Peter's Sermon at Pentecost

Q: What does the Bible say about the resurrection of Jesus?

The Bible proclaims the resurrection of Jesus as central to the Gospel and essential for faith. The resurrection of Jesus is a foundational truth of the Christian faith as emphasized in Acts 2:24, where Peter declared, 'whom God hath raised up.' This event is not just an act of divine power but the fulfillment of God's predetermined plan for salvation. The resurrection signifies that Christ has conquered sin and death, and, as stated in 1 Corinthians 15, without this resurrection, our faith is in vain. It affirms Jesus' identity as the Son of God and makes Him the living Savior who grants eternal life to those who believe.

Q: Why is Peter's sermon at Pentecost significant for Christians?

Peter's sermon at Pentecost is significant because it presents the Gospel message and affirms Jesus as the Christ. Peter's sermon at Pentecost is a pivotal moment in the early church, where he boldly proclaims the identity and works of Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of prophecy. In Acts 2:36, he concludes with the powerful declaration that 'God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.' This sermon encapsulates the essence of the Gospel: acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah and the call to repentance and faith. It serves as a model for evangelism, proclaiming Christ's resurrection, offering forgiveness, and stressing the necessity of repentance in the name of Jesus for salvation.

Q: How do we know that Jesus is the Messiah?

The evidence of Jesus' life, miracles, and fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies confirm Him as the Messiah. The acknowledgment of Jesus as the Messiah is firmly rooted in scriptural evidence and divine endorsement. Peter identifies Him in Acts 2:22 as 'a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs.' This divine approval is evidenced by the works He performed, which were recognized by many, including Nicodemus, who acknowledged, 'No man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him' (John 3:2). Furthermore, the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies, such as those found in Psalm 16 concerning the resurrection, affirmed His Messianic identity. Thus, the evidence from both His works and prophetic declarations substantiates the truth that Jesus is indeed the promised Messiah.

Q: What does repentance mean in the context of Peter's sermon?

Repentance in Peter's sermon means turning away from sin and turning toward God through faith in Jesus. In the context of Peter's sermon at Pentecost, repentance is an urgent call to change one's mind and heart about God and sin. As stated in Acts 2:38, Peter instructs the crowd to 'Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.' This indicates a transformative action where individuals are to recognize their sinfulness and need for a Savior. Repentance is not merely an acknowledgment of wrongdoing; it signifies a deliberate turn towards God, seeking forgiveness and a restored relationship with Him. This call to repentance also emphasizes reliance on Jesus' atoning sacrifice as the basis for forgiveness.

I brought a message last Sunday
night. I believe it was Paul's sermon
at Antioch. And then I brought a message
Wednesday night on Peter's sermon to Cornelius. And this morning
I'm going to bring a message from Peter's sermon at Pentecost,
and then Paul's sermon at Athens. Now, what I'm doing is just taking these messages
that the apostles preached. The book of Acts is the church
in its earliest days. The book of Acts is the calling
out and the coming together of the people of God in these different
places. The book of Acts is the beginning
of the public ministry of the apostles under the power of the
Holy Spirit. These men, these are their earliest
sermons. These are the first sermons.
This is the initial work. This is the beginning of the
preaching of the gospel in these areas. And what I'm trying to
find out for myself and help you with is how did these men
preach the gospel? You know, the Lord tells us to
take heed how we hear. I think some of us need to take
heed how we preach. And I want to find out how these
men preached the gospel. What did they preach? How did
they present the gospel? Now, here in Acts chapter 1,
Now, Acts chapter 2, I beg your pardon, the second chapter of
Acts, Peter's audience, the Apostle Peter's audience for this message,
for this sermon, is described in verse 5 through 11. I want
to read that. Acts 2, 5. This is the crowd
to whom he was preaching. And there was dwelling, there
were dwelling at Jerusalem, Acts 2, 5, Jews, devout men. religious men, out of every nation
under heaven. In other words, there were people
there from all over that region, from that part of the world.
And when, now when this was noised abroad, what had taken place,
the multitude came together, and they were confounded. They
were troubled in mind. because every man heard these
men speak in his own language. The apostles had received from
God the gift to preach the gospel in what we call tongues or other.
Any time the word tongue is used in the Bible, it means one of
two things, honestly and always, one of two things. It's this
thing in our mouths, the tongue. James talks a lot about the tongue.
Or secondly, a language. a known, understandable language. Like Milton speaks in Spanish,
Bill Clark speaks in French, Ken Wymer speaks in French, others
preach the gospel in other languages, which they learn. But this reason
it's called unknown tongue in the Bible is a language a man
hasn't himself learned. God supernaturally gave him that
ability to speak in a tongue he previously has not known.
But somebody knows it. It wouldn't be a language. And
these men heard the gospel in their own language. So when you
hear these television impostors call themselves preachers,
speaking in a gibberish, that's not a tongue. That's foolishness. They heard them speak in their
own language. Verse 7, And they were all amazed and marveled,
saying one to another, Behold, are not these all, all these
which speak Galileans? That's what made it so strange. And how hear we every man in
our own tongue wherein we were born? How do we hear this in
our own language? Parthians. Here are some of the
folks that were there. Elamites, dwellers in Mesopotamia,
Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia in Egypt,
parts of Libya, Cyrene, strangers of Rome, Jews, proselytes, Cretes,
Arabians. We do hear them speak in our
tongues, in our language, the wonderful works of God. So, you
know, it must have been a large crowd. a cross-section of all that region,
that part of the world, had come together here for this feast
of Pentecost, and Peter and the apostles were preaching to them.
And these people would hear this message which Peter delivered,
and they'd take this message back to their countries and back
to their cities. Now, I want us to look at the
message that he preached. I'm not going to go into the
cloven tongues of fire, and the Holy Spirit coming, and the signs
and wonders, and the other languages. And Peter takes a moment to explain
that was a fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel. But here in
verse 22, Acts 2, here's the start of the sermon. Now that's
the crowd, and here's the preacher, and here's the sermon. He says
in verse 22, There were Jews there from every
nation. You men of Israel. And Israel
was a religious country, a religious people. They were there for a
religious holiday. Hear these words. Listen to me.
Will you hear me? Will you listen to me? Jesus. That's the way he starts his
message. Jesus. This was a name given him by
the angel at his birth. The angel appeared to Joseph
and said, Don't be afraid to take Mary to be your wife. That
holy thing which is conceived in her is conceived by the Holy
Spirit and is the Son of God. And thou shalt call his name
Jesus. It's the Old Testament word Joshua. Joshua in the Old
Testament, Jesus in the New Testament. And he is Jesus of Nazareth.
This was where he spent the greater part of his life, in Nazareth.
This is where he worked as a carpenter. And this is what they said about
him with contempt. He's Jesus of Nazareth. It was
a nowhere place. Like one man said one time, can
any good thing come out of Nazareth? This was given him in contempt,
and Peter wanted them to know exactly about whom he was speaking. Jesus. Jesus of Nazareth. Now, go on. He's a man. A man, but not a mere man. He's a man of God's own right
hand. In other words, he's a man of
God's own choosing. He's the God-man. Paul wrote
in 1 Timothy 3, great is the mystery of godliness. God was
manifest in the flesh. God was manifest in the flesh.
A virgin conceived and bring forth a son. In the fullness
of time God sent his son into the world, made of a woman, made
under the law. Christ said, a body thou hast
prepared me. He's a man. ever built a man,
a man tempted, tested, tried in all points as we are, yet
without sin, a man, but the God-man. He thought it not right to be
equal with God, yet made himself of no reputation, took on himself
the form of a servant, became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross. Read on. Peter said he's a man,
but he's a man approved of God. He's a man sent of God. He's
a man ordained of God, approved of God. God spake to our father's
brother Prophets, he hath in these last days spoken by his
son. This is my beloved son, hear
him, a man approved of God. Now watch, among you. He says
by miracles and wonders and signs, you saw what he's done. Nicodemus,
one of your own, said this. No man could do what this man
does, except God be with him. You know, John the Baptist was
in prison, and he sent two of his disciples to Jesus. And they
said to Jesus, they said, are you, John wants to know, are
you, are you the one, are you the Messiah, or do we look for
another? He said, you go tell John. The blind see, the deaf
hear. the lame walk, and be not faithless."
Believe. Believe. A man approved of God
among you by miracles and wonders and signs, watch this, which
God did by him. He said the works that I do are
not my works, they're the works of him that sent me. The words
that I speak are not my words, they're the words of him that
sent me. And he did these signs and wonders in the midst of you
as you yourselves know. You know this. You know, this
wasn't done in a corner. You know all this. This is common
knowledge. Now watch the next verse. And
Peter says, him. You see, we preach a person. We preach, he starts this whole,
the universe will hear me, Jesus. And then he defines Jesus of
Nazareth, a man approved of God among you. This is who he is.
Now verse 23, and hymn. Hymn. This is what this whole
book is about. It's a hymn book. H-I-M. The
Bible is about Christ. It's about hymn. This is the
heart of the gospel. This is the issue confronting
all of us right here. What think ye of Christ? It's
not what do you think of me, or what do you think of the Baptist
denomination. Sometimes I wish the name Baptist
wasn't even out there. Now, what do you think of this?
What do you think of him? Him! Him! Turn with me for a moment to
Romans 1. This is the issue. What think you of Christ? Romans
1, listen to the first three verses. Romans 1, verse 1 through
3. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,
called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God. Now, in
parenthesis, this gospel is the gospel which he promised before
by his prophets and the holy scriptures, end of the parenthesis,
it's concerning his son. What's the gospel all about,
the gospel of God? It's concerning his son. That's
what the gospel's concerning him, and that's what Peter's
bringing this thing to his foundation. It's him. It's
him. And what's this? Him being delivered
by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. Christ
coming into the world wasn't one of many ways that God attempted
or tried to save men. Him being delivered by the determinate,
predetermined, predestinating counsel, foreknowledge of God,
you have taken and by wicked hands if crucified and slain.
But you did what God determined before to be done. Turn to Acts
4 just a moment, the fourth chapter of Acts. Verse 27, listen. Acts 4, 27. Against thy holy child Jesus,
whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Gentiles,
and the people of Israel were gathered together for to do whatsoever
thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done." And that's
what he's saying here in verse 23, him being delivered into
your hands to do with what you will. And in doing what you will,
you did what God willed in purpose. Him being delivered into your
hands by the determinate counsel and full knowledge of God, you've
taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." Hold that
place there and turn to John 17 just a moment. Now, here's
what our Lord has to say about that cross and that work which
he performed in John 17. This is the prayer that Christ
prayed before he went to the cross, John 17, verse 1. Briefly, now watch it. These
words spake Jesus and lifted his eyes to heaven, and said,
Father, the hour has come. This is it. Now you glorify your
Son that your Son may glorify thee, as thou hast given him
authority over all flesh. that he should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given him, and this is life eternal,
that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ,
whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the
earth. I finished the work you gave me to do." So this is what
Peter is saying here. You men of Ezra, listen to it.
Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles
and signs and wonders, which dealing the misdeed which you
yourselves also know. Him, Him, this Jesus of Nazareth,
was delivered into your hands by the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God. You have taken him and slain
him, but in doing so you did what God determined before to
be done. We don't take God by surprise.
God declares the end from the beginning. Known unto God are
all his works from the beginning. Now verse 24, now watch this.
And him being delivered, verse 24, whom? We're back to the same
person. Whom God hath raised up. You
crucified him, you slew him, you put him in a grave, but God
raised him up. God raised him up, he lives.
This is the message without which the gospel is incomplete. The
resurrection of Christ. He arose. Turn over a couple
of pages to Acts 5. This is the heart of the gospel
message. Christ is risen. In Acts 5, he
rose from the grave. In Acts 5, verse 29, then Peter
and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God
rather than men. The God of our fathers raised
up Jesus, whom you slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted
with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance
in Israel, to Israel in forgiveness of sins. We as witnesses of these
things. So also is the Holy Ghost whom
God has given to them that obey him. He's risen. God raised him
up. In 1 Corinthians 15, you need
to look at this with me for a moment, 1 Corinthians 15. Paul shows some of the things
that are true if Christ be not risen. To deny the resurrection of the
dead is to deny the gospel. Without Christ's resurrection,
he's an imposter. And listen to this in 1 Corinthians
15, verse 13. Now, if there be no resurrection
of the dead, then is Christ not risen? And if Christ be not risen,
your preaching is vain, and your faith is vain. Our preaching
is vain, your faith is vain. And we found false witnesses
of God, because we testified of God that he raised up Christ,
whom he raised not up, if the dead rise not. If the dead rise
not, then Christ is not raised. And if Christ be not raised,
your faith is vain, and you're yet in your sins, and they that
have fallen asleep in Christ are perished. And if in this
life only we have hope in Christ, we're of all men most miserable." So back to the sermon now. Him, God delivered him into your
hands. You've taken, slain him, buried
him, but God raised him from the grave. Heaven loosed the
pains of death. What pains are those? That's
his own pains and suffering. The cross was the most painful,
shameful death that a man could die. But also, that's our pains
and sufferings. For he bore our sins and our
sorrows, our griefs and our diseases. And when he was loosed from his
pain by his Sacrifice we will lose from ours. You see that?
Because it wasn't possible that he should be holding of it. Now
verse 25, David speaketh concerning him. Christ was David's message. And this is what David said.
This is taken from Psalm 16. David said, I foresaw the Lord
always before my face. He's 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." David spoke of him. Because I will not leave
my soul in hell, neither will I suffer thy holy one to see
corruption. That word, my soul in hell, is
the grave. I shall not leave my body in
the grave, neither shall I suffer thy holy one to see corruption.
Thou hast made known to me the ways of life. Thou shalt make
me full of joy without countenance." Now, men and brethren, listen
to this carefully. Men and brethren, let me freely
speak unto you of the patriarch David. Now, this is David's writings. David said, I saw the Lord always
before my face. He's on my right hand. David
is not talking about himself. This is a Messianic promise and
a Messianic psalm, and this is what Peter is about to say to
these people. Men and brethren, listen to me. Let me speak freely
of you under you of the patriarch David. He's dead. He's dead. He's buried. He didn't rise. His body did see corruption.
His sepulchre, his grave is with us to this day. You can visit
David's grave, he said. Therefore, verse 39, 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 the Christ to sit on the throne. See, clear back through
the Old Testament. God said to the woman, and Adam
and the serpent, he'd raise up the seed of woman. He said to
Abraham, I'll raise up a Savior through the seed of Isaac. He
said to David, I'll raise up one to sit on the throne of your
seed. And that's what God promised
David. So David being a prophet and foretelling, verse 31, he's
saying this before, speak of the resurrection of Christ, not
of his own resurrection, Christ's resurrection. That Christ's soul
was not left in hell or in the grave, the body in the grave,
neither his flesh should see corruption. David's speaking
about this Christ. You see, turn back to that Romans
1 a minute that we were looking at a moment ago. You can learn
a lot about the gospel if you know something about what you're
looking for. And here in verse 3 of Romans
1, it says, "...the Gospels concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord,"
watch it, "...who was made of the seed of David, according
to the flesh." Christ came through David, and he wasn't made the
Son of God, he was declared, see that He was made of the seed
of David, according to the flesh. He was declared to be the Son
of God. We're just, when we preach Christ
Jesus, Christ is the God-man, we say he's man, made of the
seed of David, but we're just declaring what was already true.
He is the Son of God. See that? He is the Son. You're
just declaring that. I want you to go to one other
place in the scripture, to Matthew 1. Now, you need to see this.
You need to see this, and you need to jot it down here. If
you don't, you'll forget which one is which. You see, David said, God told
David, of your seed the Christ would come. This was all foretold
from the foundation of the world, but he told David. Matthew 1. Now, this has always been tiring
to most people, verse 1. the book of the generation of
Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat
Isaac, Isaac begat Jacob. You see, this is the lineage
of Christ the man. And down here in verse 5, And
Simon begat Boaz of Rahab, Boaz begat Obed of Ruth, Obed begat
Jesse, Jesse begat David the king, and David the king begat
Solomon of her that had been the wife of Uriah. And Solomon
begat Reboah. Now, look down here at verse
15. And Eliud begat Eleazar, and Eleazar begat Methan,
and Methan begat Jacob, and Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of
Mary. This genealogy here is Joseph's genealogy. You see,
Joseph, who was the foster father of Christ, Jesus Christ, he was
his foster father, he was of the house of David. He was of
the house of David. He came, his father, was Solomon. He came through Solomon. David,
son Solomon. That's Joseph's genealogy. Are
you with me? Joseph and Mary both were in
the house of David. That's right. The house and lineage
of David drifted down to a carpenter and a maid. But he was still
David's great, great, great, great, great grandson. Joseph
was. And Mary. Mary was David's great,
great, great, great granddaughter. I'll show you her lineage in
Luke. Turn to Luke 3. Write down Matthew 1, that's
Joseph's genealogy. He was of the house of David.
Over here at Luke 3, you'll find Joseph listed here
as having another father, if you don't know what you've got
here. Luke 3, verse 23. Luke 3.23, you got it? And Jesus
himself began to get about 30 years of age, being as was supposed
the son of Joseph, who was the son of Heli, who was the son
of Method. What do you have here? You have
Mary's genealogy. The Bible never, I apologize
to you ladies here now, But the Bible never traces a genealogy
of a woman. Won't do it. It's a man. Always
a man. And here's Mary's genealogy.
She was the daughter of Heli. Joseph was his son-in-law. And so you can put that word
right in there. Joseph, which was the son-in-law of Heli. And
you go on down here to verse 31, the last part of verse 31. which was the son of Nathan,
which was the son of David. Joseph came through Solomon,
Mary came through Nathan. Watch this. Here's David, David's
son Nathan, David's son Solomon. And from Solomon came Joseph,
who was the foster father of Christ. From Nathan, David's
son, came Mary. And when Mary bore Christ, he
was made of the seed of David. He came from Mary's womb, and
David's throne was his rightfully, eternally designed and predestinated,
but rightfully. And that's exactly what Peter
is saying here to these people. All right, let's move on. David, verse 30, being a prophet,
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 the
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 seek eruption. This Jesus had God
raised up where we all are witnesses, this Jesus. Peter declares this same Jesus,
and that's very important, this same Jesus, this same Jesus. Look with me at Acts 1, verse
11. This is what the angel said here,
Acts 1. These angels also said, You men
of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus,
which is taken up from you into heaven, shall be so come in like
manner as you see him. This same Jesus. Now, Acts 2.36,
Peter says, Therefore, that all the house of Israel know assuredly
that God had made that same Jesus. to that same Jesus whom you crucified,
Lord and Christ. That's important. And that's
what he's saying in verse 32. This Jesus, not another, this
Jesus, hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Now listen
to him. Therefore, being by the right
hand of God exalted, who is he, David said? The God-man. Who
is he, Peter said? The God-man. What did he do?
He fulfilled all the scriptures and died on the cross and rose
again. Why did he do it? That God may be just and justified. Where is he now? At the right
hand of God, exalted. And having received of the Father
the promise of the Holy Ghost, he has shed forth this which
you now see and hear. David, Peter says, is not ascended
into the heavens. But he said himself, the Lord
said to my Lord, the God of heaven and earth said to Christ, my
Lord, sit on my right hand until I make thy foes thy pestilence.
Therefore," now here's his conclusion, therefore, let all the house
of Israel, all you who are gathered here from all these countries,
know confidently and assuredly that God Almighty, God Almighty,
the Heavenly Father, hath made that same Jesus, whom you crucified,
to be both Lord and Christ. God the Father, John Gill said,
God the Father appointed, ordained, and sent Jesus of Nazareth to
be the Messiah, to be the Redeemer, to be the King of kings and the
Lord of lords, and vested him with power over all flesh, to
give life and immortality to whom he And he whom the Jews
crucified, despised, and spat upon, is Lord of all, and Christ
the Redeemer." Now listen to verse 37. Now when
they heard this, they were pricked in their hearts.
They were convicted. And they said to Peter and to
the rest of the apostles, with myriad brethren, what shall And Peter said unto them, and
this verse has been so abused, Peter said to them, Repent, change
your minds. Change your mind in regard to
yourself, in regard to God, in regard to this man Jesus Christ.
Change your mind. Repent. And be baptized, every
one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Confess Christ publicly. for the remission of sins. Where
is remission of sins found? In the baptizing? No, in the
name. Repent and be baptized, every
one of you. How? In the name of Jesus Christ. In his name. This is what this
thing is all about, the name. When he started this whole thing,
he said, a man approved of God, Him, made
of the seed of David, declared to be the Son of God. This is
the name, that same Jesus. It won't do to have another,
that same Jesus. That's the name. See that, Charles?
And you repent and be baptized in that name for the remission
of sins, in that name for the remission of sins. That's where
remission is, in the name. There's none other name under
heaven. given among men, whereby we must
be saved. It's his name, his name. For he says, the promise, verse
39, is to you and to your children and to all that are far off,
even as many as the Lord our God shall call. All right, may God bless that
to your heart. Tonight, the Lord willing, if
you want to read This afternoon I'll be speaking from Acts 17,
Acts 17, Paul's sermon at Athens, Acts 17, 22-31.

Peter's Sermon at Pentecost

What does the Bible say about the resurrection of Jesus?

Why is Peter's sermon at Pentecost significant for Christians?

How do we know that Jesus is the Messiah?

What does repentance mean in the context of Peter's sermon?

Sermon Transcript

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Peter's Sermon at Pentecost

What does the Bible say about the resurrection of Jesus?

Why is Peter's sermon at Pentecost significant for Christians?

How do we know that Jesus is the Messiah?

What does repentance mean in the context of Peter's sermon?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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