Listen to a Solid Witness Speak Solid Truth!

2nd Sunday of Easter, 4/8/18
Acts 3:12-20


Listen to a Solid Witness Speak Solid Truth!
I. We crucified the Lord of life.
II. God raised him for our justification.


I’m going to assume that you no longer believe everything you see and hear. Am I right about that? If so, when was it that you became skeptical? That might be difficult to answer. I don’t think any of us went to bed one night confident that people in general were telling us the truth, only to awake the next morning doubting everything we see and hear. It happens slowly, imperceptibly, undetected.

But it happens with good reason. You listen to someone tell you something and the whole time you’re wondering if it’s the truth. You watch the news as the well-intentioned reporter shares a segment of that day’s news with you and you wonder if there’s another side to this story—a side that you’re not hearing.

And one of the reasons for our skepticism about what a person is sharing with us is that we know all too well that everyone has an agenda. They have a reason for wanting us to believe what they are telling us. And that means the presentation of the facts might be weighted in one direction or another—whichever one favors their agenda.

Unfortunately that’s precisely what occurred and still occurs with the greatest news event ever—the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Just what really happened and how does it affect you and me?

Well, we know what happened and we know it’s so important that we’ve gathered this morning to hear it again. And as far as how it affects us—we can all use a refresher course. Peter provides that very thing for us this morning as we continue our celebration of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Peter wasn’t simply toeing the party line. He wasn’t the victim of an evil power forcing him to speak something that wasn’t true. He was a solid witness speaking solid truth. As such, he’s infinitely worth listening to. So do it. Listen to a solid witness speaking solid truth. Let’s see how that truth applies to us today.

Part I.

Our text breaks into the middle of a miraculous event. It occurred shortly after Jesus ascended into heaven—maybe a couple of months after he rose from the dead. Peter and John had met a man suffering from paralysis of the legs who was begging at one of the gates of the temple in Jerusalem. Peter declared to him that he didn’t have any silver or gold to give him, but what he had, he would gladly share. And then in the name of Jesus Christ, he commanded the man to get up and walk and that’s just what he did. And the crowd of people that witnessed it were naturally amazed.

Peter used their amazement as an opportunity to declare God’s solid truth. The first truth that he wanted them to understand is that he wasn’t responsible for this miracle. He stated, “Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus.”

In short, Peter was giving all glory to Jesus. It was Jesus who healed this man. Jesus simply used Peter as the vehicle for his almighty power.

But now, having mentioned Jesus, Peter had the opportunity to speak to them about another solid truth—the truth about what they had done to this Jesus who had healed this man. He declared, “You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life.” Whoa! Did Peter really mean what he said? Did he really want to accuse these people of killing Jesus?

How could that be true? Well, first the obvious. It’s entirely possible that some of these men standing before Peter were actually there in Pilate’s courtyard on Good Friday. They may have joined in the shouts of, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” And, even if they hadn’t joined in those murderous shouts, no one spoke up to defend Jesus. No one even questioned the injustice of it all.

But even if they weren’t there and weren’t aware of it, even if the people to whom Peter was speaking had never heard of Jesus (which is highly unlikely), the solid truth is that their sins made the death of Christ necessary. There was no other way that a loving and merciful God and yet a holy and just God could deal with the sins of every sinner than for him to send his only Son, Jesus, to the cross for those sins. When Peter points his apostolic finger and shouts, “You killed the author of life” he’s pointing at every sinner; he’s pointing at me, at you.

Listen to a solid witness speak solid truth. We crucified the Lord of life.

An orthopedic surgeon was tending to the broken leg of a ten-year-old boy. He could tell the boy was in pain. He knew he could help the boy, but he wanted him to know what it was going to mean for him to set that leg bone correctly. So he told him, “I’m going to have to make it hurt a little more so that it can heal correctly and begin feeling better.” He spoke the solid truth.

As Christians who have come to worship today to continue your celebration of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, I hope you’re not appalled at the solid truth which Peter shares with us this morning. We crucified the Lord of life. But couldn’t Peter have focused on the positive—the resurrection of Jesus—and forget about the negative? After all, life the last six days was hard enough on us. No sooner was Easter over than our stress levels returned to normal—right through the roof. We got thrown right back to the wolves—our family members, our co-workers, our fellow students. We forgot about our ailments on Easter but they came raging back into our lives on Monday morning. What’s more, we know we weren’t perfect in the past week. We know we sinned. And now, pastor, you share Peter’s solid truth with us—you crucified the Lord of life? What’s that all about? Kicking us while we’re down?

The solid truth is that God has to make it hurt a little more before he makes it better. The resurrection of Jesus, his sufferings and death, and his perfect life mean nothing to the person who doesn’t recognize this solid truth, “I crucified Jesus.” My sins cost Jesus his life. It does no good to mask that truth or to anesthetize us against our sinful reality. As hard as it is for us to take, we need to hear that solid truth. And, in his love for us, our God has Peter, his solid witness, speak it to us this morning.

Part II.

But thanks be to God, that isn’t the final word from our God or from the lips of his solid witness, Peter, either. Peter proclaims, “God raised him from the dead.”

That’s what Easter is all about. It’s about the resurrection of Jesus from the dead—physically, really. That’s not some myth. It’s not a fictional story generated by his followers out of a delusional impression about Jesus’ greatness. Nor is the resurrection of Jesus simply a metaphor for the fact that the memory of Jesus lived on in the hearts and lives of those who loved him.

And it certainly wasn’t the gospel writers’ way of bringing a tragic story to a happy ending. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John did not muse, “Let’s see…how can I make the crucifixion of Jesus a little more palatable? I know! I’ll report that he rose from the dead!” It didn’t happen that way.

It happened just as Peter explains it here in our text. God raised him from the dead. He had promised to do it several times in the Old Testament. And what God promised, he did. Absolutely. Definitively. Solidly.

Even more so, he raised him from the dead to assure us of our forgiveness. Think about it. If Jesus is still dead, then Jesus is just a sinful, human prophet who met a tragic and untimely death. But, if Jesus rose from the dead as he said he would, then he is true God. If he is true God, then I can be sure that his death was a payment large enough to pay for the sins of the world. And, if Jesus’ death paid for the world’s sins, then he certainly paid for mine. The Bible declares, “[Jesus] was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Rom. 4:25). God justifies us. He declares us holy. How can I be sure of that? Because Jesus rose from the dead.

Listen to a solid witness speak solid truth. God raised Jesus for our justification.

Knowing that we are sinners, knowing that we crucified the author of life, what will it take to convince you that God justifies you, that God looks at you just as if you had never sinned? It would take something really big, wouldn’t it? How about the resurrection of Jesus from the dead? Does that fit such a need for a big display of his power? Indeed it does!

You see, for the Christian, Easter is not a once-a-year celebration. The resurrection of Jesus has practical meaning for our lives each and every day. How can I be sure of my forgiveness when guilt paralyzes me? Jesus rose from the dead. How can I be sure of eternity with God when I can’t even imagine what tomorrow will bring? Jesus rose from the dead. You see, because of the resurrection of Jesus, all of God’s promises are certain. That’s the rock-solid truth God wants to implant solidly in your heart. That’s the rock-solid truth that his solid witness proclaims this morning. With that solid truth you’re ready to meet today – tomorrow – eternity with your loving God. Amen.