Theme: Through the Resurrection: A Puzzling Question becomes Faith’s Answer
Acts
2:29-32 "Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch
David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30
"Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath
to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up
the Christ to sit on his throne, 31 "he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning
the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did
His flesh see corruption. 32 “This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all
witnesses.”
We know what the world says about today. It’s
the same thing they’ve said about our faith from the very beginning. They
refuse to accept that Christ is alive – literally they refuse to believe it.
They act like it doesn’t matter either. “So what?” the world says. To them it’s
more than ironic that today is also April fool’s day. Peter tells us the rallying
cry of unbelievers is that there’s nothing new under the sun – which is
actually a Christian concept to describe human sinfulness. The skeptics apply
it to God, though. They say nothing has changed since the beginning of time.
They say there’s nothing special about Christ, or God, or the faith which we
confess and believe. And especially, the resurrection.
Today, it’s popular to lump Christianity in
with the other religions of the world. People say that religion can serve a
purpose culturally, but only in so far as we deem it worthy – and that
worthiness obviously changes from culture to culture. Some Christians even say
this. They strip the Bible of its historical accuracy and say that it’s only a
collection of cultural myths that serve as metaphors to the modern man. If you
want to make it part of your culture, you can, but it’s not a big deal either
way. Ultimately, it’s no different than the Egyptian religion, or the Greek and
Roman gods, or any other deity that has ever existed. Sadly, for many, even
many Christians, the Resurrection is nothing more than a child-like fairy tale
with a moral lesson. Christ didn’t actually rise from the dead, they say;
rather it’s the story that teaches us we can become new people and create a
better world. What a sad, limping gospel that truly is.
It’s well-nigh impossible to believe that how
the world sees religion today is even remotely connected to the gospel that
Peter boldly spoke in our text on Pentecost Sunday. It’s impossible to believe
that a mere fairy tale is what caused countless numbers of Christians to risk
their very lives to establish the New Testament church; to be willing to be
killed instead of denying the faith. There was something more to the
resurrection of Christ than a wish-fulfillment myth. For Peter and the others,
as for us, the resurrection of Christ is irrefutable proof that death is
conquered. It was not fulfillment of a mere wish that early Christians had,
which differed in no way from other religions. No, it was absolute proof that
Jesus backed up His promise to be the resurrection and the life, that all who
believed in Him would have eternal life too. The resurrection of Jesus was not
a wishy-washy concept. It had teeth and voracity. It struck people in the
heart. It left them with a feeling that could not be explained away or
sidetracked.
Anytime we stray away from the simple words of
God about His Son’s death and resurrection, the message loses force. Skeptics
today say that Christians are just dreamers because they think we avoid the
tough questions. But being a Christian does not grant a free pass on mental
wrestling. You and I know well that confessing Christ’s name is not an easy
pass from spiritual conflicts. If anything, being a Christian brings with it an
even greater awareness of the tough questions. We’re not just academically discussing
the Word of God. We’re claiming to stake everything – even our entire eternal
existence – on what that Word says. How can we escape the questions about the
very things we trust? We, too, like the rest of the world, must give an answer.
Peter was answering a puzzling question in our
text. It was a question that had long hounded the Jews of Jesus’ day – one that
He even posed to them. And it’s a question every person must eventually answer.
Who is Jesus?
Jesus obviously addressed this question a lot.
Even His very presence begged it. However, it was in one particular section
that He connected it to David; which is where Peter found the impetus for his
own treatment of it on Pentecost. We read from Matthew 22, where Jesus says, "What do you think about the Christ?
Whose Son is He?" They said to Him, "The Son of David." 43 He
said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him`Lord,' saying:
44 `The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your
enemies Your footstool "'? 45 "If David then calls Him`Lord,' how is
He his Son?" 46 And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that
day on did anyone dare question Him anymore (Matthew 22).
This was the puzzling question. How could Jesus
be David’s descendent and also David’s Lord? What it ultimately comes back to is
the person of Jesus. He was unlike anything anyone had ever seen. Completely
God and completely human. Clearly, just the bare logic of the question astounds
us. No one can scientifically explain how God could become human. Furthermore,
how could a person even measure God? It takes faith to answer this question.
This is why the Pharisees were left speechless
before Jesus. This is why the world continues to reject what Jesus came to do.
It takes trust in God to accept the answer. Jesus was David’s descendent and
His God because He was able to be both. More importantly for our lives, Jesus had to be both. He had to be perfect –
to plan and execute the task of salvation from eternity. He had to be like us
in order to carry our sin. If He wasn’t, the blessings would not have applied
to our lives. Jesus certainly could have atoned for sin on His own, but without
being human it would not have translated to our lives.
It takes trust in God to answer this puzzling
question, but not because faith blindly follows anything it chooses. Here’s
where the world thinks that Christians have an easy pass. To say that something
must be accepted by faith sounds like a cop-out. The world tells us that we are
avoiding the tough question. Eventually, the world pities that Christian who
makes such a confession, as if they are some lunatic who doesn’t know right
from left. To the world, there’s a noble courage involved with confronting the
spiritual questions of life head on and bringing them in to submission to the
human will. It’s considered weak and naïve to trust.
Understanding the two natures of Jesus is a lot
like understanding His resurrection. They both defy reason. But the connection
runs even deeper. They are also inseparably linked in spiritual importance. It
is through His divine power that Christ conquered death. But, it was also with
His human body that He died and came back to life. You can’t have a
resurrection without a fully divine and human Savior. This is why Jesus asked
people about Himself as He was approaching the cross. To see Jesus was to see
eternal life. To know Him was to know that death would be destroyed. The
Pharisee’s missed the boat because they didn’t want to trust. Many in the world
continue on the same path because they don’t want to trust.
Trust seems like an easy way out of the
puzzling questions because it involves obedience. Obedience is despised in our
culture. In fact, obedience is despised by all people who are hungry for power
and control. Therefore, we are often told that obedience, and the trust in God
from which it flows, is only for simple-minded people who want to keep their
head in the sand. We’re told that you can only get to a position of faith by
ignoring the puzzling questions.
What do you think about these accusations? Do
they apply to Christians? Well, they certainly could. There are plenty who
believe to avoid strife and difficulty – even Jesus admitted as much when He
taught that hypocrisy is real. But, to make that determination, you have to go
back to the basis of one’s trust. If your faith has no backing then it truly is
blind. However, listening to Peter, that’s not the impression with which we’re
left. Peter speaks with the confidence of someone who has found the answer to a
question. Peter, being a Jew himself, certainly wrestled with the person of
Christ; even more so with the resurrection of Christ. When Jesus foretold His
death and resurrection, it was Peter who stood up and said it would never
happen. When Jesus was on trial, it was Peter who denied the Lord. Peter knew
the tough questions and he didn’t skirt around them. His hope abounded because
he found the answer from God – not because he avoided the struggle. w
How did Peter get to this position of
confidence and hope? It was through the Word of God. Led by the Holy Spirit as
he studied the Word, Peter saw what David prophesied about Jesus. In his own
moment in the spotlight, it was this Word that Peter fell back on to defend his
faith in Jesus. It was only once Peter let go of his own will and submitted to
His Savior’s that he found the answers he was looking for. That’s what faith in
Jesus does. It sheds light on tough questions but it also changes the human heart
to trust God above all others.
Countless numbers of believers have been
through the same process as Peter. Paul would use the same defense of his faith
in Acts 13, again going back to David. Even David himself used it as Peter
described, how David had to wait on the Lord to fulfill the Messianic promise
of which he was aware. Believers don’t avoid the tough questions – we answer
them in Christ. There is no greater example of faith’s power in this way than
Christ Himself – who didn’t avoid the fate of death but rather conquered in it.
He didn’t skirt around the grave. He was consumed by it. He didn’t run from
Satan’s temptations – He stood up to them. He didn’t hide from the taunts and
jeers, not just on Good Friday but during His entire life – rather He responded
in truth and love. You simply can’t be a follower of Christ by avoiding the
tough questions – because He didn’t.
And more importantly, you don’t have to avoid
the tough questions – because He didn’t. Through Christ’s resurrection, you
have been brought to the cross and even past it. You have been carried in to
the grave. You have been raised. You stand victorious against Satan and hell
today. That’s the power of faith. It may be called weak. It may be deemed
foolish and naïve. But, there is nothing more powerful than a believer who
trusts their Savior and leaves everything to Him. Today, God tells you that not
even death can stand in your way. If that is the case, why worry what the world
says? God has answered every question.
To close, listen to what Peter would go on to
write to the Christians he was called to serve, again, not dodging the tough
questions, but answering them in Jesus and through His resurrection:
1
Peter 1:3-4, 6-7 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance
incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for
you, 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be,
you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith,
being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire,
may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
The peace of God which surpasses all
understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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