MESSAGES

FROM THE

WORD

THE IMPORTANCE OF EASTER

Acts 2:22-47

SERIES:  SPECIAL MESSAGES                                                                                                     Easter 2002

            Over the course of history, many religious leaders have come and gone.  Some of them had followers in the dozens and were remembered only a few years.  This past week saw the five year anniversary of the Heaven's Gate cult mass suicide in San Diego.  Can anyone remember the name of the leader?  Other religions were formed, developed a significant number of followers and are still with us today.  Why some religions grow and others fall by the way side has been studied for centuries.  In some cases, the religion is founded as a philosophy.  Hinduism and Buddhism would fall into this class.  Some religions, such as Islam were founded on a personality and grew by capturing converts under threat of death.  In the case of Christianity, the foundation is based on an historical event, the resurrection of its founder from the dead.  The symbol of Christianity is an empty tomb.  As we look at the Easter story this morning, I want us to go back to the very first telling of this incredible event.  For 2000 years the story has been told, but the story can change over the course of time.  We want to go back to the beginning and see what the original believers understood to be the message of Easter.

            You will remember that Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday with the cheers of the crowds filling the city.  However, the payment of sin was not going to be made because the crowds cheered.  The Old Testament had set the process for forgiveness by establishing the sacrificial system.  A blood sacrifice was necessary to bring about atonement, that is, the payment for sin.  Only by that sacrifice could the sins of the people be atoned for and only then could the human race come into the presence of God.  That Holy Week saw Jesus do all He could to turn the crowds against Him so that He would die on a cross on that Passover day.  It was Passover that saw the sacrifice offered by the High Priest for the sins of the world.  The sins of the people would then be rolled ahead for one year, only to have the process repeat itself the next year.  Jesus came into Jerusalem as a perfect sacrifice so that all those sins that had been rolled ahead for a year could be paid in full and all those sins that would be committed in the future could be forgiven.  When Jesus died on the cross, the sins of eternity were atoned for.  However, there was something else that had to take place.  Had Jesus just died and been buried, no one outside of that inner circle would have known about it.  In reality, it is highly unlikely that anyone would have believed it.  Something had to take place so that the world would believe that this Jesus was truly God, that His death had brought about forgiveness and that eternal life was now being offered to all those who would follow Him.  That all occurred with the empty tomb. 

            After the resurrection, Jesus spent forty days with His disciples, teaching them His plans for the task set before them.  At the end of that forty day period, He told them to return to Jerusalem where they were to wait for the Holy Spirit to instruct them on their next move.  At this point, they made a very strategic move.  You will remember that after the resurrection, Jesus told the disciples to wait for Him.  However, Peter became restless and decided to go fishing.  At the ascension, Jesus once again told His followers to wait for Him.  Luke records for us, ACTS 1:12-14                        The disciples had learned an incredibly valuable lesson.  When you are unsure of what the Lord is up to, don't get busy, get on your knees.  As we are seeking God's will for our facility, we are meeting with people on various levels, but mostly our responsibility is to pray and allow God to work. 

            This brings us to Peter's sermon.  It is critical to understand that Peter's sermon comes out of a time of prayer.  As they prayed, the Holy Spirit moved on their hearts and the church was born.  As the Holy Spirit moved on the hearts of the disciples, the crowd saw the commotion and began to wonder what was taking place.  Some even accused the disciples of having too much to drink.  Peter arose and began to explain that this event was spoken of by the prophets and ordained by God Himself.  But most of all, Peter turned the issue to Jesus Christ.  We read,           ACTS 2:22-48              As we examine his sermon, we are going to see the Confirmation of Christ, the Call of Christ and the Character of Christ.

            FIRST, WE SEE THE CONFIRMATION OF CHRIST.  Remember, Peter is preaching to a Jewish crowd, some of whom may have been part of the group that cried "crucify Him, crucify Him."  You need to remember that as Jesus rode into Jerusalem He had already begun the process by which He would force the crowds to choose between Him and the Pharisees.  That meant that the people had to choose between Jesus and the Temple, between Jesus and the synagogue, and between Jesus and Judaism itself.  If Peter was going to turn the hearts of these people from the religion of their fore fathers, he was going to have to prove to them that this Jesus was the fulfillment of what their ancestors had prayed for.  That is, that Jesus was the Messiah who had been expected for centuries.  Peter confirmed that Jesus is the Messiah in three ways.

            First, Jesus was confirmed by His works.  Peter states "JESUS THE NAZARENE, A MAN ATTESTED TO YOU BY GOD WITH MIRACLES AND WONDERS AND SIGNS…"  Isn't it interesting that Peter first of all reminds these people of what they knew to be true.  This Jesus was not some kook from out of nowhere, He was an individual whom they had heard speak at the Temple and in Synagogues.  Many of them may have been present when Jesus healed the Blind or fed the multitude.  That is why Peter finishes this verse by stating, "JUST AS YOU YOURSELVES KNOW…"  It is always good to remind people of what they know to be true.  Peter was not making up some fable, he was telling them of information they knew to be true.

            Second, Jesus was confirmed by the scriptures.  You may not have considered this before, but this message is filled with quotes and allusions to the Old Testament.  That should tell us something about sermons in the 21^st century.  If we want God's blessings, we need to bring our people to the scriptures.  This entire sermon is one Old Testament passage after another.  All of them point to Jesus.  This is critical to understand, the audience understood the scriptures.  Not once do you read of anyone standing up and challenging Peter.  They knew the Old Testament, they knew their hope for a Messiah, and they knew what Peter was saying was true.  This is why Jesus could say,         Luke 24:44-46       

            Third, Jesus was confirmed by the empty tomb.  There was close to a million people in Jerusalem on that Passover weekend.  When Jesus was crucified, the word spread quickly.  When Sunday came and the tomb was missing a body, the word spread quickly, as well.  The soldiers who were assigned to guard the tomb were required by Roman military procedure to be executed.  When they weren't, everybody knew that some under the table agreement had been reached.  If the empty tomb was a myth, it would not be difficult to prove that to be true.  If someone claimed that JFK were alive today, it would be possible to dig up the grave and prove the accusation false.  Some said that the disciples stole the body.  That would require the disciples to overcome the Roman soldiers, an unlikely scenario.  Others said the religious leaders hid the body.  If that were true, they would have produced the body after the resurrection hoax was spread and ended Christianity on the spot.  The people knew the tomb was empty and had no explanation.  We read,                    ACTS 2:24              Peter's message somehow made sense.

SECOND, WE SEE THE CALL OF JESUS.  Since September 11, 2001, our nation has seen a re-kindling of patriotism and spiritual renewal.  That is a good thing.  However, there is a negative side to this.  This spiritual renewal is not necessarily a return to the Bible.  The best indication of this is the popularity in the old standard, "God Bless America."  I like the song.  It is a stirring testament to our nation's historical quest to ask for God's favor to shine on us.  If you notice, though, the song offers no conditions that America must meet to receive God's blessings.  It simply asks for God to bless us. 

I don't want to seem critical of the song, because it was written during a time when our nation was truly seeking to please God.  However, that song exemplifies the "spirituality" that is rampant in our nation today.  We want God to bless us with no strings attached.  God has clearly blessed our nation, primarily because our people had as the foundation for our nation the understanding that God is sovereign and His word is necessary for our laws to be just and right.  One of the reasons for America's greatness is the freedom we experience.  One of those freedoms is the freedom of religion.  We are free to choose any religious expression we want.  With that also comes the freedom to choose no religion.  In fact, the fastest growing religious movement in our nation today is the religion of tolerance.  Sometimes we make the mistake that because we live in a nation in which we are free to decide our own religious views, that somehow God is then obligated to accept our views as correct.  We need to be very careful that we make the distinction between what our nation's laws allow and what is pleasing to God. They are not the same.  God has certain expectations.  We read,               ACTS 2:37-48                  Peter shares five expectations God has of us.

First, is the call to repentance.  If there is a single message that is unpopular in our society today, it is the message of repentance.  After all, repentance acknowledges that sin has taken place.  Psychiatrist Karl Meminger wrote a book in the late 60's entitled, Whatever Became of Sin?  Meminger was not a Christian, but he was aware that our nation was in big trouble if we did not acknowledge the fact that evil actions are sometimes the result of evil people.  If we can explain away all evil by saying the individuals had a bad childhood, grew up poor, didn't bond with the mom, were mistreated by a teacher or a thousand other excuses, we would never be able to call certain actions wrong.  Tragically, Dr. Meminger's fears have proven to be true.  Repentance is the acknowledgement that we have violated God's standards and want to change.  It is not enough just to be sorry.  Our desire must be to want to change.

Second, is the call to baptism.  Baptism is the submerging of an individual under water.  In the New Testament, it served four purposes.  First, it pictured the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.  Second, it pictured a cleansing from sin and an arising to a godly way of life.  Third, it was an act of obedience.  Jesus was baptized and he commanded all of His followers to be baptized.  It symbolized to the world that they were turning their backs on the Temple and turning to Christ as their means of salvation.  If you are a believer, God's will for your life is to be baptized.

Third, is the call to be spirit filled.  The result of any act of obedience is to be filled with the Holy Spirit.  The term "filled" means to be controlled by.  We read,                 EPHESIANS 5:18                  The contrast to being filled with the Holy Spirit is to be drunk.  I won't ask for any testimonies on what it feels like to be drunk, but when a person is drunk, they are controlled by the alcohol.  That is why a drunk driver is said to be DUI, which is driving under the influence.  A believer is filled with the Spirit when they yield control of their life to the Holy Spirit.  That is a moment by moment process.  Some of you are struggling in your life because your desire is to run your own life instead of yielding control to God.  You need to do that.

Fourth, is the call to fellowship.  Being a part of an assembly of believers is not a cure-all for everything, but it is an act of obedience.  It may be that you were a part of a church previously, which is why you are not a part of a church now.  You need to find a group of like-minded believers and serve the Lord and serve His people. 

Fifth, is the call to community influence.  After all this had taken place, the city was in awe as to what God was doing and thousands were coming to Christ.  The problem with the church today is not that it is hated, it is that it is generally ignored.  The solution is not to form a political action committee and demand to be heard.  Christians need to be involved in community forums, but that is not their goal.  The goal is to change our society by changing each individual one person at a time. 

Our method is not to force but to persuade.  We must remember that it the Holy Spirit who changes hearts, not our anger.  Whether it is abortion, pornography, homosexual conduct, divorce, or drugs, it is only as godly people seek to influence our world by godly behavior that things will change.

THIRD, WE SEE THE CHARACTER OF JESUS.  It is all well and good to talk about Jesus as a great teacher and role model, but unless He is something more than just that, He really doesn't offer anything that other great teachers can offer.  In addition, if He is just a great teacher, on what basis am I obligated to obey Him?  Why should I give up everything and follow Him?  In the play "Jesus Christ, Superstar", it is Mary Magdalene who sings, "just a man, He's just a man…"  If that is true, that Jesus is just a man, then Christianity is a false religion and we are still under the judgement of God for our sin.  Notice, what Peter has to say about this and who Jesus is.  We read,            ACTS 2:32-36         The    term for Lord is used in two ways.  It referred to a master, and it was sometimes used of God.  Peter quotes from Psalm 110 where the passage is obviously referring to God.  David is looking into Heaven and sees Jehovah tell "the Lord" to sit down at the Father's right hand, which is the place of the most favored.  Jehovah is calling to the world that the Messiah is "God" and announced to the world that Jesus is both God and Savior.  His proof is the resurrection.  Jesus was a man.  As you read through the genealogies, Jesus is a descendent of both God and Adam.  He is man and He is divine.  That is why the virgin birth is critical.  That is how He is human and yet without a sin nature.  His divinity was proven by the resurrection.  The character of Jesus is not just that of a good man, miracle worker, fine teacher or political revolutionary.  The character of Jesus is that of God.  When He spoke, God spoke.  That is what makes Him different that Buddha, Confucius, Mohammed, or a dozen other religious founders.  He just didn't teach great things, He died and came back to life.  That is the proof of His deity. 

This is why Christianity is exclusive.  It is the most difficult doctrine in Christianity to accept.  Why does Christianity teach that the only way to Heaven is through Jesus?  What about good people who belong to other religions?  That sounds so intolerant.  However, this is the heart and soul of the gospel.  Christianity can claim to be exclusive because it is the only one that has an empty tomb.  Jesus did not claim to be one of many ways to God, but the only way to God.  He said,       JOHN 14:6           It was He who made it exclusive.  Before Nicki and I were married, we dated.  Our most elaborate date was a drive from San Jose to San Francisco for dinner at Fisherman's Warf and to the play "The Wiz."  We had a great time, but we miscalculated how long it would take to get to the theater.  We finally arrived, parked the car and ran into the theater just as the opening overture was ending.  If we had arrived any later, they wouldn't have seated us until intermission.  We were probably the last people to walk into the theater.  However, the usher escorted us to the very front of the auditorium where he gave us seats in the seventh row, center section.  We didn't deserve those seats.  There were others who had arrived far sooner than we did.  Some were more deserving.  However, we had these little pieces of paper called tickets and they entitled us to those very nice seats.

Can I state the obvious?  None of us deserve to go to Heaven.  We are all sinners who deserve to be rejected by a perfect and holy God.  However, He said, "I'm going to send my son to die on the cross.  Anyone who accepts His sacrifice and follows Him, I will give them the right to spend eternity with Me."  It is not the church who established that offer, it was Jesus.  It comes from the fact that He is God.  That is the message of Easter.  It is not just that there is an empty tomb, but that there is a God who has involved Himself in the affairs of men and is now calling us to serve Him.  The Hebrew writer tells us,        HEBREWS 2:14-18          When Jesus came out of the tomb, He overcame the greatest fear of the human race, the fear of death.  Notice also what He became.  He did not become an ogre.  He became a merciful high priest.  You may need mercy in your life.  Jesus is offering that to you.