Good morning. If you would, you
can open to Acts chapter 2. I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving
holiday. It's long been one of my favorite
holidays, and it probably started because my birthday falls around
Thanksgiving, as several of ours do in this congregation. And
so it was something I always looked forward to, even as a
little kid. As I got older, I appreciated the simplicity of the holiday. The fact that it's not overly
commercialized and generally it's just a time together with
family and eat, and eat very well. Something else that makes
my birthday something to look forward to. And for most, it's
a time that everybody sits around and they say how thankful we
are for all the great earthly benefits that we've gotten over
the past year. all the money we've received,
all the things that we've gathered and kept to ourselves. And I'm
truly thankful that God has given this country a time that he has
set aside to remind us to be thankful, even if it is for just
those temporal earthly blessings. He's given us a time to remind
us to be thankful. And when Gabe asked me to bring
the study for this morning, I immediately went to the thought of how thankful
we should be. I knew that he would probably
bring a message on Thanksgiving, as he did last Sunday evening,
but I also knew that I can't be reminded too often that I
should give thanks unto God for his unspeakable gift. If God
gives a sinful man a heart to be truly thankful for his unspeakable
gift, that heart will be taught what sin has done, what justice
has done, and what love has done. Here in Acts 2, we have recorded
Peter's message on the first Pentecost after our Lord was
received back into glory. We'll read starting in verse
14 through 36, and then our text is going to come from verses
22 to 24, where Peter takes us to the cross and declares who
hangs there, why he hangs there, and what he accomplished. Let's
begin reading in verse 14. But Peter, standing up with the
eleven, lifted up his voice and said unto them, Ye men of Judea,
and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken
to my words. For these are not drunken, as
ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But
this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel, and it shall
come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of
my Spirit upon all flesh. And your sons and your daughters
shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your
old men shall dream dreams. And on my servants and on my
handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit, and
they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in heaven
above and signs in earth beneath, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into
darkness and the moon into blood before that great and notable
day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass that
whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Ye
men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
of God, among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which
God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know. Him, being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain. whom God hath raised up, having
loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should
be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning
him. I foresaw the Lord always before
my face. For he is on my right hand, that
I should not be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice,
and my tongue was glad. Moreover also my flesh shall
rest in hope. because thou wilt not leave my
soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see
corruption. Thou hast made known to me the
ways of life. Thou shalt make me full of joy
with thine countenance." Men and brethren, let me freely speak
unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried,
and his sepulcher is with us unto this day. Therefore, being
a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him
that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would
raise up Christ to sit on his throne, he, seeing this before,
spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not
left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus
hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore,
being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received
of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He hath shed
forth this, which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended
into the heavens, but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my
Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore, let all the house
of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus
whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." Go back with
me to verse 22. Ye men of Israel, hear these
words, Jesus of Nazareth, amen, approved of God among you by
miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst
of you, as ye yourselves also know." Peter here declares that
Jesus of Nazareth was the man hung on the cross. All the world
knows that this historical fact occurred some 2,000 years ago. There was a man named Jesus who
was crucified in Jerusalem. Crucifixion was a horrible death
and was reserved for the most vile and reprehensive breakers
of the law. This is the death that this man
endured. this man, the man, Jesus of Nazareth,
he died the death of the cross. But Peter makes it known very
quickly, Jesus of Nazareth, a man, the name of his humiliation,
and he goes quickly to his glorious character, a man approved of
God. Until God opens our eyes, as
He did Peter's, we behold the man, Jesus of Nazareth, the man
despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief. We despise his grace. We reject
his sovereignty. We consider him on the cross
a man, stricken smitten of God and afflicted. We cry out with
the thief on the cross, if thou be the Christ, save thyself and
us. We see him as a man defeated
in his purpose and in need of our help. Oh, we'll say Jesus
Christ came into the world to save sinners. And if you accept
him as your personal savior, you can maybe be saved too. This is Jesus of Nazareth, a
man approved of God and hung on the cross. Nowhere else in
scripture is a man said to be approved of God, but this man
is approved of God. He alone was set aside among
us, and God proved him to be accepted by the miracles, wonders,
and signs he performed while he walked among us. What specific miracles, wonders,
and signs did God use to approve him? When John sent from prison
and asked, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?"
Our Lord, to assure John and his disciples, replied, Go and
show John again. I love that. Show John again. Our Lord is so patient with us,
so understanding he He reminds us time and again, go, show John
again those things which you do hear and see. The blind receive
their sight, and the lame walk. The lepers are cleansed, and
the deaf hear. The dead are raised up, and the
poor have the gospel preached to them. what marvelous, wonderful grace
our God bestows upon us. The very miracles, wonders, and
signs that Christ used to comfort John are the same that we behold
today. Christ is still giving sight
to the spiritually blind, giving lame sinners a new walk, giving
cleansing to those whose sins, like leprosy, has destroyed our
hearts. He opens deaf ears to the sound
of the gospel, and sinners dead and trespassers in sin, He brings
to life in Christ. And oh, how merciful He is to
us. Us poor, vile, wretched sinners
have the gospel preached to us. Who is it that hung on that crucifix? Jesus of Nazareth. a man approved
of God, who is both Lord and Christ. Verse 36, Therefore let
all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made
that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Why is he hung on the cross? Verse 23, Him being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain. The first cause of our Lord Jesus
Christ hanging upon that cross is the determinate counsel of
God. That is the purpose of God. It was no accident, it was no
surprise to God that God the Son was hung on Calvary's cross. God purposed before the foundation
of the world, before Adam was created, before Adam sinned,
God purposed the Lord Jesus Christ as a lamb without blemish and
without spot would in the last days come and shed his precious
blood. according to His determinate
counsel. And what is that counsel? Hold
your place here and turn with me to Ephesians 1. Ephesians chapter 1, Verse 11, in whom, in Christ Jesus also,
we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according
to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel
of his own will. And what is that counsel? that
we should be to the praise of His glory, who God the Father
first trusted in Christ. You can go back to Acts 2. God,
according to the counsel of His own will, ordained that we, lost,
undone sinners, should be to the praise of His glory in Christ
Jesus. This is the determinate counsel
of God. Now, how did He bring His counsel
to pass? Back in verse 23, how did God
bring His counsel to pass? Him, and then at the end of the
verse, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain."
The counsel of God is that sinners should be to the praise of His
glory in Christ Jesus. And this counsel was brought
to pass by the life and death of God the Son, Jesus of Nazareth. Now, who crucified Him? Who crucified
the Lord of glory? ye have taken and by wicked hands
have crucified and slain." Who crucified him? The Romans at
the time? Definitely. The Jews that forsook
him? Most certainly. But if those
are the only ones involved in his death, what does that leave
me? What does that do for you? Why
did God send his only begotten son and deliver him to be hung
on that tree? Rebellion. Sin against God. Sin which cannot be simply wiped
away, can't be swept under a rug, can't be ignored. The soul that
sinneth must die. Sin must be paid for. God is just. He cannot punish
someone who is not guilty. And he cannot let someone who
is guilty go free. Look there upon the cross. There
hangs the man approved of God. without sin and without spot,
yet there he hangs. How is this just? You don't have to turn, but if
you want to, you know the verse very well. 2 Corinthians 5.21. He, God the Father, hath made him, God the Son, sin
for us who knew no sin. Who nailed the man approved of
God to the cross? I did. The sin that I am was
taken from me The death that I owe for disobeying God, God
laid on the Lord Jesus Christ, and by my wicked hand, he was
crucified. A man, Jesus of Nazareth, long
ago hung on a cross. A man, the only man approved
of God, was sent by the determinant counsel and for knowledge of
God to suffer, shed his precious blood, and die for the sin of
guilty sinners. Those sinners that were chosen
by God before the foundation of the world, was he successful? Did his death accomplish that
for which he came? Verse 24. whom God hath raised up, having
loosed the pain of death, because it was not possible that he should
be holding of it. Our Lord Jesus Christ, whom God
sent forth, made of a woman, made under the law, after he
had by himself fulfilled the law and the prophets, took our
sin and our iniquities as his own, and bore that burden to
Calvary Street. He shed his blood as payment
for those sins to wash us white as snow. Now hold, well, you
don't have to hold your place here. We won't come back. But
turn with me to Leviticus chapter 16. Leviticus chapter 16. Once a year, the high priest
in the Old Testament entered into the holy place with a sin
offering for himself and for his people, for the people. Leviticus
16 details the responsibility of the high priest on that day.
Let's begin reading in verse five. Leviticus 16, five. And he, The high priest shall take of
the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats
for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. And Aaron
shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself,
and make an atonement for himself and for his house. And he shall
take the two goats, and present them before the Lord at the door
of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast lots upon
the two goats, one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the
scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat
upon which the Lord's lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.
But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall
be presented alive before the Lord to make an atonement with
him and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. Now skip
to verse 20. And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place,
and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring
the live goat. And Aaron shall lay both his
hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all
the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions,
and all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and
shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness. And the goat shall bear upon
him all the iniquities unto a land not inhabited, and he shall let
go the goat in the wilderness." Our Lord Jesus Christ shed his
blood upon Calvary's tree. He, as our sin offering, endured
the fire of God's justice and wrath. When He, our Lord, had
made an end of reconciling the holy and the tabernacle of the
congregation and the altar, Our high priest, God the Son, laid
his hands upon God's scapegoat, the body prepared for him. The
man approved of God, Jesus of Nazareth. And the sins of all
those the Father chose were laid on the scapegoat. Then the fit
man, Christ our Lord, led our sin-bearer unto a land not inhabited,
and he left our sin and our iniquities where none can find them. He
met the judgment and justice of God and paid the sin debt. He bore our sins into the tomb,
and on the third day the fit man returned." having left our
sin in death's wilderness. He arose, our triumphant Lord
and Christ. Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable
gift. May God give us a true heart
of thanksgiving, not just for a day, not just for a season,
but day in and day out. how prone I am to forget all
God's benefits toward me. May we be reminded, as Mr. Newton, who wrote, may we sit
at the foot of the cross and there learn what sin has done,
what justice has done, and what love has done. Sin has separated
us from God as far as life is from death. God is holy and just,
and my sin demands my death. Christ Jesus, in love, being
made a curse for us, redeemed us from the law, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in Him. A heart that meditates
on the great things that God has done for us in Christ Jesus
will be truly thankful. May the Lord continue to remind
us to give thanks unto God for His unspeakable gift.