Proclaim 1: Witnesses of the Resurrection

Proclaim: The Gospel Has Come  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
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B: Acts 2:22-36
N: Flyer for Donna’s concert

Opening

Good morning, and welcome to our Family Worship time here at Eastern Hills. Whether you are here in the room or viewing online, as Joe said earlier, it’s great to be together to worship Jesus. The church staff was reflecting this week on what a joy last weekend was, with so much opportunity for worship and fellowship together between the Good Friday service, the egg hunt on Saturday, and then the beautiful morning we had outside for the sunrise service, breakfast, and then coming to a close with our Family Worship service. What a joy to be able to gather as a church family so many times, and it was also great to get to make so many new acquaintances in the process as well.
We are in the process of taking up our annual offering in support of North American Missions, called the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. Our church goal is $15,000, and through last Sunday, we have received $13,966.25! You saw the video earlier of the Williams, and this offering goes to support their ministry and so many others like it throughout the U.S. and Canada. Thank you church for your faithful support of this, and all of our mission offerings for the past year. We will continue to take up this offering through the month of April.
This morning, we begin a new series that will take us into summer called “Proclaim.” We’re going to dive right in with our focal passage this morning, Acts 2:22-36. Let’s stand in honor of God’s Word as we read this passage together.
Acts 2:22–36 CSB
22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to these words: This Jesus of Nazareth was a man attested to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through him, just as you yourselves know. 23 Though he was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail him to a cross and kill him. 24 God raised him up, ending the pains of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by death. 25 For David says of him: I saw the Lord ever before me; because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices. Moreover, my flesh will rest in hope, 27 because you will not abandon me in Hades or allow your holy one to see decay. 28 You have revealed the paths of life to me; you will fill me with gladness in your presence. 29 “Brothers and sisters, I can confidently speak to you about the patriarch David: He is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn an oath to him to seat one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Messiah: He was not abandoned in Hades, and his flesh did not experience decay. 32 “God has raised this Jesus; we are all witnesses of this. 33 Therefore, since he has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, he has poured out what you both see and hear. 34 For it was not David who ascended into the heavens, but he himself says: The Lord declared to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand 35 until I make your enemies your footstool.’ 36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
PRAYER

Series Opener

If I were to ask you the question, “Which do you want first, the good news, or the bad news?” How many of you would choose the good news first? How many the bad news? I think that for those who want the good news first, it’s because they prefer good news to bad news, so we might as well have that now. For those that prefer to get the bad news first, is so that the good of the good news can counteract the bad of the bad news. Either way, it’s because we like to get good news. It doesn’t matter what it is, we like it.
And we also like to tell good news to people. Think about it. If something really good were to happen to you, you’d want to tell people. And if you might get to be the bringer of good news to someone you’re close to, you’d jump at the chance. We normally WANT to proclaim good news.
This series is called “Proclaim: The Gospel Has Come.” We’re going look at seven sermons in the book of Acts, looking at the good news that the first church preached through the apostles. That’s what the word “Gospel” actually means: “good news.” See, the apostles preached the good news to people who preached the good news to people who preached the good news, etc… all the way down to where we now follow in their footsteps as those who have believed the good news, and we have a mission as followers of Christ to carry that message of good news to those who have never believed the Gospel.
So throughout this series, we will consider questions like:
“What did the first Christians believe about the Gospel?”
“How did that define what they said and did?”
“What does that mean for us today?”
“How does that speak to how we interact with/engage our world with the Gospel?”
We have just finished an eight-week series on the book of Mark, where we saw the hope found in the message of Jesus, and now we follow on the heels of that series with a look at the first preaching of the Gospel after Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension.

Sermon

This morning, we find ourselves in the second chapter of the book of Acts. Now, calling this the book of Acts is a little bit of shorthand, as the longer title generally is the Acts of the Apostles, or sometimes referred to as the Acts of the Holy Spirit. This book is narrative telling of the history of the early church written by Luke, the same as who authored the Gospel of Luke. It picks up basically where Mark left off, following the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, Acts opens with Jesus’ ascension.
Following Jesus’ ascension, 50 days since the Passover on which Christ was put to death, the believers were all together and the Holy Spirit was poured out on them. Each began to speak in different languages by the Spirit’s power, which was particularly useful in that moment, as Jerusalem was filled with faithful Hebrew people from all over the Roman empire, who were there on the day of Pentecost (50th in Greek) for the Feast of Weeks, the second of three harvest festivals that would have required a pilgrimage of every Jewish male to Jerusalem. The Feast of Weeks was called this because it was a “week of weeks,” or seven sets of seven days, and then the assembly would take place on the fiftieth day.
All of these people from different places with different languages heard the apostles proclaiming the work of God in their own tongues. This is a miraculous moment, and some are blown away, while others mock:
Acts 2:12–21 CSB
12 They were all astounded and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But some sneered and said, “They’re drunk on new wine.” 14 Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “Fellow Jews and all you residents of Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it’s only nine in the morning. 16 On the contrary, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 17 And it will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all people; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. 18 I will even pour out my Spirit on my servants in those days, both men and women and they will prophesy. 19 I will display wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below: blood and fire and a cloud of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. 21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Peter explained what was happening in this part, for the why, he preaches the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In Peter’s message, he breaks down the Gospel into three proclamations, which we will look at in succession, and make application at the end:

1) Peter proclaimed the death of Jesus.

Peter’s message follows a pretty straightforward path, starting with the identity of Jesus, and moving right into His crucifixion:
Acts 2:22–23 CSB
22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to these words: This Jesus of Nazareth was a man attested to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through him, just as you yourselves know. 23 Though he was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail him to a cross and kill him.
Peter’s explanation of the identity of Jesus appeals to the personal experience of everyone there. Most in the nation of Israel had heard of Jesus and His miraculous ministry. In fact, many of those who were in Jerusalem for the Feast of Weeks had been there the week that Jesus was crucified. The week that Jesus had been crucified had been the first of those three required festivals, the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Some of the people standing there that morning might have been at the Triumphal Entry where they cried, “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!” and some were those who cried out, “Crucify Him!” on the day Jesus died.
Peter says that Jesus was “attested to” by God by these miracles, wonders, and signs. “Attested to” in the Greek is a term that was often used in the time of one who was appointed to a particular position or office. The miraculous things that Jesus did during His ministry on earth pointed the fact that He is the Messiah.
Many of these men would have known all about Jesus’ ministry, and Peter makes that clear when he says, “as you yourselves know.” Peter didn’t have to prove it. He didn’t have to argue it. They knew good and well what Jesus had done.
And then Peter goes directly on to the death of Jesus, and in so doing brings out a fabulous theological paradox between God’s plans and our choices. According to verse 23, Jesus was both “delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge,” and that the Israelites were culpable for Jesus’ death, because “[they] used lawless people to nail him to a cross and kill him.”
Was it God’s plan that Jesus die? Yes. Was it men’s responsibility that they crucified Jesus? Yes. Peter has no problem leaving this tension in place. We may struggle with it, but Peter did not. It is entirely compatible with God’s plan and foreknowledge that He would work redemptively in full knowledge of where we will fall short, and being ready in advance to respond to those failings within the framework of His plan. I’m not going to say that I fully understand this truth, but I know that it is true: God has a sovereign plan that cannot be thwarted by my sin, but that doesn’t mean that I am not responsible for my choices. Somehow in God’s way of doing things, both can be true simultaneously.
Jesus’s death on that cross was not without purpose, however, even though Peter doesn’t go into it just yet (he does after our focal passage this morning). But Jesus died so that He would take the wrath of God against the sins of mankind on Himself on our behalf. He died so that we could be saved.
1 John 2:2 CSB
2 He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.
Peter begins with this introduction of the identity and the death of Jesus, because without the death of Jesus, we cannot have the second point:

2) Peter proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus.

Without the death of Jesus, we can have no resurrection of Jesus. And both are necessary parts of the Gospel whole, because Jesus couldn’t be resurrected if He didn’t die, and His death is actually meaningless if He didn’t rise again, as we saw last week in 1 Corinthians 15. But here, Peter opens and closes this next section with statements about Jesus’ resurrection, and in between, argues that this is what had always been planned for Messiah, according to Scripture:
Acts 2:24–32 CSB
24 God raised him up, ending the pains of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by death. 25 For David says of him: I saw the Lord ever before me; because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices. Moreover, my flesh will rest in hope, 27 because you will not abandon me in Hades or allow your holy one to see decay. 28 You have revealed the paths of life to me; you will fill me with gladness in your presence. 29 “Brothers and sisters, I can confidently speak to you about the patriarch David: He is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn an oath to him to seat one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Messiah: He was not abandoned in Hades, and his flesh did not experience decay. 32 “God has raised this Jesus; we are all witnesses of this.
Do you see how verses 24 and 32 are bookends, creating the opening and closing of Peter’s argument about the resurrection? The biblical argument that Peter makes comes out of a psalm of David, which is fitting because it is David that had received the promise of always having someone from his line on the throne of Israel. The psalm is Psalm 16:8-11, and Peter quotes it from the Septuagint, or the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures:
Psalm 16:8–11 CSB
8 I always let the Lord guide me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices; my body also rests securely. 10 For you will not abandon me to Sheol; you will not allow your faithful one to see decay. 11 You reveal the path of life to me; in your presence is abundant joy; at your right hand are eternal pleasures.
Peter argues that, while this passage was written by David, David could not have only had himself in view when he wrote it. If he had only been thinking of himself in this promise, then the promise has failed, because David died and was buried, and at this time in the first century, they still knew where his tomb was (we don’t know today, even though you can go visit a site that claims to be it… most scholars and archaeologists don’t think it is).
So David died, and went the grave, and his body most certainly decayed. So David must have been speaking about someone other than himself when he said these things. Peter argues that David was playing the part of prophet in this case, and that he was prophesying about the Messiah: that He would die, but would not be abandoned to the grave nor have decay occur to Him. Jesus fulfilled this prophetic message—a fulfillment that is grounded in historical fact, as we talked about last week.
So Jesus died and was raised to life again. He died to pay the penalty for the sins of mankind, and He rose so that those who belong to Him by faith in His work will live forever just as He does, because just as He took the punishment against our sins on our behalf, He defeated death on our behalf as well. But the message of Gospel doesn’t stop there:

3) Peter proclaimed the reign of Jesus.

The death of Jesus gave way to the resurrection of Jesus, and the death and resurrection of Jesus show that He is Messiah. However, His ascension to the right hand of the Father shows that He is also Lord. Peter said it this way:
Acts 2:33–36 CSB
33 Therefore, since he has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, he has poured out what you both see and hear. 34 For it was not David who ascended into the heavens, but he himself says: The Lord declared to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand 35 until I make your enemies your footstool.’ 36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
Remember that this message started with an explanation of what was happening in the miraculous speaking in multiple tongues by the disciples that morning. Now we come full circle to the reason behind it: because Jesus has ascended, the Holy Spirit has come and He is at work in the life of the believers. Jesus had promised this to His followers:
John 14:16–17 CSB
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. 17 He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive him because it doesn’t see him or know him. But you do know him, because he remains with you and will be in you.
John 14:26 CSB
26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.
John 16:7 CSB
7 Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you.
And that morning, the indwelling of the Spirit was being manifested in the lives of the believers in a very real and very powerful way. This was just one more evidence of the identity and power of Jesus.
But ultimately, all of the evidence points to the fact that Jesus is Lord—He is sovereign over everyone and everything. He has all authority and power, and He is in control. Again, Peter uses an argument from a psalm of David to show this fact, quoting from Psalm 110:1:
Psalm 110:1 CSB
1 This is the declaration of the Lord to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.”
Jesus Himself used this psalm in a very similar application in Mark 12:35-37. David didn’t ascend into heaven, and David wasn’t referring to himself when He wrote this. The LORD (YHWH), said to David’s Lord (the promised Davidic Messiah), “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” Jesus will have all victory, because He is Lord. Consider what Paul wrote about Jesus’ lordship in Colossians chapter 1:
Colossians 1:15–20 CSB
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and by him all things hold together. 18 He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Jesus is Lord over everything and everyone. His Lordship over creation is not determined by whether or not we believe in Him. His Lordship is a statement of fact. He said that He would die, and He died. He said that He would rise, and He rose. He said that He is Lord, and He is Lord. And since He is Lord, there are only two kinds of responses to Him: submission or rebellion.

Application Question: How important are these proclamations in our daily life?

Quickly, it’s great to look through these proclamations of the parts of the Gospel message in Peter’s first message in Acts. And I strive every week to preach the Gospel message clearly here. But the question for each of us is: how important are these proclamations in our day-to-day lives? Do we consider the ramifications of the death, resurrection, and lordship of Jesus as we live day in and day out?
Obviously, we can’t explore this completely in one application section of one sermon. But I want to quickly ask three questions:

What if we considered every day that Jesus died for us, so that we walk in forgiveness?

What a joy it is to be forgiven! And if we kept in the forefront of our lives that the total weight of our sins had been completely done away with because of Jesus’ death on the cross, what hope and gratitude we would have! We have the blessing of being able to see His death clearly—as Him taking our place, suffering on our behalf, so that we could be brought back into a right relationship with God. Peter would later say it this way in his first epistle:
1 Peter 2:21–25 CSB
21 For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22 He did not commit sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth; 23 when he was insulted, he did not insult in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Brothers and sisters, we are to follow in His steps, being willing to suffer for others, willing to walk in truth, to not return insult for insult, to pray for those who would cause us suffering. Because we have been forgiven so much, we should be incredibly willing to forgive others.
But if you have never surrendered to Christ, then you are still in your sin, and you are in rebellion. It’s that simple. Without Jesus, you aren’t forgiven. But hear this morning and understand that God loves you, and that’s why Jesus came and died—to purchase our pardon from the guilt of your sin. But we can choose to reject that gift and try to save ourselves, but we will never succeed. We need the forgiveness that only comes through Christ.

What if we considered every day that Jesus rose from the dead, so that we have eternal life?

Because Jesus defeated death, if we have surrendered to Christ in faith, we have victory over death as well, and while we might taste physical death here, we will be alive forever spiritually with God. And that is a great promise and blessing!
But at the same time, yes, we have eternal life, but that life isn’t just a “then” thing. It’s a “now” thing. Our eternal life in Christ is an abundant, purposeful life here and now:
2 Corinthians 4:11 CSB
11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’s sake, so that Jesus’s life may also be displayed in our mortal flesh.
If we have eternal life, even in the midst of the struggles of life, even the persecutions that we may face, we are also putting the life of Jesus on display. And since we have that promise of life, even if we face difficulties or persecutions, we can do so in the confidence that comes from the presence of the Spirit within us, and as we sang earlier, “Whom Shall I Fear?” Consider what Peter said in his first epistle to this end:
1 Peter 3:14–16 CSB
14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear them or be intimidated, 15 but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. 16 Yet do this with gentleness and reverence, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame.
We are called to be ready at all times to give an answer for the hope that we have. Our hope is found in the fact that Jesus rose again, and so this world is not our home…it’s just where we are staying for now, and we have a mission and a message while we are found here, which leads us to our third question:

What if we considered every day that Jesus is Lord, so that we sought to know and submit to His will in every area of our lives?

First of all, let me again be clear that Jesus IS Lord. It’s not up for debate. If we have never surrendered, given up on going our own way, and trusting in Christ for our salvation, then we are in rebellion against Him. When we have surrendered to Him, the nature of our relationship to Him changes. Instead of a Lord we are in opposition to, we have a Lord that we have pledged our allegiance and fealty to. If Jesus is Lord, then He is in charge of us completely.
Romans 14:7–9 CSB
7 For none of us lives for himself, and no one dies for himself. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 Christ died and returned to life for this: that he might be Lord over both the dead and the living.
Therefore, it is our duty as believers to walk in faith, trusting in our Lord as He leads us. But as He leads us, we are to be obedient to what He leads us to, following Him in submission to His will. We are called, therefore, to walk in the newness that we have been given.
1 Peter 1:13–16 CSB
13 Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be sober-minded and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. 15 But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; 16 for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.
If Jesus is our Lord, then He is to have full reign in our lives, as we commit each day to follow Him.

Closing

Peter’s first sermon was focused completely on the death, resurrection, and reign of Jesus.
When he had preached it, the people listening responded from the heart:
Acts 2:37 CSB
37 When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
And perhaps you are asking the same question today, because you have never surrendered to Christ as your Lord and Savior. Peter’s answer to the people was that they should repent, which is to turn away from their sin and their selves, and turn to Christ for salvation in faith, and that they then take the first step of obedience by being baptized as a testimony of that faith. The same goes for you today. If you have never trusted in Christ to save you from your sin, then repent today, giving up going your own way, and believe the Gospel of Christ. I’d like to talk with you about that. Email or stay in your seats.
If you believe that EHBC is a place where you can serve and grow, I want to talk with you about that as well.
If you are a believer, but you have been going your own way, repent! You can give during reflection time as well.
PRAYER
Reflection time

Closing Remarks

Business Meeting tonight at 5:30. We need a quorum. If we do not have a quorum, we will have a special called business meeting immediately following Family Worship next Sunday. (announcing this is a rule, not a threat)
Donna Concert - 15th Annual
Bible reading: finishing Proverbs today, starting Acts tomorrow.
Instructions
Benediction:
Hebrews 13:20–21 CSB
20 Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus—the great Shepherd of the sheep—through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 equip you with everything good to do his will, working in us what is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
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