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Good evening to everyone. It 
appears that the preaching of the word might be competing with 
the siren call of the ice cream truck, but rest assured that 
the clarion call of the gospel is stronger than that musical 
device. You can turn to your Bibles to 
Acts chapter 2. Back to Acts chapter 2, remember 
we're looking at the herald and his proclamation. Herald being 
one commissioned by a ruler, one commissioned by a king to 
bring the message of the sending king to those who are to be the 
recipients of that message. Peter, in the case on the day 
of Pentecost, being that kingly commissioned preacher to come 
and bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to this gathered assembly 
in Jerusalem. We're going to read again Acts 
chapter two, beginning in verse 22. Finishing in verse 36. So once again, the word of the 
living and true God. Men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, the man attested 
by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs which God did through 
him in your midst, as you yourselves also know him being delivered 
by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have 
taken by lawless hands, have crucified and put to death whom 
God raised up. having loosed the pains of death 
because it was not possible that he should be held by it. 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. Therefore 
my heart rejoiced and my tongue was glad. Moreover, my flesh 
also will rest in hope, for you will not leave my soul in Hades, 
nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption. You have 
made known to me the ways of life, you will make me full of 
joy in your presence. 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. 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, he foreseeing this 
spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul 
was not left in Hades, Nor did his flesh see corruption. This 
Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore, 
being exalted to the right hand of God and having received from 
the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he poured out this 
which you now see in here. For David did not ascend into 
the heavens, but he says himself, the Lord said to my Lord, sit 
at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. 
Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that 
God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and 
Christ. Amen. Well, let's go to the Lord 
in prayer. Heavenly Father, we rejoice again. 
We can gather together for worship a second time on this, your Lord's 
Day. We would ask again because we do need again the ministry 
of your Holy Spirit to illuminate our minds, to increase our knowledge 
of the glories, the riches, the excellencies of your revelation 
how it points to our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We do 
pray for that, that your gathered saints tonight would be strengthened 
and encouraged by your word, all the more equipped yet again 
after another Lord's Day to go into this week to conduct themselves 
in a manner worthy of your glorious gospel. We would pray yet again 
that same spirit would work by that same word to save sinners, 
to the praise of your name. We long to see as we gather together 
as the saints of Christ, to see those who come in as unbelievers 
outside of Christ. We long to see them leave, having 
been met by God with amazing grace and now singing the praises 
of their God and of his Christ. So we do pray for that might 
and that power this evening. We thank you for the gospel of 
our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And we do pray that we would 
rejoice as we rehearse the truth of Christ, as we rehearse his 
life, death, resurrection and read concerning the preaching 
in the early church and the Christ-centeredness of it. We do pray that you would 
warm our hearts and that we would leave this place singing the 
praises of our God. We pray in the name of our Savior, 
the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, you'll remember what 
we have been looking at beginning this morning is the herald and 
his proclamation. And we're looking at five things. 
We looked at three things this morning. The first thing we noticed 
was the gospel herald. We had an occasion very briefly 
to see this wonderful contrast between the post-resurrection 
Peter as compared to the pre-resurrection Peter, if you will. Peter being 
marked by a zeal that was not tamed by a heedfulness. This 
side of the resurrection, he is the recipient of the Holy 
Spirit. He had already been instructed 
by the resurrected Christ in the purposes of the divine plan 
in Christ Jesus. And so now on the day of Pentecost, 
he could proclaim this message to the gathered enemies of Christ, 
yet with zeal under control. He's also marked by a boldness 
here. No longer is he denying this 
Jesus of Nazareth. Having once denied this Jesus 
before the patio interrogations of a servant girl, he now before 
a multitude of unbelievers and some believers, of course, but 
before a multitude of unbelieving Jews gathered from every nation 
under heaven, he is not timid, but rather is courageous and 
bold for the cause of Christ and the gospel. And then, of 
course, we noted as well that Peter is now resolved unto the 
full messianic task. Having once been opposed to this 
idea of the master going to Jerusalem to be delivered up into wicked 
hands and crucified, now he sees that it is the case that Christ 
was delivered up by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of 
God. We looked at the Herald's chief proclamation, which is, 
of course, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the life, the death. 
The resurrection of Jesus is the chief message of heraldic 
proclamation, of the Christian message. It is the chief and 
central preaching content that the Herald is to bring a needful 
audience. It is the case, and no doubt 
Pastor Butler will agree with this, As long as this pulpit 
stands, and as long as there are pew-goers in the pews, we 
will not cease to preach the life, the death, the resurrection 
of our glorious Christ as the central message of this church 
and the central message of Christianity. And so then, after looking at 
the Herald's chief proclamation, we moved to the revelational 
expectation. Remember what that simply means. 
The scriptures of the Old Testament anticipated this Christ to come, 
didn't they? They are not Christ-less, they 
are Christ-full. Page after page, chapter after 
chapter, the authors, inspired of God, bring forth Christ upon 
the cross, working out the salvation of sinners. And so now, having 
moved through those three things this morning, we're going to 
look at simply two things this evening from the text. And those 
two things are the voracious history and the marvelous and 
sobering Christology. Where do we see where do we see 
the voracious history? Well, maybe first off, what does 
that mean? Voracious simply means replete with truth, full of truth. The gospel of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, the revelation of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 
is replete with truth, isn't it? More particularly in our 
context, the preaching or the reality of the preaching. The 
preacher is setting forth the truth, the certainty that this 
Jesus did most assuredly rise by the power of God from the 
grave, as it was promised in the scriptures. This is something 
that is voracious, that it is marked by truth, marked by certainty. We see that in the text in verse 
32. Notice, after the revelational expectation is brought out, the 
Apostle Peter, quoting and reading the Bible, And then explaining 
that biblical data that he had brought before his audience, 
we see in verse 32, the voracious history, the true history of 
this Jesus, this Jesus God has raised up of which we are all 
witnesses. You see, Christianity does not 
rest upon a foundation of vague rumors. It is not the case that 
the foundation of our religion are these vague rumors that constitute 
and comprise some sort of mythology of the divine meeting with the 
human. And we've, you know, built upon, 
elaborated upon some vague rumors. No. God, the triune God of heaven 
and earth, has recorded his redemptive history in the 66 books of the 
Holy Scriptures. And these things are replete 
with truth, replete with things that actually did happen. He 
has recorded his redemption in his word, his redemptive plan, 
workings in his word. He has interpreted them for us, 
and they come to us delivered on many occasions with these 
simple and clear realities that we are all witnesses of the glory 
of our Christ. Speaking, of course, of those 
chosen by God to see this Christ in his resurrected glory. Just 
turn to Acts 10 for a moment with me where we see when we 
when we read this Jesus God raised up of which we are all witnesses. Who are the we? Is he talking 
about all of the men of Israel to whom he is preaching? Well, 
certainly a lot of them saw Christ. Certainly a lot of them saw Christ. 
And of course, in their unbelief and folly and madness loathed 
him unjustly. But I believe what we have here, 
the we is represented in Acts chapter 10. And notice what we 
read beginning in verse 40, speaking of Jesus Christ, him God raised 
up on the third day and showed him openly, not to all the people, 
but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and 
drank with him after he arose from the dead. Do you see there? The we are all witnesses is speaking 
to his disciples, his apostles, others as well, because remember, 
he appeared to over 500 brethren at once, according to 1 Corinthians 
15. But all of that to come back 
to the voracious history of the resurrected Christ, we are all 
witnesses. This Jesus was seen. As Bruce 
writes, in asserting that Jesus of Nazareth had been so delivered 
and raised by God, Peter and his colleagues were making a 
claim which they could confirm by their personal ocular testimony. There's another word for you 
guys, ocular. What does that mean? Of or pertaining 
to the eyes or the operation of the eyes. the disciples were 
making a claim which they could confirm by their personal ocular 
testimony. Not vague rumors, not things 
that we have heard that maybe took place, but rather they, 
with their own eyes, witnessed the glory of the resurrected 
Christ. And we see this sort of language 
all throughout the New Testament. Not the scriptures being delivered 
to us in the flavor of once upon a time, not in the flavor of 
of feathered serpent myths of the native Indian histories, 
but we have it delivered to us, the scriptures, in the flavor 
of certainty, verity, infallible proofs. We want to look at four 
things as we look at the voracious history of our resurrected Savior 
and his gospel. The first is that the certainty 
of the content of the Herald's proclamation of the resurrected 
Christ is seen in the Lucan preambles. What does that mean? The introductory 
statements of Luke's two volumes, and you can turn to the first 
with me, Luke chapter one. We've had occasion to rehearse 
this before, but hopefully it is again one of those things 
you see as wholesome repetition. Rehearsing the glorious truth 
that the message of a living, dying, resurrected, and ascended 
Savior is not the stuff of myth, but the stuff of voracious history. Luke 1, beginning in verse 1, 
in as much as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative 
of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those 
who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered 
them to us, It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding 
of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, 
most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of 
those things in which you were instructed. You see, after that 
brief three verse preamble, four verse preamble, are you not as 
a Christian warmed with the certainty of the message of our Christ, 
that this is most certainly what took place so many years ago. This comes delivered to us, not 
in that flavor of once upon a time in a land far away, but rather 
it comes to us in the stuff of things that have been fulfilled. 
Things of eyewitnesses and ministers of the word. Things of perfect 
understanding. Things of orderly account. and 
things whereby we might know the certainty. You see the voracious 
history of the Christian message. This comes to the Christian and 
it warms our hearts and it ought to come to the hearts of the 
unbelieving non-Christians and it ought to land upon the heart 
and incite fear. This Christ, the story of this 
Christ is real. The story of this God is true. 
It is the case and I know this because of my conscience. that 
I have sinned against a God and that I am deserving of judgment. 
This Christ has risen from the dead and he will come to judge 
the living and the dead. And if I am not his, then I will 
enter into a life of everlasting torment and darkness. The certainty, 
the voracious history ought to hit the mark in the heart of 
the unbeliever, and it ought to arouse fear that they might 
end up landing upon belief in the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. 
So we see that not only in the first Lukean preamble, but turn 
to Acts, his second volume, Luke's. In the book of Acts, we move 
from a four-verse preamble to a three-verse preamble, but it's 
the same stuff. Glorious reiteration of the certainty 
of the Christian message. Notice what we find in Acts 1, 
beginning in verse 1. The former account I made, that's 
the book of Luke. The former account I made, O 
Theophilus, Of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until 
the day in which he was taken up, after he, through the Holy 
Spirit, had given commandments to the apostles whom he had chosen, 
to whom he also presented himself alive after his suffering by 
many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days, 
and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God." See this 
glorious weight that adds to the voracious history of the 
gospel message. These are things that are marked 
by Christ presenting himself by many infallible proofs and 
speaking to them during 40 days of the things pertaining to the 
kingdom of God. You see, Christianity is marked 
by voracious history. And so when Peter stands up on 
the day of Pentecost with great courage, a measure of that courage 
comes from the confidence that the scriptures themselves pointed 
forward to the fact that this Christ would come, but also he 
himself, with his own God-blessed eyes, laid them, eyes of sight, 
not of faith, he had faith, but eyes of sight upon the risen 
Christ. He saw this and gained much boldness and courage from 
it. Secondly, we see the certainty of the Herald's proclamation 
of a resurrected Christ in apostolic statements confirming eyewitness 
testimony. What do we have in the Gospel 
of John in his prologue? But we have the fact that in 
the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the 
Word was God, verse 1. Verse 14, and the Word became 
flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory as of the 
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 
Gill on that text writes, and not only were there some beams 
of his glory at his transfiguration, which were seen by the apostles, 
among which the evangelist John was one, and to which he may 
have here a particular reference, but even at his apprehension 
and death, and especially at his resurrection from the dead. 
In other words, this beholding of the glory, the word of God, 
who took to himself man's nature, with all the essential properties 
and common infirmities thereof, yet without sin, the glory of 
the God-man, it was seen not only at the transfiguration, 
not only at his arrest and death, but also and most certainly at 
the resurrection from the dead. Turn with me to 1 John. If you 
have your Bible at the ready and your fingers ready to flip 
pages, you want to turn to 1 John with me there because we're looking 
at apostolic statements confirming eyewitness testimony. We have 
again the witness of John elaborating upon what he wrote in the gospel. Notice 1 John 1.1, that which 
was from the beginning, which we have heard. which we have 
seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands 
have handled concerning the word of life. The life was manifested 
and we have seen and bear witness and declare to you that eternal 
life which was with the Father and was manifested to us. That 
which we have seen and heard we declare to you that you also 
may have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with 
the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. and these things we write 
to you, that your joy may be full. You see, there is no joyfulness 
resting upon a religion that has as its foundation vague rumors 
of some things that could have happened. You see, we write these 
things to you that your joy may be full. It's not only the stuff 
of the eyewitness realities of Christ, but that's a large part. 
of these opening words of the writer John, isn't it? We have 
seen, we have heard, our hands have handled the Word of Life, 
the capital W, Word of Life, the Lord Jesus Christ. These things we write to you 
that your joy may be full. Thirdly, we see the certainty 
of the content of the Herald's proclamation of a risen Christ 
in the narrative accounts of post-resurrection eyewitness 
testimony. Notice, remember in Luke 24, 
we rehearsed it a little bit this morning, but look, remember 
what's going on in Luke 24. Time and again, the resurrected 
savior has to stress the fact that he really is the resurrected 
savior. I'm not a specter. I'm not a 
phantom. I am actually here before you 
with flesh and bones. He says that, do you not? He first speaks to them. John, 
perhaps later as he's writing, he was one of the ones that for 
joy could not believe that this was the resurrected Christ. Later 
on, he'll write, our hands have handled, we've heard and we've 
seen. Jesus does. First he comes to him and he 
says, peace be with you. He appears to them and he speaks 
to them. Yet even with this one before them speaking, they still 
could not believe. And of course, he's there physically 
before them, so they're laying their eyes upon him. But yet, 
for joy, they still do not believe. He says, handle me and see, touch 
me, and see that it is I, I have flesh and bones. And yet, still, 
for joy, they would not believe. So then our gracious Savior does 
what? He eats some broiled fish and 
honeycomb with them, and he says, As you see, I'm eating these 
things. I'm paraphrasing now, but you've heard me. You've seen 
me. You've touched me. Now I eat 
before you. I am not a phantom. I am not a specter. I am the 
risen Christ. And then he gives him that glorious 
Bible study, the narrative accounts of the post resurrection eyewitness 
testimony. He was visibly present. He spoke. 
He showed them greater visible proof. He even suggested that 
they use the sense of touch to verify. And finally, he ate broiled 
fish and honeycombs. the voracious history of our 
Christ, his resurrection, and the glory of gospel truth. It's 
a text in 2 Peter that touches upon this very importantly, and 
it ought to add to the weight of courage that these texts all 
bring. You can turn there to 2 Peter. It should be well known, 
or this text should be well known to you. If it isn't, make it 
a well-known address of Holy Scripture, 2 Peter 1.16, because 
there we see Peter, remember, writing this epistle, he is the 
one there on the day of Pentecost, in great boldness proclaiming 
as Christ, and he writes in 2 Peter 1.16, For we did not follow cunningly 
devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. Isn't that a glorious statement? 
Isn't that a text that is like a crescendo building up to eyewitnesses 
of his majesty? For he received from God the 
Father honor and glory when such a voice came to him from the 
excellent glory. This is my beloved son in whom 
I am well pleased. And we heard this voice which 
came from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. 
John Calvin on this text writes, it gives us much courage when 
we know that we labor in a matter that is certain, lest then the 
faithful should think that in these labors they were beating 
the air. He now comes to set forth the 
certainty of the gospel, and he denies that anything had been 
delivered by him but what was altogether true and indubitable. And they were encouraged to persevere 
when they were sure of the prosperous issue of their calling. Isn't 
that wonderful, Christians? We have the joy of certainty. We have the courage of voracious 
history. Fourthly, and lastly, under the 
voracious history, we note that the certainty of the content 
of the Herald's proclamation is seen in Paul's argument for 
the certainty of the resurrection of the dead. You can turn to 
1 Corinthians as we finish off this first section of our preaching 
this evening, 1 Corinthians 15. Paul's argument for the certainty 
of the resurrection of the dead, remember again what's happening 
in Corinth. One of the many things that is 
going on in this church, beset by so many problems, is that 
some were being stolen away to entertain the idea that there 
is no resurrection of the dead. They're saying that there that 
some are saying some are coming in and saying that Christ or 
that there is no resurrection from the dead. And Paul will 
later in the text argue logically from logical argument to logical 
argument. If this, then that. If Christ 
has not risen, then it will. If the dead have not risen, then 
Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then 
really, to sum it up, there is no hope. There is no true faith. 
Our preaching is empty and we are of all men the most pitiable. 
But you see, he argues for the voracious history of this event. First, he goes to the scriptures, 
which again is our sole authority for faith and life. He goes to 
the scriptures in verse three and then follows it up with the 
eyewitness testimony. Notice in First Corinthians 15, 
verse three, for I delivered to you, first of all, that which 
I also received, that Christ died for our sins, according 
to the scriptures. and that he was buried, and that 
he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he 
was seen by Cephas, then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen 
by over 500 brethren at once, of whom the greater part remained 
to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that, he 
was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then, last of all, 
he was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time." You 
see the weight of the voracious history here of the risen Christ 
message of the gospel. It is not founded upon a foundation 
of vague rumors. It is founded upon, first and 
foremost, and remember again, the scriptures, the inerrant, 
infallible, God-breathed word of God. But it is founded upon 
the certainty of eyewitness testimony. There would have been those, 
well, Paul himself, but there would have been those, as he 
says here, the greater part remain to the present. Any doubters 
of the resurrection of the dead And by virtue of that, the resurrection 
of Christ could go to these and say, what did you see? I saw 
the glorious Christ resurrected from the dead and great triumph 
and victory saw the print of the nails, saw the marks on his 
feet. I saw those glorious marks of 
victory. This is not a vague rumor. These 
are not lies. These are not cunningly devised 
fables. These are. Verities upon verities, 
truths upon truths, he did most certainly rise from the dead 
as it was promised and as he promised. In the Christian gospel, 
to close this section up, brethren, we are to have the highest confidence 
because, and again, we don't as Christians rest upon vagaries 
and ambiguities. We as Christians rest upon the 
sure and certain word of God. which brings to us time and again 
the fact that this resurrected Christ had his glory laid upon 
by the eyes of many witnesses. This is John Calvin speaking 
again of this very thing. We now obtain certainty in another 
way. For though Christ has not risen 
before our eyes, yet we know by whom his resurrection has 
been handed down to us. And added to this is the inward 
testimony of conscience, the sealing of the spirit, which 
far exceeds all the evidence of the senses. But let us remember 
that the gospel was not at the beginning made up of vague rumors, 
but that the apostles were the authentic preachers of what they 
had seen. Christian take great, the highest 
confidence in our glorious gospel. Secondly, and lastly, then we're 
going to look now at the marvelous and sobering Christology if you 
can find your way back to the book of Acts. And I'm not just 
sort of haphazardly mounting adjectives upon adjectives when 
I say the marvelous and sobering Christology. Hopefully you'll 
see why I use those words as we look now at these blessed 
and weighty truths that are brought out by Peter in his sermon in 
Acts chapter 2. After we read the text, this 
Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses, actually 
beginning with that text and continuing. See, at least four 
marvelous and sobering truths with regards to the Lord Jesus 
Christ upon preaching the chief message of Christ crucified and 
risen upon the foundation of the scriptures and confirming 
it by by appealing to eyewitness testimony. The Herald Peter then 
brings to bear some weighty Christological truths, and there are four of 
them. The first is he has been risen. We've talked about this 
in fits and starts, hopefully wholesomely as we've examined 
the text, but now some special attention to this marvelous and 
sobering truth. He has been risen. First, it 
is marvelous and all of these things that are marvelous are 
for the Christian and for the believer. The fact that he has 
been risen is marvelous because our faith is not futile and our 
salvation is sure. You don't have to find your way 
back to 1 Corinthians, but you can if you'd like, because notice 
on this point, the point of the fact that this Jesus God has 
raised up the first marvelous and sobering truth. We have these 
words in 1 Corinthians 15 that I only alluded to. Our faith 
is not futile and our salvation is sure. Notice what we have 
here in 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 12. Now, if Christ is preached 
that he is been raised from the dead. How does some among you 
say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is 
no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And 
if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and our 
faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses 
of God because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ, 
whom he did not raise up, if in fact the dead do not rise. 
For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And 
if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile. You are still 
in your sins. Then also those who have fallen 
asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life we have only 
hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. You see 
the logical implications of these Corinthians rejecting the doctrine 
of the resurrection of the dead. If they do so, then Christ is 
not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then 
all of these things are true. But you see, Christ has risen. 
Remember, just as the scriptures promised in Peter's sermon, Psalm 
16, 2 Samuel 7, Psalm 110, by implication of the language used 
in his sermon, other texts, Psalm 2, Daniel 7, 13 and 14, many 
other texts. But all of that to say, we have 
the scriptural foundation, but we also have the voracious history, 
the eyewitness testimony, So what do we have this glorious, 
but in verse 20, but now Christ is risen from the dead and has 
become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Christ 
has risen from the dead. So our preaching is full. Our 
faith is full. We are not false witnesses, but 
the witnesses who are true. We have testified the truth that 
God did raise up Christ. He has risen him up. Christ is 
risen. Our faith is not futile. We are 
not still in our sins. Christ's resurrection of the 
dead, which is true, is a testament to the fact that he most certainly 
did bear in his own body our sins upon that tree. Now, we, 
having died to sin, will live for righteousness because by 
his stripes we are healed. The marvelous truth that Christ 
has been risen, as Peter declares in Acts 2.32, this Jesus God 
has raised up as seen in the fact that our faith is not futile 
and our salvation is sure. But you see, there is a sobering 
aspect to this truth as well. Marvelous for the saint of Christ, 
yet it is sobering for those who are outside of him. They 
no doubt understood the, or excuse me, the fact that the sobering 
truth is that he is the judge of the living and the dead. And 
this is something, this truth, is something that is vindicated 
by his resurrection, isn't it? In Acts 17, we find that very 
truth, that the fact of Christ, the fact that Christ is the judge 
of the living and the dead is testified by his triumphant, 
victorious resurrection from the dead. Notice at the end of 
Paul addressing the Areopagus in Acts 17, we see in verse 30, 
truly these times of ignorance God overlooked. but now commands 
all men everywhere to repent because he has appointed a day 
on which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom 
he has ordained. He has given assurance of this 
to all by raising him from the dead." You see, to reject Christ 
is to fall under the heavy gavel of the sovereign judge. to fall 
under the heavy hammer of this one who will come to judge the 
living and the dead. If you're safe in his arms, if 
you're safe by grace through faith in him, in his sovereign 
grip, never to be torn away, then blessed are you. But you 
see, if you do not believe in him, if you reject this Christ, 
God has given assurance of his judge, of the fact that he is 
a judge by raising him from the dead. And so the sobering truth 
is delivered by Peter, this Jesus God has raised up, of whom we 
are all witnesses. And so you, unbeliever, beware. You, unbeliever, do not be found 
among those on that great and horrible day when you'll be calling 
upon the rocks and the trees to fall on you, to hide you from 
the wrath of the Lamb. Believe and be found marveling 
in the glorious resurrected Christ. This is what Melito of Sardis 
has to say on this topic. Wonderful sermon he preached 
1600 years ago, something like that. Melito of Sardis, these 
words on the marvelous and sobering reality of a resurrected Christ. 
But he arose from the dead and mounted up to the heights of 
heaven. Perhaps you've heard me quote before a portion of 
his sermon. He speaks first concerning the 
crucifixion of Christ. He who fixed the stars in place 
was fixed in place upon a tree. This crucified Christ, it's a 
horrible thing to tell, but it's a horrible thing not to tell. 
He preaches the fact that Christ was put to death. God is murdered. 
The sovereign is insulted. Then he goes on to the glorious 
resurrection, but he arose from the dead and mounted up to the 
heights of heaven. When the Lord had clothed himself 
with humanity, he had suffered for the sake of the sufferer. 
And he had been bound for the sake of the imprisoned and he 
had been judged for the sake of the condemned and buried for 
the sake of the one who was buried. He rose up from the dead and 
cried aloud with his voice. Who is he who contends with me? Let him stand in opposition to 
me. I set the condemned man free. 
I gave the dead man life. I raised up the one who had been 
entombed. Who is my opponent? I, he says, 
am the Christ. I am the one who destroyed death 
and triumphed over the enemy and trampled Hades underfoot. 
and bound the strong one and carried off man to the heights 
of heaven. I, he says, am the Christ. Therefore, come all families 
of men, you who have been befouled with sins, and receive forgiveness 
for your sins. This is the Christ. This is the 
King. This is Jesus. This is the general. This is the Lord. This is the 
one who rose up from the dead. This is the one who sits at the 
right hand of the father. He bears the father and is born 
by the father to whom be the glory and the power forever. 
Amen. Powerful words. If we could only 
have one or two more, three more preachers preach like Melito 
of Sardis, the church would be in good shape. You see what we 
have here, though, the marvelous truth, the the things that ought 
to arouse us to a marveling, to an astonished state. This 
Jesus has risen. Our faith is not futile. Our 
salvation is sure. Who contends with this savior 
who has risen in great victory and triumph? No one. He has conquered 
death. He has conquered the strong man, 
the devil. He has conquered the grave. He's 
conquered Hades. This one. is the king. This one 
is the Christ. This is Jesus. But you see, if 
you oppose him, this sobering reality comes to bear. This is 
the general. You see, Christ has a military 
prowess unrivaled by the sons of men. And he will one day come 
riding valiantly. In fact, he already is. He has 
the double-edged sword protruding out of his mouth, whereby he 
puts to death those who oppose in obstinate rebellion. He makes 
alive those, cutting to the quick and making alive, quickening 
those who are his, subduing them in his sovereign riding upon 
the white steed. But you see, if you oppose him, 
he is a general. He comes with the other side 
of that sword, he cuts. He cuts and you're gone. You 
die in unbelief and rebellion and obstinance. There's no pleasant lot for you, 
but only torment of torments with the devil and his angels 
in that lake of fire reserved for an eternity of darkness. Secondly, we have this glorious, 
this marvelous and sobering Christology seen in the fact that he has 
been exalted to the right hand of God. Notice the text of Acts 
2 continues, therefore, verse 33, being exalted to the right 
hand of God. You see, that comes to our Christian 
minds and it lands there, and do we ruminate enough with that? Do we contemplate it enough? 
Do we let it roll around in our minds enough? Well, yeah, we 
know, therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, that's 
an ABC of Christianity, but pause to think about this for a moment. 
Christ is, for the Christian, the marvelous conqueror. Notice 
the text that's brought to bear here, verse 34. For David did 
not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, the Lord 
said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies 
your footstool. What a marvelous truth for the 
Christian. You see, because our enemies, the enemies of Christ, 
thought this one silenced. They thought him wrongly to be 
an insurrectionist and a blasphemer, and they thought him silence, 
this one who was preaching righteousness. This one who with every word 
that dropped from his lips only spoke verity and cut to the heart 
of his audience. This one has been silenced. This 
one who thought himself king. We pierced his skull with a crown 
of thorns. We beat him. We battered him. 
We hammered those Roman nails into the Roman gibbet of execution 
and now he's gone. You see, the Christian knows. Those crowns of thorns are really 
veiled in what they appear to be a crown of great victory. 
The blood dropping upon the ground isn't the end of this Christ, 
but rather it is a witness to the perfection of His saving 
work. And it's vindicated three days later, isn't it, by this 
Christ who rises from the grave and He's exalted to the right 
hand of God. And for the Christian, what a 
conqueror! But you see, the sobering truth 
is seen in this, that the audience here no doubt understood the 
implication of the scripture reference being quoted by Peter 
here. You see this? The Lord said to 
my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your 
footstool. What's Peter saying to these 
who aren't Christians? These who aren't of the sect 
of the Nazarene? What is Peter saying to these 
unbelieving Jews? You are the enemies who are made 
a footstool for the feet of this conquering Christ. You see, they 
might have in their own twisted messianic fervor or their own 
twisted religion, they're thinking that Christ is nowhere placed 
in this psalm, not at all. This is just another one that 
we've put to death, another one that we've silenced. You see, 
Peter is saying, this Jesus whom you crucified, God has made him 
both Lord and Christ. This is the one. to whom the 
Lord said, sit at my right hand to make your enemies your footstool." 
What a piercing truth. What a piercing truth. Calvin, on this, writes, it therefore 
appears to me that David figuratively attributes military prowess to 
Christ. I'll read on in a moment, but 
you see this, you know how Psalm 110 ends, right? This one who 
has been Exalted to the right hand of 
God, said to him, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies 
your footstool. He stops at the brook briefly to drink, and he 
lifts up his head. Calvin, speaking of this, takes 
the opinion, takes the interpretation, and I would side with him. It 
therefore appears to me that David figuratively attributes 
military prowess to Christ, declaring that he would not take time to 
refresh himself but would hastily drink of the river which might 
come in his way. This is designed to strike his 
enemies with terror, intimating to them the rapid approach of 
impending destruction. Should anyone be disposed to 
ask, where then is that spirit of meekness and gentleness with 
which the scripture elsewhere informs us he shall be endued? 
I answer that as a shepherd is gentle toward his flock, but 
fierce and formidable towards wolves and thieves, In like manner, 
Christ is kind and gentle towards those who commit themselves to 
his care, while they who willfully and obstinately reject his yoke 
shall feel with what awful and terrible power he is armed. You 
see what Peter is doing here. Remember, only 50 days ago, couldn't 
even confess the Nazarene Christ before a servant girl. Yet now 
he's telling this audience of unbelieving Jews that they are 
the ones under whom this Christ, whom you crucified, will press 
down his mighty boots of conquering power. Absolutely glorious. Marvelous for the Christian. 
Sobering. Sobering for those who are opposed 
to King Jesus and his glorious gospel. Thirdly, under the marvelous 
and sobering Christology, notice that we have this fact. He poured 
out the Holy Spirit upon the disciples, going back to verse 
33. Therefore, being exalted to the 
right hand of God and having received from the Father the 
promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this, which you now 
see in here. See, that would have been a marvelous 
truth. This sect of the Nazarene is 
the recipient of the blessings prophesied by Joel. Remember when we were looking 
at Jeremiah 9 last week, we came to this text and we noted that 
in opposition to that twisted Jewish proverb that the Shekinah 
glory of God only rests upon the wise, the mighty, and the 
rich. God works and rails against that, 
and he brings tongues of cloven flame upon menservants and maidservants 
of this sect of the Nazarene. It doesn't come to the Pharisees. 
It doesn't come to unbelieving and apostate Israel, who, of 
course, thought themselves believing and not apostate. But rather, 
it comes to this sect of the Nazarene because it is the law 
and the prophets and the Psalms that pointed forward to this 
Nazarene. And it is those scriptures that 
pointed called men and said things like verse 21 of Acts 2, it shall 
come to pass that whoever calls on the name of that Lord, the 
Lord Jesus Christ, shall be saved. What a glorious truth for this 
gathered sect. They're recipients of rejection, 
mockery, and persecution, yet they are the ones who are the 
recipients of the promise of Joel. Glorious, but you see again 
a sobering truth. The prophecy was not only about 
the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, You see, if they got this, if 
the unbelieving Jewish audience got the sobering and weighty 
reality of this, the most horrible thing in this 
is not that they were not the recipients of tongues of clove 
and flame, the spirit empowering them to speak and prophesy and 
do great things for the kingdom, but rather the most horrible 
thing would follow after that, verse 19 of Acts 2, I will show 
wonders in heaven above. and signs in the earth beneath, 
blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into 
darkness and the moon into blood before the coming of the great 
and awesome day of the Lord. You see, the outpouring of the 
Jesus Christ is pouring out the promise of the Holy Spirit. And 
it is unto the speaking in other tongues so that the gathered 
multitude might hear in their own languages the wonderful works 
of God. But you see, it is also to deliver 
this truth that this judgment is coming. You see, the tongues 
were ultimately given and they were a sign of impending doom. 
They were calling upon the gathered nations to call upon the name 
of the Lord and be saved. And if you do not, if you reject, 
then you will fall under the sobering judgment of the sun 
being turned into darkness, the moon into blood. before the coming 
and awesome day of the Lord. And you see, those aren't things 
that we are to take there, literally, the sun being darkened and the 
moon being turned into blood and all of those things, but 
rather with Gil, we are to understand of verse 19 and 20, when he shall 
come in power, God is Christ and great glory, as he did in 
a few years after this to take vengeance on the Jews and destroy 
their nation, city, and temple, in which there was a display 
of His greatness and power, and which was awful and terrible 
to them, as in Joel it is called." You see the sobering reality, 
the sobering Christology here. Christ is the one who, yes, has 
poured out these blessings of the Holy Spirit to preach the 
rich things of Christ, but He's also the one who poured out this 
Spirit, which is a promise of coming judgment and doom upon 
those who would reject Him and ultimately put the Lord of Glory 
to death. Lastly and finally, we have this 
marvelous and sobering Christological truth. He has been given all 
authority in heaven and on earth. Verse 36, notice, Therefore let 
all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this 
Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. You see, it 
says later that with many other words, Peter preached and exhorted 
and those sorts of things, but I think we have here in verse 
36, we have sort of a, at least in the text before us, a final 
nail being driven into the consciences of these people, a nail of guilt, 
don't we? Therefore, let all the house 
of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus whom 
you crucified, both Lord and Christ. He has been given all 
authority in heaven and on earth, and what is the Herald Peter 
saying here? By implication, among other things, 
but get the weight of what he is saying. Remember, these are 
the ones that only 50 days ago thought that they had silenced 
this Jesus Christ. He was, they would have cast 
their unbelieving eyes upon this bloody massacre upon a Roman 
gibbet, the cross, And they would have, they were, spitting upon 
him, mocking him, laughing at him. Save yourself, come down 
from the cross. Mocking, thinking that they had 
silenced this Jesus. He's a bloody massacre upon Calvary's 
tree. And this Peter is saying that 
this one has now been exalted to the right hand of the majesty 
on high? This is the one that has been 
made both Lord and Christ? Yes. the one whom you crucified 
has been exalted to the right hand of the majesty on high. 
He rules and he reigns to subdue the elect to win their hearts 
to himself and he rules in military prowess to destroy those who 
would oppose him and his righteous government and his glorious gospel. 
What a sobering reality. The Herald Peter is saying that 
this is the one, the king, that has been set upon Mount Zion. Remember what's going on in Psalm 
2, what the psalmist writes there. The kings of the earth set themselves, 
and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against 
his Christ, saying, let us cut his cords and cast away his bonds 
from us. But you see, what's the report 
that follows after that? He who sits in the heavens shall 
laugh. The Lord shall hold them in derision. 
Then the reply comes. Then he shall speak to them in 
his wrath and distress them in his deep displeasure. Yet I have 
set my king on my holy hill of Zion. The one whom they crucified, 
the one whom they thought they silenced, was the promised suffering 
servant, the Christ of Israel. He is the one who now has been 
elevated to the right hand of the majesty on high, given dominion 
and glory in a kingdom. You see this nail of guilt driven 
into their consciences, verse 36. We read in verse 37, what 
a glorious thing. Now, when they heard this, they 
were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the 
apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? You see the The 
purpose of the preacher's proclamation is to be unto that end. People 
cry out, men and brethren, what shall we do? The message is to 
cut to the heart in order to elicit a response. There's nothing 
worse than a than an apathetic, indifferent audience sitting 
there hearing something and kind of getting up and leaving. We 
want the message to cut to the heart, but you see, it's going 
to cut to the heart in two ways. You're either going to cry out, 
men and brethren, what shall we do? Or you're going to be 
like those who murdered godly Stephen. They were cut to the 
heart and then they frothed at the mouth and gnashed at them 
with their teeth and ran after him with murderous rage and put 
that holy and just one to death. I don't mean holy and just like 
Christ. Those are the words Stephen uses of Christ. But he was just 
in the sense that he was with Christ. Not deserving of this 
murderous execution. And he was holy in the sense 
that he was set apart by the Spirit. unto his diaconal work 
and his proclamation of the glorious Christ. You see what we're getting 
at here? These messages brought to bear by preachers in the book 
of Acts are to cut to the heart, and if you're here tonight, is 
the message cutting to your heart? You know what sobering Christology 
means? It means that these truths, these 
verities, are to come to you, and they are to remedy your inebriation 
upon your own deceitfulness and folly and madness and rejecting 
such a glorious Christ and such a glorious Savior. You see, you 
are inebriated in the folly of your unbelief to reject such 
a glorious message, the voracious history, the scriptural attestation. This is the word of the living 
and true God. You're going to handle it as 
a dusty tome of antiquated truths, not even to be given the time 
of day. They disclose this Christ who has been exalted, who has 
been raised, who has now been exalted, who rules and reigns 
with dominion and glory in a kingdom. Are you going to leave here and 
say no to this savior, to this Jesus? You're going to fly the 
banner of those who crucified him, who mocked him? Essentially, 
that's what you're doing when you reject this glorious one. 
May he, unlike he was to those who remained in rebellion, be 
to you, whether crucified, raised or ascended, the one who is altogether 
lovely and chief among 10,000. Might you close with him because 
he is the one who by his resurrection has been given the rule and authority 
to judge the living and the dead. Don't leave here without closing 
with Christ. Don't leave here without believing 
on the only one who can save you from your sins. I think we 
do think of sin lightly. And I'm certain that we think 
of hell lightly. If you're out there and you're 
in unbelief and you're rejecting this Christ, you think hell is 
just maybe a little bit worse than Afghanistan? It's probably 
not all that nice there. It's hot. It's desert. It's red 
rock. It's kind of like mountain home 
Idaho. Lots of bare mountains, some 
heat, and not a whole lot to look at. Violence, war, all those 
sorts of things. You know what? It might not be 
too bad. If I like my sins on earth, man, maybe I'll like hell. 
No, you won't. No, you won't. Eternity upon 
eternity. Day upon day, if we can even 
speak that language about eternity. You'll look up, your tormented 
soul, the horrors of hell. You'll look up at that banner 
that flies. damned for all eternity. Why dangle upon this message 
of a glorious Christ? Why wait? Why tarry? Why put it off? Close with Christ 
tonight. Believe on the one who is glorious. 
Believe on this one and marvel. Don't be inebriated in your folly. 
Be sobered by this Christology and marvel at the King of Kings 
and Lord of Lords. And when you enter into the eschaton, 
to Emmanuel's land, Look upon the Savior now with eyes of sight. 
Sing his praises forever. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, 
we thank you for what your Bible discloses to us concerning Christ. We thank you for the revelation 
of the Savior, the one who came into this world, sinners to save. 
We rejoice in him, Lord, and we thank you for the fact that 
he saved us. We have not saved ourselves, 
we cannot, nor could we have saved ourselves, but rather, 
Lord God, that you sent him in the fullness of the times, born 
of a woman and born under the law, redeem those who are under 
the law. He came into this world sinners 
to save and we thank you that by grace and for your glory we 
can call upon the name of the Lord and be saved knowing that 
he is our surety, perfection of redemption. We would pray 
Lord God though for those now who are outside of Christ in 
unbelief that you would come to them swiftly now upon the 
wings of victorious grace, that you would remove those hearts 
of stone and replace them with hearts of flesh that beat for 
the Savior. Pray, Lord God, that you would today make this the 
day of salvation, and that you would cause sinners to leave 
this place singing the praises of our blessed Christ. We pray 
that you would go with us now, that you'd help us to close as 
we sing doxology, that we would rightfully sing in spirit and 
in truth praises to our God, and that we would go into this 
upcoming week having been blessed, having been equipped to live 
in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. And it is in Christ's 
name that we pray. Amen.