WEBVTT 00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:12.720 This sermon was recorded at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota. 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:18.640 Amen. 00:00:21.760 --> 00:00:22.800 Oh man. 00:00:23.039 --> 00:00:24.640 We'll talk about an illustration. 00:00:24.800 --> 00:00:30.800 The first sentence of my sermon goes like this Anticipation is a powerful force. 00:00:31.600 --> 00:00:34.640 Hype, buzz, excitement. 00:00:35.359 --> 00:00:36.399 What's coming next? 00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:38.640 When will the microphone turn on? 00:00:39.520 --> 00:00:47.840 Fear of missing out can drive a lot of human emotion and a lot of human behavior. 00:00:48.159 --> 00:00:53.039 America and the rest of the world with us held our breath on Tuesday night, didn't we? 00:00:53.280 --> 00:01:01.840 On into Wednesday morning as the results rolled in, waiting, hoping, fearing, dreading, wondering, anticipating, getting excited. 00:01:02.799 --> 00:01:03.520 I don't know. 00:01:03.679 --> 00:01:05.439 It's on you how you felt. 00:01:05.760 --> 00:01:07.519 But think about. 00:01:08.159 --> 00:01:14.319 Think about the agonizing anticipation of a little kid the day before their birthday. 00:01:14.640 --> 00:01:19.519 Or the dreadful buzz around the barracks of Auschwitz as the guards approached. 00:01:20.799 --> 00:01:24.799 Anticipation can drive you crazy. 00:01:25.599 --> 00:01:32.879 It can make people do crazy things like sit in the cold all day long to get into the big game. 00:01:33.680 --> 00:01:37.040 Or paint the nursery again. 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:42.319 What will it be like to finally hold that new baby? 00:01:43.040 --> 00:01:45.519 Anticipation is a powerful force. 00:01:45.840 --> 00:01:52.159 And anticipation is entirely fueled by who you're listening to. 00:01:53.359 --> 00:01:59.200 First time parents are excited about different things depending upon what they've heard about parenting. 00:01:59.519 --> 00:02:07.120 News sources, polling results, and pundits influence of American citizens are more or less confident about possible outcomes. 00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:14.719 And then we're variously frustrated or elated with the results based on what we anticipated, what we expected. 00:02:15.360 --> 00:02:21.919 Our text in Acts today, that Anton has already read for us, is full, I think, of this tension. 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:28.639 This cut it with a knife, edge of your seat, what's going to happen next, anticipation. 00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:48.000 As the apostles listen, not to men, but to their sovereign Lord, setting an incredible example for all of us, while Luke teaches us that God, and God alone, is in complete control of human affairs. 00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:50.479 We're in the book of Acts, chapter four. 00:02:50.719 --> 00:02:52.319 Turn there with me if you would. 00:02:52.560 --> 00:03:04.879 But while you turn, I'll tell you, I've structured today's sermon, I've titled today's sermon, Listening to the Sovereign Lord, and I've structured my sermon into four parts to reflect the four scenes. 00:03:05.199 --> 00:03:15.520 Following the sovereign Lord, proclaiming the sovereign Lord, trusting the sovereign Lord, and praising the sovereign Lord. 00:03:15.759 --> 00:03:18.960 Because if you're listening, that's what you'll do. 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:23.120 So then here's the first scene in those first four verses. 00:03:24.639 --> 00:03:31.199 There are somewhere between five and eight thousand people who believe. 00:03:31.759 --> 00:03:35.039 More than ten times what we could fit into this sanctuary. 00:03:35.199 --> 00:03:41.919 If you add in the rest of the crowd at the temple precincts, that's a Friday night at the Ralph Engel State Arena without assigned seats. 00:03:42.080 --> 00:03:46.000 They're crammed into one corner of the temple's precincts. 00:03:46.080 --> 00:03:47.360 They've rushed together. 00:03:47.599 --> 00:03:54.159 Picture that mad dash for a home run ball in the outfield or the crush at Walmart back when Black Friday was a contact sport. 00:03:54.400 --> 00:03:55.439 That's what it's like. 00:03:55.599 --> 00:03:56.400 They're in there. 00:03:56.479 --> 00:03:57.280 They're packed in. 00:03:57.360 --> 00:04:09.680 They've rushed together in amazement, all these people, thousands of them, crammed into one corner of the temple precincts, while Peter and John and the healed man from chapter 3 stand there together. 00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:21.839 Peter and John just teaching and preaching from the scriptures and their own testimony, that the Galilean named Jesus, who was crucified just a month ago, is the risen Messiah. 00:04:22.160 --> 00:04:46.480 There stand the apostles unpacking the incredible, unfathomable, inconceivable mystery hidden from the foundation of the world, that the blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of Adam, the Son of David, the Son of Man, and the Son of God is so pure and so perfect and so true and so given that the sins of the very people who crucified him may be blotted out. 00:04:47.360 --> 00:05:03.120 Forgiveness and reconciliation flow from the hands and feet of Jesus Christ to the very hands and feet that drove the nails, hoisted the cross, spit in his face, and blasphemed the holy and righteous one. 00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:06.720 That's the gospel they preach. 00:05:07.680 --> 00:05:10.480 And what an amazing gospel it is. 00:05:11.120 --> 00:05:15.040 Are you so proud to think that Jesus can't forgive your sins? 00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:18.959 Are you so stubborn to think that you can't turn back now? 00:05:20.160 --> 00:05:25.439 Are you so hopeless to think that you can never change after all these years? 00:05:26.319 --> 00:05:31.040 In Luke's first book, he wrote in Jesus' mouth, Father, forgive them. 00:05:31.759 --> 00:05:33.360 They know not what they do. 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:41.680 The same John who testifies here in Acts 4 may well have heard those words from Jesus' lips himself. 00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:44.319 That's the gospel. 00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:47.279 That's the gospel, my friends. 00:05:47.920 --> 00:05:54.720 Now think just quickly now of the genius of God that Luke is showing you, the brilliance of it all. 00:05:55.120 --> 00:06:00.160 Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, probably walked past this crippled man 60 days ago. 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:02.160 And every year before that. 00:06:02.720 --> 00:06:05.759 But he let him be until the proper time. 00:06:06.560 --> 00:06:07.680 He waited. 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:16.959 That the same lane man who's jumping for joy right now very likely watched, unable to move himself as Jesus flipped tables and drove out money changers. 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:25.519 But everything here, everything here, happens in God's perfect timing. 00:06:26.399 --> 00:06:33.279 And in God's perfect timing, the apostles have caused a scene in Solomon's portico. 00:06:33.600 --> 00:06:41.199 They've been carrying on all afternoon and showing no signs of slowing down such that greatly annoyed, the temple authorities come and restore order. 00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:47.199 They arrest Peter and John and the lame man from the beautiful gate and they put them in custody overnight. 00:06:47.519 --> 00:06:54.720 So there they sat, waiting, anticipating, expecting, dreading, fearing. 00:06:54.959 --> 00:06:56.000 We don't know. 00:06:56.560 --> 00:07:01.040 Peter, John, and this guy who won't sit down now that his legs have been feeled. 00:07:01.279 --> 00:07:08.959 They're in a holding cell, under guard, in custody for a whole night. 00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:12.319 A long night, I would imagine. 00:07:12.800 --> 00:07:16.480 And if you've never heard this story before, let's just pretend Anton didn't read it for you. 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:21.279 If you've never heard this story before, at this point, how much hope do you have in Peter? 00:07:21.680 --> 00:07:24.000 How much do you believe in that guy? 00:07:25.680 --> 00:07:35.920 When Jesus spent a night in custody in the same place by the same people, Peter couldn't even face a servant girl without lying to save his own neck. 00:07:36.319 --> 00:07:37.279 He lied. 00:07:39.519 --> 00:07:42.560 While John was in the room with Jesus. 00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:46.720 Imagine how John feels sitting there next to Peter. 00:07:48.319 --> 00:07:50.639 Do you think Pete's got what it takes this time? 00:07:52.560 --> 00:07:54.079 Do you think it even matters? 00:07:56.000 --> 00:08:00.079 The Romans surely are not out of crosses after the last crucifixion. 00:08:00.399 --> 00:08:01.439 They got plenty. 00:08:02.800 --> 00:08:04.720 What's going to happen in the morning? 00:08:06.079 --> 00:08:08.319 What should Peter and John expect? 00:08:08.480 --> 00:08:10.800 What should they anticipate? 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:13.920 Turn back with me to John chapter 18. 00:08:15.120 --> 00:08:17.199 We're in the Garden of Gethsemane. 00:08:19.439 --> 00:08:26.319 And in verse 11, Peter has just chopped off a servant's ear, and Jesus tells him to put your sword into its sheath. 00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:29.199 Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me? 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:35.360 And so the band of soldiers and their captain, the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus, these same people, right? 00:08:35.519 --> 00:08:37.200 Arrested Jesus and bound him. 00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:38.879 First they led him to Annas. 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:40.639 Heard that name before. 00:08:40.879 --> 00:08:44.960 For he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was priest that year. 00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:50.879 It was Caiaphas who would advise the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people. 00:08:51.120 --> 00:08:53.200 Then we have the first of Peter's denials. 00:08:53.279 --> 00:08:54.879 Look at verse 19 now. 00:08:55.279 --> 00:08:59.200 The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. 00:08:59.279 --> 00:09:03.039 And Jesus answered him, I have spoken openly to the world. 00:09:03.279 --> 00:09:07.519 I have always taught in the synagogues in the temple, where all have all Jews come together. 00:09:07.679 --> 00:09:09.200 I have said nothing in secret. 00:09:09.360 --> 00:09:10.720 Why do you ask me? 00:09:10.960 --> 00:09:14.240 And those who have heard me what I said to them, they know what I said. 00:09:14.480 --> 00:09:20.960 And when he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, Is that how you answer the high priest? 00:09:21.200 --> 00:09:22.720 It's a tough crowd. 00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:30.000 And Jesus answered him, If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong, but if what I said is right, why do you strike me? 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:34.720 Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest. 00:09:35.679 --> 00:09:36.320 Rough. 00:09:37.519 --> 00:09:46.960 Matthew tells us that Caiaphas gathered together the scribes and the elders and questioned Jesus, saying in Matthew, I adjure you by the living God. 00:09:47.120 --> 00:09:51.360 Tell us, Caiaphas says, Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God. 00:09:51.519 --> 00:09:53.759 And Jesus said to him, You have said so. 00:09:54.000 --> 00:10:00.240 But I tell you, from now on, you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven. 00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:05.840 Then the high priest, that's Caiaphas here, tore his robes and said, He has uttered blasphemy. 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:08.000 What further witnesses do we need? 00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:10.000 You have now heard his blasphemy. 00:10:10.080 --> 00:10:11.120 What is your judgment? 00:10:11.360 --> 00:10:13.600 And they answered, He deserves death. 00:10:13.759 --> 00:10:16.000 And they spit in his face and struck him. 00:10:16.080 --> 00:10:21.279 And some slapped him, saying, Prophesy to us, you Christ, who is it that struck you? 00:10:22.320 --> 00:10:28.080 And then Luke in chapter 23 tells us they all went together to Pilate. 00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:30.639 Same guys. 00:10:31.279 --> 00:10:32.399 These guys. 00:10:33.039 --> 00:10:37.679 Annas and Caiaphas will be back in the morning to deal with Peter and John. 00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:43.919 And if you're reading Luke and Acts for the first time, wouldn't you expect a similar outcome? 00:10:44.240 --> 00:10:45.759 What would you expect? 00:10:48.159 --> 00:10:52.639 Luke doesn't tell us back in Acts if Peter and John slept well that night. 00:10:52.960 --> 00:11:06.080 But in the morning, Annas and Caiaphas and the whole council would gather together again, and Peter and John would walk where their Lord had walked, stand where he had stood, and be questioned by the men who spat in Jesus' face. 00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:15.360 They followed Jesus into that jail cell because they're listening to their sovereign Lord. 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:19.200 They followed because they were listening. 00:11:19.440 --> 00:11:24.399 Back in John 16, Jesus told them that a servant is not greater than his master. 00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:27.519 If they persecute me, they will also persecute you. 00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:29.519 This is what they should have expected. 00:11:29.759 --> 00:11:38.399 Later in that same passage, Jesus also looked at Peter and John and said, The hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. 00:11:38.720 --> 00:11:43.679 It's all happening just like Jesus said it would. 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:52.639 John 16, 4, Jesus says, But I have said these things to you that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. 00:11:53.360 --> 00:11:56.799 They're listening and they're following. 00:11:57.759 --> 00:12:05.279 We who claim the name of Jesus Christ, who call ourselves followers of Jesus, are we ready to walk the road he walked? 00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:07.200 To carry the cross he carried? 00:12:07.279 --> 00:12:10.799 Are we prepared spiritually to spend the night in a jail cell? 00:12:11.120 --> 00:12:19.200 I'm not saying go get yourself thrown in prison, but do we follow obediently in the knowledge that we could be? 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:22.720 Are we willing to speak? 00:12:23.440 --> 00:12:25.679 Not knowing what the response might be. 00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:39.440 Are we willing to live in the anticipation and the expectation that all who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will face persecution? 00:12:41.279 --> 00:12:48.240 Luke's language here in Acts reminds us of Jesus' words back in Luke chapter 12, verse 12. 00:12:48.960 --> 00:12:55.120 Jesus says, When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, very similar language, right? 00:12:55.679 --> 00:13:06.240 Do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say. 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:15.200 If Peter and John were listening to Jesus, what do you think they expected in the morning? 00:13:17.519 --> 00:13:21.600 What should they have expected in the morning? 00:13:21.919 --> 00:13:26.000 As they wait in that jail cell, what were they anticipating? 00:13:27.039 --> 00:13:34.399 And then in the morning, the Sanhedrin gathered, the crowds gather, and Luke is careful to tell us exactly who was there. 00:13:34.559 --> 00:13:40.799 He says, Annas, who was like a high priest emeritus, a highly respected, highly influential man. 00:13:40.960 --> 00:13:46.320 It was Annas' guard who slapped Jesus in the face, and then his son-in-law, Caiaphas. 00:13:47.519 --> 00:13:57.679 When the crowds around Jerusalem raved in John 11 and 12 about the raising of Lazarus, it was Caiaphas who said that it was better for one man to die than from the whole nation to perish. 00:13:57.759 --> 00:14:04.799 And from that day on, John tells us, Caiaphas and his cronies made plans to put Jesus to death, handing him over to Pilate. 00:14:05.039 --> 00:14:12.960 These high priests, these men were there when Pilate brought Jesus out in a purple robe and crown of thorns, beaten and flogged. 00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:16.159 And they cried out, Crucify him. 00:14:17.120 --> 00:14:19.679 They led the crowds in demanding blood. 00:14:19.840 --> 00:14:30.639 Those are the faces that look at Peter and John and the crippled man who leaps and asks, By what power or by what name did you do this thing? 00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:37.840 A month prior, John heard these same voices say, Are you the Son of God? 00:14:38.639 --> 00:14:45.840 He saw these ears hear Jesus say, You say that I am, and heard them cry out, What further testimony do we need? 00:14:45.919 --> 00:14:47.440 We've heard it ourselves. 00:14:47.759 --> 00:14:50.480 While Peter was out back weeping bitterly. 00:14:51.840 --> 00:14:58.399 Notice, notice, see, behold, the sovereign plan and purposes of God. 00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:05.039 In himself, by himself, Peter is no stronger, no mightier, no braver, no bolder than last time. 00:15:05.279 --> 00:15:06.799 Two things have changed, right? 00:15:06.960 --> 00:15:17.600 The first thing is he's indwelt and filled by the Holy Spirit after Pentecost, but he's also, he's also seen the resurrected Lord. 00:15:18.399 --> 00:15:33.919 He's seen the power of God from on high that has conquered the grave he used to fear so much, or as Paul would later say, he's seen how God disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in Him. 00:15:34.559 --> 00:15:40.000 Peter knows that he's talking to a conquered foe. 00:15:40.879 --> 00:15:41.840 He knows. 00:15:42.320 --> 00:15:44.000 That's what's different. 00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:50.159 Because all that Jesus ever said would happen is happening. 00:15:52.480 --> 00:15:59.200 I mean, just listen to the confidence, the boldness of this common, uneducated fisherman. 00:15:59.279 --> 00:16:19.039 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, this is verse 8, rulers of the people and elders, if we're being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus, the Messiah of Nazareth. 00:16:19.360 --> 00:16:22.320 A month ago, Peter couldn't even admit he was from Galilee. 00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:25.759 And now he doubles down that Jesus is from Nazareth. 00:16:25.840 --> 00:16:27.279 He's specific, right? 00:16:27.519 --> 00:16:35.039 This Jesus, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well. 00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:42.639 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, referring to the leaders, the authorities he's talking to. 00:16:42.799 --> 00:16:43.600 They're the builders. 00:16:43.759 --> 00:16:50.399 They've rejected the stone which has become the cornerstone, and there is salvation and no one else. 00:16:51.120 --> 00:16:57.120 For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. 00:16:57.279 --> 00:16:58.559 But notice what is happening. 00:16:58.720 --> 00:16:59.759 This is my favorite part. 00:16:59.919 --> 00:17:02.399 Peter, he just quotes Jesus. 00:17:02.799 --> 00:17:10.240 He just quotes Jesus, and Luke quotes Luke, because Luke wants Theophilus and you to connect these dots. 00:17:10.400 --> 00:17:13.200 Turn back to Luke chapter 20 and verse 9. 00:17:13.440 --> 00:17:18.079 Back in Luke chapter 20, verse 9, Luke tells us a story about Jesus. 00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:24.960 And he began to tell the people this parable. 00:17:25.279 --> 00:17:26.319 He's in the temple. 00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:29.839 He tells this parable in Luke 20, verse 9. 00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:35.920 A man planted a vineyard and led it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. 00:17:36.160 --> 00:17:40.400 When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. 00:17:40.559 --> 00:17:43.440 But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 00:17:43.680 --> 00:17:49.200 He sent another servant, but they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 00:17:49.279 --> 00:17:50.640 And he sent yet a third. 00:17:50.799 --> 00:17:53.119 This one also they wounded and cast out. 00:17:53.359 --> 00:17:55.920 Then the owner of the vineyard said, What shall I do? 00:17:56.240 --> 00:17:58.400 I will send my beloved son. 00:17:58.880 --> 00:18:00.960 Perhaps they will respect him. 00:18:01.759 --> 00:18:07.359 When the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, This is the heir, let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours. 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:10.000 And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 00:18:11.920 --> 00:18:14.960 What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 00:18:15.279 --> 00:18:20.799 He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others. 00:18:21.039 --> 00:18:24.160 When they heard this, they said, Surely not. 00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:27.119 Because they knew he was talking about them. 00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:33.599 But Jesus looked directly at them and said, What then is this that is written? 00:18:34.079 --> 00:18:39.920 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 00:18:40.400 --> 00:18:46.640 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him. 00:18:47.359 --> 00:18:52.319 And the scribes and the chief priests, these guys, right? 00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:57.279 Same guys, sought to lay hands on him at that very hour. 00:18:57.599 --> 00:19:03.200 For they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. 00:19:04.160 --> 00:19:08.160 Jesus in this text quotes Psalm 118, 22. 00:19:08.559 --> 00:19:15.359 Psalm 118 is the Psalm of a conquering king whose God vindicated him over his opponents, his foes. 00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:30.960 And Psalm 118 shows that the men who opposed David's authority and doubted David's leadership as king were crushed as God built a new kingdom, built his kingdom with a Davidic stone that the builders of the old kingdom had rejected. 00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:33.680 This stone in the Psalm is David. 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:37.359 And he didn't fit the old way of Saul and the judges. 00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:44.400 It was too big or too sharp or too long, or some other defect in the mind of the builders, so they cast it aside. 00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:46.880 It didn't fit the wall they were trying to build. 00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:52.880 But God, in his infinite wisdom, starts a whole new building with that cornerstone. 00:19:53.599 --> 00:20:02.319 This cornerstone that didn't fit the old way becomes the pattern, the standard of the new way, the new building. 00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:10.960 This was true of David and Jesus teaching the people and preaching the gospel in the temple after his approach by the chief priests earlier in the chapter. 00:20:11.119 --> 00:20:15.279 And they say in verse 2, Tell us by what authority do you do these things? 00:20:15.519 --> 00:20:18.160 Or who is that, who is it that gives you this authority? 00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:21.039 It's the same question they're asking Peter and John, right? 00:20:21.279 --> 00:20:39.519 So Jesus tells that parable, and then he looks straight at the scribes and the chief priests and said to them, in effect, I am that Davidic cornerstone of the coming messianic kingdom, and all who oppose me will be crushed. 00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:42.720 It's a big statement. 00:20:43.200 --> 00:20:49.519 The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he told the parable about them, right? 00:20:49.599 --> 00:20:50.559 But they feared the people. 00:20:50.720 --> 00:20:58.400 So even if we struggle to connect the dots of the Psalm and what Jesus says, Caiaphas got it. 00:20:59.599 --> 00:21:05.119 Caiaphas knew what Jesus was talking about enough to try and arrest him for it. 00:21:05.359 --> 00:21:08.799 And then a month or so later, back in Acts, Peter bears witness. 00:21:08.960 --> 00:21:19.279 He sees the firsthand, the healing of a lame man by the Holy Spirit of Christ in the temple, mere steps away from where Jesus argued with the scribes like this. 00:21:19.759 --> 00:21:39.279 Peter gets arrested by the same scribes who arrested Jesus, and he gets hauled before them and asks the same questions they asked Jesus, and then the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of Jesus fills Peter, and he says the very same things he heard Jesus say. 00:21:41.200 --> 00:21:47.279 He says, Jesus is the Messiah of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. 00:21:47.440 --> 00:21:49.519 That's the name by which this man was healed. 00:21:49.759 --> 00:21:51.119 And Peter could have stopped there. 00:21:51.759 --> 00:21:53.680 That would have been enough to get crucified over. 00:21:54.240 --> 00:21:56.240 He could have stopped there, but he didn't. 00:21:56.720 --> 00:21:58.880 He said, Yeah, Jesus, that Jesus, that's who. 00:21:58.960 --> 00:21:59.680 But he goes one step. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:02.960 Further, when he quotes Jesus, quoting Psalm 118. 00:22:03.119 --> 00:22:04.079 You think they forgot? 00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:04.880 I don't. 00:22:05.119 --> 00:22:05.920 They know. 00:22:07.519 --> 00:22:17.039 He says, the Jesus you arrested and crucified, you arrested and crucified him for saying he was the Messiah and for arguing from David that you would reject him. 00:22:17.680 --> 00:22:20.319 Peter says, Jesus was right. 00:22:21.839 --> 00:22:25.200 You're doing exactly what he said you would. 00:22:25.359 --> 00:22:29.440 The proof is standing right there next to Peter on two good, healthy legs. 00:22:29.599 --> 00:22:38.160 The high priest did exactly what Jesus said they would do because Jesus was exactly who he said he was. 00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:40.400 It's incredible. 00:22:40.799 --> 00:22:42.880 That's what Peter's working with. 00:22:43.440 --> 00:22:46.880 You know what makes Babe Bruce called home run so incredible? 00:22:47.279 --> 00:22:49.759 It's that it's really hard to hit a home run. 00:22:50.400 --> 00:22:51.839 It's really hard to do. 00:22:52.079 --> 00:23:00.960 But to call it before you do it is to say to everybody, I'm so good at this, so powerful with a baseball bat in my hand that I can do it whenever I want to. 00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:05.839 That's what fulfilled prophecy is all about, guys. 00:23:06.160 --> 00:23:09.599 God called his shot. 00:23:12.319 --> 00:23:25.680 So that there could be no doubt, none, that it was by his power and at his word and his decision that all of these things have come to pass, just like the church recognizes in verse 28. 00:23:26.400 --> 00:23:30.799 And quoting Psalm 118, Peter proclaims his sovereign Lord. 00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:41.519 He proclaims that in Jesus the Messiah, salvation has come to Israel and a new building is being built with the cornerstone rejected by the chief priests and scribes. 00:23:41.839 --> 00:23:46.559 He listened to Jesus and he proclaimed Jesus. 00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:53.599 Because listening to the sovereign Lord leads to proclaiming the sovereign Lord. 00:23:54.880 --> 00:24:01.039 This proclamation is not simply an evangelistic appeal of salvation in Jesus' name, though it is that. 00:24:01.119 --> 00:24:05.599 No, what Peter is proclaiming by quoting Psalm 118 is the same thing Jesus said. 00:24:05.759 --> 00:24:10.000 He's proclaiming the end of the old way of the scribes and the Pharisees. 00:24:10.160 --> 00:24:19.519 He proclaims Jesus as the Davidic King, the only wise, sovereign Lord that they themselves, even the high priest, must kneel before. 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:25.359 The proclamation is that of a royal herald announcing the coming of a mighty king. 00:24:25.680 --> 00:24:27.680 There is no other name. 00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:30.240 That's it. 00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:33.519 These chief priests tried to stop it. 00:24:33.599 --> 00:24:35.200 They tried to reject Jesus. 00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:42.319 They tried to seek for another Messiah, a different Christ, a Christ who would let them hold on to their traditions, let them keep their authority and their position. 00:24:42.480 --> 00:24:48.559 But Jesus demanded their complete submission to his authority, and they killed him for it. 00:24:50.160 --> 00:24:52.880 But he ascended to the Father's right hand. 00:24:54.319 --> 00:24:55.839 They silenced him. 00:24:56.960 --> 00:25:00.640 But the Holy Spirit still speaks in the lips of the apostles. 00:25:01.680 --> 00:25:05.920 You can plug your ears, friends, but the scriptures are clear. 00:25:06.880 --> 00:25:11.279 Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. 00:25:11.839 --> 00:25:13.440 No one comes to the Father. 00:25:14.240 --> 00:25:19.039 Not even the holiness sons of Abraham, except through Him. 00:25:21.119 --> 00:25:23.359 And he is coming to reign. 00:25:24.799 --> 00:25:30.960 So it is foolish, stupid even of us to persist in our sins. 00:25:31.279 --> 00:25:36.160 It is false to offer another road to salvation than Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 00:25:36.319 --> 00:25:47.119 It is fraud to give people warm clothes, a bowl of hot food, a place to sleep for the night, and a subsidized gas card in the name of Jesus while withholding the truth of Jesus from them. 00:25:48.559 --> 00:26:13.200 Resistance is futile, and a holy God is furious with sinners and intent on visiting our iniquity upon us, unless, when given one last chance, one more chance, we can see the love and the grace of our Maker and the face of Jesus Christ crucified for us according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, repent of our sins and believe on Jesus Christ for salvation. 00:26:13.519 --> 00:26:15.039 Which sins, you might ask? 00:26:15.119 --> 00:26:18.319 And the apostles would answer, all the ones you know about. 00:26:19.039 --> 00:26:31.279 If we, like Peter and John, claim to listen to the sovereign Lord, then we must proclaim him just as he proclaimed himself. 00:26:31.839 --> 00:26:37.440 In all holiness, exclusivity, all freedom, and all grace. 00:26:38.559 --> 00:26:39.440 All grace. 00:26:41.119 --> 00:26:52.880 Notice that while Peter's retort is razor sharp, he still extends to them the salvation of Jesus Christ to the very men who crucified him. 00:26:54.559 --> 00:26:55.839 This is the only way. 00:26:57.359 --> 00:26:59.440 But even these guys can be saved. 00:27:00.640 --> 00:27:02.240 So what are you waiting for? 00:27:05.039 --> 00:27:07.680 And now Peter and John wait. 00:27:09.359 --> 00:27:15.839 The last time these rulers hauled somebody before them for doing miraculous good deeds and challenging their authority. 00:27:16.079 --> 00:27:20.400 The last time that happened, they sent Jesus off to Pontius Pilate screaming, Crucify him. 00:27:21.039 --> 00:27:24.559 And in all honesty, if I'm Peter and John, that's what I'm expecting here. 00:27:24.720 --> 00:27:26.640 That's what I'm bracing myself for. 00:27:26.720 --> 00:27:28.799 That's the verdict I see coming. 00:27:28.960 --> 00:27:31.440 But God, God is still sovereign. 00:27:31.680 --> 00:27:33.519 So what is the verdict? 00:27:34.400 --> 00:27:37.759 The scribes and the Pharisees are baffled. 00:27:39.119 --> 00:27:40.720 They don't know what to say. 00:27:41.200 --> 00:27:50.240 These are common, uneducated fishermen who stand before them, quoting scripture and heralding the messianic kingdom, and they speak without wincing or mincing words. 00:27:50.400 --> 00:27:59.359 This boldness is a political word for the way a confident statesmen who've earned their place can speak freely when they know what they're talking about. 00:27:59.680 --> 00:28:03.599 It's the fearless confidence of these two, and it's it's almost rude. 00:28:04.960 --> 00:28:07.359 But more than rude, it's puzzling. 00:28:07.599 --> 00:28:08.720 It's baffling. 00:28:09.200 --> 00:28:11.680 They're astonished, just like the crowds in chapter three. 00:28:11.759 --> 00:28:15.839 It's almost as unexplainable as the crippled man walking. 00:28:16.319 --> 00:28:20.799 This whole charade, this whole charade is supposed to be intimidating, after all, right? 00:28:21.359 --> 00:28:23.759 Jesus was just crucified. 00:28:24.079 --> 00:28:26.000 Clearly the threats aren't empty. 00:28:26.079 --> 00:28:28.799 These Jewish rulers are not messing around. 00:28:29.039 --> 00:28:51.759 And yet these nobodies from Galilee still speak as if they are equals, even superiors to the high priestly family, like Elijah before Ahab, Nathan before David, or Daniel before Babylon, Peter and John stand in the highest court of the land, like the prophets of old, having an office of equal or greater authority in the sight of God, delivering the word of God boldly. 00:28:52.640 --> 00:28:55.359 And even Caiaphas is at a loss for words. 00:28:55.599 --> 00:28:58.799 At the sight of this crippled man leaping for joy. 00:28:59.599 --> 00:29:03.920 His mouth is shut before the fire in Peter's eyes. 00:29:04.160 --> 00:29:10.799 And so, like a foolish father whose kids call his bluff and disobey anyway, they just repeat the threat. 00:29:10.960 --> 00:29:12.240 They just say it again. 00:29:12.480 --> 00:29:14.160 It didn't work the first time. 00:29:14.799 --> 00:29:20.160 For if these men aren't afraid of this counsel after Jesus was crucified, what else do they got? 00:29:20.480 --> 00:29:22.559 So they just repeat the threat. 00:29:23.359 --> 00:29:28.880 In verse 18, they called them and charged them not to speak or teach it all in the name of Jesus. 00:29:29.279 --> 00:29:31.519 Luke's pen is really sharp here. 00:29:31.759 --> 00:29:32.559 It's really sharp. 00:29:32.640 --> 00:29:37.200 The word he uses for their threats in verse 21 is extremely rare. 00:29:37.440 --> 00:29:40.319 But it's used in a famous passage of Genesis. 00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:54.000 After Jacob steals Isaac's blessing from Esau, Rebekah sends him words saying, Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself about you by threatening to kill you. 00:29:55.359 --> 00:30:09.119 And so Luke very subtly, very, very deftly characterizes these scribes, these chief priests, these rulers of the people, Jacob's sons, Israel's sons. 00:30:09.519 --> 00:30:11.519 He makes them look like Esau. 00:30:13.279 --> 00:30:24.720 These rulers and authorities sold their Israelite birthright in the Messiah's kingdom for a bowl of traditional soup when they cast Jesus outside the gate and crucified the promised Messiah. 00:30:24.799 --> 00:30:30.640 Luke is very subtly criticizing them, alleging that they're not the true Israel. 00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:40.799 And the great tragic irony he's showing us is that Esau reigns in Jerusalem, while the true sons of promise will be God's witnesses to the ends of the earth. 00:30:41.039 --> 00:30:46.799 As all the families of the earth are blessed by Abraham's children of promise. 00:30:47.839 --> 00:30:57.440 It's simply incredible how Luke just inspired Luke, cuts them and their empty threats to pieces. 00:30:57.839 --> 00:31:10.960 And then the Holy Spirit speaks again in the mouth of Peter, turning the heat up even higher in verse 19, when he says, Whether it's right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge. 00:31:11.200 --> 00:31:14.640 For we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard. 00:31:14.960 --> 00:31:21.279 John and I, Peter says, we'll keep on listening to the sovereign Lord, and not to you. 00:31:22.559 --> 00:31:29.039 The implication, I think, is will you listen to what God just said? 00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:31.440 It's a challenge. 00:31:33.039 --> 00:31:34.720 He's challenging them. 00:31:34.960 --> 00:31:40.960 Peter looks at Caiaphas in the face and full of the Holy Spirit, says, God has spoken. 00:31:42.079 --> 00:31:43.599 Did you hear me? 00:31:45.119 --> 00:31:46.240 It's intense. 00:31:46.799 --> 00:31:48.960 The man has no fear. 00:31:49.279 --> 00:31:57.519 And there can be no doubt that these rulers of the Jews are so far beyond excuses and their threats fall on deaf ears. 00:31:57.759 --> 00:32:07.039 I titled this section, Trusting the Sovereign Lord, but at first glance, the courage here doesn't seem to fit that title as I got going. 00:32:07.200 --> 00:32:14.799 But then I realized this week that that's what real trust, real faith looks like. 00:32:15.039 --> 00:32:18.960 It moves forward with confidence, with boldness. 00:32:19.200 --> 00:32:25.759 Your Bible translates that word both ways, when it's, it moves with confidence when it's listening to the sovereign Lord. 00:32:26.000 --> 00:32:31.279 That word for boldness is so rare in the Old Testament, but it's all over, all over the New Testament. 00:32:31.440 --> 00:32:32.720 Luke loves this word. 00:32:33.119 --> 00:32:42.480 It's the second to last word of Luke's whole book of Acts, as Paul sits in Rome for two years proclaiming the kingdom of God with all boldness and without hindrance. 00:32:42.799 --> 00:32:54.240 Likely while he sits there, he writes to the Philippians that he has full courage, this complete boldness, this all-encompassing confidence that Christ will be honored in his body, whether by life or by death. 00:32:54.720 --> 00:32:59.839 This is the boldness that approaches the throne of grace in Hebrews chapter 4. 00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:03.759 Let us then with confidence draw near, your Bibles say. 00:33:04.319 --> 00:33:16.880 Confidence, because Jesus died for sinners in full understanding of sin, so that we can openly, confidently, boldly approach him in prayer for mercy and for grace and help in time of need when we sin or are tempted to sin. 00:33:17.039 --> 00:33:28.400 This is the confidence worthy of a great reward in Hebrews chapter 10 that joyfully accepted the plundering of personal property, knowing that in the life to come there awaits a better inheritance than the one in this present life. 00:33:28.640 --> 00:33:35.519 Imagine being persecuted, so persecuted for your faith that the government comes and seizes your possessions. 00:33:37.359 --> 00:33:38.319 Imagine. 00:33:39.519 --> 00:33:41.359 And then you rejoice. 00:33:42.640 --> 00:33:54.640 You rejoice about it because you're so confident, so bold as to believe that God will make it right in the end, just like he did for Jesus. 00:33:54.960 --> 00:33:56.640 That's boldness. 00:33:57.200 --> 00:34:00.000 That's trusting in the sovereign Lord. 00:34:00.160 --> 00:34:01.680 That's the anticipation. 00:34:01.920 --> 00:34:02.880 That's the hype. 00:34:03.039 --> 00:34:06.079 That's the buzz that Peter and John are marching towards. 00:34:06.240 --> 00:34:13.119 They know that God will vindicate them just as he vindicated Jesus when he raised him up and seated him in the heavenly places. 00:34:13.199 --> 00:34:16.159 And they know that because they listened to Jesus. 00:34:16.320 --> 00:34:21.360 And Jesus said, Behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. 00:34:21.679 --> 00:34:26.480 Jesus said, I go to prepare a place for you that you may be with me where I am also. 00:34:26.639 --> 00:34:28.719 Jesus said, Take heart. 00:34:29.920 --> 00:34:32.480 I have overcome the world. 00:34:33.360 --> 00:34:36.400 So trust and don't fear. 00:34:37.280 --> 00:34:39.440 Move forward and speak plainly. 00:34:39.599 --> 00:34:46.000 Don't fear those who can kill the body, because your God is sovereign over all things. 00:34:46.159 --> 00:34:47.199 He rules over everything. 00:34:47.360 --> 00:34:49.199 He is the king who can't be questioned. 00:34:49.280 --> 00:34:53.199 And he has promised you an everlasting life. 00:34:53.840 --> 00:34:55.679 If you believe in Jesus Christ. 00:34:56.719 --> 00:35:02.880 If you're listening to the sovereign Lord, you'll be trusting in the sovereign Lord. 00:35:03.519 --> 00:35:07.360 Waiting expectantly to see what he will do next. 00:35:08.880 --> 00:35:10.320 And they just let him go. 00:35:11.440 --> 00:35:12.960 Nobody saw that coming. 00:35:14.159 --> 00:35:16.079 They just let him go, just like that. 00:35:16.400 --> 00:35:19.119 Because the crowds were even more worked up. 00:35:19.280 --> 00:35:21.199 As if the commotion of tongues wasn't enough. 00:35:21.360 --> 00:35:24.079 That lame man had been lame for more than 40 years. 00:35:24.239 --> 00:35:32.079 Everybody had seen him at the temple gates their entire lives, even these politicians, these rulers of the Jews, ever, ever politically wise. 00:35:32.239 --> 00:35:35.039 They just let him walk so as not to cause too much trouble. 00:35:35.280 --> 00:35:36.719 They released them. 00:35:36.960 --> 00:35:41.920 And I have a hard time believing that Peter and John saw that one coming. 00:35:42.960 --> 00:35:47.599 But I love the way the English Standard Version translates verse 23. 00:35:47.760 --> 00:35:49.920 When they were released, they went to their friends. 00:35:50.880 --> 00:35:52.239 They went to their people. 00:35:52.639 --> 00:35:58.880 As beautiful as verse 32 is going to be when we get there next week, it's all wrapped up right there in that little phrase, right? 00:35:59.360 --> 00:36:00.480 They went to their friends. 00:36:00.880 --> 00:36:02.079