JESUS IS…
(Part 1)
Acts 3:18-20
In our study of Acts, we are currently examining the sermon that Peter preached at Solomon’s Colonnade when the crowd gathered around him after the healing of the lame man at the Beautiful Gate. This man who had been lame from birth had received an amazing miracle in the presence of many people who were present at the Temple complex. They recognized this man and were astonished at the transformation that had taken place. They came running to Solomon’s Colonnade and Peter addressed them and made it clear that he did not heal the lame man by his own power. In verse 16 he declares that the man was healed by faith in Jesus Christ; the very Christ that these Jews had crucified just a few weeks earlier.
Peter proclaimed to his fellow Israelites that they had “denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.” v14-16
In the latter portion of his sermon, Peter references the words that God has spoken through His prophets about His suffering servant. He uses the Old Testament scriptures (that were very familiar to these devout Jews) as further evidence that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah. He also points to the fact that Jesus had been glorified and is currently in Heaven. He then declares that they possessed the opportunity to repent and be forgiven and accepted by God and His Christ. However, if they continued to reject God’s Promised One, they would be “utterly destroyed”.
Peter covers many subjects in this sermon, but the central theme is the Lord Jesus Christ. As he had done in his sermon on the day of Pentecost, Peter preached Jesus! He boldly declares who Jesus is, what He has done and what He will do in the future. I would like to examine Peter’s sermon and consider the thought “Jesus Is…”
There is no way to cover all that Jesus is in one sermon; for there are over 200 names and titles of Jesus Christ recorded in scripture. In this specific passage, Peter proclaims that Jesus Is The Promised Messiah, Jesus Is The Suffering Servant, Jesus Is The Compassionate Savior and Jesus Is The Sovereign Lord. I would like to begin by examining the fact that:
JESUS IS THE PROMISED MESSIAH
The Old Testament records many prophecies concerning the Messiah. Peter declares that those prophecies were fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. - v18 But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.
The Bible contains dozens of Old Testament Scriptures that Jesus Christ fulfilled. Scripture declares that the Messiah would be born of a woman, born of a virgin and this birth would take place in Bethlehem. He would be called Emmanuel; He would spend a season in Egypt and there would be a massacre of Children after His birth.
The Messiah would be from the lineage of Abraham, a decedent of Isaac & Jacob and from the Tribe of Judah. He would be the heir to David’s throne and His throne would be eternal.
Furthermore the scriptures declare that a messenger would prepare the way for the Messiah and He would be rejected by His own people. God’s Promised One would be a prophet, priest, and king. Ultimately the Messiah would be betrayed by a close friend, falsely accused, mocked, insulted, struck, spat upon and hated without cause. Through it all He would remain silent before His accusers.
The prophets declared that He would be crucified with criminals, His hands and feet would be pierced, yet not one of His bones would be broken. He would die, be buried in a rich man’s tomb and He would rise from the dead. Jesus fulfilled all of these (and many more prophecies) in the presence of these people, yet they still rejected Him!
One of the main prophecies concerning the Messiah was that He would be a suffering servant. This leads us to the second thing that Jesus is. Jesus is the Promised Messiah and:
JESUS IS THE SUFFERING SERVANT
The prophets of God declared that the Messiah would be a suffering servant. There are many scriptures that speak to this fact:
Psalm 22:6 But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people. 7 All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8 "He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!"
Psalm 22:13 They gape at Me with their mouths, Like a raging and roaring lion. 14 I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. 16 For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; 17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. 18 They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.
Isaiah 50:6 6 I gave My back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.
Isaiah 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. 9 And they made His grave with the wicked-- But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.
The suffering of God’s Servant was part of the plan of redemption from the very beginning. Immediately following the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, God declared that the Promised One would suffer; speaking to Satan the Lord said,"Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel." (Genesis 3:14-15)
Jesus is that suffering Savior; He suffered for the people at Solomon’s Colonnade, He suffered for my sins and yours and He suffered for the sins of the world! Paul says in - 2 Corinthians 5:21 For (God) made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Not only is Jesus the Promised Messiah and the Suffering Servant, Peter’s sermon portrays Jesus as the forgiving one. Salvation is only available in Christ, and the great news is that He is not only able to save lost sinners, He desires to do so! Notice that:
JESUS IS THE COMPASSIONATE SAVIOR
As had been prophesied, Israel rejected Jesus as Messiah. John says that “Jesus came unto His own and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11). The people of Israel did not deserve the opportunity that was about to be presented to them. But thanks to the mercy, grace and love of Jesus Christ, they were about to be confronted with the opportunity to receive forgiveness for their sins.
The very people who had crucified Jesus were about to be given the chance to be forgiven and washed in the very blood that they were guilty of shedding! In their ignorance, the Jews expected a great ruler, not a suffering servant. The Promised One had come to them, but they rejected Him and ultimately saw to it that He was put to death. Peter says that they did this in their “ignorance”. - v17 Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers.
Early on, multitudes of Jewish people followed Jesus; they even worshipped Him as He made His entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. However, when it became apparent that Jesus was not going to do what they wanted Him to do when they wanted Him to do it, they turned away from Him and many turned against Him. Peter did not excuse the sin of the people; but he did make it clear that even though they had rejected, tortured and crucified Jesus, if they would repent and believe in Him they could be saved. Not only does he state that this is possible, he implores them to turn to the Savior. - v19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.
If the People of Israel would heed Peter’s invitation to “repent and be converted” then “their sins would be blotted out”. Furthermore, “the times of refreshing would come from the presence of the Lord”. “Repentance” is a change of mind that brings about a change in actions. Repentance is turning from sin to God. Repentance was the subject of John the Baptist’s preaching; it was the subject of Jesus’ preaching and now Peter continues to proclaim the necessity of repentance. The people must repent; they must acknowledge their sin, turn away from it and turn to Christ.
After Peter’s great sermon on the day of Pentecost, those in attendance were “cut to the heart”, they asked Peter and the rest of the Apostles “Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Peter told them that the answer was repentance; he said, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38)
Likewise, repentance was the proper response for those who were gathered at Solomon’s Colonnade; furthermore, it is the necessary response for us as well. When we hear the Gospel message and when we experience Holy Spirit conviction, the proper response is to repent of our sins and surrender to Jesus Christ.
The Bible says that if you will repent, you will be “converted”. The word converted is used throughout the New Testament to describe what happens when lost sinners turn to the Holy God. When people repent and are converted, their sins are “blotted out”. The picture here is the complete wiping away of ink from the surface of a document.
These Jews needed to know that if they would repent and believe in Jesus, their sins could be completely washed away. Lost people need to hear this exact same message today. The same Jesus who was willing to forgive those who crucified Him, is willing and able to save you. He is exactly who the Prophets said He would be!
Jesus is The Promised Messiah
Jesus Is The Suffering Servant
Jesus Is The Compassionate Savior
If you repent and believe in Him then you can be converted; your sins will be washed away, and you can receive eternal life. I pray that you will hear, believe, and respond accordingly to all that “Jesus Is”.
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