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Our Father, we praise You this morning, not only for the beauty of all that You've created, that we could see so clearly as we made our way this morning. But Father, we rejoice this morning just to reflect on the resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ, from the dead.
Lord, we praise You that the tomb is empty. We praise You that unlike other men, Jesus Christ was not allowed to undergo decay, but was raised on the third day and exalted and seated at Your right hand, the place of honor.
Father, we pray for Your blessing this morning as we hear Your Word. Lord, would You just convict each of us anew of the marvel of the resurrection and the joy that each believer ought to feel. In Christ's name we pray.
Amen. Well, again, I would invite you to open your Bibles, and good morning! He has risen! I would invite you to open your Bibles, in case you don't already have them, at Acts 2. I asked Pradeep to read that specifically because I wanted to preach it and I didn't want to take the time to read it.
Let me ask you a question, a few questions. Do you think that the world, the unbelieving world surrounding us, is neutral to Christianity? Do you think they're just kind of open and unbiased? And the answer, obviously, is no.
Maybe they're just unconvinced, and if we usher forth enough evidence, they'll believe. Well, this week, Easter week, the Holy Week, as some call it, the most anticipated week of the year for Christians, Newsweek, ran a cover story entitled, The End of Christian America.
Stick a fork in it, it's done. They cite some surveys where those who identify themselves as Christians have gone down 10%. Well, that's it. If Newsweek says it's true, turn out the lights, last one out, it's over.
From the article, this is not to say that the Christian God is dead, thank you, but that he is less of a force in American politics and culture than at any other time in a recent memory. To which I can only say, so what?
Who cares? That's really not the point of Christianity. Amazingly, I thought it was interesting, if you weighed through the survey, the exact same number of people say that they're born again Christians as did 10 years ago, but same percentage, but that's neither here nor there.
But there is an assault on Christianity. And that assault really focuses on the resurrection. Christopher Hitchens, one of the well-known atheists, one of the so-called new atheists, I don't know what makes them new other than they write a lot of books, he said this about those who claim to see the resurrection, he said most of the witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus Christ were deluded, illiterate, hysterical women.
And I read that and I thought, these are the new atheists, they certainly are a friendly lot, I mean, look at them, they're misogynistic. I mean, just degrading it the most he possibly can and he had to throw in the women part there, right?
That's not even true biblically. But this morning as we look at Acts, I want to draw your attention to nine responses, nine human responses to the resurrection as it was preached in the book of Acts, so that you will better appreciate the divisive nature of the resurrection.
It is a shibboleth, it is a dividing point, it is what separates Christians from non-Christians. This is the central event of all history, I mean, we measure history by what? By the birth of Jesus. Well, if he was only born, the Bible would tell us there's no hope for us.
If he just died, there's still no hope for us. Without the resurrection, there is no hope for anyone. Without God convicting you of the truthfulness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, you would be hopeless.
First response, repentance and faith. We saw that in Acts chapter 2, verses 37, 38, and 41. I'm going to read those real quickly and then I'm going to move on to the other responses and then come back to Acts chapter 2, verse 37.
Now when they heard this, when they heard the gospel, when this Jewish crowd heard the gospel, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, brethren, what shall we do?
Peter said to them, repent and each of you be baptized. Verse 41, so then those who had received his word were baptized, and that day there were added about 3 ,000 souls. So that's one response, is repentance and faith.
Let's look at the other ones throughout the book of Acts. How about this one? Anger and violence. Anger and violence. Turn over to Acts chapter 4. I'm going to read verses 1 to 3. Acts chapter 4, verses 1 to 3.
As they were speaking to the people, talking about Peter and John, the priest and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
And they laid hands on them and put them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening. I wonder how many of you have ever experienced that kind of reaction to the truth. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection.
In fact, one man describes them this way. Because of their rigid adherence to the written Torah, they were, on the one hand, more heartless in judgment than any other Jews. They believed in a strict judgment for what you did in this life.
It was death and then judgment, and it was based on good works. So they were bugged. They were upset, or as our text says, greatly disturbed at Peter's teaching. And it says that they laid hands on them.
Now, do you suppose that they just came alongside them and said, hey, Peter and John, we're just going to kind of guide you guys into jail. There was violence. They grabbed them and they threw them into jail.
How about a night in jail for preaching the resurrection? Anger and violence. Response number three, stunned silence. Stunned silence. Again, in chapter 4, verse 13. Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.
They said, wait a second, we recognize those guys. Aren't those the guys who used to hang around with that Jesus of Nazareth? Verse 14. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply.
Stunned silence. The man who had been healed, the text says, was the man from Acts 3 who had been lame from birth. And to be lame meant that generally there was something wrong with your feet in such a way that you could not really walk.
And I thought about it. I go, what a remarkable incident that was in Acts chapter 3. Contrast it with the so-called healings of today. Because here he was, somebody who really wasn't capable of walking, and yet Peter made him whole.
For the Jews this was significant because in the Old Testament, the expectation of the messianic time, the time of salvation, was one where this sort of miracle would happen. Where the lame would walk, the blind would see, the deaf would hear.
So here they just preached the resurrection, they just preached the gospel, they spent the night in jail, and the next day they're facing the authorities, and here's this man who was healed. So do you think they were repentant?
Do you think they were sorrowful? Do you think they were just kind of, oh shucks, or woe is us? Not hardly. Verse 10, let it be known to all of you. This is Peter talking in front of these leaders who'd just thrown him in jail for the night.
Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by this name this man stands before you in good health.
The Jewish leaders viewed them as uneducated and untrained. Literally they believed they were illiterate amateurs. They knew these guys hadn't been to seminary, they knew they didn't have any big degrees.
Peter and John in their eyes were dummies. But on the other hand, they did have this man that they healed. The work of God shut the mouths of their opponents. How could they argue against the miraculous work of God?
So we've seen three responses so far. First, repentance and faith. Second, anger and violence. Third, stunned silence because of the work of God. Number four, powerful threats. Again, in chapter 4, they sent them out of the room.
The leaders did. They called them back in. Listen to this, verse 18. And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you, rather than to God, you be the judge.
For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard. That was Peter's response. Verse 21. When they had threatened them further, they let them go. So they sent them out of the room. They held a little closed conference meeting.
Called them back in to figure out what to do. And then they told them, stop it. Stop preaching this Jesus. Him crucified and resurrected. These were the people that could put them right back in jail. And they said, we really can't do that.
But notice, that wasn't enough for them. Again, they threatened them further. And then they let them go. Turn over to Acts chapter 5. Acts chapter 5. And we'll see their murderous intent. Another response.
Murderous intent. Verse 31 of chapter 5. Peter says, he is the one whom God exalted to his right hand as a prince and a savior to grant repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things.
And so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him. Verse 33. But when they heard this, they were cut to the quick and repented. No. And intended to kill them. It literally means to execute them.
They were the leaders. They had the power to do this. And they had decided what to do. They were going to have them executed. In essence, they were saying, don't tell us about this man. We're sick to death about hearing about Jesus, this man that we killed.
Don't tell us how God raised him from the dead. Don't tell us that he is the promised Messiah. We don't make mistakes. We're the smart ones. You guys are the losers, the idiots. You don't know anything.
They were cut to the quick and they intended to kill them. This is the ultimate example, I think, of bureaucrats with power. They were like, listen, we're in control. You don't understand the situation.
Stop it or we're going to put you to death. They intended to kill them. But, someone intervenes. And our response number six is a kind of authoritative indifference. There was someone else with power who thought, you know what?
We need to just take a step back. Look at verse 38. Gamaliel says this. So in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone. For this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown.
But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them or else you may even be found fighting with God. This was a voice of unbelieving caution. He was not a believer, but he said, you know what?
We need to take a step back. Killing these guys might not be the best idea. After all, you killed Jesus. And that's what led these zealots to preach the resurrection in the first place. Maybe it's best to just let them go.
He was, Gamaliel, the most highly esteemed doctor at law. He was an expert in the law. He was a teacher of teachers. And he warned them that these Christians should not be persecuted. Let them go and let's just see if it's of God or not.
So they did. He had all this respect. They had respect for him. They were, after all, in some form or another, religious. And they were the leaders of the faith. And so they listened to this man and they let them go, but not before they beat them.
Six responses so far. Repentance and faith. Anger and violence. Stunned silence. Powerful threats. Murderous intent. Authoritative indifference. And number seven, if I was going for the two-word thing, it would be pernicious persecution.
But persecution. I don't even know how to spell pernicious. Turn over to Acts 13. Acts 13. Now we're going to be talking about Paul here for a few of these points. Acts 13, verse 50. Verse 50. Again, responses to the resurrection, to the preaching of the resurrection.
But the Jews incited the devout women of prominence and the leading men of the city and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their district. Some believed when Paul and Barnabas preached the gospel and the resurrection at Antioch.
Some glorified God because of their teaching. But not everyone was happy. So the Jewish leaders got the God-fearing. That means they were Jewish proselytes. He got the God-fearers who were women and the noblemen, the municipal leaders of the area.
And they stirred them up. They got them upset with Paul and Barnabas. And so much so that they began a program or process designed to harass and oppress them for their beliefs. And that's exactly what persecution is.
They ran them out of town. They ran them out on a rail. They tarred and feathered them, in other words. They wanted them gone. They ran them out for preaching the persecution. Let's look at Acts 17. Paul on Mars Hill.
Acts 17, verse 32. Paul preaches to these religious people, these philosophical people, the most erudite, the most knowledgeable, the most sophisticated people in all the world, at least in their own minds.
And he preaches the gospel, including Christ raised from the dead. And in verse 32, now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer. Sneering is our eighth response. They heard this and they mocked.
They scoffed at Paul. These were the sophisticates of Athens. This was the world's most sophisticated city. They were simply too smart, too cool, too hip to believe in such a thing as the resurrection.
They weren't going to have it. Response number nine, and I have to move quickly. Curiosity. Curiosity, again, 1732. But others said, we shall hear you again concerning this. Others heard the exact same sermon.
Maybe they found it so entertaining that in a mocking way they wanted to hear it again the next week. We'll watch that again. It's kind of like having a favorite DVD and you'll just watch it over and over again.
They're like, hey, we can do that. Or maybe they were actually intrigued. Not convicted, but intrigued and genuinely wanted to know more. Let's turn back to chapter two. Acts chapter two, again, at verse 29.
Peter explained that David was dead, buried, and remained in the tomb. His tomb was with him until that day, he wrote. In fact, some people say that this sermon very well could have taken place at the very tomb of David.
And this is vital. Why? Because God had made promises to David about a throne, about a kingdom. Promises that had to be fulfilled. The Jewish audience in Acts chapter two would have known certainly that David had been made these promises by God and they certainly believed in God.
And you know, when you think about it, here's Acts chapter two, the day of Pentecost. We know what a miracle it was. We know about the gospel being preached. We know about the tongues flowing in these people that were perceived to be ignorants because they were from a given area in northern Israel.
So Peter's preaching this message. They know all these things. And he's seized the stage and he's got this opportunity to preach the gospel and he doesn't hesitate. He does it. But look at verse 31. Talking about David, Peter says, he looked ahead.
David was a prophet. He looked ahead and spoke the resurrection of Christ. David, acting as a prophet, wrote in Psalm 16, this is actually from Psalm 16, not what Peter says, but, for you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will you allow your Holy One to undergo decay.
And listen, he says, David's still in that tomb. David decayed. That psalm had to be fulfilled. And if it wasn't fulfilled in David, it was going to be fulfilled by one of his descendants and the Jewish audience understood that.
And referring to the resurrection of Jesus, Peter says, we are all witnesses to that. All of them. All 120. Think about that. You know, we think we're a little church in New England. Listen, 120 people total was the church on that day of Pentecost.
Think of the boldness of that. This was a major Jewish holiday. All of the Jews would come from all over the world to be in Jerusalem. And in essence, Peter was sticking his finger right in their chest and saying, listen, you are guilty of the death of Jesus and he fulfilled Old Testament prophecy by being resurrected from the dead by God.
He fulfilled Father David, the prophets, the king, received these promises and they're fulfilled in Jesus Christ. And it gets bolder. In verse 36, Peter makes plain that God has confirmed Jesus' station both as God and Messiah.
Now let me just be clear quickly. In Acts 2, God did not, upon the resurrection of Jesus, He did not elevate Him to God and He did not confirm on Him a new title of Messiah. He had always been God. He had always been Messiah.
In the resurrection, He simply confirmed that by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand. Now the church grew as a result of preaching the resurrection. As I said, 3 ,000 would get saved.
But look, conviction hurts. Look at verse 37. Conviction hurts. Now when they heard this, when they heard the Gospel, they were pierced to the heart. The term pierced means to experience grief, remorse, an intense spiritual conviction.
Like every single believer who finally comes to grips with who Jesus is. Let me ask you this morning, have you been pierced to the heart? Have you had that moment where you just come to an intense conviction of who Jesus Christ is?
Does it bring you grief at that moment? Well, it should. Because no less than that Jewish crowd, you were responsible for the death of Christ. If you've not experienced that, why not? Also notice that conviction causes action.
Again, look at verse 37. Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do? They didn't just wallow around in it thinking, oh, poor us.
Look, we're guilty. They knew they had to do something. And they didn't decide what they were going to do. They asked what they should do. Faith doesn't set conditions. God, I will do what you want if you will do this or that or the other thing.
Faith doesn't set conditions. It surrenders. Have you surrendered? Have you come to a place where you are so convicted by the guilt of your sin, by your knowledge of who He is and what He did, what Jesus did on the cross, that all you want to do is please Him where you just say, what must I do to be saved?
That's exactly what 3 ,000 people did that day. The church went from 120 to 3 ,120 because of the Holy Spirit working in the hearts of those who heard about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The resurrection provokes a response.
It demands a response. We've seen nine of them this morning. The resurrection, as I said, is the central point of the Christian faith. No other faith presents God taking on flesh, living a perfect life, dying a substitutionary death, and being raised from the dead on the third day.
Buddha, Muhammad, any other Svengali religious leader, anyone else you can think of, remains just like David in his burial place or in his death condition. But the tomb could not hold Jesus Christ. The tomb could not contain the second Person of the Trinity, the Son of God, whom the Father proved to be His Chosen One, His Messiah, by raising Him from the dead.
It's simple. No resurrection, no Christianity. No resurrection for Christ. No hope for Christians. But praise be to God. He is risen. Beloved, we cannot control the reaction of those to whom we proclaim a resurrected Jesus, a risen Savior.
But proclaim Him we must. We must demand a response. That is our obligation, just as Peter did on the day of Pentecost. Jesus Christ, Him crucified and resurrected, we proclaim. Let's pray. Father, we rejoice that You work in the hearts of Your people.
We rejoice in the boldness that You gave through Your Spirit to Peter. Father, we would pray for a boldness here. A boldness in all of us that we would proclaim Jesus Christ, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
That we would not be put off by anyone's sophistication. That we would not be put off by their anger, by their persecution, by their sneering, mocking. Father, we do not anticipate, we do not believe that everyone to whom we preach the gospel, it will be a joy.
But Father, give us the boldness to do so anyway. Knowing that it is through the gospel, by the preaching of the resurrection, that You save sinners. Father, would You be pleased to save many as we are faithful to follow Your commands and the example of Your servants throughout the book of Acts.
We pray in Christ's name, Amen.