The Gospel of the Resurrection- Acts

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the central message of the Christian gospel, especially in the Book of Acts. The apostles consistently proclaimed not only Christ’s death for sins but His bodily resurrection as the decisive proof that He is Lord and Messiah. They supported this message through eyewitness testimony, fulfillment of Old Testament Scripture, and the present power of the Holy Spirit working among them. This resurrection empowered their bold preaching despite persecution, brought thousands to faith, and confirmed both the promise of salvation and the reality of coming judgment. The proper response, therefore, is to repent, believe in Christ, and receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

Bible Insights with  Wayne Conrad
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Transcript

Title:  The Gospel of the Resurrection- Acts

Date: April 10, 2026

Scripture: Acts 2:24-32; 10:40-43

AI TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to Bible Insights with Wayne Conrad. God's word is a lamp to our feet and a light on our path. 

Today's gospel is the gospel of the resurrection. I want us to take a little dive into the book of Acts, the first half of it, concerning the witness of the apostles to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because the good news of the Christian faith is that Jesus Christ came, the incarnate God, a human being, the man Christ Jesus, who gave his life up as a vicarious sacrifice to atone for our sins.

He was buried, suffering the full penalty of the wages of sin is death. And on the third day, he rose again from the dead. Incarnate in a body, he suffered and died in that body. He was raised in that body that's now immortal and glorified. He ascended into heaven where he is today, awaiting the time of his return. In between, he is sent as his vicar on earth, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the representative of Christ on earth. And he, who is also God, brings to us the very presence of the living Christ.

The Book of Acts has been called the Gospel of the Resurrection, and I think that's a very appropriate title, because in the early church, the primary message was about the resurrection of Christ. So, this wasn't just a theological point they're making, it was the heart of their sermons, it was the heart of their exhortation, it was the fuel for their gospel witness. So I want us to look first at Acts and the evidence that the apostles speak of concerning the resurrection of Christ. Because they didn't ask the people to have blind faith. They proclaimed the word of God and called the people to have faith in Jesus who was suffered and died under Pontius Pilate, and he was raised from the dead by God the Father. They presented the evidence on three pillars.

The first is the witness, their eyewitness of Jesus Christ. For the 12 apostles, there was the 11 original and then the 12th one that was added was Mattathias. They were all witnesses of Christ from the time of his baptism in John until his ascension into heaven. So all of them are eyewitnesses to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

They saw him during that 40-day period in which he came and went among them, often eating meals with them and spending many hours preaching, teaching them. about himself from the prophets, the Psalms, and the writings of Moses. So, they knew they hadn't seen some kind of spirit or ghost. They seen and talked to the same Jesus they had known for those three years.

He was in the flesh, glorified with the marks of his resurrection upon his body. They ate and drank with Jesus after he rose. And so now they stand before the people in Acts and they proclaim, we are witnesses of these things. We have seen the risen Christ.

Then they pointed to the scripture. They would take them to the prophets or the Psalms and show how the scriptures had testified about the Christ. how that he would die and that he would be raised from the dead, that he would be resurrected. And so the resurrection of Jesus was a fulfillment of the ancient prophecies, such as the prophecy of David in Psalm 16, where he says that God's Holy One would not see decay. And finally, they pointed to the presence of the living Christ moving among them and through them in the power of the Holy Spirit. So the apostles realized that the risen Christ was with them by the presence of the Spirit. And this was all in fulfillment of Jesus' words in the upper room on the day before he was crucified. He told them that he would send the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit would testify about him. The Holy Spirit would bring to their remembrance what He has said and did. The Holy Spirit would be with them to bring the very presence of the risen and ascended Christ to them.

Now, all of this is presented to us in the sermon summaries that are given to us in the book of Acts. But I want you to consider Acts chapter one. And if you have a Bible, or if you want to look it up while I'm speaking to you, you can follow along with me. In Acts chapter one, the book opens noting that after his suffering, Jesus presented himself alive to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. Notice in Acts 1-3, and he that is Jesus presented himself alive to them after his sufferings by many proofs appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

Then when they needed to replace Judas with Mattathias, the requirement of this one who would come to take the place of the apostate apostle, Judas, was that he must be a witness with them, the 11, from the baptism of John by Jesus in the Jordan until the day when he was taken up from us. One of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection. Then some 10 days later, that is after the ascension of Christ, some 10 days later, when the day of Pentecost came, which was a feast in the Old Testament, on that day the Lord Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to the early church, the early believers, 120 of them were noted, who received the Spirit with manifest signs on that particular day.

This commotion of praise and declarations caused the crowds to come together. And as the crowds came together in the temple courts, Peter stood up with the eleven and preached the word of God to them. and he bore witness to them of the Lord Jesus Christ. So this is the first Christian sermon, we could say, the first Pentecost sermon. On the day of Pentecost, the first full-blooded Christian sermon is preached by the Apostle Peter himself. He begins with these words. Men of Israel, hear these words.

Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with 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 for knowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, losing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be helped by it. And so he goes on to declare more about the Lord Jesus Christ. And then he concludes with the words that follow. Being therefore a prophet, talking about David, and knowing that God has sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on the throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that is, the Messiah, 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. Therefore, being exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He's poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him, that's Jesus of Nazareth, both Lord and Christ, Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.

And when they heard this message from Peter and the rest of the apostles, they cried out, what shall we do? And Peter said, repent and be baptized. That is, immerse every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And that day, some 3,000 who heard the message believed and were baptized.

Soon thereafter, Peter and John are going up to the temple to pray at the usual hours of prayer. And as they ascended the steps into the temple, there was a lame man there who begged for alms. He begged for a contribution to help him. But Peter and John didn't have any money or coins with them. But Peter told him, I don't have any money with me, but what I do have, I will give to you.

And then because the power of the Holy Spirit came upon him, the risen Christ acted through him and he told the man to rise up and walk. And the man rose up and walked, a great miracle, physical miracle immediately that occurred. Well, this caused the people to run together in the temple because they had seen this man, they knew what was happening. And Peter then, seizing the opportunity, preaches Christ to them.

And he says the following words concerning Jesus. He says, the God of our fathers, The God of Jacob glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the author of life whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And then he goes on to bring out evidences.

I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers, but what God had foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ, his Messiah, would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent, therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, and the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. So that's the message here. You see, the message of the resurrection is front and center in the message about Jesus Christ.

You see, if Jesus was killed by the Romans after having been delivered to them by the Jewish leaders, and he just remained dead, he couldn't save anybody. And he would not be a Lord. He certainly would not be a ruler. He would be a dead man in a cave. but he didn't remain there.

On the third day, he rose from the dead. And for 40 days, he manifested himself to his disciples and to chosen witnesses, some 500 at one time, 1 Corinthians 15 tells us. So under different days and different circumstances, Jesus appeared, not as a ghost, but in the body that could be heard, that could be seen, that could be felt, that ate and was manifest among them.

Well, this commotion to witness of Christ on the steps of the temple as they were going in caused the Jewish rulers to react. And so they arrested Peter and John, and they brought them before the council, the Sanhedrin. And they commanded them to not be teaching in the name of Jesus. And they wanted to know exactly what had happened. And so, They gathered together in Jerusalem with a high priest and Caiaphas, and they set Peter and John in their midst. And what did Peter and John do? They testified to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Here's what they said, Acts 4, verse 10. Let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.

And there is their salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. When they were commanded the next day not to speak in this name, Peter and John answered them, we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.

They continued to threaten them with punishment, but the men went forth from that meeting and continued to preach the gospel. In fact, they returned upon their release to the believers that were gathered together praying for them at that very hour. And this prayer is recorded for us in Acts chapter 4 beginning at verse 23. But he tells us as a result of that prayer the following, and when they had prayed the place in which they were gathered together was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

So. The threats of the Sanhedrin did not stop the gospel. In Acts chapter 4, I mean, sorry, in Acts chapter 5, we have another testimony of the apostles. Again, Acts chapter 5 and then look with me at the following verses. Again, they're brought before the council. And in Acts chapter five, beginning at verse 17, the apostles are arrested and then subsequently free. But while they are there, verse 29, but Peter and the apostles answered, we must obey God rather than men.

The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you kill by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him in his right hand as leader and savior to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things. And so is the Holy Spirit who God has given to those who obey him." Notice that every time they present the message of Jesus, they not only present his death on behalf of sinners, but they always include the message of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. They testify, the God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead, whom you killed by hanging on a cross, but God raised from the dead. And the result is that if you believe in him, if you take him as your Lord, as your Savior, then you too can receive forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life.

In Acts chapter 10, we have Peter going to the home of the Gentiles. So this is the first outreach of the gospel specifically to the Gentiles. Now Philip had gone to Samaria, but those are half Jews. and half mixed. But here they go, Peter goes specifically into the house of Cornelius, a Gentile, a Roman, but he is sent there by God. That was a miraculous thing.

You can read about it all in Acts 10. And if you haven't read Acts lately, please pick up the Bible. no more appropriate reading after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and to read the book of Acts, where you can see the living Christ moving through the apostles as the gospel goes forth from Jerusalem into Samaria and Judea and to the Gentile world. In Acts chapter 10, preaching to the Gentiles at Cornelius' house, Peter says the following. Look at Acts chapter 10 and verse 40.

They, that is the Jewish rulers, put him, Jesus, to death by hanging him on a tree. But God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people, but to us who have been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be the judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. So, notice that they appeal not only to Christ moving among them with the miracles, but they appeal specifically to the scriptures and to the prophecies that were given about the Christ. So, Peter testifies that Jesus is the Messiah, that he is the one appointed the judge of all, the prophets bear witness to them, so the scriptures are bearing witness to them, so that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name. That's just the first half of the book of Acts.

In a subsequent podcast, we'll look at Paul, Christ Jesus' great trophy, which is also a result and evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. So you can see here from these great sermons and testimonies and acts that Jesus Christ's resurrection is at the very center and heart of the Christian gospel.

It is the verification that Jesus Christ is who he claimed to be. And it is the presence of the resurrected Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. then enabled the early believers who were devastated by the death of Christ, but having seen him alive, to have great boldness and overcome their fear to proclaim the gospel, so that multitudes are now swept into the kingdom of God by believing the message that God has given of his son. The resurrection of Christ was the vindication of who Christ is. It proved that Jesus was the Messiah as he claimed to be. And he gave the believers boldness so that they could fearlessly witness for him even in the face of death.

But it also warns all who hear the message that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is proof that there is a day of judgment coming and that the judge at the end of time will be the Lord Jesus Christ himself. But there is hope in the midst of this message that those who receive the risen Christ through faith in his name, Repentance of sin, turning from sin and wickedness and self-centeredness to God as revealed in Jesus Christ will result in the forgiveness of sin and the gift of eternal life being justified freely in the name of Jesus Christ. 

This has been Wayne Conrad with Bible Insights, declaring Jesus Christ, Lord, risen from the dead.