In our lives we tend to follow people of interest. We find particular people fascinating in their struggle over adversity, persistence in the face of opposition, and the accomplishments they achieved along the way. When they die, like many have in recent days, we consider their accomplishments, and their legacy. There are some who leave an example to emulate and others who accomplished something so unusual, that we wonder if anyone will every come that can do what they did.
Jesus Christ was such an individual. Not only did He struggle with great adversity, face opposition from within His own followers, and the public at large but His accomplishments and legacy are such that settle once and for all, the way to Heaven. He was able to do this because He perfectly fulfilled the Father's will, lived a perfect life without sin, and through His resurrection, conquered Death itself.
Although it is never a subject that we like to talk about, all of us are going to die. The real issue is if we are ready to die and know what lies beyond the grave for us. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is not only a historical fact, but His rising from the dead enables believers in Him to conquer death itself.
In the recounting of Jesus' rising from the dead in Acts 10, the Apostle Peter explains: 1) Why Death was Conquered (Acts 10:34-35), 2) Who Conquered Death (Acts 10:36-38) 3) How Death was Conquered (Acts 10:39-43).
1) Why Death was Conquered (Acts 10:34-35)
Acts 10:34-35 [34]So Peter opened his mouth and said: "Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, [35]but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. (ESV)
Peter is the speaker here. He is preaching to a group of Gentiles who really have no connection with Israel. This is Peter’s first address to a Gentile audience. (Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Acts of the Apostles (Vol. 17, p. 391). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.)
The main individual to whom Peter is preaching is a man by the name of Cornelius. Cornelius was a Roman soldier, an officer in the Roman army, an officer of some significance and some prominence, a man who had great responsibility, a centurion of what was called the Italian battalion. Cornelius really had no Jewish links. He had no Jewish heritage. He was a Gentile. Peter preaches to him the straight forward simple gospel. In so doing he tells us the significance of the resurrection.
The phrase opened his mouth is a colloquial Greek expression marking the speech that follows as important. Looking around at his improbable audience, Peter began by shattering what remained of the barrier separating the two groups with his fresh insight: “Truly/I most certainly understand that God shows no partiality. God is impartial. God is, in the Old English, no respecter of persons. God has no favorites. He is impartial.
• You may be here this morning and say that you're not a religious person. You may have not been here since last Easter or this may be your first time. The issue is not how many times you have come before, the issue is that you are here now and listening to this word. This word is for you right now.
Please turn to 1 Peter 1 (p.1014)
Now what does this all mean? That means initially that God judges everyone the same without respect for who they are or for that matter, what they have accomplished. Or what their social or economic status might be. And that is exactly what we are reminded of in 1 Peter when Peter writes his first epistle, chapter 1 verse 16,
1 Peter 1:16-17 [16]since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." [17]And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, (ESV)
• God requires spiritual perfection, absolute holiness, perfect sinlessness. And in verse 17 Peter says, "He judges impartially according to each man's work." There is the issue. God is an impartial judge who has a standard of perfect holiness and measures everybody against that standard, no matter who they are.
No one can escape that reckoning, no sinner can escape that judgment and that justice because of any privilege, any achievement, any accomplishment. Since everyone has failed to reach God's standard of perfection, everyone merits eternal punishment. Since God is an impartial judge, It doesn't matter how many good efforts you've made or how many things you've tried to accomplish in your life or how successful you've been at being nice or kind, it doesn't matter whether you're religious or irreligious, if you come short of the standard of perfection, you're doomed.
But it means more than that and particularly here in this context. When Peter says Truly/most certainly I understand now that God shows no partiality, the Greek word used for partiality/favoritism (v. 34) is constructed on a Hebrew idiom meaning to lift a face, which meant ‘to show favour’ and hence ‘to show favouritism’ (Marshall, I. H. (1980). Acts: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 5, p. 200). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.).
Peter saw that God does not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnic background, looking up to some and down on others. But God does discriminate between those whose behavior is acceptable and those whose attitude is not acceptable. Those who reverence God and practice what is right are acceptable to him (v. 35; cf. Luke 8:21) (Polhill, J. B. (1995). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 260). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.).
The topical context that Peter is talking about salvation. God is also impartial in that regard. And that is the primary emphasis here. Peter is beginning to understand that God's grace can be extended to all people without regard for their circumstances, without regard for their morality or immorality, and without regard for their nationality. In fact, that's of great concern in this particular context since he is preaching to a Gentile and it is only been very recently that Peter himself had a vision in which God showed him that he was to go and preach the gospel to the Gentiles. God shows no partiality. This is the good news since humanity is in the terrible condition of sin under the judgment of God, no matter how bad their condition, one can come to a God who will not refuse them on the basis of any distinction.
Peter then expanded that thought, explaining in verse 35 that in every nation anyone who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable/welcome to Him. Peter is simply expressing the reality that there is a Spirit work in the heart of the sinner (cf. John 16:8–11; Acts 11:18; 2 Tim. 2:25). That work produces a person who fears or reverences God and does what is right, and who is acceptable/welcome (dektos) to God. That word means “marked by a favorable manifestation of the divine pleasure”. This text shows that now is the welcome or acceptable time of salvation. No matter what the age, race, sex, or social strata, when the heart hungers for God and for righteousness (Matt. 5:6), it is the welcome time for salvation. That a person yearns for deliverance itself does not mean that such persons are thereby saved (cf. Acts 11:14) but rather that they are suitable candidates for salvation. Such preparation displays a spiritual earnestness that will result in faith as the gospel is heard and received (Everett Harrison. Interpreting Acts: The Expanding Church [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986], 182).
Cornelius responded to the work of God in his soul, yet it must not be thought that he did that on his own, apart from the grace of God. The truth is that no one, whether Gentile (cf. Rom. 1:18ff.) or Jew (cf. Rom. 2:1ff.) does that (Rom. 3:10–18). God had worked in Cornelius’s heart so that he sought to know and obey God, and when he heard the saving truth of the gospel, he eagerly responded. Cornelius demonstrated an amazing eagerness to know and obey God. He sensed God’s presence in the moment and demonstrated a receptive, teachable heart.
• Are you eager to hear from God and to do his will? Ask the Spirit of God to give you a thirst for himself. He must implant these holy desires within you. You cannot produce them in your own efforts or strength (Barton, B. B., & Osborne, G. R. (1999). Acts (p. 181). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.).
Peter introduced his message by assuring his audience that salvation was available to the prepared heart. Yet it was not enough for them merely to know of its availability; they needed to know how to appropriate the forgiveness of sin and deliverance from judgment.
Illustration: Forgiveness
Near the end of Irving Stone’s powerful novel, Love Is Eternal, about Mary Todd and Abraham Lincoln, there is a moving conversation between Mrs. Lincoln and the President’s bodyguard, Parker, who had been summoned to Mrs. Lincoln’s room.
“Why were you not at the door to keep the assassin out?” she demanded. With head bowed, Parker replied, “I have bitterly repented it. But I did not believe that anyone would try to kill so good a man in such a public place. The belief made me careless. I was attracted by the play, and did not see the assassin enter the box.” “You should have seen him. You had no business to be careless.” With this, Mrs. Lincoln fell back on her pillow and covered her face with her hands, and from deep emotion, said: “Go now. It’s not you I can’t forgive; it’s the assassin.” Tad, her son, who had spent that miserable night beneath his father’s desk in the executive office, drawled, “If Pa had lived, he would have forgiven the man who shot him. Pa forgave everybody.”( Excerpt from Love Is Eternal by Irving Stone. Copyright 1954 by Irving Stone. Reprinted by permission of Doubleday & Company, Inc.)
The comment is reminiscent of Another who, having given His all to reveal love, was rejected by His own and killed by those who should have protected Him. Yet in the agonies of death He prayed: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34) (Jones, G. C. (1986). 1000 illustrations for preaching and teaching (pp. 47–48). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.).
2) Who Conquered Death (Acts 10:36-38)
Acts 10:36-38 [36]As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), [37]you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: [38]how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
Peter now turns to the main theme of the gospel, namely that salvation comes through Jesus Christ to anyone from any nation. In the words of the hymn “The Church’s One Foundation,” the church is Elect from ev’ry nation, Yet one o’er all the earth.
The word of God containing the message of salvation God first sent to Israel (cf. Rom. 1:16). It was the glorious message of peace through Jesus Christ. What was the point of Jesus’ dying? Jesus was God’s messenger. He is the one to whom we should listen. Why should he have died and not have remained alive to teach us? And why is his death such an important part of the gospel proclamation? The answer is that he died for us, in our place. This is how he made peace between ourselves and God the Father, the truth with which Peter started (v. 36). Jesus made peace, as Peter’s fellow apostle Paul says in another place, by taking the law that we have broken and that condemns us and “nailing it to the cross” (Col. 2:14). (Boice, J. M. (1997). Acts: an expositional commentary (p. 184). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.)
Please turn to Romans 5 (p.942)
The problem is that all people are fallen and are natural enemies who are at war with God (cf. Rom. 5:10). The sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ ended that hostility (2 Cor. 5) and brought peace between Christians and God by paying the price for sin.
Romans 5:1-11 [5:1]Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. [2]Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. [3]More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, [4]and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, [5]and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. [6]For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. [7]For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-- [8]but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. [9]Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. [10]For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. [11]More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (ESV)
God has “made peace through the blood of His cross” (Col. 1:20). Salvation is offered to all because Jesus is Lord of all. He is God of very God. So Peter clearly indicates the Who of salvation. Who can accomplish this if all of us have fallen short, if all of us are in sin, if there's no way that we can be reconciled to God on our own and yet God wants us, how can it happen, who is going to make the reconciliation possible? And the answer is Jesus Christ. This Jesus Christ is Lord of all people. The peace Christ achieved is not just for the Jews but for all people. The peace Christ wrought is the basis for tearing down the platforms of ethnic pride and the barriers of ethnic religious prejudice so that Jew and Gentile, indeed all persons, can be at peace with each other (Larkin, W. J., Jr. (1995). Acts (Vol. 5, Ac 10:34). Downers, IL: InterVarsity Press.).
Caesarea was the seat of the Roman government in Judea. Consequently, Peter can affirm to Cornelius and the others that in verse 37 that you yourselves know what happened/the thing which took place throughout all Judea, beginning/starting from Galilee, after the baptism that John proclaimed. The baptism which John proclaimed was a baptism signifying an attitude of repentance and longing for the reign of righteousness.
They were aware as verse 38 indicates, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth, with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with Him. This is not an ordinary individual. This is the Lord of all, God in human flesh with power and compassion radiated from God Himself
The Baptism prepared the nation for the Messiah, who was Jesus of Nazareth. As He began His ministry, God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power (cf. Matt. 3:13–17; Luke 3:21–22). Peter describes that ministry as going about doing good, then lists as an example His healing of all who were oppressed by the devil. That phrase encompasses the whole gamut of human ailments, from direct demon oppression to disease to spiritual darkness. “The Son of God,” wrote the apostle John, “appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). Jesus Christ’s complete overpowering of Satan and his demons left no doubt that God was with Him.
Illustration: 136
British General Wellington commanded the victorious forces at the great battle of Waterloo that effectively ended the Napoleonic Wars. The story has been told that when the battle was over, Wellington sent the great news of his victory to England. A series of stations, one within sight of the next, had been established to send code messages between England and the continent. The message to be sent was “Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.” Meanwhile a fog set in and interrupted the message sending. As a result, people only saw news of “Wellington defeated—” Later, the fog cleared and the full message continued, which was quite different from the outcome that the people originally thought had happened!
The same is true today. When many look at what happened on Good Friday, the death of Christ, they see only “defeat.” Yet, at the Resurrection, God’s message was completed. The resurrection spelled “victory.” (Michael P. Green. (2000). 1500 illustrations for biblical preaching (p. 304). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.)
3) How was Death Conquered (Acts 10:39-43).
Acts 10:39-43. [39]And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, [40]but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, [41]not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. [42]And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. [43]To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." (ESV)
All they had heard about Jesus’ ministry was true, Peter affirms. He adds the apostolic corroboration that we are witnesses of all He did both in the country/land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, and then comes quickly to the significant event saying, They put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree/cross. This expression is traced back to Deuteronomy 21:23 and carries with it the idea of suffering under the curse of God.( Gaertner, D. (1995). Acts (Ac 10:34–43). Joplin, MO: College Press.)
The ‘hanging on a tree’ of the corpse of the condemned was to signal their being morally polluted in the sight of both God and man. They are ‘lifted up’ so as to be in a vivid sense ‘separated’ and hence no longer a source of moral contamination to the community. In the cross Jesus takes our pollution upon Himself and becomes a pollutant on our behalf! At Calvary we treat God as a contaminant! (Milne, B. (2010). The Acts of the Apostles: Witnesses to Him ... to the Ends of the Earth (p. 244). Ross-shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications.)
That religious men would lead the effort to put to death the One who went about doing good and overruling the work of Satan illustrates the depths of human depravity—even when it is masked with religion. Cornelius knew that. He was a Roman soldier, of course he knew that. The night that the soldiers came in the garden to take Jesus there were 600 of them. That was a major movement of troops in the city of Jerusalem, Cornelius would have been aware of that since he was a centurion, he would have been ranking enough to have heard, if not directly, indirectly, what was going on. He knew the Romans were involved in the execution of crucifixion...the Jews couldn't do it. He knew that Jesus had been executed by the Romans at the behest of the Jews. He knew that. In fact, Peter indicts Israel for murdering the Lord Jesus. Even Pilate said, "I find no fault in this man, what evil has He done?" But they wanted Him dead and finally blackmailed Pilate into doing it.
but God however, as verse 40 proclaims overturned the world and hell, vindicating Jesus by raising Him up on the third day, and made him to appear/granted that He should become visible,
Please turn to 1 Corinthians 15 (p.961)
The significance of Peter’s statement that Jesus became visible should not be overlooked. Countless heretics, from apostolic times to the present, have denied the truth of Christ’s physical resurrection. That fact is central to Christianity, however.
Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 15:12–19 the serious consequences of denying the resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15:12-19 [12]Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? [13]But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. [14]And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. [15]We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. [16]For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. [17]And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. [18]Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. [19]If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. (ESV)
• Those who deny Christ’s literal resurrection destroy the only bridge spanning the gulf separating them from God. For the record, Paul has left us the inspired fact that the risen Jesus appeared to Peter, then the Twelve, more than 500 believers at one time, then to James, all the apostles, and finally to himself (1 Cor. 15:5–8).
Not everyone had the privilege of witnessing the resurrected Christ. The Resurrected Christ appeared, Peter declares in verse 41 not to all the people, but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. God chose only a few to bear testimony to the world that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead, and all of them were believers. Why? I think Jesus said it in Luke 16:31. "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, they will not believe though one be raised from the dead," remember that? It might have been a curiosity, but that's all it would have been. It might have produced in Pilate terrible fear. It might have produced in Caiaphas and Annas terror, but that's all it would have produced. Because if they wouldn't believe the Scripture, they couldn't be saved. They would find another way to explain it away. And this is one pearl God won't cast before swine. He appears only to His own, to strengthen them, to confirm the resurrection so they can preach the resurrection.
Peter’s reference to those who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead offers further proof of His bodily resurrection, since in Jewish thought spirit beings were incapable of such actions. They sat down at table, proof positive, a real, literal resurrection. No phantom here, no hallucination here. We were eyewitnesses. We saw Him, we ate with Him, we drank with Him, we talked with Him.
Verse 42 relates the warning that was essential to the apostolic witness. They were commanded/ordered to preach to the people, and to testify. Two important words describe the evangelistic task here—“preach” (kerysso) and “testify” (diamartyromai). "Preach" (Kerysso) emphasizes the forthright proclamation of the message. “Testify” comes from the context of a witness in a court of law. It carries two ideas: witness and solemnity: making “a serious declaration on the basis of presumed knowledge.” Preaching shows that evangelism is a confident proclamation of important news; testifying points to the solemnity of the task—it is a matter of judgment and salvation (Fernando, A. (1998). Acts (pp. 336–337). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
They were to preach to the people, and to testify that he is the One appointed by God to be Judge of the living and the dead (cf. John 5:21–29; Acts 17:30–31; 2 Thess. 1:7–10; 2 Tim. 4:8; Rev. 19:11ff.). For the Old Testament, God alone is judge (Deut. 32:4; Ps. 99; Isa. 5:16). Final judgment is therefore His sole prerogative (Dan. 7:9f; Eccles. 12:14; Joel 2:31). As the Judge of all, Jesus is consequently one in essence with the Father. As the risen one, Jesus is the Man of the Last Day, the one who holds the ages in His hand and to whom they are all accountable (Milne, B. (2010). The Acts of the Apostles: Witnesses to Him ... to the Ends of the Earth (p. 247). Ross-shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications.).
Jesus Christ will be to every person either deliverer or judge. . He is the criterion, He is the standard for judgment. So you tell those sinners that the One who was crucified and the One who rose again is their judge. They're not His judge. They don't render a verdict on Him, He renders one on them. You tell them that. That's a warning part of the gospel. That's the fear part of the gospel that this Jesus whom you killed is now alive. He's ascended to the Father. He is now your judge and the judge of everyone living and dead.
That brings us to the last point...the why, the who, finally the how. If I want to participate in the resurrection gospel, if I want to come to the knowledge of the truth, what do I do? The apostles were not the only witnesses of Jesus Christ; so also were the prophets. They bore witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through His name. Isaiah (Isa. 53:11), Jeremiah (Jer. 31:34), and Zechariah (Zech. 13:1) were among those who spoke of the forgiveness Messiah would bring. All that Jesus is and did is the culmination of divine promises made centuries earlier. The last recorded line of Peter’s message, everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins, is essential. Everyone indicates the universal offer of saving grace (cf. Acts 2:39; 13:39; Rom. 9:33; 10:11; 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9; Rev. 22:17). Who believes in Him indicates the means of receiving saving grace—by faith in Christ alone (Acts 9:42; 11:17; 13:39; 14:23; 15:9; 16:31; 19:4; cf. John 3:14–17; 6:69; Rom. 10:11; Gal. 3:22; Eph. 2:8–9). Receives forgiveness of sins indicates the marvelous, unspeakable privilege conferred by saving grace (Acts 2:38; 13:38–39; cf. Matt. 26:28; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14).
You see, there's only one escape from the judge. You're guilty, I'm guilty, we're all guilty because we all come short of the standard. There's only one escape and that is if the judge will forgive us. We need forgiveness for our sins. If you ask: "How do we receive it?" "Through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins." As in the Lord’s prayer: this represents not simply the title, but all that is embraced and expressed by the name: Christ’s “entire perfection, as the object revealed to the believer for his apprehension, confession, and worship” (Vincent, M. R. (1887). Word studies in the New Testament (Vol. 1, p. 503). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.)
The only hope to escape eternal judgement, the only hope to escape the judge and His impartial divine judgment is to have your sin forgiven. What does it take? It says simply in verse 43, "Everyone who believes in Him." Believes in Him in what sense? Believes in that which is revealed about Him, that He is God incarnate, came into the world, did good, was filled with the Holy Spirit and power. Showed His power over Satan. Died on a cross and rose again, ascended to heaven, sits at the right hand of the Father. If you believe in Him and trust Him as your Savior, He forgives your sins...no longer your judge. Christ’s victory over death proves He is the ultimate king and judge (Barry, J. D., Grigoni, M. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Mangum, D., & Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife Study Bible (Ac 10:42). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)
If you say, "I'd like to believe, I'm struggling." Pray the prayer the man in the New Testament prayed, "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief." By the way, Cornelius and his whole household believed that day two thousand years ago. How about you?
(Format note: Some base commentary from MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1994). Acts (pp. 298–302). Chicago: Moody Press.)
