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Reading Acts 2:22-28 where Peter preaches at Pentecost that Jesus was delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, crucified by lawless men. Visit wwutt.com or all our videos!
If the Bible says that God has foreordained, that is true. And if the Bible also says we are responsible for our actions, that is also true. And it's only our folly to think that there's a contradiction between these two ideas when we understand the text.
Many of the Bible stories and verses we think we know, we don't. When we understand the text, as an online ministry committed to teaching sound doctrine and exposing the faulty, visit our website at www .utt .com.
Now here's our host, Pastor Gabe Hughes.
Thank you, Becky. We continue with our study of the book of Acts. Chapter two is where we are. We stopped right in the middle of Peter's sermon at Pentecost, finishing up with verse 21 last week. So I'll start in verse 22 and read through verse 36.
Men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with many mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst as you yourselves know. This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him, I saw the Lord always before me. For he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken.
Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced. My flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life.
You will make me full of gladness with your presence. Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of Christ that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.
This Jesus, God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this, that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.
For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool. Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus, whom you crucified.
So once again we finish the portion where Peter had referenced the prophet Joel, and that was what we had in verses 17 through 21. In the last days it shall be, the Lord declares that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh.
And what we are observing here, going on in the story of Acts, is that the Holy Spirit, having been poured out on the apostles, they go into Jerusalem, they're speaking the gospel in various languages, they're speaking of the wonders of God in languages that everybody there at Pentecost can understand.
They can hear the testimony of the apostles in their own language. And so Peter says, what was prophesied in the Old Testament is what you are seeing before you. But this is just the beginning of it. There was more that was going to come, and all of this would be a sign to Israel of the judgment that was going to come upon them, because they rejected the Son of God and crucified him.
And of course, after Peter says this, the people say, being cut to the heart, brothers, what shall we do? And Peter says that you need to repent and be baptized, every one of you, for the forgiveness of your sins.
So in Christ Jesus, we have forgiveness. And the wrath of God will not be poured out on those who become followers of his Son, for it is his Son who has paid the penalty for all those who follow him, those whom God had elected from before the foundation of the world and gave to his Son as an inheritance.
But those who are not followers of Jesus all have rejected Christ if they are not followers of Jesus. So just as this warning was given to Israel, that's certainly where the preaching of the gospel begins, warning of the judgment that is to come upon those who rejected Christ.
That same warning is for anyone who rejects Christ even today, not just those who were responsible for crucifying him. But everyone who is not a follower of Jesus is therefore a follower of the devil, according to Christ himself when he was speaking to the Jews in John chapter 8.
And everyone who follows Satan, whether or not they're aware that they are following Satan, they follow him to their own destruction. Jesus said in Matthew 25, 41, that at the great white throne of judgment, the king sitting on his glorious throne will say to those on his left, depart from me, you cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
So although this warning was first given to the Jews at Pentecost, it is a warning that exists to everyone who is not a follower of Christ. God will judge you for your sin and rebellion against God. And it is only in Christ Jesus that you can have your sins forgiven.
Even the sin of crucifying the son of God, according to the audience that Peter is addressing here. Verse 22, men of Israel hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth. Now, because he's speaking in Jerusalem and not in Galilee, Peter identifies Jesus of Nazareth as the town that he came from rather than the lineage that he is descended from.
It's pretty common to say of someone that they who their father is like that would be like their surname. For example, in Matthew chapter 16, where Jesus addressed Peter, he said to him, blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for Jonah would have been the father of Simon, who is Peter.
So therefore he is Simon of Jonah, Simon Bar-Jonah. So Jesus would have whose name was actually Yeshua in Hebrew or Joshua is how that's translated in English. Phonetically for us, it comes out as Jesus.
So he would have been properly known as Jesus, son of Joseph or Joshua, son of Joseph. But but because Jesus was recognized in Jerusalem as the prophet from Galilee, that's how Peter refers to him here in this sermon at Pentecost.
He wasn't as well known around Jerusalem, which was a much bigger city than Nazareth was. So around Nazareth, he's known as Jesus, son of Joseph. But around Jerusalem, he would be Jesus of Nazareth. Back in Matthew twenty one eleven, when we read about the triumphal entry as Jesus was being paraded through Jerusalem, there were some that didn't know who he was, why all this commotion was going on over this guy.
So they were saying, who is this? And the crowd said, this is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee. So that's how they knew him in Jerusalem. Peter refers to him as Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with many mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know.
OK, let's go through that step by step. So Jesus of Nazareth is a man. Indeed, he is the son of God. He is God incarnate, God in human flesh. But he was very man and very God. According to Philippians chapter two, he emptied himself and took on the form of a servant being born in the likeness of man and being found in human form.
He humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death on a cross. And so Jesus was indeed a man. Yes, God. But he was very man. And he's still man. He is still the God man. Even now, having ascended into heaven and seated at the right hand of the throne of God, he is still the God man, Jesus Christ.
As Paul says in first Timothy two five, there is one mediator between God and man, and that is the man, Christ Jesus. By the way, I didn't mention this earlier, but regarding Jesus name, Jesus Christ is not his first and last name.
But you knew that, right? So making this reference to Jesus of Nazareth or Joshua, son of Joseph, Jesus Christ means that Jesus is the Messiah. Christ is the word for Messiah. So it's not a first and last name, but it is identifying Jesus as the Messiah who was promised according to God through the prophets in the Old Testament.
So Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God. Another way to understand this is that he was approved of by God or he was marked out by God. As we read in Hebrews chapter two, starting in verse three, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?
It was declared at first by the Lord and it was attested to us by those who heard while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his word.
So note there in Hebrews two, four, it says that, uh, well, verse three, it was attested to us by those who heard. And so where it says here that Jesus was a man attested to you by God. This is God saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.
And he did this with many mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst. As you yourselves know, Peter is laying out in front of them a very masterfully put together argument relay, uh, appealing to what they themselves have witnessed.
You know who we're talking about. Jesus of Nazareth was crucified here 50 days ago. So it's not like this is something they've long had forgotten about. They still remembered the miracles that were performed, feeding of the 5 ,000, the sick who were healed, dead, who were raised to life, the mute that could speak, the deaf who could hear the lame who could walk.
They were there. They saw all the miracles. Some of them standing right there listening to Peter preach had also seen with their own eyes the things that Jesus had done. And those who had not seen the word of him had spread far and wide.
So we certainly had people that came to Pentecost that would not have been there at the time that Jesus had performed these many miracles. They surely would have heard about the resurrection because that was so widely spoken about.
But even though they had not seen these things, they had certainly heard about them. So as Peter is talking about this, uh, he is appealing to the fact that you have witnessed these things with your own senses.
God showed that he had singled this man out, that this was a man approved by God, sent to us, sent to you as you yourselves know, because you saw all the signs and wonders that he did. In Deuteronomy 18, 18, Moses said that God is going to send another prophet like me and you're going to listen to him.
And Jesus came performing signs and wonders unlike Moses had performed. So Moses is the fulfillment of that prophecy that he gave in Deuteronomy 18. But then Peter goes on to say in verse 23, this Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and for knowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
Now, this is a wonderful passage in helping us understand the sovereignty of God and man's responsibility. God is sovereign and he has foreordained all things with the decree that he gave from before the foundation of the world.
He works providentially in the midst of our circumstances to bring about those things which he had previously decreed. But though God is sovereign over every situation and there's nothing that happens that God is not sovereign over, that does not remove from us our responsibility before God.
The apostle Paul talked about this as well in Romans chapter nine, verse 19, where he says, you will say to me then, why does he still find fault for who can resist his will? If it is God's will that you follow him or God's will that you would not turn from your sin and follow him, why is that our fault then?
Because we can't resist his will. And then Paul goes on in verse 20 to say, but who are you, oh man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder? Why have you made me like this? In other words, we have no excuse.
We cannot say back to God, hey, you made me this way. This is your fault. We can't do that. We still have responsibility for our actions and for the things that we have done. As Paul will go on to say in Romans 14, 12, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
As he said to the Philippians, Philippians 2, 13, it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. But that does not remove the human responsibility that we have. We are held accountable for our actions and we are going to stand before God in judgment someday.
The Bible is clear that God is sovereign over all and we are responsible for our actions. As Charles Spurgeon has said, if I find taught in one part of the Bible that everything is foreordained, that is true.
And if I find in another scripture that man is responsible for all his actions, that is also true. And it is only my folly that leads me to imagine that these two truths can ever contradict each other.
What we have right here is not a contradiction. It is the statement that God has foreordained these things. And yet those who put Jesus Christ to death are going to stand in judgment before God unless they repent.
This Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. You crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. This happened because it is what God had decreed was going to happen.
He gave his son. Jesus willingly laid down his life in submission to the father, in love that he had for us to the praise of his glorious grace. And it is by this loving sacrifice and gift that all who believe in him will have their sins forgiven and have everlasting life.
God decreed it. He had foreordained it. He had planned that this would happen. In fact, we even have in the Old Testament prophecies concerning Judas, that there was one who was going to betray him for exactly 30 pieces of silver and that he was even going to throw the silver back onto the temple floor and that it was going to buy the potter's field.
All of that was even prophesied about. And yet Judas was not going to be able to resist the will of God. And yet Judas is still standing before God in judgment. He's not going to escape the final judgment.
We are responsible for our actions, though God has decreed these things from before the foundation of the world. Nothing happens outside the will of God. It was even God's will that his own son would be crucified.
And so my friends, what that means to us, what that means for us, the practical implications of this is that nothing happens outside of God's will. Therefore, whatever circumstance you're going through, no matter what you go through, it is ultimately being used for your good and for God's glory.
I know Romans 8, 28 gets used a lot, but it is nevertheless a biblical truth that we know for those who love God, all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose. And then in verse 29, it's explained to us exactly what that purpose is for those whom he foreknew.
He also predestined to be conformed to the image of the sun, not just that you would make some sort of declaration of faith, but that you would even follow through with it and you would grow in holiness and righteousness in Christ Jesus.
This is what God had decreed and what he affected through his son, crucified on the cross, killed by the hands of lawless men. Verse 24, God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death. As we're going to read when we get to Acts 17, when Paul does his sermon at the Areopagus there in Athens, he says to them that the fact that God has raised him from the dead is a proof that this is the man who's going to be the judge of all the nations.
The one who has the power over death itself is going to be the judge of all mankind. So God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death because it was not possible for him to be held by it. He is God. He cannot be held down by death.
Furthermore, as the God man, God in human flesh, he was sinless. He was perfect. And remember that it says in Romans 6, 23, the wages of sin is death. Well, how is it then that Jesus was put to death if he was perfect?
Well, because it says in 2 Corinthians 5, 21, he became sin who knew no sin that we might become the righteousness of God in him. He took our sins upon himself on the cross and God crushed him. As it says in Isaiah 53, put him to death, appeasing the wrath of God.
And it is by faith in Jesus. Faith is the mechanism that God has chosen. By faith in Jesus, he would transmit to us his grace, his goodness, his forgiveness for our sins that we would not perish under his wrath, but instead we have fellowship with God and fellowship with him forevermore.
God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him, I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken.
Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced. My flesh also will dwell in hope for you will not abandon my soul to Hades or let your holy one see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life.
You will make me full of gladness with your presence. So because Jesus has conquered death and all those who have faith in Christ will likewise receive a resurrection like his, we can rejoice in hope.
Just as David says, my flesh will dwell in hope for you will not abandon my soul to Hades. As Romans 8 29 goes on to say, those who before knew, we also predestined to be conformed to the image of the son in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
Firstborn among many brothers means there are going to be many more who are going to follow after him. All who are in Christ will likewise be raised from death. We will have everlasting life with God.
If you turn from sin and believe in Jesus Christ. And so understand the words of David, dwell in hope. Hope for the next day, hope for tomorrow, hope for the future that is laid up for us in heaven. Though the body will die and there are things on this earth that may and will kill you eventually.
You can dwell in hope in security knowing that though the body will die, your soul will be forever with God in glory. He has promised us such in his word and has affirmed this promise by raising his son from the dead.
Let us pray. Heavenly father, we thank you for this time together in your word and I pray that it does renew our hearts, restores our mind, gives us hope and excitement and enthusiasm for the future. That though mankind is going to try to do all things to us in this life.
And there are certainly things that maybe man has nothing to do with. It's just the futility of this world that attacks us, whether it be depression in our spirits or a sickness in our bones. There's always something that is trying to destroy us.
Yet we know that in Christ Jesus, this is not our final resting place. The body may go into the grave just as David's body went into the grave, but we will rise forever with God, not just in our spirits dwelling with God forever in his kingdom.
But it's even said in first Corinthians 15, our bodies will be raised to be like his. So Lord, I pray that the knowledge of this, the good news that is in your gospel makes our hearts rejoice and gives us joy as we go throughout our day.
We pray this in Jesus' name and in his loving name we pray, amen.
This has been When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabriel Hughes. For all of our podcasts, episodes, videos, books, and more, visit our website at www .utt .com. If you'd like to submit a question to this broadcast or just send us a comment, email whenweunderstandthetext at gmail .com and let your friends know about our ministry.
Join us again tomorrow as we grow together in the study of God's Word when we understand the text.