"He is Alive! He is
Alive! Jesus of Nazareth is alive!"
Women were the first to
see Jesus of Nazareth alive after his death by
crucifixion. Early on the first Easter morning they
arrived at the tomb to continue the burial process
used by the Jewish people of the first century. They
found the tomb empty and ran to tell the disciples
of Jesus. The plain truth is no one would believe
that Jesus was alive until he saw Him with his own
eyes. No one was expecting Him to be alive. They
went expecting to find a dead man, a corpse, in the
tomb.
* "Jesus first appeared to
Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven
demons." When she recognized Jesus she reached out
and grabbed Him. Jesus said to Mary, "Stop clinging
to Me; for I have not ascended to the Father; but go
and tell My brethren, and say to them, 'I ascend to
My Father and your Father, and My God and your God"
(John 20:11–17). She went and announced it to the
disciples saying, "I have seen the Lord" (v. 18).
Mary ran and told the disciples and "they refused to
believe it" (Mark 16:9–11). "These words appeared to
them as nonsense, and they would not believe them"
(Luke 24:11).
* Jesus greeted other women
who had arrived soon after Mary Magdalene. "And they
came up and took hold of His feet and worshipped
Him." Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and
take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and
there they shall see Me" (Matthew 28:9–10).
* Late in the afternoon two
of the disciples were walking to the town of Emaus
discussing the events of the weekend. Their hopes
were dashed to pieces because of the death of Jesus.
A stranger joined them as they walked. They invited
Him in for a meal. As Jesus broke the bread and
blessed it "their eyes were opened and they
recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight."
They hurried back to Jerusalem and went to the house
where the eleven disciples were staying and told
them their experience how they recognized Him. The
disciples also told them, "The Lord has really
risen, and has appeared to Simon."
* While the two travelers
were relating the story how they recognized Him in
the breaking the bread, "Jesus came and stood in
their midst and said to them, 'Peace with you.'" "He
showed them both His hands and His side" (John
20:19–20). They were "startled and frightened."
Jesus said, "See My hands and My feet, that it is I
Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have
flesh and bones as you see that I have." Jesus
showed them His hands and His feet. They gave Him a
piece of boiled fish and He took it and ate it in
their sight (Luke 24:33–43).
* Another disciple Thomas
was not present that night. He refused to believe
until he saw the feet and the hands of his crucified
Lord. "Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the
nails, and put my finger into the place of the
nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not
believe." With that attitude, Jesus let Thomas wait
eight days. "After eight days again His disciples
were inside a closed room, and Thomas with them.
Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in
their midst, and said, 'Peace be with you.' Then He
said to Thomas, 'Reach here your finger, and see My
hands; and reach here your hand, and put it into My
side; and be not unbelieving, but believing.' Thomas
answered and said to Him, My Lord and my God!'"
(John 20:24–29).
* There was an occasion
when all of the disciples were fishing on the Sea of
Tiberias. Jesus after He was risen from the dead
appeared one morning and taught the disciples (John
21).
* On separate occasions,
Jesus appeared to Peter, to His half-brother James,
and to more than 500 people at one time, most who
were still alive when Paul wrote his letter to the
Corinthians. Paul then says that he saw the
resurrected body of Jesus when Jesus appeared to him
on the road to Damascus. Paul saw a real resurrected
and glorified body.
* In Galilee Jesus again
appeared to the eleven, "and when they saw Him, they
worshipped Him." Jesus then commissioned them to be
His witnesses to all nations. "And after He said
these things, He was lifted up while they were
looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their
sight." They were gazing intently into the sky while
He was departing.
R. W. Dale, pastor of
Carr's Chapel in London, while studying these great
passages of Scripture rose from his desk and began
to pace back and forth in his study shouting out
loud, "He's alive! He's alive! Jesus is alive! O, I
want my people to know He is alive!"
For forty days, Jesus
demonstrated Himself alive in Galilee and Judea and
Jerusalem. Ten days later something astounding
happened in an upper room in Jerusalem not far from
the Temple. There was a sound like a violent,
rushing wind that filled the house. There was no
wind. It was just the sound like a tornado that they
heard. Tongues like fire were distributing itself on
them and resting on each one of them. The Holy
Spirit filled them and they spoke spontaneously in
other languages they had never learned. The sound
brought people in Jerusalem out into the streets.
The people heard the 120 speaking in their native
dialects the mighty deeds of God (Acts 2). Some of
the rabble mocked them thinking they had drank too
much sweet wine. Then Peter stood and preached his
greatest sermon. He explained that what was
happening was the fulfillment of the prophecy of the
Hebrew prophet Joel. Then he told them about Jesus.
GOD APPROVED THE LIFE
OF JESUS (2:22)
Jesus was a man
"approved of God."
With boldness Peter says,
"Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the
Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles
and wonders and signs which God performed through
Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know"
(Acts 2:22).
If what Peter said that
day was not true, his listeners would have been
ready to contradict and correct him. They would have
put him to shame if he were not able to prove what
he said.
He tells us about Jesus
of Nazareth. He was a real man. He was not a
superman, nor a phantom. He was a normal man,
authenticated and approved by God to be what God
wanted in man.
God authenticated Jesus
by performing through Him "miracles, wonders and
signs."
Journey through the
Gospels and you see Jesus changing water to wine,
saying "Peace be still" and calming the winds and
the waves on a lake. You see Him multiplying loaves
of bread and fish and feeding 5,000 men. Watch Him
casting out demons and raising the dead. God was at
work in Jesus authenticating Him. The word
"attested" (NASB), or "accredited," (NIV),
"approved" in the KJV suggest the idea of
demonstration, appointment, accreditation. Jesus did
these things by the power of God that resided in
Him. Here is God at work in Him.
GOD APPROVED THE DEATH
OF JESUS (2:23)
You murdered Him.
Peter continues "this
Man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and
foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the
hands of godless men and put Him to death" (v. 23).
The Roman executioner
certified Jesus dead. Mark informs us Pilate refused
to give the body up until he was certified dead by
the Centurion (Mark 15:44-47). The Jewish religious
leaders used the Roman Gentiles to kill Jesus.
The important fact is
Jesus died. In fact, Jesus was dead before the wound
to His side was inflicted by the soldier. The spear
thrust between His right ribs probably perforated
His right lung, the pericardium and His heart. There
can be no question but Jesus was dead.
Jesus was "delivered up
by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God."
The death of Jesus was
part of the eternal plan of God for our redemption.
It was the will of God. The cross was no accident in
the plan of God. It was an essential event,
programmed by God the Father before the beginning of
time. Sin could be dealt with only by the death of
Jesus.
Romans 6:23 tells us:
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of
God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Yes,
you say, but Jesus was not a sinner! This is the
reason why Jesus went to the cross. "For while we
were still helpless, at the right time Christ died
for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a
righteous man; though perhaps for the good man
someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates
His own love toward us, in that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:6–8). Hebrews
9:22, "with out the shedding of blood there is no
forgiveness." The Apostle Paul reminds us, "He (God)
made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin on our
behalf, that we might become the righteousness of
God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).
GOD RAISED JESUS FROM
THE DEAD (2:24–35)
"God raised him up
again" (v. 24a).
Only the resurrection
power of God can raise the dead. Jesus rose from the
dead in all the fullness and vitality of His person.
God released Him from death's agony. He "put an end
to the agony of death."
Impossible for
death to hold Him in its power (v. 24b)
"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" (v. 24).
The imagery is that of a hunter catching and binding
his victims with nooses and cords. Christ broke the
cords of death. He rose victoriously from the grave.
At least 3,000 people
were listening to Peter give witness to the
resurrection of Jesus Christ. Not a single voice was
raised in protest to what he was saying. Remember
that it has been only 50 days since these people had
seen Jesus of Nazareth crucified in this city. Not a
single person challenged Peter's testimony. They
knew the tomb was empty. They knew the authorities
could not produce the body of Jesus. They had heard
the rumors that Jesus had appeared alive before
groups of people. Now they stand in mute silence as
they listen to the testimony of one of those
eyewitnesses.
Peter quotes Psalm
16.
Peter quotes King David's
words in Psalm 16:8–11 in Acts 2:25–28.
"For David says of Him,
'I WAS ALWAYS BEHOLDING THE LORD IN MY PRESENCE; FOR
HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, THAT I MAY NOT BE SHAKEN. '
THEREFORE MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE EXULTED;
MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL ABIDE IN HOPE; BECAUSE
THOU WILT NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES, NOR ALLOW
THY HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY. 'THOU HAST MADE KNOWN
TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; THOU WILT MAKE ME FULL OF
GLADNESS WITH THY PRESENCE.'"
Peter makes it very clear
that David was not referring to himself. "Brethren,
I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch
David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb
is with us to this day" (v. 29). These words of
David cannot possibly refer to David, for he died
and his tomb is in Jerusalem. Israel's great king
was a prophet and was referring to one greater than
David. Only in the resurrection of Jesus can these
words be fulfilled. David foresaw Jesus as saying,
"I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my
right hand that I may not be shaken." He lived His
life continually in dependence on the power and
authority of His Father. In Psalm 16:8 the idea is
"I am keeping Him always before my mind's eye."
The indispensable thing
Peter says is the resurrection was absolutely
essential in view of the kind of life Jesus lived.
Verse 25 tells us how he lived. "I was always
beholding the Lord in my presence; for He is at my
right hand, that I may not be shaken." In verse 26,
we have the results. "Therefore my heart was glad
and my tongue exulted; moreover my flesh also will
abide in hope; because Thou wilt not abandon my soul
to Hades, nor allow Thy Holy One to undergo decay."
Death could have no power over Jesus because of the
kind of life He lived.
Only the Lord Jesus has
ever been able to say that in the sense in which He
said it. He was sinless. No angel is like Him. No
man is like him. He is the sovereign Lord. He was
tempted as other men, but without falling. There was
perfect fellowship between God the Father and Jesus
of Nazareth until the moment He cried out from the
cross, "My God, My God, Why hast Thou forsaken Me?"
In that moment, the perfect intimacy was broken.
Until then Jesus could say, "I was always beholding
the Lord in my presence; for He is at my right hand,
that I may not be shaken."
Peter did not quote the
exact words of the Psalm in the Hebrew. However, he
did not alter the sense or meaning of the Psalm.
Peter quotes the Septuagint (LXX) or Greek
translation of the Hebrew Psalm.
David's "hope" is
in the resurrection.
Verse 27 says "because
Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Hades, nor allow
Thy Holy One to undergo decay." "Hell" in the King
James Version translates a word that denotes
"Hades." It is literally, "the unseen world." Here
it refers either to death itself or to the abode of
the dead. Goodspeed translates it "death," and
Moffatt and the NIV translate "the grave." The word
is not Gehenna, which is always translated "hell" in
the New Testament. It is the place of eternal
separation from God and eternal punishment.
Peter is quoting David in
Psalm 16:10. "For Thou wilt not abandon my soul to
Sheol; Neither wilt Thou allow Thy Holy One to
undergo decay."
The Psalmist has in mind
death and the grave. "Sheol" generally refers to the
afterlife, the hereafter, or the realm of the dead
when a person leaves this present form of existence.
It can be equated with the grave. The imagery is
that of an enormous, unyielding monster, standing
with mouth wide open, ready to consume all of
humanity.
The Psalmist has never
seen a man escape the fate of being swallowed up by
"Sheol." However, the writer has conviction that the
LORD God before whom he stands is the living God and
Sheol will not master him.
This great statement of
faith of David was never fulfilled in regard to him.
It was fulfilled in Christ. David "foreseeing this
spoke of the resurrection of Christ" (Acts 2:31).
David speaks words that only Christ could properly
speak. The Holy Spirit guided the spirit of David so
that he gave shape and form to his utterance in such
a way that what he concluded in the logic of faith
reached a marvelous fulfillment in the resurrection
of Christ.
David’s bold faith was
vindicated by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It
is one of the greatest prophecies of the
resurrection of Christ.
Moreover, verse 28 quotes
David when it speaks of the resurrection life.
"'THOU HAST MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; THOU
WILT MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH THY PRESENCE.'
Someone has said correctly, "Those who are 'in
Christ' do most assuredly share in the fruits of His
resurrection."
Keil and Delitzsch in
their commentary on the Psalms observes, "The words
of the Psalm are a prophecy of David concerning
Jesus, the Christ, who was promised as the heir to
his throne, and whom by reason of the promise, he
had prophetically before his mind . . . . David
stands to his seed, the Christ and Holy One of God,
who appeared in the person of Jesus. David, the
anointed of God, looking upon himself as in Yahweh,
the God who has given the promise, becomes the
prophet of Christ; but this is only indirectly, for
he speaks of himself, and what he says has also been
fulfilled in his own person" (p. 1003).
In the great plan of
redemption, "the hope which he cherishes for himself
personally has found a fulfillment which far exceeds
this. After his hope was found in Christ its full
realization in accordance with the history of the
plan of redemption, it receives through Christ its
personal realization of himself also. For what he
says, extends on the one hand far beyond himself,
and therefore refers prophetically to Christ" (Keil
and Delitzsch, p. 1003).
Verse 31 tells us death
had no effect whatever upon Jesus Christ. "He looked
ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ,
that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID His
flesh SUFFER DECAY." Jesus did not go to Hades; He
did not go to hell. He said when He died, "Father,
into Thy hands I commit my spirit" (Luke 23:46).
Death had no power over Him––none at all. It could
touch neither His soul nor His body.
Peter and the 120 people
with him could say we are witnesses to His
resurrection. "This Jesus God raised up again, to
which we are all witnesses" (v. 32).
Jesus is Lord (vv.
33–36).
Peter turns the whole
audience into witnesses of his claim. You are
witnessing the proof of what David predicted would
happen. The coming of the Holy Spirit is the
crowning proof that Christ has been raised from the
dead and enthroned in heaven as the exalted Messiah
(v. 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."
Peter quotes Psalm 110:1.
King David didn't ascend up into heaven, but listen
to what he said. "The LORD says to my Lord: 'Sit at
My right hand, Until I make Thine enemies a
footstool for Thy feet.'"
The only conclusion you
can come to is "God has made Him both Lord and
Christ (the Messiah)––this Jesus whom you crucified"
(v. 36).
Everything was of God.
God demonstrated His perfection through His works.
God delivered Him to death. God raised Him from the
dead. God exalted Him to the throne. God gave Him
the Spirit for those he represented and for all
humanity.
Sin put Him on the cross.
God gave Him to the world. Grace delivered Him to
the cross. Grace raised Him from the dead. Grace
exalted Him. Grace gives Him the Spirit for the very
people who had rejected Him. Moreover, He, in His
grace, gives His Spirit to us.
Visualize the
ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ into heaven.
Take a few moments and
try to visualize the ascension of our Lord, not from
the earthly side merely, but from the heavenly side.
Try to see the ascension, not as they saw it who
lost Him to sense and sight, but as they saw it who
saw Him arrive in Heaven.
Jesus led the disciples
out of the city, and then uttered these words, "You
shall be My witnesses . . ." Then Luke says, "as
they were looking, He was taken up; and a cloud
received Him out of their sight." That is all. Now,
quietly, for a moment or two, follow Him. Remember
that He did not cease to be Jesus then––He was still
Jesus of Nazareth. He was not dissipated into thin
air. Jesus of Nazareth was lost to sight to those
watchers on the hillside. They saw Him moving away
from the earth in bodily form, and the cloud
receiving Him. Can you follow Him?
To what place Jesus
ascended, and how He moved to it––all these are
entirely beyond us. We do know from God's Word that
He went to be with His Heavenly Father. It is a
place, and to that place Jesus of Nazareth ascended.
He is there now. He has not lost His human form and
never will, for God has taken humanity in Jesus into
eternal being and relationship with Himself.
The risen Jesus of
Nazareth has ascended to that central place of
Divine manifestation at the right hand of God. I
like to imagine that I am there when He arrived.
There were spirits of men there. Moses, and Elijah,
and Abel, and Abraham were there. There is David,
and Jeremiah, and Isaiah, and a great host of
others. All of humanity that had arrived before He
came was there by the mercy and grace of God. He did
not come by the mercy of God. He came in the
inherent right of His own sinlessness. He alone was
righteous in the sight of God. The Father sent Him
to come and die for sinful man. Could it be that if
there had not been higher work on hand for Jesus
Christ to do, He might have gone on to heaven from
the Mount of Transfiguration? He set His face toward
Jerusalem knowing that He had to die for the sins of
lost mankind. Imagine what it must have been like
when Jesus returned to heaven. I believe the
watching angels were filled with rapture when He
came. All of the Old Testament saints were gathered
there watching with anticipation and worship of the
Lamb of God slain. All the hosts of those who were
there by the mercy of God saw Him enter in.
Can you see yourself in
that great company of the redeemed? In my thoughts,
I am in that company. I look at Him and say, "Praise
and glory be to our great God and Savior. Oh, thank
you Jesus for being obedient to your Father. Thank
you for dying for me. Thank you for dying in my
place on the cross. Thank you for being my sacrifice
for sin. Thank you Jesus who lives forever more."
But why are there
wound–prints visible in the hands and feet of this
Man? He comes having accomplished on His Cross the
exodus. Remember His talking to Moses and Elijah at
His transfiguration about His exodus that was about
to be accomplished?
If He had failed, all of
these Old Testament saints who were in heaven on
credit must have left the heavenly places. For the
Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world in a
Divine purpose. Now the deed is done. One great
shout came from His lips. In a loud voice came one
word––tetelesti! We need three to translate
it in English. "It is finished!" Done! Complete! In
His hands and feet, are the scars representing all
of my sins and your sins. At the right hand of God
exalted is the Man of Nazareth.
It was "through the
eternal Spirit He offered Himself to God." Moreover,
it was an official act of God when He, the Man of
Nazareth, passed into the heaven of heavens in the
perfection of His humanity. He was wounded for you
and me. There in heaven is Jesus of Nazareth, the
Son of God, representing us.
The conclusion to
Peter's sermon is brief but powerful.
"Therefore let all the
house of Israel know for certain that God has made
Him both Lord and Christ (Messiah)––this Jesus whom
you crucified" (v. 36). In the original language,
you crucified are the last words of the sermon.
Those two words must have echoed in their hearts.
Please observe the title
given to Jesus. "Lord" means sovereign ruler of all
things, King over all men and nations. He holds the
key to life and death, heaven and hell. "Jesus" is
His personal name. "Christ" is a title. It means the
Messiah, the Promised Deliverer, the Anointed of God
to deliver His people. This resurrected Jesus of
Nazareth is the sovereign God.
Now what will you
do with Jesus (v. 37–38)?
The response of the
people is given in verse 37. They were "pierced to
the heart." They cried out to Peter, "Brethren, what
shall we do?" It is a very strong word expressing
emotional stress of various kings. It suggests deep
conviction. The literal meaning is "to pierce," "to
stun," "to smite." It was used of horses pounding
the earth with their hoofs. They were "broken in
heart." They felt crushed. They became broken and
stunned by the atrociousness of their sin and they
cried out, "What must we do?" Like David they cried
out, "Against Thee and Thee only have I sinned."
The only solution is to
"repent" (v. 38). Baptism is a symbolic act by which
they expressed their repentance, confessed their
faith in Christ and identified themselves publicly
with Christ. When you are baptized "in the name of
Jesus Christ," you are acknowledging Him as your
savior. Only He can take away your sins and give you
forgiveness.
It is as G. Campbell
Morgan said many years ago, "There are some things
you have to put in the first person singular. He
loved me; He gave Himself up for me; for me He rose,
for me He ascended, for me He received the Spirit,
for me He poured that Spirit forth. There is the
great and wonderful procession."
Title: Psalm
16:8-11; Acts 2:22-36 Christ is Alive!
Series:
Christ in
the Old Testament