GOD ANOINTS JESUS OF NAZARETH LORD OF ALL
ACTS 10:34-38 JANUARY 12, 2003
ACTS 10:34-38
34 Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached -- 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
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Dearest Fellow-Redeemed and Saints in the Lord:
What was the greatest struggle that Jesus faced in His ministry? There was one struggle that He faced over and over again. Although He didn’t make much mention of it, it was always there. That struggle is pointed out today at His baptism. As Jesus went around preaching, teaching and doing good, the people saw Him like any other ordinary human being. They recognized Him very easily as the son of Mary and Joseph. They knew He was the carpenter’s son, they knew He came from Nazareth. What they didn’t always want to recognize, and what they could not always believe and understand, was the fact that He was also God’s very own Son.
Even His disciples, you may remember, as they crossed the Sea of Galilee, a storm came up. Jesus lay sleeping and they were concerned. Jesus wakes up and calms the storm. The disciples still ask, ‘And who is this man that even the winds and the waves obey him?’ So, through Jesus’ whole ministry, there was a struggle between being recognized as God’s Son or only seen as the son of man. It happened that even those who did not believe became those who understood who Jesus really was. One of those examples was when Jesus hung on the cross. The centurion stood there, heard His cry and saw how He died. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!"(MARK 15:39).
On this first Sunday after Epiphany, also known as the Baptism of Jesus, we examine the words of our text as they tell us that the Lord our God anointed Jesus of Nazareth as Lord of all. What does that mean? It means that there is
I. Grace for all people
II. Peace for all people
We want to look at these words before us then, with the theme that the Lord God anointed Jesus of Nazareth Lord of all and He gives us first of all—
I. Grace for all people
There is a long introduction to our text this morning, so today when you go home, when you have time, it would be good to take a look at chapter 10 in Acts and read all of it. Just a quick summary—this is a speech of Peter in the house of Cornelius. Peter was raised in the Jewish tradition and customs of the day. He always followed ‘to a T’ the letter of the law. One time, God gave him a vision that there was no longer to be such a big concern about those things that were clean and unclean. That was difficult for Peter. He spent his life only eating those things, which were clean, and avoiding all of the unclean things. About the same time a vision was given to a Gentile, Cornelius. Cornelius was told to send for Peter, and he did. The messengers come to Peter and asked him to come over to see Cornelius, and he does. He’s still struggling with the fact that he’s going to talk to Cornelius, a Gentile, an unbeliever, one who is unclean, yet he comes to the house. Then our text begins. Now Peter’s eyes are opened. Three times the Lord had told him not to be so concerned about that which is clean and unclean. Peter wrestled with that and was beginning to understand that. Now as he walked to the house of Cornelius, and as he was ready to enter there, it became clear to him what God meant. He says: Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism. Peter had felt important because he was a chosen child of God. He realized now that as he was going to step across the threshold of an ‘unclean, unbeliever, a Gentile,’ that God also has great plans for them…and He doesn’t show favoritism, He doesn’t just choose the children of Israel to believe. Now Peter begin to understand fully to really believe with his heart what God had tried to show him that there is no ‘clean or unclean’. God’s grace is meant for all people.
He says, "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.” Now Peter, of course, is not saying that they have to work their way into salvation. He is not teaching work righteousness at all. He’s realizing that he is going to visit with Cornelius and that certainly Cornelius was not brought up in the traditions and teachings of the Jewish nation. Cornelius probably didn’t know hardly any of the Ten Commandments if any of them; he certainly wasn’t circumcised and he didn’t know anything of those things, which were clean or unclean. Peter says he knows that God accepts men from every nation,
men who fear Him and do what is right—namely that they follow in God’s message of grace.
The gospel of Jesus was going to spread beyond the confines of the Jewish nation into the Gentile nation. Cornelius and Peter were going to talk about those things. Already, great progress had been made because Peter understood that this message was not meant for him and his nation alone, but for all nations. Jesus had died for the sins of the whole world. It’s a message that still rings true today and maybe even more-so as people, in a sense, are so unconcerned about the traditions of the church, so unconcerned about the teachings and doctrines of the church. They are not concerned about what is good and right; they just want to believe what they want to believe and when they want to believe it. It’s been true for generations and we see it today—how the churches are full during special seasons and celebrations and then not so full afterwards. It reminds us that we who are believers, who have been blessed with being called out of darkness into light, are also part of ‘all nations’ to whom Christ came to die. There is no longer any difference as Paul says. “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” Then he tells us why this righteousness comes to all who believe. “There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”(ROMANS 3:22,23). It makes no difference if you’re a believer or unbeliever, Jew or Gentile, or whatever religion, everyone in this world has sinned. That is the first barrier to knock down in order for people to understand God’s grace. Cornelius had already seen that. He realized he needed God’s forgiveness.
It probably was a bit easier during the time of Paul; probably easier during the time of Luther; probably even a bit easier during the time of your parents or grandparents to be able to explain this concept of sin. But now, in our day and age, we would be hard-pressed to see that word printed anywhere in a newspaper or magazine—that nasty word SIN. You and I come to realize over the years that some of those things, which God considered sin and still considers, sin today, modern society has tried to explain away as just a ‘different way of life’. Modern society has tried to explain away by saying, ‘It’s a sickness or disease.’ Putting sin in that category means that it can be healed by earthly means, by man’s will power. You and I do not have enough will power to overcome sin on our own. We can only do that by God’s grace. We can’t dismiss sin, we can’t hide it in the back room, and we cannot explain it away because it’s always there. We’re born into this world as sinful human beings. Scripture tells us: “If we claim we have not sinned, we make him (God) out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”(1 JOHN 1:10). Sadly, when we hear that verse, it really makes sense today. Those who try to say they’re good people and haven’t sinned, very often have swept away the word of God from their lives.
The Lord reminds us then, how important it is that we hold fast to the fact that He has saved us by His grace in spite of our sin. There’s nothing you and I can do to save us. Because of our sin, all of our actions, all of our good thoughts and words and deeds in this life are tainted—tainted by our sinful nature. What we celebrate today is the fact that Jesus came into this world, lived and was baptized so that you and I would have eternal life. Paul wrote to Titus and he reminds us this morning--“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”(TITUS 3:4,5). He saved is through His word; he saved us through baptism—the washing of rebirth; and renewal by the Holy Spirit. What a beautiful description of Christ the Lord…the kindness and love of God.
It was this very Jesus of Nazareth who we see at His baptism and who we are told in our text that the Lord God Almighty anointed as the Lord of all to provide grace for all and then
II. To provide peace for all people
To get back to the text, we remember Peter making the journey from Joppa over to Cornelius’ house. I’m sure he was thinking lots of things; thinking, ‘What is the church going to say when they find out I’ve been associating with this Gentile?’ You can almost feel the tension as he crosses that threshold, realizing that he’s doing something that no one else had done or would think of doing, to contaminate himself. Yet he started out our text by saying he realized that God also showed this man grace. He goes on to say to Cornelius-- 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. He mentions that message of peace and that Christ is Lord of all. Then, listen to this! You know what has happened. Here he comes to Cornelius, whom the Jewish people would have written off saying, ‘What does he know?’ Peter comes in and says, ‘But you know! You know this message of peace.’
It’s true that Cornelius didn’t know all of the other things connected with the Jewish faith. He didn’t know all of the rules and regulations that had been set up for generations by the Jewish nation. He did know that message of peace. Peter describes: You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached – He says you know what has happened at the Jordan (we heard it in our lesson this morning)—how He was baptized, how the Holy Spirit descended like a dove and the Father said, ‘This is my beloved Son.’ You know that started there in Judea, spread throughout Galilee.
You know how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, (and he uses that term—Jesus of Nazareth, true man.) He knew that Cornelius knew that it was more than just Jesus of Nazareth; it was also God’s true Son. If he had any doubts, Peter explains it: God anointed Jesus of Nazareth, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. Jesus spent his ministry doing just that…healing those held under the power of the devil, sometimes performing miracles, healing the sick. To those held under the power of the devil, he gave forgiveness of sins. What else are we told? “…God was with him.” We would expect that much, that God would be with His Son.
The Lord says, ‘And God is with you.’ God is with us to work in our hearts that same message of peace…a peace that surpasses all understanding. It’s not a peace to end wars; it’s not a peace to end family struggles and strife. There will be wars until the end of time. There will be disagreements on this earth among family and friends, among neighbors. There will be strife. The Lord gives us peace…peace in His forgiveness. He reminded His disciples that as He was about to leave them. He said: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”(JOHN 14:27). This was the Lord’s peace. He says it’s a peace, which is divine. It is a peace for all of mankind. There are times when you and I are troubled with the affairs of this world, the difficulties in this life. There are times when you and I are troubled and upset by the way others may treat us or the way we’ve treated others. There are times we’re troubled and disturbed by the actions of our family members or ourselves. The list goes on and on. The Lord reminds us that we’re no longer troubled by our sins and that is the peace he wants us to understand.
Sometimes in the world around us, we don’t have much peace, rest or quietness, but inside--inside He says we have forgiveness of sins. Isaiah beautifully describes that. He says: “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace (peace of mind, peace of salvation) was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”(ISAIAH 53:5). That’s the peace God has worked in our hearts, in our lives. That’s the peace He has provided for all mankind. Christ didn’t die just for our sins, but for the sins of the whole world. Sometimes we have to think like Peter and become convinced like Peter…and think, ‘We’re not just the chosen ones because we know all the teachings of the church, we know all the traditions that we’ve learned from our parents. This message of salvation is meant for all people.’ Sometimes when we go to all people, they are not going to know everything that scripture says, but they are going to know that Christ died for their sins. They’ll grow in faith from there.
Cornelius had a long way to go. The jailer at Philippi had a long way to go. What did he say first? ‘What must I do to be saved?’ He wanted to work salvation for himself. Paul and Silas said, ‘You have to believe.’ I’m sure he thought to himself, ‘How can I believe?’ and then they explained to him what that meant. God worked faith in his life. God has worked faith in our lives. Because of that, our lives are changed. We get to live lives that are filled with peace and joy and hope. We get to be shining lights and beacons in this world, which is filled with darkness, and sadness and hardly any hope left at all. Listen to the words of the psalm writer. He says we look at our lives, we look at what God has done for us and there is only one reaction that is left. Just like Jesus of Nazareth went around healing those under the power of the devil, so the Lord has healed us. “Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.”(PSALM 103:2-4). This is the Jesus of Nazareth who is the Lord of all, who has dragged us up from the pit of hell and destruction, who has forgiven our sins and in this way has healed our sin-sick souls so that you and I can praise Him and rejoice with lives of thanksgiving.
Jesus struggled in this life in a sense, that people didn’t recognize Him as the Lord of all creation. You and I might struggle in life because people don’t recognize in us the light of salvation. It’s important for us to remember Jesus being baptized; it’s important for us to remember, ‘Yes, this Jesus of Nazareth is the Lord of all. He is our Lord who has given us grace…grace for eternal salvation, and peace…peace to understand that no matter what happens in this life, He is always in control.’ God anointed Jesus with power and the Holy Spirit and God was with Him because He was God’s Son. God anoints us with grace and peace. God is with us because we are His children.
Paul writes in Corinthians: “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”(2 CORINTHIANS 1:21,22). He says in the midst of uncertainty, our future is certain. We are members of God’s family, brothers and sisters of Jesus of Nazareth, who is the Lord of all. Amen.
Pastor Timm O. Meyer
