WEBVTT 00:00:00.719 --> 00:00:02.080 Morning, everybody. 00:00:02.959 --> 00:00:03.919 My name is Matt. 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:12.240 I'm one of the associate pastors here at Redeemer, and it's my pleasure and honor to get to bring the word this morning. 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:16.879 One of the podcasts, I like to listen to lots of different types of podcasts. 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:19.120 One of them recently did something fun. 00:00:19.199 --> 00:00:28.719 They they live in the two hosts of the show live in different cities, actually different countries, and they decided to try to put a Lego set together from two different places. 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:30.399 So they bought the same Lego set. 00:00:30.559 --> 00:00:34.240 One guy had the instructions, one guy had the pieces. 00:00:34.479 --> 00:00:40.560 And so you got to listen to one guy try to explain to the other guy how to put this thing together. 00:00:40.719 --> 00:00:45.600 Now, if you've put together Lego sets anytime recently, you can imagine. 00:00:45.759 --> 00:00:52.479 And this was, you know, this was a modern, complicated uh Star Wars Lego set. 00:00:52.640 --> 00:01:02.960 So it was hilarious to listen to and deeply frustrating for the guy with the pieces, and actually pretty frustrating for the guy with the instructions. 00:01:03.200 --> 00:01:11.599 And I couldn't help as I listened to this entertaining podcast, that uh it felt a lot like the Christian life. 00:01:11.840 --> 00:01:12.239 Right? 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:25.120 Like there's someone who feels very far away, who has the instructions, who knows what's happening, but I'm just here with these broken pieces, trying to put my life together. 00:01:25.439 --> 00:01:27.280 And sometimes it's hilarious. 00:01:27.680 --> 00:01:30.319 Most of the time it's frustrating. 00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:32.159 Uh, can I get an amen? 00:01:32.959 --> 00:01:33.359 All right. 00:01:33.439 --> 00:01:37.920 Well, today we're looking at two whole chapters in the book of Acts. 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:40.640 Uh I take this responsibility myself. 00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:42.480 Russ assigned me this section. 00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:46.719 He said, you can preach three verses if you want, or you can preach the whole two chapters. 00:01:46.799 --> 00:01:50.799 And I couldn't help myself, so we're going through the whole two chapters. 00:01:50.879 --> 00:01:52.719 Uh, but but there's a reason. 00:01:52.879 --> 00:01:53.840 There's a reason. 00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:58.159 Um there's a benefit to looking at large chunks of scripture, right? 00:01:58.239 --> 00:02:06.319 There's the forest and there are the trees, and both are instructive to us in understanding God, understanding ourselves, understanding the word. 00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:15.759 So today we are going to pass at a high level over these two chapters to see what King Jesus is up to. 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:22.240 And uh, as kind of a teaser, the name of this sermon is a royal showdown. 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:25.520 So listen for the story of royalty. 00:02:25.759 --> 00:02:31.439 Last week we looked at Acts chapter 10, the story of the conversion of Cornelius. 00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:52.080 Why that was significant was Cornelius was a Gentile, he was a Greek, he was not Jewish, he was not a son of Abraham, but an angel of the Lord came specifically intentionally to Cornelius in a vision and instructed him to call the apostle Peter to come and preach the gospel to him. 00:02:52.240 --> 00:03:03.599 At the same time, Jesus was appearing to the apostle Peter in a vision and preparing him for this call that was about to come to preach the gospel to this Gentile. 00:03:03.759 --> 00:03:06.960 And so he goes, Cornelius receives the gospel. 00:03:07.199 --> 00:03:11.599 More importantly, he receives the Holy Spirit, him and his household. 00:03:11.680 --> 00:03:13.680 Uh and it was pretty amazing. 00:03:13.919 --> 00:03:18.479 Peter was, to say the least, confused and astounded. 00:03:18.639 --> 00:03:32.560 Now, in chapter 11, where we are today, Peter returns to Jerusalem and he reports this unusual event to the powers that be, the other apostles, the other elders of the church, the headquarters of this new church in Jerusalem. 00:03:32.719 --> 00:03:40.879 Now, when the church hears this report, they are also surprised and a little troubled that Peter is fraternizing with the enemy. 00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:57.039 It's important for me to remind you that the Jews and the Gentiles at this time, not only were they kind of separate because of religious reasons, ceremonial laws of the Jews, but the Jews actually looked down on and they considered Gentiles to be kind of repugnant. 00:03:57.120 --> 00:04:05.520 And it added salt in the wound that Gentiles had ruled over God's people for hundreds of years at this point. 00:04:07.039 --> 00:04:10.879 And so again, they were troubled to hear this. 00:04:11.439 --> 00:04:19.040 And so Peter tells the whole story again, and just some biblical whatever information. 00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:23.360 You know, paper was expensive 2,000 years ago. 00:04:23.519 --> 00:04:34.160 So the fact that this story is told in Acts chapter 10 and then basically repeated in chapter 11 means that this was a significant and important story. 00:04:34.319 --> 00:04:38.959 And the reason Peter tells the story again is to show that this wasn't his idea. 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:42.000 This was King Jesus' idea. 00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:44.319 And then Luke writes this. 00:04:49.839 --> 00:04:59.759 And they glorified God, saying, Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life. 00:05:00.720 --> 00:05:11.519 They were shocked into silence, and then they erupted in praise that God's grace would extend beyond the bounds of Israel. 00:05:11.759 --> 00:05:15.519 Now, this is a watershed moment in the history of the church. 00:05:15.680 --> 00:05:30.160 The water has already been shed, but here, back in Jerusalem, God's people, including the apostles, are beginning to understand that things are different than they had previously understood. 00:05:30.319 --> 00:05:35.759 Up to this point, the Jews believed that God's intentions and blessings and covenants were for them. 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:38.879 They were God's chosen people. 00:05:39.839 --> 00:05:48.000 And yet now they begin to burst forth into the world of the Gentiles. 00:05:49.279 --> 00:05:56.639 And so they're beginning to see Jesus' plans were far beyond anything that they had previously thought or imagined. 00:05:56.720 --> 00:06:01.279 It takes me back to the end of Jesus' ministry, right before he's about to ascend. 00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:09.279 The disciples, the apostles themselves, they say, Now, now, Jesus, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel? 00:06:09.439 --> 00:06:23.360 You see, even then, after Jesus' death and resurrection, their expectations were set by hundreds and hundreds of years of Jewish history, the kingdom of David, the kingdom of Israel, the nation of Israel. 00:06:23.920 --> 00:06:25.920 That brings us to point number one. 00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:36.240 God's love is promiscuous and open, inviting all who would to come and to receive repentance that leads to life. 00:06:36.399 --> 00:06:44.639 This was true then, as shocking as it was to these Jewish Christians, and it's true today. 00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:54.560 Anyone here in this room within the boundaries of the preaching of the gospel, God's invitation goes out. 00:06:54.639 --> 00:06:55.279 It doesn't matter. 00:06:55.439 --> 00:07:07.120 As we've already sung, it doesn't matter what you've done, who you are, God invites you into loving, intimate relationship with Him even this morning. 00:07:07.279 --> 00:07:11.199 Now I choose that word promiscuous intentionally. 00:07:11.279 --> 00:07:12.399 It's a little provocative. 00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:27.680 I don't mean it in the sense of unfaithful, quite the opposite, but I do mean it in its expanded meaning of indiscriminate, non-exclusive, or to use Peter's own words, making no distinction. 00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:32.480 But I also choose that word because of the way the Jews experienced it. 00:07:32.639 --> 00:07:37.360 They did experience it viscerally as unfaithfulness. 00:07:38.560 --> 00:07:50.800 God, who had spoken of himself as a loving and devoted husband throughout the Old Testament prophets, is now extending that love beyond the bounds of Israel. 00:07:51.839 --> 00:08:00.480 Think for a moment, who would it shock you to hear this morning that they had received repentance unto life? 00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:06.399 Shock you, because that's exactly what's happening at this point in the story. 00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:22.720 While the story continues, Luke reminds us in the very next verses about the great persecution that erupted after the death of Stephen four or five chapters earlier in the book of Acts, that many of these new Jewish Christians were dispersed. 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:26.639 They spread throughout the Roman Empire. 00:08:26.720 --> 00:08:35.600 And as Deborah read earlier, Luke tells us that they traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 00:08:35.919 --> 00:08:37.519 But there were some of them. 00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:47.600 Oh, it's so fascinating. 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:54.480 What is it about these certain men, these certain people from Cyprus and Cyrene? 00:08:54.559 --> 00:08:56.639 When they came to Antioch, they couldn't help themselves. 00:08:56.799 --> 00:08:59.759 Maybe it was just in conversation, maybe it was over a lunch break. 00:08:59.919 --> 00:09:01.840 Who knows what the circumstances were? 00:09:02.320 --> 00:09:09.519 But the good news about King Jesus, the coming and promised Messiah, began to spill out again. 00:09:09.600 --> 00:09:17.200 It's a parallel to the story of the Gentile from chapter 10. 00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:28.399 The story gets out, it's almost like a virus that breaks the bounds and it begins to spread all over the world. 00:09:28.559 --> 00:09:31.039 Now this is happening in two different locations. 00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:34.000 And again, it brings us to a similar point, number two. 00:09:34.240 --> 00:09:36.320 King Jesus is at work here. 00:09:36.720 --> 00:09:42.399 Spreading the boundaries of his kingdom, overtaking the kingdom of darkness. 00:09:42.960 --> 00:09:50.720 What's important is for us to see here what I'm emphasizing, which is that this was not the apostles' plan. 00:09:51.440 --> 00:09:54.480 This was not their understanding, this was not their intention. 00:09:54.639 --> 00:10:00.480 They were intentionally speaking the gospel, preaching the gospel to other Jews, because that was their understanding. 00:10:00.559 --> 00:10:08.320 They weren't necessarily trying to withhold it from the Gentiles, they were seeking to be faithful to what they felt God had taught them. 00:10:08.480 --> 00:10:18.960 And yet here, Jesus is doing his work, expanding the bounds of his kingdom. 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:27.200 And this is our understanding of the whole message of the book of Acts. 00:10:27.360 --> 00:10:28.399 This is what Jesus is doing. 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:31.200 And actually, maybe we've misnamed this. 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:34.480 This book has no actual divine title. 00:10:34.559 --> 00:10:38.399 We call it the Acts of the Apostles, because that's kind of the content of it. 00:10:38.559 --> 00:10:44.720 But a better name might be all that King Jesus continued to do after his resurrection. 00:10:44.960 --> 00:10:53.440 Because much of what happens in the book of Acts is surprising and shocking and troubling to the apostles and the church itself. 00:10:54.720 --> 00:11:01.600 Jesus is at work, seated at the right hand of God in heaven, extending his kingdom. 00:11:01.759 --> 00:11:04.960 And the same, again, is true today. 00:11:05.759 --> 00:11:15.519 That no matter what we experience, no matter how confusing we find the events of the earth, God is, King Jesus is extending his kingdom. 00:11:15.600 --> 00:11:29.679 And it's it's fascinating to hear, even as the church contracts and shrinks here in North America and in the Northern Hemisphere, it is it is growing and expanding in the southern hemispheres. 00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:34.639 Well, this brings us to chapter 12, and it begins on a sombre note. 00:11:36.080 --> 00:11:42.879 Luke says, About this time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. 00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:47.440 He killed James, the brother of John, with the sword. 00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:51.840 And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. 00:11:52.320 --> 00:11:55.440 This was during the days of unleavened bread. 00:11:56.000 --> 00:12:04.159 Now the fact that King Herod, this is the grandson of the King Herod who was king in Jerusalem when Jesus was born. 00:12:04.320 --> 00:12:06.480 So this is a couple generations later. 00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:25.840 The fact that King Herod had James killed with the sword, as opposed to Stephen being stoned by his fellow Jews, this means that Herod saw this growing Jewish sect, these Christians, the followers of the way, he saw them as a growing political threat. 00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:35.840 Not that they were seeking to dominate, but they were creating such cultural and political waves that it was expedient for Herod to set an example. 00:12:36.720 --> 00:12:44.799 And how better to show your power than by taking one of the leaders and executing them. 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:53.919 And then to add insult to injury, he sees what the responses from the Jews in general. 00:12:54.320 --> 00:12:55.919 They're pleased with this. 00:12:57.360 --> 00:13:03.600 They're excited that James was executed at the whim of King Herod. 00:13:03.679 --> 00:13:08.639 And so then he decides oh, I'm gonna arrest Peter too. 00:13:08.960 --> 00:13:21.840 Peter was most likely the head disciple, head apostle in Jerusalem, and so uh Herod felt that this would be another way to please his constituency. 00:13:22.639 --> 00:13:30.080 In essence, Herod planned on executing Peter because it was politically expedient. 00:13:30.799 --> 00:13:37.919 It would please his higher-ups in Rome, showing them that he was tough on the riffraff and he didn't mess around. 00:13:38.159 --> 00:13:46.559 It would also please the local leaders and local constituencies that were kind of troubled by this new sect. 00:13:49.039 --> 00:13:51.039 But Peter catches a break. 00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:53.840 There are no executions on holiday weekends. 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:55.279 Whew, hallelujah. 00:13:56.000 --> 00:13:58.000 It's the feast of unleavened bread. 00:13:58.080 --> 00:14:03.679 This is uh this is the celebration, the week-long celebration after Pentecost. 00:14:04.320 --> 00:14:10.320 Um and the last night Peter's in prison, this is the night before he would have been publicly executed. 00:14:10.559 --> 00:14:12.720 An angel of the Lord comes and appears to him. 00:14:12.799 --> 00:14:23.279 And we're told this: Behold, an angel of the Lord came and stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell, and he struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, Get up quickly. 00:14:23.519 --> 00:14:25.919 And the chains fell from his hands. 00:14:26.240 --> 00:14:43.600 So Peter escapes miraculously with the help of an angel of the Lord, and he goes through the city to a house where there's a prayer vigil, is probably maybe the main headquarters or gathering place of this early church, and they've been up all night praying for him, and something kind of hilarious happens. 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:46.960 It's it's a weird juxtaposition with the death of James. 00:14:47.200 --> 00:14:53.039 He goes to the door and he knocks, it's locked, and a young servant girl goes to the door and she hears his voice. 00:14:53.200 --> 00:14:55.519 She knows him, she's familiar with Peter. 00:14:55.840 --> 00:15:07.919 She recognizes his voice, calling to let him in, and in her joy and excitement, she just runs back to the group to announce that he's there, leaving Peter at the door. 00:15:08.080 --> 00:15:11.679 This this man wanted with a death sentence over his head. 00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:16.799 He's just standing there knocking, and she says, Peter's here, and nobody believes her. 00:15:17.279 --> 00:15:20.159 They're like, You're out of your mind, kid. 00:15:20.960 --> 00:15:22.960 Or maybe it's his ghost. 00:15:23.120 --> 00:15:23.519 Right? 00:15:23.600 --> 00:15:26.159 They think he's already dead. 00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:31.200 Well, finally, back and they go back and forth, leaving Peter, sadly standing outside. 00:15:31.360 --> 00:15:35.519 Eventually, they they go and check, and ah, indeed, Peter is here. 00:15:35.679 --> 00:15:40.879 He comes and relates the story to them, and then and then we're told he goes to an undisclosed location. 00:15:40.960 --> 00:15:45.600 He probably leaves Jerusalem for a time until things die down. 00:15:46.399 --> 00:15:52.159 Finally, at the end of chapter 12, Luke tells us the story of Herod's death. 00:15:52.480 --> 00:15:54.559 This kind of comes out of nowhere. 00:15:54.639 --> 00:16:00.480 This this isn't really uh like the other things Luke tells us, but it is a significant event. 00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:03.360 Um, another political drama is unfolding. 00:16:03.519 --> 00:16:17.600 There are neighboring uh little cities, you know, which are kind of like city-states, and they've they've gotten in uh Herod's crosshairs, they've made him unhappy, and so they they come uh to seek his favor. 00:16:18.080 --> 00:16:30.720 He he gives a great speech in front of them, and and like a bunch of sycophantic, you know, fans, they all they just praise him over the top and they shout, oh, these are the words of a god and not a man. 00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:33.039 And Herod just soaks it up, you know? 00:16:33.120 --> 00:16:35.919 He's just like, Yes, I am amazing. 00:16:36.080 --> 00:16:49.919 And we and we're told uh that because he received that worship from men and did not give glory to God, that an angel of the Lord, this angel of the Lord, shows up like four or five times in these two chapters. 00:16:50.080 --> 00:16:56.960 He says, uh, struck him down, and he was eaten by worms, and he breathes his last. 00:16:57.519 --> 00:16:59.519 Probably not in that order. 00:17:01.840 --> 00:17:04.640 There's so much here in these two chapters. 00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:13.039 Um, but what I want us to see here on this high level uh in these two chapters is a royal showdown. 00:17:13.200 --> 00:17:20.079 What Luke is relating to us is the showdown between King Jesus and King Herod. 00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:38.720 In the midst of this showdown, there are wins and seeming losses to the kingdom of God, but Luke's message could not be more clear that good and evil are not two equal yet opposite forces that are battling each other for balance or dominance in the universe. 00:17:39.039 --> 00:17:39.359 No. 00:17:40.079 --> 00:17:48.480 Rather, King Jesus' kingdom is coming unhindered, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. 00:17:48.880 --> 00:17:58.640 You see, right after Luke tells us about Herod's death, he writes this, but the word of God increased and multiplied. 00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:07.279 There's a story going on, brothers and sisters, and he wants us to see and connect this line throughout. 00:18:07.440 --> 00:18:12.640 Now, to be sure, there are a number of unanswered questions in these two chapters. 00:18:12.799 --> 00:18:22.480 Like, why was the church so confused by Jesus' intent to spread the gospel outside the bounds of Israel? 00:18:22.559 --> 00:18:25.519 And why was there so much disagreement and discord? 00:18:25.839 --> 00:18:31.039 In fact, that issue is the is the presenting issue throughout the New Testament. 00:18:31.119 --> 00:18:39.759 And if you look at the book of Galatians, the book of Romans, the book of Ephesians, it's really all motivated by this one problem. 00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:49.200 How does God's love and grace and redemption flow outside of the nation of Israel to the Gentiles themselves? 00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:54.240 But other important questions like why did God allow James to die? 00:18:55.279 --> 00:18:57.920 But Peter was miraculously saved. 00:18:58.720 --> 00:18:59.839 We're not told. 00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:09.839 Why were the frivolous and shallow whims of the political leaders allowed to affect God's people so deeply? 00:19:10.720 --> 00:19:21.039 Why does the kingdom of God seem to come and fits and starts if King Jesus is truly seated at the Father's right hand, ruling over heaven and earth? 00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:26.319 Beloved, I put forth to you that all these questions we continue to ask. 00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:31.200 Anyone who truly walks with the Lord will ask these questions. 00:19:32.480 --> 00:19:41.119 But at the very same time, God does tell us that his good purpose continues to move forward according to his will. 00:19:41.279 --> 00:19:44.799 The word of God increased and multiplied. 00:19:45.119 --> 00:19:47.359 And again, that is true to this day. 00:19:47.680 --> 00:19:54.640 More and more people were hearing the good news and being granted the repentance that leads to life. 00:19:55.519 --> 00:20:13.759 And again, this is the story of the gospel, this unfolding message of the scriptures from beginning to end, that in the midst of all the sin and sorrow and suffering of this world, the Lord is at work redeeming, renewing, restoring, forgiving, and loving. 00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:21.920 His promiscuous love is what brought us into the family of God. 00:20:22.799 --> 00:20:32.960 He continues to expand the boundaries of his kingdoms throughout the world in ways that surprise, delight, and confuse us. 00:20:33.200 --> 00:20:44.480 And he invites us to rest, not in our own acts, but in his faithfulness and his power and his continued presence here on earth. 00:20:45.279 --> 00:20:58.400 Perhaps a better illustration than the Lego one is the one about one of a general perched on top of a high hill overlooking an expansive battlefield. 00:20:59.039 --> 00:21:05.519 There he sees everything while his soldiers only see what is before them. 00:21:07.119 --> 00:21:20.319 He sends orders and they don't always make sense, but as they rest and trust that the general sees, the general knows, the general is trustworthy, then they can step forward with confidence and faith. 00:21:21.680 --> 00:21:24.160 Beloved, that is the world in which we live in. 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:27.519 That is the world of Acts 11 and 12. 00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:31.920 There is much in your life and in mine that doesn't make sense. 00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:35.200 But King Jesus has shown himself faithful. 00:21:38.240 --> 00:21:44.160 So as his orders come, we follow him faithfully, knowing that the end is secure. 00:21:44.240 --> 00:21:48.400 And even if we can't see exactly what that looks like, he can. 00:21:48.720 --> 00:21:50.480 And he will bring it to fruition. 00:21:51.119 --> 00:21:51.759 Amen. 00:21:52.559 --> 00:21:53.440 Let's pray. 00:21:53.680 --> 00:22:00.160 Our Father in heaven, Lord Jesus, King of kings, and Lord of Lords, we love you. 00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:02.160 Thank you for your word. 00:22:02.400 --> 00:22:03.680 Thank you for your promises. 00:22:03.759 --> 00:22:09.759 And thank you for the tangible ways in our own lives that you have shown us that these are true words. 00:22:10.559 --> 00:22:19.119 Some of us this morning need a fresh vision, a fresh experience of your power and your presence in our lives. 00:22:19.359 --> 00:22:24.240 Some of us need endurance to continue to walk through the valley of the shadow of death. 00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:31.519 And some of us are just uh reawakening to this truth, and we rejoice. 00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:38.880 Thank you for all that you have done, all that you continue to do, and we look forward to that day when we will enter fully into your kingdom. 00:22:39.599 --> 00:22:40.880 In Jesus' name we pray. 00:22:41.279 --> 00:22:41.680 Amen.