Last fall I read Pierre Burton’s book, The Invasion of Canada. It tells of the war which Canada, or to be more accurate, Britain fought with the United States in 1812. It was a watershed moment in Canadian history. If the American’s had won that war, we would be part of the United States today. Many of the political realities and even particular attitudes which make us Canadian were defined during that war.
Another watershed moment for Canadian history was the signing of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982. It placed the issue of human rights for all Canadians in the constitution and has guaranteed those rights ever since.
There are many watershed moments in history. Watershed moments are times when because of certain events the course of history is set in a certain direction.
One such watershed moment is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Whether people admit it or not, it has impacted all of human history ever since. For Christians, together with the death of Christ, which we remembered on Friday, the resurrection is the watershed moment which began Christianity and which defines who we are today. So today we have the privilege of remembering and celebrating this watershed moment.
The text I would like to examine today is Acts 2:22-47. I have never preached a resurrection message from Acts 2 before because this is the passage which describes the day of Pentecost. On this Jewish feast day in which the Jews came to the temple to celebrate a harvest festival, many people witnessed the most unusual thing they had ever seen when they saw the Spirit of God come on all believers for the first time. Many did not understand that this was a movement of God so Peter stood up to explain what was happening. In his message, we notice that the resurrection of Christ was an important part of what he had to say. This morning, as we look at this text, we will see how the resurrection of Jesus Christ reveals the purposes of God, the power of God and the presence of God.
I heard a story about a group of fellows from this congregation who made a rather long trip quite spontaneously one day. Trevor told it this way, “We went to Winnipeg one day with reservations for the Revolving Restaurant(4 guys in suits) just for fun and ended up in Edmonton. Less than 24 hours later, we were back in Winnipeg.” Most of us don’t live our life that way. We may occasionally do things without planning or forethought, but not too often. Have you ever thought that God did not bring about His plan to save the world on a whim or an impulse? God didn’t decide one day that he would release Israel from Egypt or years later that Jesus would come to earth. He didn’t decide one day while Jesus was on earth, “wouldn’t it be cool if he would die and rise again?” God had a plan. God has always had a plan.
The resurrection of Jesus reveals that plan. In fact the life and ministry of Jesus reveals that plan.
We see God’s purpose in Acts 2:22 which says, “Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs.” Our Bible study group has been studying the gospel of John and in the first 11 chapters the theme which dominates is the question, “Who is Jesus?” In these chapters, we have a series of what are called in the text, “miraculous signs.” These signs are evidence of God at work in Jesus. At one point, the Jewish leaders, puzzled by the fact that a man whom Jesus has healed could see, pointed out to the man, “We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.” The man replied, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners…” These stories, using the miraculous signs, point to who Jesus was. This story of the man healed of blindness begins when the disciples asked Jesus, “who sinned, this man or his parents?” Jesus responds, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed.” In other words, God had a plan. He planned to reveal that in Jesus He Himself had come to live on earth.
There are some who believe that Jesus died by accident. They think that He had some radical things to say but he pushed it too far and it got out of hand and that is why he died. However, even in his death we see the plan of God. Acts 2:23 says, “This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge.” It was according to God’s plan that Jesus died on the cross, a message that is found throughout Scripture. In many of these Scriptures we understand that the purpose of Jesus’ death was in order to die in our place so that our sins would be forgiven.
In a similar way, Peter goes on to say that the resurrection was also part of God’s plan. He didn’t plan for Jesus to die and then hope that somehow he would also rise from the dead. Acts 2:24 says, “it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.”
Why would he say that? How could he say that? In part, it was because Peter understood that God had planned from the beginning that Jesus, who was without sin, would die but that because He was holy, His death would not be final, but would be the means by which sin and death could be overcome. Death is not a natural phenomenon. It is a punishment given to all humanity because of sin. If death is caused by sin, then one who has not sinned cannot die. That is why “it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” God knew this, it was part of His plan.
We know it was part of His plan because He had revealed that this was His plan in the Old Testament. In Acts 2:25-28, Peter quotes from Psalm 16:8-11. This Psalm reflects the experience of David, the king. But as Peter points out, it reflects on more than the experience of David, it reflects on the experience of one who was to come, the Son of David, the expected Messiah. This Psalm says, “you will not abandon me to the grave, nor let your Holy One see decay.” Peter went on to indicate in verse 29 that David died and so, as he says in verse 31, this refers to the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Because the resurrection is spoken of so clearly in this passage from the Old Testament, we know that it speaks of the resurrection of Jesus and we know that God had this planned all along.
The plan of God is summarized in Acts 2:36 where it says, “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” All that has happened – Jesus’ coming, death and resurrection – happened by the purpose and will of God. Jesus came as Messiah, but was not recognized as such. He was put to death according to the plan of God, but was also raised according to the plan of God and is now affirmed as both Messiah and Lord, all according to what God had planned.
Now if the events and details of Jesus’ life and particularly His resurrection are a part of the plan of God, that is good news! What happened was not an accident. I Peter 1:20,21 says, “He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.”
Does it make any difference to you that the resurrection of Jesus was part of God’s plan?
Perhaps you sometimes doubt that God is real and that Christianity is true. Some people do because it seems so amazing. For some the doubts come because there are so many religions and it seems a little arrogant to claim that Christianity is the true religion.
Josh McDowell has written in a number of places that it is very difficult to disprove that Jesus rose from the dead. It is a well established historical fact, witnessed by many who saw Him alive. If it is a true event as witnessed by history and if it was God’s plan, doesn’t that encourage us to put our trust in Christ?
Perhaps you wonder whether the promise of Jesus return is true. It has been almost 2000 years since Jesus rose from the dead. Still all things go on as before. Will it really happen? But if we know that Jesus’ resurrection was a part of God’s plan and took many years to come to fulfillment, then we can be encouraged to keep on waiting and not lose hope.
Perhaps you sometimes question whether God really cares about people. So many evil things happen in the world and sometimes bad things even happen to us. Does God really care about us? But if we know that God planned for Jesus to die and rise again, then we can be assured that God’s intentions towards us are loving. The purpose for God’s plan is our salvation and the fulfillment of His plan assures us that He wants what is best for us.
Jesus was raised from the dead according to the plan of God. What a cause for joy and celebration!
I remember reading the Dick Tracy cartoons when I was young. From 1931 – 1971 Chester Gould drew these cartoons of detective and crime fighting stories. Beginning in 1964, one of the crime fighting devices which Dick Tracy had was a two way wrist TV for communicating with others. At that time, this kind of technology was of course unknown. Today, it is not at all a far fetched idea. It is possible to communicate with others not only by voice, but also with pictures. It isn’t fantastic, it is normal and expected.
I remember one of the first times that a television program, likely of the Olympics, was broadcast, via satellite, live from Europe to North America. Up to that time, such a thought was fantastic, not to be believed! Today, all of my television programs come to me via satellite and can easily be broadcast live from anywhere in the world. We don’t think it is fantastic any more, it is normal and expected.
I sometimes wonder what we consider fantastic, and impossible today that in 20 or 30 years will seem normal and expected?
Most of us wish that death was on this list. There are a few people who believe that it could be. Whether that will ever happen through the advances of science I don’t know and I actually doubt it. At this point, however, and in all of human history up to this point, that is seen as impossible. However, it has happened once that someone died and rose from the dead and continues to be alive today. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is truly amazing and reveals the power of God.
According to Acts 2:22, the power of God was already shown in amazing ways in the miraculous signs performed by Jesus. The tremendous power of God was shown even more clearly and more powerfully in the resurrection of Jesus. Acts 2:24 says, “God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death…” Wow! That is astonishing. We all know what the agony of death is all about. But Jesus beat that agony! He died, but He didn’t stay that way. God showed His amazing power by raising Him from the dead.
I was quite impressed when I saw the machine at Norstar Industries which uses water pressure to cut steel. Water seems so soft, you can put your hand through it and it easily moves out of the way. But we know that water is also powerful – hydro electric power, dishwashers, the effect of floods have all demonstrated that water has tremendous power. When I saw water cut steel, I guess it just takes that power to another level. There are many powerful things in the world, but as we study them we begin to understand them. The power of God which was demonstrated when He raised Jesus from the dead seems to me to be of another order. That is a power which we do not see anywhere on earth, nor do we understand it.
In Acts 2:32, Peter says, “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.” I mentioned earlier that Josh McDowell has written numerous books and articles indicating that it is difficult if not impossible to refute the resurrection of Jesus. One of the arguments he uses is the empty tomb. If Jesus had not risen from the dead, it would have been easy for the Jewish leaders to point to the place of Jesus’ burial. The disciples, who ran away in great fear, were in no state to have produced a plot to steal the body of Jesus away from dedicated Roman soldiers who guarded a sealed stone. Jesus was beaten and near death and it would have been impossible for him to be revived and make it out of the tomb. All of these things demonstrate that it is reasonable to believe in the resurrection. The other thing that proves the resurrection is the eye witness accounts, which Peter points to here. Those who were present, who had known Jesus saw Him alive. One of the greatest demonstrations that the resurrection is true is the development of the church. What began as a handful of Jewish people timidly following Jesus at first, resulted, 300 years later, in becoming the dominant religion of the Roman empire, which up to that point had been an utterly pagan empire. How could this happen apart from the power of God demonstrated in raising Jesus from the dead?
This is truly something to celebrate, for the power of God demonstrated in the resurrection has wonderful implications for us.
If God is so powerful that He can raise Jesus from the dead, then we really need to ask ourselves, "is there anything He can’t do?” What are the impossible things in your life? Are you facing a devastating illness? Are you finding it difficult to overcome temptation? Do you fear death? Are you facing obstacles that are too big for you to move? If God is powerful enough to raise Jesus from the dead, then surely He has the power to come to your help as well. Of course, we subject that to the sovereign will of God, the wisdom of God and what is best according to the love of God, but power is not in question.
If God is so powerful that He did raise Jesus from the dead, then we also can live. Jesus did not only rise from the dead. Through the power of God, by the resurrection, He overcame death. Since He overcame death, eternal life has also become ours. I said before that death is in the world because of sin. If sin was not present in Jesus and so death could not hold Him, then because of His death, we also are free from sin and death cannot and will not hold anyone who puts their trust in Jesus. That is the power of God as revealed in the resurrection.
What a blessing, what a reason to celebrate when we realize that the resurrection reveals the power of God!
Following the resurrection and based on the resurrection, we read in Acts 2:33 that Jesus was “exalted to the right hand of God.” During the years that Jesus had been on earth, those who recognized that He was God present with them rejoiced at His presence. Because of His death and resurrection, Jesus died and was glorified and went to be in heaven with the Father. However, the resurrection and subsequent exaltation do not mean that God had abandoned His people. Because Jesus died, rose and was exalted, we read in Acts 2:33, “He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.” There is a direct connection between the coming of Christ, the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, the exaltation of Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit. It is in this sense that the resurrection of Christ reveals the presence of God.
God has always desired to be with His people and to have a people He could be with. In the Old Testament, he called Israel to be His people and He was with them in a pillar of fire and a pillar of cloud when He led them out of Egypt and brought them to the promised land. Later in the history of Israel, he was with His people in the temple. When Jesus came to earth, God was with them in the person of Jesus. But when Jesus died and rose again and ascended to heaven, where did God’s presence go? Where was the presence of God? Where is the presence of God? The exaltation of Jesus and the coming of the Spirit, based on the resurrection demonstrate that God continues to be present with His people. The resurrection makes way for the eternal presence of God with His people. The resurrection makes the way for the Spirit to be God present with His people today.
Sometimes we wonder, “where is God?” There was one moment when there seemed to be a great rift between God and His people, a moment when God was gone. This moment was symbolized by the disciples fleeing from Jesus at the moment of His darkest hour. It was declared when Jesus said from the cross, “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?” But when Jesus rose from the dead, He met with Mary and said the amazing words recorded in John 20:17, “Go…to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” Reconciliation was pictured when Jesus stood on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and beckoned His disciples to come and join Him for lunch. God’s presence was questioned when the disciples stared into the sky as they watched Jesus ascend into heaven, but a restored relationship was promised when the angels said, “He will return.” God’s presence became real for us when the Spirit came down so that never more does any child of God have to wonder, “Where is God?” He is here by His Spirit. Because of the resurrection, the presence of God is permanent, never again to be broken for those who put their trust in Him.
What a joy!
On the day of Pentecost Peter preached and all the people heard this amazing message of the purpose, power and presence of God revealed in the resurrection. But they also heard another message. They heard that they were responsible for the suffering of this one who had come to give them life. In horror and with great guilt, they must have thought, “What have we done!!?”
Because of the resurrection, Peter was able to assure them of grace. Peter was able to point out the way in which they could participate in the purposes of God, the way in which they could experience the power and the presence of God. In His message, Peter called them to repent, to be baptized as a sign of their faith. He promised that if they did so, their sins would be forgiven and they would receive the Holy Spirit.
I suggested earlier that this was a watershed event in human history. In Acts 2:39 Peter said to them, “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.” That statement indicates that indeed it is a watershed event. The purpose of God, the power of God and presence of God revealed in the resurrection have implications for all who will follow Jesus, even for us today.
Peter pleaded for them to respond and many did and we have the beginning of the church, a movement that began small at that time, but continues to grow even today, once more showing the great and worldwide impact of the resurrection.
Today as we hear this message again, we also are invited to respond to it. If you have not received Jesus into your life, you can today. The purpose of God is that all people everywhere will find life in Jesus.
If you are weak and in need of help, the power of God is available to you. God invites us to ask Him.
If you are living on our own, God is present to walk with us. He invites us into relationship.
May we respond to the invitation!
May we rejoice in the resurrection of Jesus Christ!
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