Good Friday Service
The Meaning of the Cross
Truth Taught- The Death and Resurrection of Jesus are the Events That Bring in the Last Days, the reign of Jesus, the Messiah
Acts 2:16–23 (ESV)
16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
17 “ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
18 even on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
20 the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
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.
1. The Death and Resurrection of Jesus Means the Time of Salvation has Come (2:16-21)
16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
17 “ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
18 even on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
20 the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
The prophet Joel spoke of what was going to happen in the Last Days. The Last Days are the days of the Messiah. With this sermon, Peter launches the Apostolic Age. This is the very first sermon preached.
I want to bring something to your attention…with the beginning of the Last Days, there are some important themes to their preaching, there are some components that are usually present in the sermons of the Apostles.
-Declaration that the age of fulfillment has arrived…We are in the Last Days
-Review of the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus
-The mention of OT Scripture that proves that Jesus is the Messiah
-Based on these truths, a call to repentance
The worshippers are in place. God is getting ready to cut them to the heart and birth the NT church.
Peter uses Joel to explain to all there, at the Pentecost festival what they were hearing as the Apostles were beginning to preach the death and resurrection of Jesus to them in their own language. These men are not drunk speaking confusion but rather gifted by God in that moment to speak in languages they did not know.
The meaning of this speech is that the Last Days have come upon us.
The crucifixion of Jesus was fresh on everyone’s mind. Peter is going to tell the people what the events mean. What is the meaning of the cross?
The cross was not a random event. It was not accidental. It was not mob mentality run rampant. It was a planned event. The Last Days were being brought in because Jesus has died and because He rose again.
Joel and the other prophets wrote about the events that would surround the cross. This was not random or accidental, it was in the mind of God from before time began and it would be carried out with precision.
It would bring in a time of grace. The Last Days is the time when the door is open for repentance and forgiveness. When Christ died on the cross the door was thrown open and it is still open.
21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
It will not be open forever. Today, the door is open for you. Will you not enter into God’s Kingdom through Jesus Christ, the Son? Today is the day of salvation.
2. What Jesus Did (2:22)
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—
Jesus’ miracles were not mere wonders. They were mighty works. The point is, our Lord’s miracles were accomplished through the hand of God. They were evidence that God was working in and through Jesus. They were signs that the Last Days and the Kingdom of God were upon them.
Jesus cast out many demons from people who were possessed…
Watch what these miracles meant…
Luke 11:20–23 (ESV)
20 But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; 22 but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. 23 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
Those who saw these amazing works agreed that God Almighty was working.
Luke 7:11–17 (ESV)
11 Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” 17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.
3. What God Did (2:23a)
23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God,
The cross was moved forward by God. It was His plan. It was His purpose. It was by His predestined foreknowledge. God carried it out exactly as He had determined it to take place.
The crucifixion of Jesus, as horrible and unjust as it was, fulfilled God’s plan. Peter declared this in Acts 4:27-28 by reminding us that, in crucifying Jesus, “Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel” were doing “whatever your hand [God’s hand!] and your plan [God’s plan!] had predestined to take place.” This was no accident of history but the eternally predestined purpose of God.
God had planned the cross and God carried out the cross.
Isaiah 53:4–5 (ESV)
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
The Prophet Isaiah tells us about the Messiah’s suffering before it takes place. So, we see the death and resurrection are planned events. They were both governed and orchestrated by God, Himself.
Because of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, the age of the Messiah has begun and with that comes the age of salvation. All who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
4. What the People Did (2:23b)
you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
The Romans were responsible. The Jews were responsible, King Herod was responsible. Pontius Pilate was responsible.
Jesus was dealt the death sentence by a human judge, had human executioners. The crowd cried out to release Barabbas and to crucify Jesus. They put Him to death.
God used sinful men to kill His only Son.
All this suffering was ordained and determined by the counsel of God.
So, what does the cross mean?
We have seen that the cross was planned by God
We have seen the Lord was crucified was the Son of God whom God was working through accomplishing many signs and miracles.
It was carried out by God using sinful men.
The meaning is that the Last Days are upon us and the time of salvation for all who call on the name of Jesus the Messiah.
The cross/death of Jesus brought with it the time of fulfillment. Jesus was handed over by God to sinful men to crucify.
Here in verse 23, Peter tells those that day, very plainly that they were the ones who literally, fixed Jesus to the cross and slew Him. Even though the cross was foreordained by God, evil men still did their evil and were directly responsible for hanging His only Son to the Cross to die.
God loved His Son, worked miracles through His Son, taught many wonderful truths by His Son. God endorsed Jesus Christ, and yet they murdered His Son.
I want you to see something here. Peter makes a blanket statement to all who were listening that they murdered God’s only Son. No doubt some were there who were in the crowd crying out for the blood of Jesus. No doubt some were there who watched Him hang on the cross and die. Peter tells them all that they all are responsible for Jesus’ death. It was for sin that He died.
If Peter was preaching today, he would point his finger at each one of us and proclaim that God did many works through Jesus and you crucified Him. It was our sin that caused the crucifixion. It was our rebellion and transgressions that placed Jesus on the cross. Listen, we are responsible…we are the evil men.
The crucifixion of Jesus brought in the Last Days. Listen the Last Days have brought in an open door to be forgiven for all of your sins. You nailed Jesus to the cross will you not trust Christ to save you? The cross means that it is the age of forgiveness. Trust Christ and be saved.
1 Peter 3:18 (ESV)
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
In the Last Days…
21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
Resources Used:
Acts by Petersen
Acts by Bruce
Acts by Bock
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