Last week’s lesson entitled, The Need for Biblical Faith, was far from one of my best lessons. I will not make excuses; but rather, take what was presented and try to do better. In that lesson, I talked about two key ingredients if you will, of God’s redemptive plan for sinful man. These were embodied in the church at Thessalonica in the way of their eagerness to hear the message, as well as welcoming it into their lives. Down the road we will consider three other things that play a role in God’s plan for redeeming those who have come to believe in Christ. It is here that I would like to spend some time over the next couple of weeks. What is it that we are to believe about Christ. Many of us have heard the saying, “It doesn’t matter how much you know; it matters who you know.” You might remember the words of Jesus from last week’s lesson, ““He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). I suspect you are familiar with Acts 4:12 as well, “Jesus is the only one who can save people. His name is the only power in the world that has been given to save anyone. We must be saved through him!” (ETRV). As I said last week, there are some things God wants us to know when it comes to salvation, but none is as important as coming to know the ”Who” that makes it all possible. Take away the who, and what we do does not matter in the end.
“Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly…” (Acts 2:36)
The ETRV reads in part, “So, all the people of Israel should know this for certain…” Just a few verses prior to this, Peter would say, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words…” (Acts 2:14). This tone reveals the urgency of things. But what were they to know? It is not what you know; but rather, know who! To the Jews on the day of Pentecost, the question seemed to be, “Do you realize who He is?” They knew Jesus, or at the very least, knew of Him. Peter makes it clear, He walked among you, served many of you, healed some of you, and He is the One many of you were responsible in some way for putting Him on the cross (Acts 2:22-23). He is the One “God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it” (Acts 2:24). What follows is a prophecy of David who proclaimed long before the Christ came, “For You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.” (Acts 2:27). To the Jew, this would be familiar to them, for what Peter spoke was in part from the Old Testament prophesies. They were waiting for Him! The woman at the well said, “’I know that Messiah is coming.’ (who is called Christ)…Could this be the Christ?” (John 4:25, 29). Simeon, as promised by the Holy Spirit, would not see death until “he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2:26). And when he saw the baby Jesus has proclaimed, “For my eyes have seen Your salvation” (Acts 2:30). All these years of anticipation, waiting and hoping for the Christ to come, well, He has come. I can sense the overwhelming reality that must have started to sink in too many who were there that faithful day.
“…that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Acts 2:36)
We know that these words penetrated many who were there, for “they were cut to the heart” (Acts 2:37). Another translation uses the word pierced. The Greek word can also mean stung, smitten, i.e., agitate violently. It is fair to say that they were overwhelmed with what had taken place; that is, Jesus’s death on the cross. Why? Because God had made Him Lord. We again look back to the text concerning something that Peter had said, “The Lord said to my Lord, sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool” (Acts 2:34, 35). King David had spoken these words long ago, pointing to someone who was to come. That someone was Jesus! As one commentator puts it, “The Son of God, and the hope of their nation, they had put to death.” He whom you put to death, God has made Lord; that is, “that God had exalted him to be the king so long expected; and that he had given him dominion in the heavens, or, as we should say, made him ruler of all things.” Then, there is the fact that God also made Him the Christ (Messiah), that is, the Anointed One. The Jews anticipated the coming of the Messiah (remember John 4:25). This anticipation is seen in the question John the Baptist asked Jesus through two of his disciples, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” (Matthew 11:3). The Healer of their nation. The Messiah whom they had spoken of for years. The One where their hope was placed, they could not see, even when He was right in front of them.
If I were to be honest, there is a part within me that instinctively moves to Acts 2:38, and for good reason. But today, I pause and wrestle with the profound thoughts of what they heard back then. I try to place myself in their shoes as they hear these words for the first time. The horrific stories of the cross of just days before, where this menacing man was finally quieted, all while the celebrating the Day of Pentecost. Only to find out that He was the one which they yearned for for so long. This Jesus, whom you crucified, God has made both Lord and Christ. It would be difficult for them not to be cut to the heart.
Although we are distant from these events, it does not make it any less important, and hopefully no less impactful. We too, must assuredly know. Know what? We will consider that later. What matters right now is who we know! You see, it was not just because of them that Jesus went to the cross. It was Jesus who “bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness-by whose stripes you were healed” (1st Peter 2:24). We need Jesus! He is the who that makes redemption possible. For God has made Him to be both Lord and Christ for evermore.
Dennis
Biddeford Church of Christ 