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22 "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— 23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; 24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. 25 For David says concerning Him: 'I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. 27 For You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.'" ~ Acts 2:22-28
Today, we return to our study of Acts 2 where we enter back into the middle of Peter's first recorded sermon. Peter had preached other sermons but this sermon was different since he had just been baptized in the Holy Spirit of God. When we were born again unbeknown to us we were baptized in the Holy Spirit and we were born again. Our once dead to God spirit was made alive to God. This conversion yields a new way of thinking, a new way of feeling, and a new way of seeing everything! It is the change of heart spoken of in Ezekiel 36:25-27 where we read, "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances."
In v.22-24 of today's passage we read, "22 Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— 23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; 24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it."
After establishing the fact that the coming of the promised Holy Spirit was prophesied by the Old Testament prophet Joel, Peter challenged his Jewish audience to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Messiah. Peter provided evidence to them proving the Lord Jesus to be the long awaited Messiah. The first evidence was the miracles, wonders, and signs He performed. It was the Lord Jesus Himself who said John the Baptist put forth testimony of His identity that He was the Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world. The works that the Lord Jesus did were due to the fact that He was in His Father and His Father was in Him.
In v.25-28 of today's passage we read, "25 For David says concerning Him: 'I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. 27 For You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence."
Another proof that the Lord Jesus was the Messiah was the fact that He was raised from the dead by His Father. The death of the Lord Jesus is a well established fact in the history of man, even more His resurrection from the dead. In his sermon Peter quoted King David who wrote Psalm 16 where it was clearly predicted that the Messiah would die and also be raised from the dead. The Lord Jesus had to die otherwise God the Father would not have judged our sin in His body while He hung on the cross. And, without the resurrection we would not have been born again by His Spirit for it is the resurrection that proves that God accepted His sacrifice on our behalf.
We now, having believed in the Lord Jesus as our Savior, have joy instead of condemnation in God's presence. It is the resurrection of the Lord Jesus that enables us to live a life defined by His love most greatly demonstrated at the cross. This is why we are told often in the Bible to focus on the cross because it is through the cross that everything else makes sense. A family had just moved to another city and the seven year old son decided he would ride his bike throughout his new neighborhood. After a while the boy realized he was lost and he didn't know how to get home. Just then a police officer pulled up next to the boy and asked if he could help him. The boy then told the officer his story. So, the officer started naming off neighborhood markers that might help the lost boy realize exactly where he lived. The officer asked the boy if he lived near the grocery store on fifth street and the boy said "no sir." Then the officer asked if he lived near the school on third street. To which the boy responded, "no sir." Then the officer asked the lost boy if he lived near the church with the cross on the top of it on first street. It was then that the boy said, "Yes sir! If you will point me in the direction of the cross, I will find my way home."
