Acts Chapter 3; Sign and Sermon

Sign – Sermon

What do you mean sign?   

A sign is something miraculous done by God to confirm the Message of God. 

[Mar 16:20 ESV] And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.]]

[Heb 2:2 ESV] For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution,

[Heb 2:3 ESV] 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,

[Heb 2:4 ESV] while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

The Sign: 

[Act 3:1 ESV] Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.

[Act 3:2 ESV] And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple.

[Act 3:3 ESV] Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms.

[Act 3:4 ESV] And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, "Look at us."

[Act 3:5 ESV] And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.

[Act 3:6 ESV] But Peter said, "I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!"

[Act 3:7 ESV] And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.

[Act 3:8 ESV] And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

[Act 3:9 ESV] And all the people saw him walking and praising God,

[Act 3:10 ESV] and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

[Act 3:11 ESV] While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's.

The Audience of this sermon:

Jews who knew all about Jesus and his Execution. 

Many of them may have been the ones shouting Crucify Him. 

They knew about the missing body from the tomb. 

They knew Jesus’ disciples were misfit, uneducated, foul mouth, blue collar workers, who ran when Jesus was executed. 

And now here are two of them, where did they come from?  

And they apparently just did a miracle. 

Oh, and one of them is about to speak. 

Sermon:

[Act 3:12 ESV] And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: "Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?

[Act 3:13 ESV] The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him.

Holy One:   

[Act 3:14 ESV] But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,

[Psa 16:10 ESV] For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.

Author of Life.  Prince of Life.  

[Act 3:15 ESV] and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.

[Jhn 1:1 ESV] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

[Jhn 1:2 ESV] He was in the beginning with God.

[Jhn 1:3 ESV] All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

[Jhn 1:4 ESV] In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

[Jhn 1:5 ESV] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

[Act 3:16 ESV] And his name--by faith in his name--has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

Who Gets the Glory?  Is it a general term God? No, we must say the name!  Jesus!

[Act 3:17 ESV] "And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers.

[Act 3:18 ESV] But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled.

[Act 3:19 ESV] Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,

Note:   Sins may be blotted out!

[Heb 8:12 ESV] For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more."

[Heb 10:17 ESV] then he adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."

Peter is quoting Jeremiah

[Jer 31:34 ESV] And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."

Remember every other religion, and people in general say.  

I’m not perfect.

I’ve done my best.

God will have to judge me according to my works. 

Problem:

They want God to remember their sins. 

You want to be judged by the Perfect Eternal God on a comparison of your own evil vs good. 

The scale of right and wrong. 

There is a logical problem here. 

The standard isn’t some sort of scale with a vague neutral center. 

The Standard is perfection.

So you fail at one point, you have failed utterly. 

God will see and remember your sins and being a perfect Judge will punish you according to your inability to be perfect. 

We do not want God to Judge us according to our imperfection.

When God remembers, God Judges Perfectly. That’s bad news for us. 

[Jer 14:10 ESV] Thus says the LORD concerning this people: "They have loved to wander thus; they have not restrained their feet; therefore the LORD does not accept them; now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins."

[Hos 8:13 ESV] As for my sacrificial offerings, they sacrifice meat and eat it, but the LORD does not accept them. Now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins; they shall return to Egypt.

[Hos 9:9 ESV] They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah: he will remember their iniquity; he will punish their sins.

The Great Commission w/ warning. 

[Mar 16:15 ESV] And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.

[Mar 16:16 ESV] Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Back to the Peter’s Sermon! 

[Act 3:19 ESV] Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,

[Act 3:20 ESV] that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus,

[Act 3:21 ESV] whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.

Holy Prophet Line Up! 

[Act 3:22 ESV] Moses said, 'The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you.

[Act 3:23 ESV] And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.'

[Act 3:24 ESV] And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days.

[Act 3:25 ESV] You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.'

[Act 3:26 ESV] God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness."

How did people respond to this sermon?

Beginning with a Miracle,

Jesus demonstrated from their own Bible. 

People who were there when Jesus was murdered. 

[Act 4:1 ESV] And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,

[Act 4:2 ESV] greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

[Act 4:3 ESV] And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.

[Act 4:4 ESV] But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.

How do you respond? 

Repulsion Or Receiving. 

Indifference Or Difference. 

Does Jesus compel you?

See the slides here