The Terror of the Resurrection

Acts 2:1-47 (42-47)

April 4, 2010

I am aware that if you read the title to the sermon this morning

It was probably a little perplexing.

After all, we sing and talk about the resurrection as a wonderful thing.

Easter Sunday is a great Sunday because Jesus rose from the dead.

And I certainly don’t argue with that sentiment.

However it may surprise you to know

That the first time the resurrection of Jesus Christ was preached

Joy was not the response.

The first time the resurrection was preached

It provoked sheer terror in the hearts of those who heard.

WHY? - Because it was first preached to those who killed Jesus.

In fact I’ll give you a sneak peek.

Acts 2:37 “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?"

And so this morning the text reveals to us an interesting point.

That for those who have yielded their lives to Christ,

The resurrection is a wonderful thing,

For it solidifies the power of Christ’s salvation.

But for those who have rejected Christ,

The fact that He is alive does not bring peace,

For it that they have rejected the One True Savior.

And maybe you can share the sentiment a little bit.

If you have never yielded to Jesus,

The thought that He is alive and returning isn’t a peaceful thought.

If you’ve ever thought like that,

This morning let me show you what to do about it.

We can divide this chapter into four parts.

#1 THE ENTRANCE OF THE SPIRIT

Acts 2:1-13

(1) “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.”

“the day of Pentecost” was otherwise known as “The Feast of Weeks”

It occurred 50 days after the Passover. (Pentecost means 50)

It was a day of rejoicing after the harvest had been brought in.

This is one of 3 feasts that every Jewish male was commanded to attend.

(Passover, Feast of Booths).

“they were all together in one place.”

WHO?

Acts 1:15 “At this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together), and said,”

There was a gathering of Christ’s followers meeting in Jerusalem.

They were all together, celebrating the feast of weeks together.

AND THEN SOMETHING HAPPENED.

(VERSES 2-4)

This is the inaugural coming of the Holy Spirit.

He had not been present until now.

John 7:38-39 "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'" But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

And so, for the first time in human history,

The Holy Spirit of God has come to man.

And His arrival was evidenced by the fact that

He was equipping those 120 believers in the upper room

To speak all the foreign languages of the world.

It was quite a site, and it did not go unnoticed.

(VERSES 5-13)

Obviously the crowds were amazed.

Here were Jews who had traveled from the four corners of the globe

To celebrate the feast of weeks and they were shocked to hear

These Galilean’s speaking their own native tongues.

“speaking of the mighty deeds of God.”

It was miraculous to say the least.

And the crowds were confused. “What does this mean?”

Of course the skeptics offered the only solution they could think of.

(13) “But others were mocking and saying, “They are full of sweet wine.”

They accused them all of being drunk.

But the point is that something amazing was occurring,

And the crowds could not explain it.

The Entrance of the Spirit

#2 THE EXPLANATION OF PETER

Acts 2:14-36

Because the people are confused,

Peter sets out to clarify the scene and explain what this all means.

And we can further divide his explanation into three points.

1) THIS WAS PROMISED BY GOD (14-21)

Peter begins by answering the mockers

Who accused them all of being drunk.

“it is only the third hour of the day;” (9 a.m.)

But rather what you see taking place is something that “was spoken of through the prophet Joel:”

Joel actually prophesied that a day like this would come. (Joel 2:28-30)

(VERSES 17-21)

Joel saw a day preceding the 2nd coming of our Lord

In which He would pour out the Holy Spirit on mankind. (vs. 17 & vs. 18)

And the pouring out of God’s Spirit would result in an explosion of preaching.

(17) “Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,”

(18) “And they shall prophesy”

This is not a drunken party,

This is the fulfillment of God’s promise through Joel.

Furthermore Joel said that when this occurred,

It would also bring about a tremendous opportunity

For anyone who listens to what they say to be saved.

(21) “And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

This was Promised by God

2) THIS WAS POURED OUT BY JESUS (22-35)

Joel said that God would “pour fourth of My Spirit”

Here Peter reveals who actually did the pouring.

And in order to do that he must give enlightenment to the crowd.

(VERSES 22-23)

Of course they should have been aware of this.

Just 50 days ago, the Jews thought they got rid of

One of the biggest problems they had ever seen.

They crucified Jesus.

They crucified Him even though it was obvious

That He had power from God.

(22) “a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst,”

John 5:36 "But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish — the very works that I do — testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.”

Peter said, you should have recognized Him as God’s Messiah

Based upon His power, but you ignored that.

And you chose to kill Him anyway.

And you killed Him using Rome as your weapon.

“you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.”

The Romans drove the nails, but we all know who put Him to death.

And so Peter brings back to their memory the crucifixion of Jesus.

But then Peter enlightens them to something

They may not have been aware of.

(24) “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”

Every Jewish man there would have known that Jesus had been killed,

But the fact that He had been raised was definitely new news.

Jesus had certainly entered into death, but “it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”

WHY?

1 Corinthians 15:56 “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;”

Because Jesus had no sin, death had no grounds to keep Him in custody.

Death had to turn Him loose.

BUT THAT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT IS EASILY BELIEVED.

So Peter turns to another Old Testament passage

(Psalms 16:8-11)

(VERSES 25-28)

And his explanation is simple.

If David was talking about himself, then David was a liar.

(VERSES 29-32)

If David was talking about himself when he said that God would “not allow [His] Holy One to undergo decay” then David was a liar.

WHY?

“I may confidently say to you that regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.”

In other words, David is undergoing decay.

There is his tomb, and inside is his rotting body.

If David was referring to himself, he was lying.

BUT DAVID WASN’T TALKING ABOUT HIMSELF

(31) “he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay.”

The Holy One David was talking about was Jesus.

(32) “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.”

So Peter has taken a moment to introduce the fact

That Jesus has risen from the dead.

WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ALL THOSE PEOPLE SPEAKING IN TONGUES AND THE PROPHECY OF JOEL?

(33) "Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.”

His resurrection is significant,

Because He is the One who has done all this.

Jesus died, but He rose, and He now sits at God’s right hand,

And it is He who poured out the Spirit on us.

3) THIS IS PROOF TO YOU (36)

This is what Peter really wants them to understand.

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ – this Jesus whom you crucified.”

They all wanted to know what these people speaking in tongues meant.

Remember vs. 12 “What does this mean?”

It means that when you killed Jesus, you killed God’s Son.

You rejected the Christ, you killed the Messiah.

IT MEANS YOU MADE A SERIOUS MISTAKE!

Because now He is alive, and He is sitting at God’s right hand.

The Entrance of the Spirit The Explanation of the Spirit

#3 THE EXPECTATION OF GOD

Acts 2:37-41

(37) “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”

I think that is a fair question.

You just found out that you killed God’s Messiah…

You just found out that you spurned God’s will for your life…

You just found out that you and God are not on the same team…

I would think seeking a solution would be the top priority.

“Brethren, what shall we do?”

(38) “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Now please read carefully what Peter said.

I would like to point out that Peter did not say for them to “believe”.

He said to “Repent” and “be baptized”.

But he did not tell them to “believe” per say.

ARE YOU SAYING THAT WE AREN’T SAVED THROUGH FAITH?

No.

Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;”

Scripture is clear that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone.

Yet Peter told them to “repent” and “be baptized”

WHY?

“Repent” = turn your back on you.

Any specific sin in your life for sure.

But even more than that, realize that everything about you is all wrong.

“Be baptized” = run to Jesus.

Commit your life Him.

Do it publicly so that the world can see it.

What Peter commanded them to do

Is the same thing Jesus commanded His disciples to do.

Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”

And this is the same thing Peter reveals here.

Peter is not denying that faith is required for salvation.

Peter is revealing what saving faith looks like.

True saving faith is that which denies self and follows Jesus.

That is also why verse 44 refers to those who did that as “those who had believed”

And that is very important for you and I to understand.

CLAIMING TO BELIEVE IN JESUS IS NOT ENOUGH!

James 2:19 “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”

Peter didn’t tell these people that they needed to believe Jesus died.

(They knew that, some of them even had a direct hand in it)

Peter didn’t tell these people that then needed to believe Jesus rose from the dead.

(They believed that to, that is why they were so afraid)

These people needed to turn from their sinful ways,

Confess their lack of worth before God

And fully present their lives to Jesus.

And that is the same for you.

If I were to ask you did Jesus die on the cross, you’d say “yes”.

If I were to ask you did Jesus rise from the dead, you’d say “yes”.

DOES THAT MAKE YOU A CHRISTIAN? – no.

Denying self, turning from sin, trusting in Christ, submitting your life to Him; that is what makes you a Christian.

And Peter is very specific about that here.

These people were on the wrong side of God’s wrath,

They needed to turn from their former way of life and yield to Jesus.

(39) “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

Peter was revealing that these people could instantly

Go from being God’s enemy to be God’s children.

That is the essence of Peter’s sermon.

That is not all he said, but that is the essence.

(40) “And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!”

Peter preached a long sermon on that day.

But Peter’s sermon had one theme.

“Be saved”

And the Scripture says that many on that day headed Peter’s warning.

(41) “So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.”

These were people who turned from their wicked way of thinking,

And yielded their lives to Christ.

Let me tell you friend, you must do the same.

“Why, I didn’t crucify Him?”

Hebrews 6:4-6 “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.”

If you fail to trust Christ, it is the spiritual equivalent to crucifying Him.

Others assure themselves that they are fine before God.

“I’m a good person”

“I was raised in a Christian home”

Romans 3:10-12 "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE."

Acts 17:30-31 "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead."

This sermon of Peter is for all men for all time.

You must turn from yourself and follow Christ.

That is the expectation of God.

#4 THE EVIDENCE OF SALVATION

Acts 2:42-47

There are many today who would say, “I don’t need to repent and submit to Christ, I’m already a Christian.” “I’ve already got the Holy Spirit.”

WELL, LET’S SEE.

Because what we see next is

What these people looked like after they received the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

5 evidences that true salvation had occurred.

1) THEIR DEVOTION (42)

“continually devoting themselves…”

They could not get enough of Bible preaching.

They could not get enough of fellowship with other believers.

They loved taking the Lord’s Supper.

They couldn’t stop praying.

It is amazing the number of “Christians” we have in the world

That never go to church to hear the word,

That never fellowship with other believers,

That never partake of the Lord’s Supper,

That can’t remember the last time they spent time in prayer.

People who have truly been changed by the Holy Spirit are devoted

2) THEIR FEAR (43)

“Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe”

The literal translation of that verse is: “fear was occurring to every soul”

The word “awe” translates PHOBOS

It’s were we get our word phobia

It is the same word used in Acts 5

After Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead for lying to the Holy Spirit.

Acts 5:11 “And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things.”

And it is what is expected of true genuine believers.

1 Peter 1:17-19 “If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”

And the idea is that the life of a true believer

Is consumed with a desire to please God.

People who have truly been changed fear God.

3) THEIR LOVE (44-45)

1 John 3:16-17 “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?”

The idea is that once they were changed,

Then they started to demonstrate the love of God in their lives.

It is saddening to me how many people there are

Who claim to be Christians and have never once in their life

Aided the poor, or the sick, or the needy.

When these people received the Spirit of God they began to walk in love

4) THEIR FAITHFULNESS (46-47a)

“Day by day continuing…”

In other words their new passion was not just a flash in the pan.

Their new commitment didn’t wear off after a couple of days.

Casting Crowns – “The Altar and the Door”

When the Holy Spirit changes a life He changes it for good,

And that life is never the same again.

5) THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE WORLD (47b)

“And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

The world doesn’t always like Christians,

But it should always be able to spot them.

Can the people in your world tell that you are a Christian?

Would they be surprised if you went to work tomorrow and told them where you were today?

Would they faint if you told them you went back on Sunday night?

The point is that these people truly yielded their lives to Christ

And as a result they received the Holy Spirit,

And He had a real and lasting effect on their life.

This morning that is the change I offer to you.

FOR YOU THE RESURRECTION

CAN EITHER SPARK JOY OR FEAR.

Jesus Christ died on the cross, but death could not hold Him.

He rose from the dead and ascended to the Father.

From there He poured out the Holy Spirit.

And He is a gift from God available to all who trust in Jesus.

This morning I ask you to do the same.

“Be saved from this perverse generation!”

Romans 10:9-10 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”