The Messiah has Risen
Truth Taught- The Last Days are marked by the time of great grace and salvation
Acts 2:22–41 (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.”
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
1. Jesus Crucified and Killed but God Raised Him Up (Acts 2:22-24)
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.
Here we see God’s sovereignty and the fact that He will accomplish His purposes in all things. The death of Jesus by crucifixion was a necessary event for the salvation of God’s people. Jesus had to die on the cross if we are to experience life.
God used sinful evil men to carry out His divine plan. Jesus was delivered up according to God’s definite plan and foreknowledge. Yet, the evil men were still accountable for their actions.
The big picture here is that Jesus, God’s Son came to save. He preached the Kingdom of God and did many mighty works. He was proven to be the long-awaited Messiah. He healed many of various diseases, He cured many from various illnesses and yet mankind as sinners murdered the One who came to save them…
Mankind killed God’s Son.
Verse 24 is very clear where the resurrection came from…24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
Jesus’ resurrection was God’s endorsement and vindication of the sinless Son of God. Jesus is sinless so death could not keep Him.
Death had wrongfully claimed a victim and God set things right. Jesus had to die in order to save us from our sin and yet His death was not warranted by the biblical reason for death which is sin.
2. David’s Prophecy Concerning Jesus (2:25-28)
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.’
Peter wants those who are hearing him to understand something. While King David experienced great suffering in his life and was brought low to the point of death, then and only then could he write Psalm 16. David understood that when he is brought to the point of death, God would not abandon him. His soul and even his flesh will be changed and he will see God.
So, David’s death becomes a reason for him to rejoice. His death is the subject of his hope. His hope after this life is found in God alone Who has the power over death.
Peter, takes what David wrote and tells us that David is a prophet because all this is really not about David at all, but it’s really about Jesus.
The exaltation of Jesus in His resurrection is a direct fulfillment of God’s promise to David.
David’s joy reaches beyond his circumstances and is fixed on the fact that he will always be with God. Death no longer terrifies him. Death is not the great enemy anymore to David because even in death, God is with him.
I pray that you can say that no matter what takes place in your life even if its to face death, you have a right relationship with God through Christ.
Death cannot destroy our relationship with God and David knew this and he even anticipated God’s presence in death.
3. It Was Not David that Was Raised from the Dead (2:29-32)
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.
I wonder if we can follow Peter’s amazing point here? Peter preaches that these verses are ultimately about Jesus in the grave and not David in the grave is because David is still in his tomb and Jesus is not.
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.
Everyone knew that David’s tomb was located at the south end of the great city. So, it wasn’t David’s body that would not see corruption but, in fact, Jesus’ body that was raised from the dead, not David.
The Apostolic witness testifies to the fact that Jesus was raised on the third day.
32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.
4. It Was Not David That Ascended to the Right Hand of God (2:33-36)
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.”
Here, Peter quotes another Psalm of David. This time to show that David was here also speaking of Jesus Christ.
Where did Jesus go after His resurrection? He ascended back to the Father. He is seated at the right hand of God on high.
Our Lord has also poured out the Holy Spirit on all His people. As Peter preaches there are others speaking in different languages also testifying about the Lord Jesus.
Here comes the pinnacle of decision for those who are hearing Peter…
They are witnessing a great redemption event. The apostles are speaking to the people about Jesus in their own language. Jesus has poured out the Holy Spirit. They were in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost which comes 50 days after Passover. Jesus was crucified on the Passover. Everyone had heard of the crucifixion of Jesus and now they are also learning of His resurrection. Peter proves from the OT that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah. He shows multiple OT prophecies and also proves that these texts are about Jesus. He has shown that Jesus is the Messiah, the King and God’s own Son. God endorsed Jesus by working His power through Him. He accomplished many miracles signs and wonders before them. He was God’s greatest gift to them…
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.”
On this resurrection Lord’s Day, I pray we see all that Jesus is and has done for us. When those people there that day were shown who Jesus is and shown that God has placed His seal of approval upon Him and praised Him as His Son…and they were guilty of murdering Jesus by crucifixion…
Acts 2:37–39 (ESV)
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”
The death and resurrection of Jesus mark the Last Days, the Days of the Messiah. These days are days of great grace.
Acts 2:21 (ESV)
21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
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