Sermon Cloud

Little early to talk about Pentecost = is the Jewish mandatory pilgrimage and celebration known as Shavu’ot, or the Feast of Weeks, 7 weeks after Passover, they were to gather in Jerusalem – but why?  It is even an obscure feast days for the Jews – NO real symbol for it!  Like a lamb, or a booth, or a trumpet, or sheaves of grain… I will talk about it more when Pentecost actually arrives, 50 days after Pesach – But WE know why God wanted them to celebrate this obscure date!  SO the Holy Spirit could be poured out on all flesh and upon all people from far flung nations to hear the gospel in their own tongue – and to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.

^{Explain 2:1-14} But Peter, standing with the eleven,

à

lifted up his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.

à

¹⁵ For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day

à spirit inspired, Peter the rock (clod)

 ¹⁶ But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: ¹⁷ "'And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; ¹⁸ even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

à All kinds of flesh – not just on office holders, Prophets, priests, and Kings, but on everyone so that they would be considered directly connected to the voice and influence of Jehovah God.

à If we visit all of the text of Joel 2, which was written most likely in the time during the waning days of the Southern Kingdom of Judah.  Babylon is starting to crowd in on them, and they still hadn’t achieved the phrase, ‘Glory of Israel.’  In fact Joel describes their living conditions as “dried up rivers, flame burned wilderness, groaning animals for lack of pasture, desolate storehouses, and a people devoid of joy and gladness.’’

So he says, “Repent, fast, put on sackcloth and lament or the Lord will return and destroy them like a conquering army!”

But if they would repent, the Lord would relent from bringing disaster and would bless them!  How?

"Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations. –(the) beasts of the field, (will have) pastures of the wilderness (that) are green; the tree bears its fruit; the fig tree and vine give their full yield. – have rain, threshing floors of grain, And the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil. (Wedding of Cana!)

Joel 2:27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame. (no more humiliation, only exaltation)

And what would be the height of that exaltation – God’s spirit on Men, Women and even servants in the homes (Cuz we’re all gonna have servants when the Lord reigns with us!)  That is powerful, covenantal promises for the entire household of Israel!

à And it is NOW HAPPENING on this observance of Pentecost after the resurrection of Jesus

à Peter goes on to quote Joel 2 in a fascinating way:

¹⁹ And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; ²⁰ the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. ²¹ And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.'

à  Did the sun and moon do all that Peter mentioned?  Don’t think so on that day.  In fact, Jesus says something very similar to this same passage when he described the Day of the Lord in Matthew 24.  And that was a hard sermon, because I mentioned that what Peter and Jesus are describing is not what it sounds like to our ears.  This is Jewish apocalyptic code words for announcing the transition to a new order of things. 

After all, the moon for the Jews was pretty important.  It’s how they marked their calendar.  If the moon disappears, so would their identity.

à Psalm 89:35 … I will not lie to David. 36 His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me. 37 Like the moon it shall be established forever, a faithful witness in the skies."

à What Peter and Jesus were announcing in their respective passages was this: The Day of the Lord has come with the fullness of the gospel details, because of the complete work of Christ, this OT phrase “all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved!” Has now shifted it’s focus on Jesus Christ – this is like a total stellar realignment!  All because Jesus has brought the Day of the Lord, the Day of judgment and Salvation, a day of gathering, a day of the Lord establishing a new kingdom, and living with his people forever – but it all happens in Jesus! 

SO what does Peter preach?  A Salvation Sermon!  Based upon what?  The Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ!  Does it have impact? YES, Why?  Because the men of Judea and those dwelling in Jerusalem – WERE THERE when they crucified my Lord!

²² "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know- ²³ this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. ²⁴ God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. ²⁵ For David says concerning him, "' I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; ²⁶ therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. ²⁷ For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. ²⁸ You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.' ²⁹ "Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. ³⁰ Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, ³¹ he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. ³² This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. ³³ Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. ³⁴ For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, "' The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, ³⁵ until I make your enemies your footstool.' ³⁶ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."

à I can’t interrupt that sermon, it is totally awesome!

à But I will make comment on 2 aspects of it! 

#1. He tells the audience that, “you crucified,” the Christ!  It is very convicting to them, and they respond to gospel message with repentance, faith, and obedience.  It appears to me that is also when we will respond to the message as well.  When we realize that it was actually our sinful rebellion that placed Jesus on the cross.  When we see ourselves as a Pontius Pilate, someone trying desperately to protect our own position and prominence and our own little kingdom that we think we rule – at the expense of having Jesus as first in our life, and his kingdom. 

Its when we see ourselves as the Jewish leaders attempting to control our futures and our property thinking it’s all rightfully belongs to us – instead of seeing Jesus as the one who has the right to tell us what is ours and how we should live.  Its when we see ourselves as the Roman soldiers who take delight in hurting others and asserting our power over others who are weak – when we should realize that we are only hurting ourselves. 

When we see ourselves as being the very ones who daily shout with our words and actions, “Take him away, Crucify him!”  When we own up to these sins of pride and arrogance, we will then see ourselves as being behind the madness that lead Jesus to Calvary.  God came to me in Christ, he reached out his hand to me,  and I stuck a nail in it!

And I’m not trying to be cute about this because God sees you and me in Adam and Eve in the Garden – Sure as a person who bears His image; but also as the image destroyer, and as a rebellious covenant breaker whose best skill is hiding, lying, and blaming others for our own stupid decisions. 

And if God sees us in Adam, then we must pray that he will also see us in Christ! God is able to see us on the cross when Jesus dies in our place.  God pours out his wrath upon OUR sins of ignorance, unbelief, and rebellion when they are placed upon the lamb who takes away the sin of the world.  That is an awful description of Substitutionary atonement – but it also makes it GOOD Friday…

So when we hear the question, “Were you there when they crucified my lord?” If you are a sinner properly moved by God’s grace, you will say, YES, Jesus died for me on that tree.  I throw my sinful self upon the cross, so that Christ may take my place as the Lord metes out his justice upon everything in me that violates His holiness and dominion.

But thank God, He also sees us in a resurrected son, who has atoned for our sins, and has been raised in newness of life that now reflects the glorious image of Jesus Christ.  Of course this is all based upon

²³ this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God

It was all a part of God’s plan from the Garden of Eden to restore a people to himself through the provision of the son and the application of the Holy Spirit.  This death and resurrection would be effective in calling people to repentance, faith, and obedience. 

My #2 point

This gospel of the death and resurrection of Christ is also vividly prophesied in the Scripture…

Peter quotes Psalm 16:8-11 starting in Acts 2:25, and the interesting thing is, this passage had a cultural impact upon the Jews of Peter’s day.  For across the Kidron Valley, just south of the Garden of Gethsemane, in plain view to all in Jerusalem, stands a hill covered with limestone tombs.  The place where dead people were placed for one year, to deteriorate and to mark the end of the time set out for mourning for the deceased.  And at the end of that year, the bones would be collected and gathered to a family bone box.  And as the people came to remove the covers of the tombs, they always wondered if this Psalm (16) would apply to their relative – “Would their flesh still be there in tact?”  Would their soul still be with their body?

Peter says this passage is now fulfilled!  It was not about David, because we know where HIS bones are!  But Jesus is the holy one, he dwells in the presence of God with the fullness of Joy with his real, flesh-in-tact, body!

More than that, he now rules over every realm of authority!  He sits at the right hand of God and is now placing all his enemies under his feet (which is not just another quote from the Psalms – it is the most quoted verse of the OT by the NT)

Jesus is greater than King David!  He has conquered enemies far more ominous than a giant Philistine!  He has conquered the power of sin and death! This means he IS the Messiah, the true Son of David who sits on the throne… and He now demands that all men worship and obey him, come into His kingdom, and serve him as the victorious King!

And here we come to the sober reality of what Jesus represents for us.  He is either the place of Battle where we meet a God coming to judge sinners – or He is the resurrected Lord, raised up to a victory feast. 

To be included in the victory feast, we must first see ourselves as needing the cross to become our death of death and the payment of our debts so that we can be raised with the righteous and incorruptible life of the risen savior!

So were you there when they crucified my Lord?  Let us not simply be imaginary witnesses of the tragedy of the event – but let us see ourselves as being the one for whom Christ died, so that we might be raised to life everlasting!