Sunday July 20, 2008

Acts 2_14-47
7/20/08

Peter's Sermon
I. In our last study.
A. The Holy Spirit came upon the believers gathered in an upper room some 120 of them, and there were three miraculous signs that accompanied this event.
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.
1. A crowd gathered and as they heard the praises of God spoken in their own languages by these unlearned Galileans, there were two responses within the crowd to the speaking in tongues.
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 begins to give a sermon and first he explains what happened:
Acts 2:14-21 (NKJV)
14 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.
16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 ‘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.
19 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.’
A. Peter stands and addresses the crowd (not in tongues) with a new found boldness.
1. He tells them that this joyous worship of God is not the result too much wine, but rather it is the result or evidence of the arrival of God's Spirit to dwell in His people.
a. The notion that they were drunk with new wine by 9:00 A.M. was ridiculous.
Commentator Adam Clarke says that most Jews - pious or not - did not eat or drink until after the third hour of the day, because that was the time for prayer, and they would only eat after their business with God was accomplished.
2. Peter uses scripture to explain what has happened quoting from the prophet Joel 2:28-32 that in the last days God would pour out His Spirit on all flesh.
a. He isn't saying that what has happened there on Pentecost has fulfilled the prophecy of Joel which more specifically pertains to the nation Israel in the end times, and in connection with the "Day of the Lord" or the tribulation period.
b. What Peter is doing by the guidance of the Holy Spirit is making application of this prophecy to the church, a sort of near fulfillment not a final fulfillment of the prophecy (which happens in scripture not infrequently).
(1) This would have been a new concept; it is the dawning of a new era, until this time the Jews believed that God's Spirit was only given to a few select people.
Numbers 11:28-29 (NKJV)
28 So Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, “Moses my lord, forbid them!”
29 Then Moses said to him, “Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!”
c. We need to support our practices, what we do from scripture, a lot of crazy things happen when we don’t.
3. It will be a long time from Peter's sermon here until the gospel is offered to gentile's, but verse-21 makes it clear that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
a. Peter is using this opportunity to evangelize the Jews that have gathered as a result of what has happened that day in the upper room.
III. Next Peter explains how it happened.
Acts 2:22-35 (NKJV)
22 “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.
25 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.’
29 “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.
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.
34 “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.”’
A. Peter shifts the focus to Jesus declaring to them that Jesus rose from the dead just as He promised and that the resurrection proves He is the Messiah.

1. Resurrection is victory over death, and while man has done a lot to stave off death for a time, death still comes to every man.
a. There have even been some who have been raised from the dead only to die again.
b. But Jesus Himself came out of the grave, never to die again proof indeed that Christ was no mere man.
B. Peter offers up four proofs of the resurrection to the crowd that had gathered.
1. First he points to the person of Christ Himself.
22 “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.
a. He says alright guys listen up, let me remind you of some things you already know, you watched His life, you saw the wonderful miraculous things He did because He did them among you, and you know they attest to the truth that God's hand was on Him, indeed that He was sent from God.
b. And while it is true that all these were part of God's plan and perfect foresight of all that would happen, you with your lawless hands have crucified Him and put Him to death.
(1) From this point of view we see a terrible crime, and it is incredible that one such as Jesus should be defeated by death.
Remember what was said as and how they mocked Jesus as He hung on the cross
Luke 23:35 (NKJV)
35 And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.”
(2) But verse-24 gives us another perspective in which we see that it was a great victory.
24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.
(a) God raised Him up from the dead, there being no fault in Him, by a loving act of sacrifice He took on Himself the sins of the world for which He tasted of death, but death could not hold Him.
(b) The word translated pain here is a telltale clue, it is the Greek word odin /o·deen, which describes the pain of childbirth.
i) The suggestion being that the Tomb was like a womb that Christ was born out of in Resurrection Glory.
Acts 13:33 (NKJV)
33 God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.’
2. The second proof is a prophecy by David from the Psalms.
Acts 2:25-31 (NKJV)
25 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.’
29 “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.
a. Peter quotes from Psalm 16:8-11 making the point that David was not talking about himself when he wrote this, David died and is still buried in the tomb which he was laid in and was still there as Peter spoke.
(1) Rather David as a prophet was writing of the Messiah and that HIS soul would not remain in Hades or His body in the grave where it would decay.
(a) Jesus thus fulfilled the prophecy and was therefore the Messiah.
3. Thirdly Peter points to the witness of the believer’s in verse-32
32 This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.
a. After His resurrection Jesus appeared numerous times to His followers over the forty days between His resurrection and ascension, to as many as 500 of them on one occasion, and He gave them the commission to be witness to others that He was alive.
(1) So the question comes up were they reliable witnesses. and the answer is absolutely.
(a) First off the disciples did not believe and they had to become convinced themselves.
Mark 16:9-14 (NKJV)
9 Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.
10 She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.
11 And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.
12 After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.
13 And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.
14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.

Acts 1:3 (NKJV)
3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
(b) But they became eye witnesses and so strong was there belief that in spite of great persecution, opposition, and even death they stuck to their story.
i) We might discount it if there were only a few for a short period of time, but is was the majority if not all of them, holding on to their belief in the resurrection all the way to their deaths.
(1) So convincing was their testimony that rather than a small following which eventually died out, the number who have believed and who spread the testimony has grown throughout the centuries.
(2) This really is an impeccable, and unimpeachable witness.
4. The fourth proof is the presence of the Holy Spirit
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.
34 “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.”’
a. His logic goes like this, if the Holy Spirit is in the world, then God must have sent Him.
(1) As we have seen already Joel promised that one day the Holy Spirit would come, Jesus also promised to send the gift of the Holy Spirit to His people.
Luke 24:49 (NKJV)
49 Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

John 14:26 (NKJV)
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

John 15:26 (NKJV)
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

Acts 1:4 (NKJV)
4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;
(a) If Jesus were dead He could not send the Spirit, but since the Spirit has come Jesus must be alive.
(2) What is more is He couldn’t have sent the Spirit unless He had ascended to Heaven and the Father
John 16:7 (NKJV)
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
(a) Peter quotes from Psalm 110:1 (vv 34-35) a verse which again could not have applied to David, connecting it to the ascension, in fact Jesus had used this verse to refer to Him self and demonstrated to the Pharisees that it could not apply to David (see Matthew 22:41-46)
C. Peter's conclusion serves as both a declaration and an accusation, that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the Christ, the Messiah, but Israel had killed her Messiah (her Savior), was there then any longer hope, and the answer is a resounding yes as Peter moves on with another explanation.
IV. Peter now explains why it happened.
Acts 2:36-41 (NKJV)
36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
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?”
38 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.”
40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.”
41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
A. He declares them guilty of killing God's Son, who is both Lord and Christ, the Holy Spirit uses Peter's word to convict their hearts, undoubtedly they felt some fear of God's penalty for their crucifying the Messiah He had sent them.
1. In light of this conviction in their hearts they address a question not just to Peter, but to all the disciples (while Peter is the spokesman all the disciples stand there as witness against them); “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
2. Peter responds to their question by telling them how to be saved, and that they also by putting their faith in Jesus will receive the Holy Spirit.
a. Salvation comes by repenting of your sins and believing on Jesus.
(1) It is on the basis of the remission of their sins having taken place they should be baptized, not be baptized in order to be saved (Baptism is an identifying with Christ).
b. Only by repenting and believing on Jesus could they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, a promise that was both for Jews, and for Gentiles (those that were afar off)
Galatians 3:2 (NKJV)
2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?—

Galatians 3:14 (NKJV)
14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
B. Peter not only told them how to be saved he also invited them to take up the offer and BE SAVED.
40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.”
1. As a result about three thousand responded, believed and were thus saved; and added to the church which was that day birthed.
V. As the chapter closes we find the church walking in the Spirit and growing.
Acts 2:42-47 (NKJV)
42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common,
45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
A. We see in these verses the activity and progress of the church.
1. In order to grow spiritually and become effective witnesses for Christ the new converts needed instruction in the Word of God, and to fellowship with other believers.
a. The same is true today.
b. Note they continued steadfastly that is they gave unremitting care to the Apostles doctrine (what the Apostles taught - because they had learned it from Jesus Himself), and in fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
(1) Study of the word.
(2) Fellowship which is more than simply being together, but "having in common" which probably refers to participation in the blood of Christ, co-operation in the work of the gospel, material goods and sharing with those in need.
(a) It was a voluntary sharing and the motive was love.
(3) Breaking of bread probably refers to regular meals they shared together, but they probably paused at the end of the meal to remember Jesus with what we call "the Lord's Supper" with bread and wine which were common provision in Jewish meals.
(4) Prayers seeking help from heaven, an expression of dependence upon God.
2. Weirsbe points out
a. The Church was unified:
44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common,
b. It was magnified
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
c. It multiplied
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
d. The testimony of the church was powerful not just because of miracles that were performed but the witness of their love for one another, and the way they served the Lord.
3. These Christians were not content to meet once a week, but came together daily, the activity of the church was daily activity because the resurrected Christ was a living reality to them.
a. Their faith was not a weekly routine they fulfilled, but a day-to-day reality they lived.
VI. And so it was that the church was birthed on that Pentecost day, and it has been a living growing body ever since. (A little about the nature of the Church)
A. Jesus refers to the church as yet future when He addresses Peter's confession of who He Jesus was. (So it was not yet in existence)
Matthew 16:16-20 (NKJV)
16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.
1. “I will build” is a statement looking to the future, and the rock on which He will build it is not Peter, but Peter's confession.
a. Christ is the Son of God; He is the foundation or the Rock on which the church is built.
B. As a body the Church is a living organism, not an organization.
1. A careful study of the church in the book of Acts shows that they organized in response to problems,
a. You can organize the Holy Spirit right out of the church.
b. On the other hand God is not the Author of confusion so organization takes place to correct or prevent problems.
2. It is however Christ who is the head of the church and who is to direct its activities through the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.
C. As a body, a living organism, it has a Genetic Code, the Genetic Code is as follows (sometimes called the mission of the church and the order is important).
1. To Glorify God and enjoy Him forever (this is man's highest calling and should permeate everything he does).
2. To Edify itself (see Eph. 4:11-14)
3. To Purify itself
a. Jesus performs this (Eph 5:26)
b. The Father does this (John 15:1)
c. We should do this individually (1 John 3:2-3
d. The Church should do this (1 Corinthians 5:1-7)
4. To Educate - We are told to make disciples not just converts.
5. To Evangelize the world (Matthew 28:19)
6. To Act as a Restraining and Enlightening force in the world (Matthew 5:13-16)
a. We do this as we are salt and light: salt preserves and light exposes.
7. To Promote all that is Good (Gal 6:10)
8. If the genetic code is intact the body is healthy, if the code is lost in a cell there is a malignancy or deformation (so this list must be kept in order regardless of what specific area of ministry we participate in).
a. Losing sight of this is one of the reasons that things go wrong and become unhealthy. (Causes tend to exalt themselves over and above glorifying Jesus)
D. Let us nor lose sight of what we are supposed to be and what we are to be all about, we are the church of Jesus Christ, He is the head we His body, we live for His pleasure and His glory, and we are the means through which He relates to the world around us.
1. Finally the offer still exists today:
Acts 2:21 (NKJV)
21 And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.’
a. If you have not already called upon Jesus, I urge you to do so today and be a part of what He has going on in the church. He is the only one and the only way that sin can be forgiven and eternal life enjoyed.