, no truth more crucial, no person more worthy of our preaching than Jesus.
The “Prince of Preachers”, C.H. Spurgeon, wrote this:
“I believe that those sermons which are fullest of Christ are the most likely to be blessed to the conversion of the hearers. Let your sermons be full of Christ, from beginning to end crammed full of the gospel. As for myself, brethren, I cannot preach anything else but Christ and His cross, for I know nothing else, and long ago, like the apostle Paul, I determined not to know anything else save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Preach Jesus Christ, brethren, always and everywhere; and every time you preach be sure to have much of Jesus Christ in the sermon.
You remember the story of the old minister who heard a sermon by a young man, and when he was asked by the preacher what he thought of it he was rather slow to answer, but at last he said, “If I must tell you, I did not like it at all; there was no Christ in your sermon.”
“No,” answered the young man, “because I did not see that Christ was in the text.”
“Oh!” said the old minister, “but do you not know that from every little town and village and tiny hamlet in England there is a road leading to London? Whenever I get hold of a text, I say to myself, ‘There is a road from here to Jesus Christ, and I mean to keep on His track till I get to Him.'”
“Well,” said the young man, “but suppose you are preaching from a text that says nothing about Christ?”
“Then I will go over hedge and ditch but what I will get at Him.”
So must we do, brethren; we must have Christ in all our discourses, whatever else is in or not in them. There ought to be enough of the gospel in every sermon to save a soul. Take care that it is so when you are called to preach before Her Majesty the Queen, and if you have to preach to chairwomen or chairmen, still always take care that there is the real gospel in every sermon.”
-CH Spurgeon, The Soul Winner
Peter preaches Jesus as well as anyone in the Bible. Peter begins in verse 13, by pivoting to Jesus. He takes his audience on a little journey through the Old Testament and all the way up to the events that had just taken place concerning Jesus.
He starts where their understanding is—with their forefathers: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That’s a pretty good place to start with a group of Jewish folk.
The way Peter talks about God expressed his conviction that what was new in Jesus was a continuation and fulfillment of the Old Testament.
Peter lets them know that the God of their forefathers glorified His servant Jesus.
“God—your God—glorified Jesus.”
Jesus isn’t just some random rabbi walking around the countryside. He’s the Promised One of God, the One through whom all the peoples of the earth would be blessed.
Glorified by God and dishonored by the people of His day.
Peter is bold and outspoken. He details what the people did to Jesus. He says, “You all...”
handed Him over to be killed
disowned Him before Pilate
disowned the Holy and Righteous One in favor of a murderer
killed the author of life
Peter doesn’t pull any punches. He lands one right after the other.
The people rejected Jesus outright. They said “no” to Him. They killed Him. The people were responsible for Jesus’ nonrelease (“Give us Barabbas!”). They were responsible for Jesus’ death.
Disowned by men, but vindicated by God who raised Him from the dead. Here’s a little Easter for you; some Resurrection Morning—a reminder of the events a few weeks prior.
Peter and John were witnesses of the empty tomb, the Risen Jesus, the Ascended Savior.
It’s Jesus’ name, by faith, that healed the man completely. It’s evident. All the people can see it.
Peter is as Christ-centered as they come. This sermon is a case study in christocentric preaching. Peter teaches us to preach Jesus.
When Peter first spoke to the lame man by the temple gate, he referred to Jesus as Jesus Christ of Nazareth (v. 6). And then called Jesus God’s servant (v. 13) who suffered and was glorified. Next, Peter uses the phrase “the Holy and Righteous One” (v. 14) followed by the author of life (v. 15).
These titles speak of the uniqueness of Jesus—His sufferings and glory, His character and mission, His revelation and redemption.
All of these are included in His “name” and helps to explain its saving power.
After exalting the name of Jesus, Peter ends his second sermon by challenging his hearers with the necessity and the blessing of repentance.
17 “Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 18 But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. 19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20 and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. 21 Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.
Preach for Repentance
Preach for Repentance
Peter admits that there was some level of ignorance on the part of the people and their leaders.
Part of the issue where the Israelites are concerned is their ignorance about who Jesus was and their dismissal of Him. In fact, that’s probably the sum of the issue. They missed Jesus and dismissed Him out of hand as if he were some kind of heretical lunatic instead of being the Messiah.
But the ignorance of the people doesn’t excuse what they did. Nor does it imply that forgiveness is unnecessary; it shows why forgiveness was possible.
The people might have been ignorant, but God knew what He was doing.
What happened to Jesus was the fulfillment of prophecy—this is how God fulfilled what He had foretold through all the prophets...
Their ignorance wouldn’t get them off the hook. Neither would God’s foretelling of events.
The people—each and every person—must repent and turn to God.
We urge people to repent and turn to God because it’s necessary for each person.
All of us have sinned against God. We all like sheep have gone astray. We are sinful creatures; ours is a sin nature.
Each person must, of their own accord, repent (that is, turn from their sin) and turn to God.
This is the necessity of repentance. Each person, without exception, must repent of their sin and turn to God.
The blessing of repentance is threefold, according to Peter.
The first blessing of repentance is that your sins may be wiped out (v. 19):
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out...
The word for wiped out means “to erase, to obliterate”. It’s used in the book of Revelation both of God who “wipes away our tears” (21:4) and of Christ who “will never wipe [our] name from the book of life” (3:5).
When God forgives our sins through Christ, He wipes the slate clean, once and for all.
The second promised blessing is that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
This means rest, relief, respite, refreshment. God doesn’t merely wipe away our sins; He adds His refreshment for our spirits. This is a mark of the messianic age, as people are refreshed in their spirits when the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within them.
What’s more, we can bring a “refreshing” to the world as we, believers, have an effect on those around us. Our being changed by the power of the Spirit should be “refreshing” to those who don’t know Jesus.
People shouldn’t dread it when we come around. We should be a breath of fresh air; the Holy Spirit within us should be evident.
The third promised blessing is that God may send the Messiah who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.
This is a clear reference to the second coming of Christ, looking forward to when Jesus will return to set the world at rights, to make everything sad come untrue.
This speak about when His kingdom will be established on earth and the earth itself will be renewed even beyond the more abundant and productive state it had before Adam and Eve’s fall.
Nature will be liberated from its bondage to pain and decay, and God will make a new heaven and new earth. This final perfection awaits the return of Christ.
It’s a blessing the repentant joyously await, with great expectation.
Peter continues:
22 For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. 23 Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.’
24 “Indeed, beginning with Samuel, all the prophets who have spoken have foretold these days. 25 And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’ 26 When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”
Preach the Word
Preach the Word
The Christ-centered promises of total forgiveness (sins wiped out), spiritual refreshment, and universal restoration are all over the Old Testament.
Peter grounds his sermon, his preaching, in the Word of God—quotations and allusions to the law and the prophets.
He refers to three major prophetic strands—Moses, Samuel, and Abraham.
The prophet Moses spoke of in Deuteronomy 18 is Jesus. All the prophets of old, from Samuel on, looked forward to Jesus, consistently pointed to Jesus. The blessing God promised Abraham and His descendants could only come from Jesus Himself.
From every passage of the Word, there’s a road to Jesus. We must make a bee-line for Him from the Word, from the Bible.
There are many religious groups who depend more on the writings of their leaders and their traditions than they do the Word of God. There are many preachers who barely allude to what the Bible has to say; it’s a passing reference here or there.
People need more Bible; they don’t need us to preach about our current cultural hot takes, our political views, the latest movie we saw or book we picked up.
People need to hear preaching from the Word. Take your Bible with you—memorize a bunch of verses, carry the book with you, download it and have it on your phone.
When you have conversations with people, grab your Bible and point people to Jesus, like Philip did with the Ethiopian eunuch who was reading from the prophet Isaiah.
35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
Preach the Word—this is our mandate. In season and out of season. When it’s popular and when it’s not. Preach. Preach the Word.
We preach for repentance. We preach in such a way that people would be made aware of their sinfulness, the fact that they fall woefully short of the mark, and that nothing but repentance and turning to God will help.
More than anything, over and over and over, we preach Jesus. We preach the Good News about the One who came to set us free, to take our place, to make us holy.
We preach about Jesus taking our sin and shame, bearing our wrath, dying our death. We preach about His love for us and His righteous anger for our sin. We preach Jesus—no one else, no other way. Only Jesus.
We can talk strategies for growing the church, this program and that program. But if Jesus’ people don’t preach, if Jesus’ people don’t take every opportunity to proclaim Jesus, no program will accomplish anything.
Preach the Word. Preach for Repentance. Preach Jesus.