Climbing into the Honda

 These were amazing days for the First Church of Jerusalem.  Thousands were coming to faith in Jesus.  

It seems like every time you turn around God is doing great miracles through the apostles.  

These believers have stood boldly for Christ when challenged by the Sanhedrin. They are so united in the Lord that people are selling property to meet every need.  

And then there was that ugly Ananias and Sapphira "incident."

Luke tells us that "many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles" (v12).  "Signs and wonders" is an important biblical phrase.  

And it's not just limited to the NT.  It's the description given in the OT for the miracles/plagues God did through Moses while in Egypt.  

Peter quoted Joel 2:28-32 in his Pentecost sermon, noting that God said, "I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below..." (Acts 2:19).

In other words, these words are a signpost to let us know that the Third Person of the Trinity is at work.  Don't forget that the Holy Spirit is the star of the show in Luke's second volume.  

The phrase "signs and wonders" appears a handful of times in the Gospels, but begins making regular appearances in Acts (Acts 2:43; 4:30; 6:8; 14:3; 15:12).

What's the purpose of the Holy Spirit working these signs and wonders?  The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians.  "The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works" (2Cor 12:12).  

In other words, these were God's stamp of approval on His apostles.  They were clear indications to the people that these men were God's official representatives.

Once again they gathered under Solomon's Portico.  This was a covered porch on the outside of the Court of the Gentiles on the temple grounds.  

Dr. Luke writes that "they were all together" there.  This is the Greek word ‘ομοθυμαδον/homothumadon.  This adverb is sometimes translated as "in one accord" 

Did you know that all of the apostles could actually fit into a Honda?  In one Accord, get it?  When Dad Jokes meet Bible Jokes we know these are dark days.

One of Luke's absolute go-to terms is ‘ομοθυμαδον/homothumadon.  He uses it eleven times.  It is only found once outside of Acts (Rom 15:6).  

It carries the idea of being united with one mind and with one passion.  We must ask ourselves if we are united with one mind and one passion with other believers.  

Or are we busy pushing our own agenda at church?  Are we "one issue voters?"  

We can be so full of...well, ourselves.  Instead, let's set aside our personal agendas and and be filled with the Holy Spirit.  

Remember, this is Jesus' new command "that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (Jn 13:34-35).  

And this is Jesus' prayer for us.  He asked His Dad "that they may be one, even as We are one" (Jn 17:11).  

It's Paul's plea to the church at Philippi, "being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind" (Phil 2:2).

When we are submitted to Jesus and filled with His Spirit, we too are ‘ομοθυμαδον/homothumadon.  

This isn't up to anyone else.  It's up to you.  Yeah, I'm talking to YOU!  That's right, the one in the mirror.

One mind.  One passion.  One accord. 

Climb into the Accord.  There's room for one more!

©2011

Jay Jennings

Rocky III

 Here in Acts 4:5-12, Luke describes the first part of Peter and John's trial before the Sanhedrin.  The religious authorities broke up Pete's sermon in Solomon's Porch and tossed the two apostles in the pokey for the night.  

"On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem" (v5).  These are the positions that made up the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council, including the high priest.  

The Roman government allowed these 71 men to handle all things Jewish among the people, in particular, matters regarding the temple.  This same group oversaw the conspiracy and manipulation of the system to execute Jesus.  

Dr. Luke tells us that our old friends "Annas the high priest and Caiaphas” were in attendance, as well as two men named "John and Alexander, and all who were in the high priestly family" (v6).  

The Gospel accounts seem to go back and forth in telling us who the high priest was during Christ's crucifixion.  The entire high priesthood during these years centered on Annas.  He held the office from AD 6-15.  

His son-in-law Caiaphas was the current high priest when this all goes down (AD 18-36).  Several of Annas' sons also served in the position, including Jonathan ("John" mentioned above? Hmm, could be.) in AD 36.

Annas clearly wielded great power and influence.  He had an iron-fisted grip on the high priesthood.  

Roman authorities had removed him from the position, but he was able to manipulate the system to get his puppets into place.  

Annas was more like a mafia boss still running his empire from prison than the God's high priest.  More godfather than God lover.

Annas and his toadies pound the table and demand Peter and John to tell them what was going on (v7).  The room had to be thick with tension and threat.  

These same men conspired to crucify Christ.  Certainly these two bumpkins from boondocks would face a similar fate.

At this point, Pete testifies.  Well, not so much testifies as preaches.  He begins his third sermon in the opening chapter of Acts (Acts 2:14-40; 3:12-26).  

The man Jesus called Rocky answers the bell and begins throwing haymakers.  Let's call this "Rocky III."

God had filled him with the Holy Spirit.  Pete wasn't just baptized in the Spirit.  God had filled him to the brim.  

Remember, while Peter was the leader of the disciples, he was continually tripping over himself.  One moment he's declaring Jesus is Messiah and the next moment Jesus calls him Satan.  

Just some two months prior Pete denied Jesus three times!  When the Spirit fills ordinary people, they do extraordinary things.

This is a reminder that while God's Spirit indwells all believers, He completely fills others.  The thing that keeps most of us from being filled with the Spirit is that we are full of it.  

In other words, we are full of ourselves.  Full of sin.  Full of self.  Jesus is our example.  We must empty ourselves in humility (Phil 2:1-11) in order to be filled with His Spirit. 

Jesus had actually predicted, promised and prophesied this moment.  "And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say" (Lk 12:11-12).  

And that's EXACTLY what (or should I say "Who"?) was happening to Peter.  God's Spirit had filled and empowered him.

Rocky pulls no punches and comes out swinging.  He tells them that this "good deed done to a crippled man" (v9) was done "by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified" (v10).   

He immediately turns the tables on the sinful Sanhedrin and puts them on trial for murder!  

Yeah, we healed the guy.  And we did it in the name of Jesus!  Now what in the world are you going to do about it?  This is Spirit-filled boldness!

Rocky swings with a two-punch combination.  He first charges the council with killing the Christ.  BAM!  

He unleashes the second punch by testifying that "God raised (Jesus) from the dead!" (v10).  POW!!  

Again, the resurrection of Jesus is central to the proclamation of the Gospel in the book of Acts.  Clearly these early disciples saw the empty tomb just as important as Calvary's cross.  

Pete tells them that it's by the name of Jesus, the One who killed and the One God raised that "this man is standing before you” (v10).

First Rocky uses the clear evidence of the once disabled man for proof, he now flips back to the OT to support his charges even further.  "This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone" (v11).  

He quotes Psalm 118:22, a verse quoted and reference many times in the NT as being about Jesus (Lk 20:17; Eph 2:20; 1Pet 2:4-8).

The verse from Psalm 118 speaks of the massive construction project of Solomon’s first temple.  According to Jewish tradition, masons quarried and cut enormous stones for the temple miles from the project because no hammer was to be heard at the construction site.  

The first stone that arrived, the cornerstone, didn’t match specifications.  It wasn’t what builders expected.  They rejected it and put it aside (some even say they rolled it over the side of the cliff into the Kidron Valley below).  

It was only later that project managers realized this was exactly the stone they should have used to start the project!  

Jesus is saying that this rejected cornerstone in Solomon’s temple that the psalmist wrote about foreshadowed His arrival as Messiah.  Christ was rejected because He wasn’t the kind of stone they expected.  

The people want a king.  A REAL king.  A warrior king.  But what they didn’t realize was that Christ is EXACTLY the kind of king they need.  

The builders (religious leaders) may reject Him, but Jesus that doesn’t change the fact that He is indeed the THE Cornerstone. 

Pete is drawing a line in the temple sand.  Jesus is Messiah.  He has been sent from God the Father.  Either accept Him or reject Him.  And once you’ve made your choice, prepare for the consequences. 

With the Sanhedrin wobbling on the ropes, Rocky goes for the knockout.  "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (v12).  

He boldly tells the council that God's salvation is found only in Jesus.  In other words, everything God tells us about salvation in the OT is about Christ. 

Pete makes it VERY clear.  Christianity is VERY exclusive.  But it is also VERY inclusive.  Jesus is the only way (Jn 14:6).  But anyone may enter through Him.  

This is an EXTREMELY unpopular thing to proclaim in our world today.  We must pray for Spirit-filled boldness to stand up for this truth.  

"Rocky III" is over quickly.  This fight does NOT go the distance.

©2011

Jay Jennings

Break It up! Move along!

 As Peter wraps up his second sermon, the cops show up (v1).  There in the Court of the Gentiles under Solomon's Porch, the religious police roll up with blue lights flashing.  It was "the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees."  

"Break it up.  Move along.  Nothing to see here."  Or so they thought.

In just a few short days, the Gospel of Jesus had turned Jerusalem upside down.  The Sadducees thought they had put an end to all of this when they crucified the Carpenter/Rabbi.  

But something very strange was happening.  Instead of crushing this rebellion, they had stoked its fire.  

There are several things happening in this short passage.  There's the Sadducees and their lack of belief in the resurrection.  There's the fact of Jesus' resurrection and it's impact on the lives of His followers.  

And there's God's hand in what's happening, as He begins not-so-gently nudge the early church to take the Gospel beyond the city walls of Jerusalem.

First, the Sadducees were extremely ticked off at Pete's preaching on Jesus' resurrection.  The Sadducees were a small religious sect made up of the most wealthy.  

They were actually rivals to the Pharisees.  The Sadducees controlled the temple while the Pharisees controlled the synagogues.  

The Sadducees were the compromising liberals and the Pharisees conservative legalists.  The comparisons to the 21st century American church are quite rich.

The Sadducees accepted only the Pentateuch (the first five books of the OT).  They didn't believe in anything supernatural.  No angels.  And no resurrection of the dead.  

So for the Sadducees, it’s rather sad, you see.  I guess that’s the First Century version of a Dad Joke.  Whatever the case, the apostles had jumped all over their pet peeve.  Resurrection.

Second, Peter and the rest of the early church knew that the resurrection was a critical and essential fact of their faith.  

Christians who see no need to not only accept and believe but celebrate the empty tomb are really no different than the Sadducees.  

As a matter of fact, the Apostle Paul went so far as to say to say that if God didn't raise Jesus, we're still dead in our sins.  

If there is no resurrection, "we are of all people most to be pitied" (1Cor 15:17-19).  A careful reading and study of 1 Corinthians 15 is important in understanding the importance of the resurrection.

We can't underestimate the impact seeing the risen Jesus had on His followers.  For 40 days, He lived with them, ate with them and taught them.  

He didn't just appear to His closest apostles but to several hundred followers (1Cor 15:3-8).  This fact could not be denied or disputed.

While the cross of Christ must not be ignored, the early church proclaimed a Gospel centered on a resurrected Jesus (Acts 2:24, 32; 3:15, 26; 4:10; 10:40; 13:18).  

We must remember that the cross and the resurrection come as a package deal.  These two events are essential to each other.  Like peanut butter and jelly.

Jesus lived the perfect life we couldn't live.  He died the death we should have died.  And He was raised to a heaven we don't deserve.  (The first two sentences belong to Mark Driscoll.  I’ve added the third.)  

We need both the cross and the empty tomb.  They are a package deal.  Peter and the early church clearly understood this.

Third, we can't ignore God's hand in what's happening here.  Certainly, Peter and the apostles preached with Spirit-filled boldness.  They were clearly unafraid of the consequences.  

But Jesus had commanded them to be His "witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" after His Spirit gave them the power to do so (Acts 1:8).

To this point, they were obedient to Step One.  They were incredible witnesses for Jesus in Jerusalem.  

And it had gone quite well for them in those very early days.  Luke tells us that they had the "favor with all the people" (Acts 2:47).  

But God had bigger plans for His Gospel message.  They were to take it beyond the city walls.

As God so often does, He uses sinful people as tools in His hand for divine purposes.  In the OT, He used sinful nations such as Assyria and Babylon to execute His will.  

He used Judas Iscariot, the religious establishment and the Roman government to carry out the sacrifice of His Son.  

And here, He is using first the sinful Sadducees and later Saul the Pharisee to get the message of the Gospel beyond Jerusalem.

Luke goes on to tell us that the Sadducees tossed Pete and John in jail that day (v3).  But bars can't contain the Gospel of grace.  People were coming to faith in Jesus.  

The good doctor tells us that "the number of the men came to about 5,000" (v4).  Now this probably is a cumulative total of saved men in the early church to this point, not just those repenting as the result of Pete's second sermon (but it could be argued either way).  

Don't miss the fact that Dr. Luke tells us this number was simply the men.  The number was clearly larger.  When God changes men, He changes families.  

The larger number impacted for Christ is more likely closer to 15,000-20,000.  Grace was flowing freely through the streets of the city! 

In the end, the Sadducees thought they were putting an end to this annoying movement by arresting these men and breaking up the crowd.  But they were only being used by God to get the Gospel to a lost and dying world.

"Break it up.  Move along."  That's EXACTLY what God had in mind!

©2011

Jay Jennings

New Believer Follow Up

 Christian bookstores and blogs are full tips, hints and strategies for meaningful growth.  Some of them are outstanding.  Others, well, not so much.  

They all center on two basic ideas.  One, how do we get new people through the door?  Two, how do we insure we get new believers involved into the life of the church? 

We can learn much from the early church in their first week of existence.  They had what may be the best "New Believer Follow Up" program ever.  

It is simple.  It is effective.  And it breaks down into four things.

1. Teaching

2. Togetherness

3. Supper

4. Supplication

Authors and experts have spilled oceans of ink over the years on these verses.  One thought before we move forward.  We need to read Scripture and determine if each passage is either prescriptive or descriptive.  

In other words, does these verses command God's people to do something (prescriptive)?  Or do they simply tell us what was going on (descriptive)?  

I believe these verses do a little of both.  And some of the confusion and debate over Acts 2:42 centers on that issue.  And at times, it appears that God's Word may not be mandating certain activities, but giving us a good blueprint to follow.

Luke describes their basic flow and methodology in verse 42.  He gives us four activities to which the members of the infant church devoted themselves.  T

he Greek verb here is proskaptereo, found here as a present active participle.  It has a couple of shades of meaning.  

First, it indicates a persistence, devotion and perseverance to something.  Second, it means to closely attach oneself and be continually ready for something or someone.

These 3120-plus members of the first church were devoted.  They were persistent.  They didn't let a little bad weather or little league ball games get in the way of their new found faith.  

They reorganized their priorities and lives around what it meant to be followers of Jesus.  They closely associated themselves with this amazing new movement.  

And they were continually ready.  Ready to show the love of Jesus to their new brothers and sisters.  Ready to see what God was going to do next.

Are you devoted?  Or do you simply "go to church?"  Is your devotion to Christ and His church a day to day focus?  Or are you just a "weekend warrior?"

The first point of devotion was to the apostles' teaching.  This is NOT to say that these twelve men were simply making stuff up.  

In the first century, to be an apostles was a very serious duty.  An apostle is an official representative of someone who has granted them his full rights and responsibilities.  

When you interacted with one's apostle, it was as if you were interacting with the one who sent them.  So these twelve men were teaching what the One who sent them had instructed.  

They were fulfilling Jesus' command at the Great Commission (Mt 28:18-20).  In other words, this wasn't some made up message.  

All they had was what we call the Old Testament and whatever Jesus taught about it.  They taught what Jesus taught.

Are we teaching people God's Word? 

The second point of their devotion was to fellowship.  Again, let's make sure we say what this is not.  This is not fried chicken and Jello salad on Wednesday nights.  This is a daily devotion to their newfound brothers and sisters.  

They sought each other out.  They spent time together.  They got to know each other.  Fellowship (koinonia) is essential because relationships are essential.  

God designed life to be lived in community.  The Trinity is a model of perfect self-giving community.  Even before the Fall in the midst of His perfect creation, God announced, "It is not good for man to be alone" (Gen 2:18).  We need each other.

Are you a Lone Ranger Christian or in encouraging relationships with other believers?

Third, the baby church was devoted "to the breaking of bread."  Some believe this is daily observance of the Lord's Supper.  

Honestly, I think this is getting together for meals.  Nothing deepens a friendship like eating together.  You really get to know someone when you share a meal.  

Look at the life of Jesus.  So much of the meaningful moments of His ministry revolved around meal time.  

Did these times include celebrating the Lord's Supper?  Undoubtedly.  But it was not limited to that.

Do you regularly hang out over a plate of food with other Christ followers?

The fourth and final point of devotion was to "the prayers."  Once you hear God's Word taught, once you really get to know other believers, once you open your home and eat meals together, you will naturally pray for one another.  

Are you praying with and for other Christ followers?

So, does this verse describe or prescribe?  I'll let you make that call yourself.  

At the very least, it's certainly a wonderful model to follow.  And it certainly seems to work.  

"The Lord added to their number day by day those being saved" (v47).  That's what I call New Believer Follow Up!

Are you devoted?

©2011

Jay Jennings

3,000...if You're Counting

 Peter has just preached the church’s first sermon.  He has deftly explained the coming of the Holy Spirit.  

He used the OT to tell how Jesus is both the divine Son of God and the long awaited Messiah.  And with the subtlety of a jackhammer, he accused his audience of murdering the Christ.

Scholars don’t hold up this message as an example of contextualization, but it really is.  Like Paul on Mars Hill, Pete knows and understands his listeners.  

They are Jewish.  They understand the Torah.  They know the OT Scriptures.  And he uses their cultural context and sacred literature to prove Jesus is Messiah and to preach the Gospel message.

I find it very interesting that Pete simply and bluntly ends his sermon by accusing them of crucifying Jesus.  No application.  Just a punch in the neck.  “Whom YOU crucified!”  

Not one hint of what to do with the information.  Was there a great silence?  Was there a gasp?  

We pick it up in verse 37 as the people are “cut to the heart.”  The Greek verb here is katanuasomai, which means to be cut, stabbed or pierced.  

Pete’s message had its intended effect.  He had stabbed them in the heart.  Today we might say he punched them in the gut.  

His sermon evoked an emotional response.  So much so, that they begged the apostles for what to do next.  “Brothers, what shall we do?”  

Rocky responds with the message of repentance.  “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” (v38).  

“Repent” is one of those wonderful words that has been hijacked over the years.  It’s a word associated with legalism, religion and fanaticism.  

But the idea of repentance is a beautiful word that drips with the grace of God.  It’s a word that we must reclaim with love and tenderness of the Lord.

A look at the original language is helpful.  The Greek metanoeo means to repent, to have a change of hear and mind.  Literally it means to think (noeo) after or again (meta).  

It is the idea of taking a second thought of our sin after we understand how God sees it.  It is a turning from and a turning to.  In order to turn from my sin and I must turn to God.  

It is that wonderful 180.  John MacArthur describes repentance as a radical turning from sin that inevitably became manifest in the fruit of righteousness (Lk 3:8). 

When I’m faced with the realization that something is terribly wrong, I immediately want to make it right.  Sometimes I know what to do.  Sometimes I don’t. 

When it comes to my own sin and sinful behavior, I know what to do.  Repent.  Confess my sin to God.  Agree with Him about my sin.  Turn from my sin.  Turn to Him.  

Repentance is not a one time act.  It is not something I did once in 1970 at the summer revival at First Baptist Church in Farmington.  It is certainly that.  

But repentance is so much more.  It is a lifestyle.  And it is a gift to be used regularly.  God has granted me the gift of repentance so that I can continually turn back to Him.

Peter commands the crowd to repent and be baptized.  There is forgiveness of our sins offered by Jesus.  

But there is so much more.  We also receive the Holy Spirit.  His powerful presence in our lives enables us to obey God’s commands when we otherwise are powerless to do so.  

Preacher Pete tells the Pentecost congregation that they can enjoy and experience the gift of God’s Spirit just as the 120 have.

He tells them, “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself” (v39).  Once again, the Holy Spirit is referred to as the promise of God (Acts 1:4; 2:33).  

The Third Person of the Trinity is a vitally important part of the great benefit package of salvation.  And this salvation is available to EVERYONE!!!  You.  Your children.  All who are far off.  

Everyone whom the Lord calls to Himself.  Pete preaches a compelling Gospel.  If Jesus calls you, you are coming.  

And don’t miss the fact that Peter is apparently opening the door to Gentiles.  This very term “far off” is also used by Paul to describe non-Jews (Eph 2:11-13).  

This is a very important point of the Gospel of Jesus.  Previously, salvation was available only to and through the Jews.  

The other thing that makes this interesting is the fact that Peter continually struggles with the inclusion of Gentiles throughout the Book of Acts.

God’s offer of repentance, baptism, the Holy Spirit and salvation is made to ALL.  Every people group.  Every strata of society.  Every language.  Every nation.  Every person.  

And I have been granted the precious privilege of being His ambassador to carry this Gospel of grace to a lost and dying world (2Cor 5:20).  Lord Jesus, open my eyes and allow me to see others as You see them.

Peter continues teaching and explaining the Gospel (v40).  When he finished, there was a massive response.  Three thousand people were baptized and added to the 120 in the upper room.  

Not a bad first day of church.  And that was only the beginning.

©2011

Jay Jennings

A Dangerous Message

In Acts, Peter has just explained that the Holy Spirit is behind this fantastic display of foreign languages (Acts 2:14-21).  He goes on to tell the people just how active God was in the life and ministry of Jesus (Acts 2:22-24).  He even goes so far as to accuse his listeners of crucifying Him!

At this point, Pete makes the point that Jesus is the fulfillment of the long awaited Messiah.  And he does so by looking at the life of King David.  

First, he quotes Psalm 16:8-11.  He reassures us that David himself composed this psalm.  The king wrote, “For You will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let Your Holy One see corruption” (Ps 16:10; Acts 2:27).

Preacher Peter exposits and explains what David has written.  King David is dead (v29).  And he had been dead for almost 1,000 years.  As a matter of fact, they could still visit his tomb that very day.  

So there’s a problem here.  What David wrote in Psalm 16 could not be about David.  He was a great king, but let’s face facts, he died.

Pete reassures us that David was not only a king but a prophet as well (v30).  This explains the strong prophetic nature of the songs and poems he composed, especially those concerning the coming Messiah.  

Peter will quote three of them in this small stretch of his sermon (Ps 16; 132; 110). 

He goes on to remind his listeners of the phenomenal promise God made to King David, “Knowing that God had sworn an oath to him that he would set One of his descendants on his throne” (v30).  

Theologians call this the Davidic Covenant.  God promised David that someone in his direct lineage would be the King forever.  It’s found in 2 Samuel 7:11-16.  

There God tells David that he would indeed die and “lie down with your fathers” (2Sam 7:12).  Almighty God promises to “raise up your Offspring after you...and I will establish His kingdom forever” (2Sam 7:12-13).  

There is a very curious  reference in the midst of this amazing covenant.  “I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son” (2Sam 7:14).  Clearly a hint at incredible Father/Son relationship between the heavenly Father and Jesus Messiah.  

The result is God’s oath to David that “your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before Me.  Your throne shall be established forever” (2Sam 7:16).

This is what I’ve heard Pete Brisco of Bent Tree talk about.  The Old Testament is the New Testament contained.  The New Testament is the Old Testament explained.  

In other words, the OT contains the message of God’s incredible grace and the coming of Jesus.  It just isn’t fully laid out.  The NT explains the main message of the OT (Jesus!) as well as many of the tricky and ticklish passages.  

Contained.  Explained.  I think that is a GREAT way of thinking about the Bible.  That is what is going on as Peter preaches.  Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Pete explains and interprets the life of David.

Peter goes on to make the amazing claim that David actually “foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was not abandoned to Hades, no did His flesh see corruption” (v31).  

This goes so much farther than a promise from God.  Simon states that the king actually had some sort of vision of this long awaited Son of David rising from the grave.  This, says Pete, is the entire basis for what the king wrote in Psalm 16 and the only explanation.

Rocky brings it home at this point.  David saw and wrote about the Messiah.  This Messiah is indeed the very same Jesus whom “God raised up, and of that we are all witnesses” (v32).  

But God didn’t stop there, He exalted His Son and gave Him the ultimate honor of being seated “at the right hand of God” (v33).  This is Jesus’ place of divine privilege all through Scripture (Lk 22:69; Eph 1:20; Col 3:1 are just three examples).  

The first thing He did once He sat at His Dad’s right hand was to receive the Holy Spirit and pour it out on His followers.  Luke has penned several wonderful passages involving the Trinity.  This is yet one more.  

Once again, Peter explains to his audience that this incredible explosion of languages is the result of the work of God’s Spirit.

Reminding his listeners that it wasn’t David who had ascended but Jesus, he then cites Psalm 110:1 (v34-35).  This is the very same psalm Jesus quoted to confound the Pharisees (Lk 20:41-44).  

Peter simply says that King David could not have written about himself since he did not rise from the grave and head to heaven on a cloud.  He had to be talking about Jesus Messiah.  

Then Peter lands the plane.  Here’s the Big Point.  He wants every Jew to understand what he is about to say.  

Here’s The Fact that changes EVERYTHING!  “God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified” (v36).

God’s ultimate active work is in anointing Jesus to His divine role.  He is first Lord.  This simply means that Jesus is God.  He is fully divine and sovereignly in control.  

He is also Christ.  This is the Greek word (Christos) which means “anointed one” and is equivalent to  the Hebrew Messiah.  Peter connects these two very important ideas.  

Jesus is God.  Jesus is Messiah.  He is BOTH.

But he doesn’t stop there.  Once again, Pete makes sure his listeners understand that they have divine blood on their hands.  “This Jesus whom you crucified” (emphasis added).  

God had made Jesus both Lord and Christ.  The Jews rejected and crucified their divine Messiah.  Certainly not the most seeker sensitive message ever preached.  

But then again, the philosophy of many churches is to provide “a safe place to hear a dangerous message.”  

A safe and accessible place was provided by the Holy Spirit through the gift of many languages.  Peter then preached a VERY dangerous message.

©2011

Jay Jennings