A Distillation Of The Gospel Series

A distillation of the gospel Acts 2:22-41 WBC 28/4/2 am

Peter’s speech after coming of HS at Pentecost

- Pentecost passage saved for 19th May (come pm!)

Fascinatingly, Acts contains many ‘addresses’

- 20% is dedicated to addresses by Peter & Paul

- 25% if include Stephen

 => 1:1 “Jesus continued to do and teach”

This is great stuff! Peter thinking… speaking… on his feet after the Pentecost outpouring

- it’s the rough, basics of the gospel. A ‘distillation’ of it

- not lots of trappings

It’s about Jesus, basically.

- V22 “Men of Israel, listen to this : Jesus”

- it’s all about Him. “I’m gonna tell you all about the god news. The good news (‘gospel’) is JESUS”

Distilled into 4 areas. 2 key points in each area

The gospel events

V22-24 run through key gospel events, facts

1) v22. Jesus was a man

- truly a man. Human

- but not just a man. = one accredited by God to them by

- miracles (dynamite!)

- wonders (things that make you go ‘aaah!’)

- signs (things that point to greater spiritual truth)

(but they hadn’t noted, until then!)

2) v23 died

explained: wasn’t on a whim. The whim of Judas. Or even you people… but by

- God’s plan

- It is told that in the First World War there was a young French soldier who was seriously wounded. His arm was so badly smashed that it had to be amputated. He was a magnificent specimen of young manhood, and the surgeon was grieved that he must go through life maimed. So he waited beside his bedside to tell him the bad news when he recovered consciousness. When the lad’s eyes opened, the surgeon said to him: "I am sorry to tell you that you have lost your arm." "Sir," said the lad, "I did not lose it ; I gave it--for France." Jesus was not helplessly caught up in a mesh of circumstances from which he could not break free. Apart from any divine power he might have called in, it is quite clear that to the end he could have turned back and saved his life. He did not lose his life; he gave it. The Cross was not thrust upon him; he willingly accepted it--for us. -- William Barclay, Gospel of John .

- By God’s… Jesus’… set purpose and foreknowledge

- Your wickedness

 both!

Died: on a cross

- interestingly enough: this is the only place of mention of the cross in Acts. Elsewhere it’s described as ‘the tree’ (3 times 5:30, 10:39, 13:29. Twice by Peter, once by Paul)

- of course, it was a cross that he died on… but here the talk… spiel… theology is so on the hoof… shooting from the hip… in its infancy… that there isn’t the artistic elaboration of using the word tree that in an even fuller sense conveys the curse that Jesus bore on our behalf

- Deut 21:23 “anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse”

3) v24- 32 he rose

2: 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death

- lit ‘from the birth pains of death’

- re- birth, new birth out of death into life

- because death simply couldn’t hold Him

3 Buddies were discussing death and one asked the group: What would you like people to say about you at your funeral?

… "He was a great humanitarian, who cared about his community."

… "He was a great husband and father, who was an example for many to follow."

… "Look, he’s moving!!"

- not sure Peter understood it all at this point. Not sure we do! But to Peter ‘death couldn’t hold Him because of who He is’

- and so this Psalm (16) must apply to Him, because it couldn’t apply to David. He died. His tomb was nearby!

4) v33 exalted

It didn’t end there. He was raised to God’s right hand

He is now seen as what/who He is! That’s why all this stuff’s happening!

These are the stages of the gospel events. Elsewhere it adds ‘He’s returning as judge’

- but… as you go through Acts- you find the gospel events distilled into its 2 most important components:

- - the cross and the resurrection.

- ’Everything antecedent in the incarnate life of our Lord moves towards the resurrection and everything subsequent rests upon it and is conditioned by it’ John Murray

The gospel witnesses

Again, 2 key areas of witness

They appeal to a twofold evidence to authenticate Jesus so that

Deut 19:5 “A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses”

The first is the scriptures- hence prolific quoting of OT (Ps 16, 110 Joel 2)