A NEW AGE AND AN OLD, OLD STORY
Acts 2:14-24
Introduction: This morning we return to
a scene 2,000 years ago, 50 days after the death and resurrection of Jesus. Ten
days earlier Jesus had told his disciples to go to Jerusalem and to wait for
the Promise of the Father, and then He ascended to Heaven before their very
eyes. As they waited, did they recall the words the Master had said to them in
the upper room, “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 go, I will send him to you” (John
16:7)? Peter’s sermon
of the day of Pentecost is occasioned by the miraculous pouring out of the Spirit
that was accompanied by the disciples speaking the mighty works of God in the
languages of the people who were present at this pilgrim feast in Jerusalem. As you read Peter’s sermon consider the
boldness of preaching this message on the streets of the city where Jesus was
arrested, tortured, and killed just seven weeks earlier. What had changed? Even
as Peter was explaining what was happening on the day of Pentecost, it was
evident that he was filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit. The resurrection of the Master was a fact
that energized him to be sure, but the presence of the indwelling Spirit
transformed him from the fearful disciple who three times denied Jesus, to the
fearless proclaimer of the Gospel we see here.
Warren Wiersbe said in his commentary of Acts that using that starting
point Peter explained 1) What happened, 2) How it happened, and 3) Why it
happened. We’ll use that general outline
as we walk through this passage, this morning and again next week. Today as we
consider the “what” and the “how” we’ll see that this event was the dawn of a
New Age, and that the “how” presents the first Christian sermon, the first
public proclamation of the Gospel Story, the old, old story that still changes
lives today.
The Big Idea: The Coming of the Spirit bears witness
to Jesus as Lord and points us to Him as the only way of salvation.
I.
A NEW AGE: Peter Explained what happened, that is, the Spirit had Come—The Fulfillment of
Scripture signaled the dawn of the Messianic Age (14-21).
I
don’t want to lightly skip over the fact that “Peter stood up, with the eleven…” and addressed the
crowd. These were the same guys who were scattered when Jesus was arrested, the
same Peter who three times denied that he knew Jesus as he was being tried and
tortured. They were restored by grace, they were empowered by the truth of the
resurrection and endowed by the personal presence of the Spirit to speak the
truth boldly. One of the great struggles
that so many people have even after coming to Christ, is recognizing that they
are forgiven, that they can let go of the past.
You may feel unworthy, unqualified, or undeserving, but if you are His,
if you have believed in Jesus as your Savior and Lord, His Spirit indwells you,
and has sealed you and will empower you to be his witness. Do you deserve it? No, and guess what, neither do I, and neither does anyone
else in this room. That is “grace,” God’s unmerited favor. If you have
trusted Christ that means you have been forgiven, it means that Jesus bore the
penalty for your sins, it means His righteousness has been reckoned to your
account. If you hear a voice whispering “He can’t possibly forgive you,
remember what you did?” or, “How can He use you after the way you failed back
then?” Don’t listen. If you know Him He
has chosen you, on purpose, for a purpose. Like the song writer said, the
Master points to you and says “This one is mine.” He will use you, you are chosen for His team.
Peter stands up and speaks on behalf of the
others. No one is drunk here, its only nine in the morning! “This is that…” The way Peter begins is
actually significant, it is a phrase that was commonly used in first century Judaism
to introduce a Scripture that was being fulfilled in their current experience. Peter understood that this Pentecost was one
more phase in the unfolding of God’s plan, it signaled the dawn of a new
age. The Jews of the first century were
anticipating the coming of a messiah. For the most part, that expectation was
partial and incomplete. They expected a King like David, an expansive and
secure kingdom like Solomon, freedom from foreign oppression and the blessings
of the Covenant. They had somehow lost sight of the fact that the Old Testament
predicted a rejected and suffering Messiah, One who would bear the sins of
many. Jesus had told the disciples that it
was necessary for Him to suffer, but only after the resurrection were their
minds opened to understand the Scriptures (see Luke 24:26,27,44).
Peter
introduces a quotation from the Old Testament prophet Joel with the phrase “In the last days…” (2:17). This phrase
doesn’t appear in Joel, it is Peter’s interpretation of what Joel was saying.
These events described by Joel would usher in “the last days,” the age of the
Messiah. You might think, wait a minute,
was Peter confused, that was 2000 years ago, how could that be “the last days”?
The New Testament presents a perspective
that some theologians have called “inaugurated eschatology.” The idea is that
the pivotal events of the cross, resurrection, ascension, and Pentecost
introduced the last days, though the Kingdom is not yet fully realized (we are
premillenialists!) it is already present in a preliminary sense. “Already” and “not
yet” at the same time. The writer to the Hebrews uses the same phrase to
describe the age that began with the coming of Messiah, when he says, “In different times and in different ways God
spoke in times past to the fathers through the prophets, but in these last
days He has spoken in the Son…” (Hebrews 1:1). Remember James had warned the rich against
greed when he said “…that You have laid up treasure in the last days…” This
age, from Pentecost to the Parousia is “the last days” in the New Testament
sense. Peter warned “…knowing this first of all, that scoffers
will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful
desires. 4 They will say,
"Where is the promise of his coming? (2 Peter 3:3,4). Paul also said in perhaps the very last
letter that he wrote, “But
understand this, that in the last days there will come times of
difficulty. 2 For people will
be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to
their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3
heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving
good, 4 treacherous,
reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…”
(2 Timothy 3:1-4). I believe this describes the response of some people to the
truth throughout the church age, and anticipates exactly what we are seeing
today as the Day draws nearer.
Importantly, as we look at Acts we see that the
coming of the Spirit introduced a day when the offer of salvation was to be
extended to “everyone who calls on
the name of the Lord…” (v.21). This
anticipates the global reach of the gospel. Peter is speaking to a multitude
that is basically Jewish, Jews and converts to Judaism. But “everyone” is
inclusive, and anticipates that this message would go out to the whole world,
and everyone who calls on His name, that is who believes and comes to God on
His terms will be saved, and that would ultimately include a remnant from every
race, stock, and nation. This is exactly what Jesus had told the disciples in
Acts 1:8, “You will be witness for me in
Jerusalem, and all of Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the earth…” Notice that Joel’s prophecy also breaks down
cultural barriers: young and old, men and women, without class or economic
distinctions. God is not a respecter of persons. Jesus is weaving together the
beautiful tapestry of His church. The coming of the Spirit bears witness to
Jesus as Lord and points us to Him as the only way of salvation.
II.
AN OLD STORY: Peter Explained How it happened—Jesus died and rose again (22-24). Do you recall the words of Paul when, in his
letter to the Corinthians, he summarized the Gospel message: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what
I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was
raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures…” (I
Cor 15:3,4). The things of first importance are the historical, foundational
facts of the Gospel. Here, on the day of Pentecost, Peter points to those same
“Gospel facts” and gives some profound theology in the process.
He begins with a one
sentence summary of Jesus’ Life and Ministry (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…” Peter addressed the crowd in v.14, and here
he does again. He is speaking to his fellow Jews as he speaks about Jesus.
First of all he states what
might seem obvious, that is, that Jesus was “A man…”, that is, a human being. There is no question that Peter is
affirming the humanity of Jesus. There
were a lot of heresies that arose in the early church as people struggled to
understand the full meaning of the revelation God had given in the Scriptures.
One heresy was called “Docetism,” which held that the divine Christ appeared in
human form, but did not have a full, human nature. Peter’s statement pre-empts
that kind of thinking about Jesus. He was no apparition, He didn’t merely
“seem” human, He was “a man.” Someone might think, “Wait a minute, I thought
Jesus was the Son of God?” Yes. Fully God, and fully man. Does that mean there
were two “Sons,” the divine Christ and the historical Jesus? No. The two
natures were perfectly joined in one person. The technical expression
theologians use is to call this “the hypostatic union,” the perfect joining of
two natures in one person.
Jesus was a man “…attested to you by God…” The same word is used by Luke in a
“legal sense” in Act 25:7, “When
he had arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him,
bringing many and serious charges against him that they could not prove.” The Jews were making charges against Paul
that they could not substantiate, there was no evidence to prove their
case. Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God
and Messiah was proven by the works that God did through Him. He did not call people to blind faith, but
rather backed up His words with His works.
Luke uses three parallel and supplementary words to describe different
aspects of these works:
*Miracles (dunamis) Acts of power, emphasizing
these things couldn’t be done by mere men. These were no parlor tricks, no
slight of hand deceptions. They were acts of power that only could be
done with the help of God. Nicodemus said as much when he came to Jesus at
night, “…no man could do the signs that you are doing except God be with
him…”
*Wonders (teras) Emphasizes the response that
Jesus’ works evoked from the people. They were stunned! Remember the reaction
of the disciples when Jesus came walking to them on the stormy sea, they were
terrified! “Wonders” speaks to the awe people felt as they saw the blind see,
the lame walk, demons cast out, and dead raised to life.
*Signs (semeion) speaks to these acts as a
revelation of who Jesus, the miracle worker, is. “Sign” was John’s favorite word
for the miracles of Jesus [see John 20:20,31].
This pointed to the purpose of the miracles, not merely acts of
compassion, but revelation pointing to who Jesus is, Messiah, Lord, Son of God.
Notice that Peter knows that the people know
Jesus did these things: “…just as you
yourselves know…” These works were “attesting evidence,” legal proof that
left no doubt that Jesus was who He claimed to be. Notice the first part of
what Nicodemus, one of the Sanhedrin, said in John 3:2, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for
no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him..." The miracles weren’t done in a corner. They
were seen by many and could be investigated and should have been compelling
evidence to the leaders and the people alike.
His Death and the Plan of God (23).Peter
points to the sovereign purpose of God in the unfolding story of Jesus, but at
the same time does not mince words about the responsibility of the Jews in
rejecting their own Messiah: “…this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite
plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless
men…” Notice these two truths set side by side: God’s
sovereign plan, and human responsibility.
This is a case where a careful look at the
grammar can help us avoid misreading what Peter is saying. The dative of
means/instrument makes it clear that both
the “predetermined council” and “foreknowledge” of God were the means by
which Jesus was delivered up. It cannot be merely knowing ahead of time what
would happen, but it clearly implies purposeful action on the part of God. Similar to what Paul says in Romans 8:32, God
“…spared not His own Son, but delivered
Him up for us all…” The point is that the cross was not a “plan B” it
was no accident or re-calculation, it was in the sovereign plan of God from the
beginning.
But that does not mean that the people were
not responsible for rejecting Him. “…you nailed to a cross by the hands of
godless men and put Him to death…” (Acts 2:23). Peter is obviously very careful not to
confront or offend right? Not! In case
they missed what he was saying, he’ll say it again in v.36, “God has made this Jesus, whom you
crucified, both Lord and Christ…”
This is the extent of the sovereignty of God: He is able to over-rule
even the greatest possible evil, the rejection and murder of His Son, to
accomplish the greatest imaginable good, the salvation of a people for Himself,
to the glory of God. Friends, this is not the main point but let me say that
the same is true in the lives of His people. Paul said that God causes all
things to work together for good to those who love Him, to those who are called
according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). Whatever you are going through, as we
have been learning in Sunday School, God will use for your good and for His
glory.
Peter does not stop at the cross and the
grave, but points to His Resurrection in fulfillment of Scripture (24) “…God
raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him
to be held by it.” This is a part of the Gospel message we don’t
want to leave until next week, in fact it is at the heart of the Good News that
the apostles preached: “…Christ died for
our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in
accordance with the Scriptures…” (I Cor. 15:3,4).
What is God
saying to me in this passage? The
Coming of the Spirit bears witness to Jesus as Lord and points us to Him as the
only way of salvation.
What would
God have me to do in response to this passage? The first and most obvious response to this message
is that each of us should be sure of our own salvation. Not because of church
membership or attendance, but through trust in Jesus and his finished work. That
means admitting that you are a sinner, because all have sinned and fall short
of the glory of God. It means believing that Jesus is the Son of God, and that
He bore your sins in His body on the cross.
It means trusting in Him alone as your hope of salvation, and confessing
Him as the savior and Lord of your life. Once we have done that we can
recognize the truth: The Spirit of God indwells us! In fact we have all, at the
moment of faith, been baptized in the Spirit “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body- Jews or Greeks,
slaves or free- and all were made to drink of one Spirit…” (I Corinthians 12:13). In fact if we don’t have the Spirit we are
not His, “…You, however, are not in the flesh but in the
Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have
the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him…” (Romans 8:9). A professor of
mine in Bible college used to say the Spirit has given us RIBS… We are re-born,
indwelt, baptized, and sealed by the Spirit. And so,
·
We have hope, even in trials: “…and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into
our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us…”
(Rom 5:5).
·
We have assurance: “…The Spirit himself bears witness with our
spirit that we are children of God…” (Rom 8:16).
The
Spirit guides us into truth and empowers us for service. Because we know He is
with us and in us, we have faith and a perspective that can lift us above the
circumstances of the moment, because we are not alone, the omnipotent,
omniscient Creator of the Universe is with us and in us. So may we pray in concluding
with Paul the apostle…
“For this reason I bow my knees before the
Father, 15 from whom every
family in heaven and on earth is named, 16
that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened
with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in
your hearts through faith- that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend
with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ
that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of
God. 20 Now to him who is
able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the
power at work within us, 21
to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations,
forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:14-21).
…and
amen!
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