The Centrality of the True Christ

Last week, we witnessed Peter stand up in front of a crowd of at least 3,000 Jews to explain to them what had just happened. We heard Peter describe an Old Testament prophecy from Joel which told of this very day, the day that the Holy Spirit of God would come and indwell His people.

Today, we are going to hear the second part of Peter’s first sermon. Once the groundwork was laid for the event that drew people to disciples, Peter would drive home the centrality of the true Jesus, just like a carpenter takes a hammer and drives a nail into the wood. He would ensure that no one would leave that place without knowing exactly who Jesus is and why He matters.

Even as we look at the structure of Peter’s sermon, Jesus Christ is right at the center. The sermon is in three sections: (1) He explains the event of Pentecost and the coming of the Spirit, (2) He fully proclaims Jesus (his life, death, resurrection, and ascension), and (3) then finishes with a call to repentance. But he doesn’t just proclaim who Jesus is… Peter also ensures they understand the correct version of Jesus.

This reminds me of the 1997 movie, Face Off. The basic plot of the movie involves two main characters: the terrorist sociopath, Castor Troy (initially played by Nicolas Cage) and the mission-obsessed FBI Agent, Sean Archer (initially played by John Travolta). In the movie, Castor Troy is initially captured and knocked into a coma before he could be interrogated to reveal the location of a bomb in LA. The only other person who knows the bomb’s location is Castors’ brother, who is in prison. So, to get the information, Sean undergoes a radical surgery, where Castor’s face is removed and implanted on to Sean. His body is then surgically altered to look like Castor’s body and they even implant a chip so that Sean’s voice matches Castor’s voice.

As you would probably guess, the real Castor wakes from his coma, realizes what has happened, and forces the doctors to give him Sean’s face, body, and vocals. The rest of the story unfolds the battle between the two and the confusion that ensues as they each assume the other’s identities. Sean (who looks like Caster) is imprisoned, while Caster (who looks like Sean) tries to assimilate into his life, living with his wife and daughter. You can imagine the horror the real Sean must be living in with that knowledge.

So, you may be wondering why I am telling you this story. Well, in the movie, you have two guys. One looks like the other. He sounds like him, he even mimics the same mannerisms, but he isn’t the other person. The bad guy is still the bad guy, because he is a bad guy. As he spends time with the good guy’s family, they begin to notice.

During this biblical story, there was a massive misunderstanding who the Messiah was. The Jews (and even the disciples for a time) thought that the Messiah was supposed to be a military ruler who would come to vanquish Rome and establish his eternal rule. Therefore, at least in part, they rejected Jesus because he didn’t fit this model.

In our day, there is even more confusion after nearly 2,000 years of misinformation and the twisting of the real Christ by other religions.

So, which Jesus are We Talking About? Before we move any further, we have to get this part right.

New Age Jesus - an enlightened master like Buddha or Confucius who’s power showed how he tapped into the cosmic powers of the universe to attain a higher level of consciousness…and who has shown us how to do the same?

Islam’s Jesus - A respected and beloved Prophet, but was a prophet in line with other, Old Testament prophets who paved the way for Muhammad to reveal Allah’s final revelation in the Quran?

Jehovah’s Witness’ Jesus - created by Jehovah and formally the Archangel Michael (before the creation), then a man (but not God), and resurrected spiritually (not physically).

The Mormon Jesus - The first created being and brother to Lucifer as conceived between Yahweh (who used to be a devout mormon from another planet and became ruler of this plant as a reward) and one of his wives?

Cultural Christianity’s Jesus - The one who will abandon the attributes of justice and moral accountability for the ultimate revelation that love wins over all, no matter what depraved form that may take?

Biblical Jesus - as we will discuss and confirm during our time together today.

You see, you MUST have both. You must keep Jesus Christ at the center, but it must also be the correct version, because the Jesus of Holy Scripture is the ONLY Jesus that can save you from eternal damnation.

Passage & Outline

Proof from Jesus’ Life [v 2:22]

Proof from Jesus’ Death [v 2:23]

Proof from Jesus’ Resurrection [vv 2:24-32]

Proof from Jesus’ Ascension [vv 2:33-36]

Acts 2:22–36 ESV

22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him, “ ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; 26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. 27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’ 29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, 35 until I make your enemies your footstool.” ’ 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Proof from Jesus’ Life

[the miracles he performed: Acts 2:22]

Acts 2:22 ESV

22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—

Listen to my words...

The supernatural phenomenon of wind and speaking in multiple languages drew the crowd to Peter. Now, Peter tells the crowd to listen to the words he is about to speak. The main thrust of this day was the proclamation of the gospel, which is centered on the person of Jesus Christ.

Jesus was:

A man. Peter appealed to His humanity, which would have been palatable to the audience. He was warming up the crowd to deliver the hard-hitting news that was coming up next.

From Nazareth. A place that was approximately 55 miles to the north of Jerusalem. Most would have known and understood. Unfortunately, it was not a very desirable place and many held it in low esteem. Even in scripture, we see people saying things like, “Nazareth? Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

Attested by God. In the eyes of the Jews, this would have affirmed Jesus as at least a good man and Prophet, which He was. Perhaps Peter was getting them to say YES to one fact so that they were buttered up to say YES to the fullness of who Jesus is, which he will go on to explain. Or, at least in light of the current controversy, he was showing them that Jesus wasn’t a villain since he was approved by God himself.

Through miracles, signs, and wonders. It’s possible that the news of the resurrection of Jesus had not fully extended out to the surrounding regions, but certainly the news of His miracles over the past three years had. These miracles should have verified his claim, but many rejected him even still. The man born blind, whom Jesus healed, understood this:

John 9:32–33 ESV

32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”

In a nutshell, these three things should have produced:

Miracles = supernatural events performed by God through Him.

Signs = meant to point the people to something (or someone) specific

Wonders = the only appropriate response to the first two points

Unfortunately, this was not the case for most of them…yet. But don’t worry, Peter still has plenty more to say.

Proof from Jesus’ Death

[as ordained by God, and as carried out by man: Acts 2:23]

Acts 2:23 ESV

23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

Jesus’ death was revealed in advance in other places in Scripture (see Lk. 22:22, 37; 24:26, 46; Acts 3:18; 4:25–28; 17:2–3; 26:22–23).

God planned it

Like it or not, God the Father pre-planned and ordain the slaughter of Jesus. It come with the territory of being Omniscient. The harmony of scripture declares this attribute. For instance, take a look at Isaiah 46 which says that God is the one who declares the end from the beginning…from ancient times what is still to come.

Why would God plan the murder of His Son? Because that was the ultimate plan of redemption. This isn’t cosmic child abuse as some have argued. Hardly. Actually, it is the complete opposite. The murder of Jesus (which He did so willingly, I might add), is the ultimate act of love from the Father AND the Son, because it shows their complete unity in the overarching plan of redemption. It grieved the Father to see the Son suffer. Jesus experienced horrors we could never understand, and yet, it pleased the Father to crush Jesus because of what it would accomplish and Jesus endured it with joy because he knew the people that it would eternally secure in His kingdom!

So we are not going to try and get God off the hook for something he has intentionally done.

God is completely sovereign. In fact, the very definition of the word is complete and exhaustive control. It is impossible to be a little sovereign or even mostly sovereign. You are either sovereign or not sovereign. There is no in-between.

God also does not look into the future in order to understand outcomes or human decisions.

The words used don’t allow for such thinking: ‘Predetermined’ (having determined something in advance) and ‘Foreknowledge’ (knowing all the details from the very beginning). Our family went on vacation to New Jersey this summer. Kelly and I sat down and reviewed the routing on Google Maps. We planned the route, and then we executed the plan. In other words, we predetermined the plan to get to New Jersey, and then we executed the plan and arrived in New Jersey. So, from eternity past, the Father planned for the murder of his precious Son. He didn’t look into the future to see how Pilate and the Pharisees would act, then plan according to that knowledge. You see that, right? It’s important to me that you see that. If this were true, then God is not Omniscient, because He is learning. He is not the determiner of events, because he is reacting to human decision-making.

God does not anticipate the future and reacts accordingly

God does not allow humans to make a mess of the clay on the spinning wheel and somehow re-shapes it into something half-recognizable, yet not what he intended.

God does not learn

He determines all things from the beginning

He is the Omniscient, Omnipotent, Sovereign ruler who works out all things according to His will.

You did it

That said, however, does not get humans off the hook for their decisions. After affirming God’s involvement, Peter immediately points the finger at the very ones who cried out for Jesus’ crucifixion and said, “YOU DID IT!” What boldness! Peter is literally calling out, in full view of the entire crowd, the very people who used their collective influence to have Jesus killed. This one statement could have gotten Peter killed!

And yet, it had to be said, because scripture marks no dividing line between God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility & culpability.

Both exist and are often found side-by-side, linking arms like we see here, and is often a core aspect of apostolic preaching in Acts (see vv 2:36; 3:14–15; 4:10; 5:30; 10:39–40; 13:28–30). So if scripture doesn’t present this as a problem, why should we?

It is completely reasonable to think that an omnipotent God can ordain both the means and the ends of human history without destroying human, free-will decisions and consequence.

Do you believe that Jesus died a physical death? Not only that, but that it paid the price to remove your guilt and sin? Only God is perfect enough to be the spotless and sinless sacrifice. Only a human being can die as a sufficient substitute for humanity. Jesus is both and he must be both to actually save you.

Proof from Jesus’ Resurrection

[as King David prophesied about in Psalm 16 & 110: Acts 2:24-32]

Peter again appeals to scripture for proof. First, he confirmed the activity of the Holy Spirit by referencing the prophet Joel. Now, he is appealing to everyone’s hero - King David - to prove his point about Jesus.

Essentially, he is saying, “Jesus couldn’t stay dead. Want proof? Look at what David prophesied about in Psalm 16:8-11!”

Psalm 16:8–11 (ESV)

8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. 10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

David rejoiced at seeing his Lord perpetually before him. He saw that God would not abandon this Holy One to death, decay, and Hades. There are parts of this psalm that pertain to David at his point in time, but here, we can see that there is a clear distinction between what is being said of David and what is being said of this Holy One.

How?

David is dead and has fully decayed. You can go to his tomb right now and confirm. Therefore...

David prophesied about someone else... and based on other promises he was given, this would be a future descendant of his.

According to the lineages found in the gospels, we can confirm that Jesus is indeed a descendant of David and rightful heir to the throne, both in terms of direct descent, and of course, as the promised Messiah.

Then, by way of application to his listeners, Peter connects Jesus and the promised Messiah in the minds of the Jews as being one and the same. He is clearing up the confusion. The grave could not hold the Messiah, therefore, it will not hold all who belong to this Messiah!

I love this quote from one of my commentaries:

The Acts of the Apostles b. Jesus Is the Lord on Whom to Call for Salvation (2:22–36)

The impotence of death to destroy his relationship with God is David’s confidence.

Is it yours? Is the joy of an eternal relationship with Jesus, unhindered by any other power, your confidence in this life?

But, that isn’t the end of the story. Not only did Jesus do works here on earth, die to secure our redemption, rise from the dead according to the scriptures, but he also ascended to God’s right hand where he remains to this day.

Proof from Jesus’ Ascension

[as seen in Psalm 110:1: Acts 2:33-36]

And at his rightful place by the Father, he still intervenes for us as our Advocate and High Priest.

Exalted to God’s right hand. Jesus was attested by God during his earthly life. He was crucified by God’s predetermined plan. It was God who would not let His Holy One see decay by resurrecting him. Now, it is God who has exalted His beloved to his right hand, which is a place of prominence, authority, and blessing. It is God who deserves all praise and adoration!

Because He is there, the Spirit could be sent to us. Peter was coming full circle to the Pentecost event, and confirming Jesus’ foreknowledge as seen in the Gospels.

This is Jesus here, not David. Again, David didn’t ascend to this position. No Jew believed that David was at God’s right hand, and besides, David was watching this interaction take place. Burn this into your memory. Peter’s justification for saying is pulled, yet again, from holy scripture. This time, it is Psalm 110:1, which is the most quoted Old Testament verse in the New Testament. Psalm 110:1. Memorize this, because I will test you later.

The Lord said to My Lord. If you converted the Greek to Hebrew, it would read: Jehovah said to Adonai. We know this as God the Father speaking to Jesus, the Son, because it is Jesus who is David’s Lord… our Lord. Jesus is to stay at the Father’s right and until his enemies are a footstool for his feet.

And to slam the hammer down on the nail one final time, Peter ends this section by saying: This Jesus (you, know, the one you had killed…) is Lord and Messiah!

This IS the guy you have been waiting for. You DID mess up - royally - by having him crucified, and yet, because He rose from the grave and has been exalted to God’s right hand, He still commands you to bow. That’s what it means for Him to be Lord. I’ve just given you all the proof you need from your own holy scripture. Now, what are you going to do about it?

Conclusion

So there it is… Peter makes the main thing, the main thing. Jesus - the correct Jesus - is at the center of it all, as seen in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension.

Now, let’s drive this home. This is not just a call for Pastors to ensure their messages are Christ-centered (though they should be).

This is a wake up call to each one of us. We cannot assume that everyone knows Jesus, and not just some version of Jesus, but the real Jesus.

Here is a sobering statistic about that reality:

The State of American Theology study was a study conducted by Lifeway Research, in association with Ligonier Ministries. According to the report, within the Christian community, 51% of Americans agree Jesus was a good teacher, but he was not God, with 30% of that population identifying as Evangelical. In contrast, 37% of Americans disagree with the statement with 66% identifying as Evangelical.

-Jbu.edu (http://advocate.jbu.edu/2020/10/15/fifty-percent-of-americans-question-the-divinity-of-jesus/)

We can’t assume anything. It’s entirely possible for a person to be a kind, loving, respectable, moral sinner. The mission of the early church was to eradicate that statistic by making Christ known wherever God placed them. That must be our mission as well. There are over 27,000 souls in this county. If we (as God’s missional people) will not go, then who will? Our existence as Ashe Alliance is not solely to be fed with a message on Sunday mornings. It is to be equipped on Sunday to go out into the world Monday through Saturday! We are to be filled up with the Spirit, the Word, and with fellowship here, so we can pour out to others out there.

So, I want to ask you three questions as we leave here today:

Do you know this Jesus?

If no, will you receive Him today… allowing him to remove the shackles of sin and pain and give you an abundance of joy that comes with knowing Him?

If yes, then are you obeying the command of the Great Commission… loving your neighbors enough to tell them the truth about themselves and the glorious hope found in Jesus Christ?

This is not just a matter of life and death. It’s a matter of eternal life and death.

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