Message Four: “There Is Another King - Jesus”
Considering the Death &
Resurrection of Jesus Christ – 2005
TEXT: Acts 17:1-9 – Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee – March 27, 2005
Acts 17:1-9 ESV
Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they
came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his
custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the
Scriptures, 3 explaining
and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise
from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is
the Christ."
4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul
and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the
leading women. 5 But the
Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a
mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to
bring them out to the crowd. 6 And
when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers
before the city authorities, shouting, "These men who have turned the
world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has
received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying
that there is another king, Jesus."
8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when
they heard these things. 9 And
when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them
go.
The first
day of the week
Do you
know why you’re here today? My focus in
asking you that question is not so much on the word “you” as it is on the word
“today.” I recently was doing some
research on the reason why Easter Sunday varies so much from year to year, and
found this true sentence in a Bible Encyclopedia: “It is reasonably certain
that the New Testament contains no reference to a yearly celebration of the
resurrection of Christ.” The New
Testament does call for a special celebration of the resurrection, but it is
not an annual celebration. It is a
weekly celebration.
So in asking you my question: “Do you
know why you are here today I am referring not to what
is called “Easter” but to what we call Sunday.
We are here on Sunday because that is the day Jesus rose from the
dead. The entire Old Testament calendar
was completed and done away with in the death and resurrection of Christ. The old order was a fairly complex
system. I gave some middle school
students a test last week where I asked them to write down all the Old Testament
festival days they could remember. I
don’t know how well they did, since I have not graded it yet. I suspect that they would have done well to
spend more time memorizing some of that information. By contrast, the New Testament religious
calendar is easily memorized. Every
Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
It is fairly clear from Acts 20:7 and
I Corinthians 16:2 that the church gathered for worship on the first day of the
week, a radical break from the Jewish custom of worshipping on the last day of
the week. It is also clear that part of
that worship was the preaching of the Word.
There is little doubt that the resurrection was a central and essential
theme not only of apostolic preaching, but of all Christian worship. Why are we here together on Sunday? Because Sunday is the day Jesus rose from the
dead, and that resurrection has made all the difference for all who believe in
our risen Savior and Lord.
This
morning’s text:
The preaching of the resurrection
They came to Thessalonica – We can certainly see this in the
passage before us this morning. In that
passage we read that Paul and his companions came to Thessalonica, a city of
about 200,000 people that served as the provincial capital of
He reasoned with them – The answer is clear from what he
customarily does when he comes to a new town.
The text tells us. He engaged the
Jews gathering on the last day of the week in an exercise of thinking. He did not want them to merely “feel” the
love of Jesus. He wanted them to KNOW
that love, and so he reasoned with them.
From the Scriptures – His reasoning did not spring from
Greek philosophy or other human wisdom, although he was apparently proficient
in these areas. He wanted his hearers to
consider carefully the very words of the Old Testament. He reasoned with them from the
Scriptures. I am desperate this morning
for those who will be willing to reason from the Scriptures. I am like a venture capitalist with vast sums
in hand looking for worthy investments. I am desperate for hearers who are
willing to use their minds to think about God from the Scriptures. There are more people today than there were
twenty years ago who want to think about God, about the after-life, about
angels, about world religions, and about religious experiences that they have
heard about or felt. There are many
people who would be happy to talk about their religious feelings on any number
of issues. But there seem to be very
few, even within the church, who are willing to reason
from the Scriptures. This is what Paul
was intent upon doing everywhere he went, and it is what I want to do with the
rest of my life.
It was necessary for the Christ to
suffer
– What was it that Paul wanted to reason with people about from the
Scriptures? The Bible is a big
book. What was Paul using it for every
time he opened it? The text tells us
that when he went to Thessalonica or to any town where a door for the Word was
opened to Him, He wanted people to see two things from the Old Testament
Scriptures. First, that the Christ
(Messiah) had to suffer and die, and secondly, that he had to rise from the dead. Every time that Paul opened up the Old
Testament, this is what he was looking for.
Let me just refer to one Old Testament
chapter that I have been speaking about recently to some of you – Psalm 22, in
order to show you according to the Scriptures why it was necessary for the
Messiah to suffer.
First, you have to understand that if
the Scriptures said that the Christ would
suffer, then it must be so. We are not primarily questioning God about
why He felt it necessary to do things a certain way. He may choose to answer that question or He
may not. We are listening to what God
has said. We are hearing what He says,
and then believing that this is exactly the way that things are or will be. We are saying to God, “Your Word is
completely true and it must be fulfilled.”
Jesus said this himself in John 10:35 with these words: “Scripture
cannot be broken.” This is what Paul
means when he talks about the necessity of Christ’s sufferings and
resurrection. This is what he was
explaining and proving to the Jews in Thessalonica.
Second, you need to see that Psalm 22
is a prophetic speech (specifically, a vow) of the coming Christ
(Messiah). The words are apparently
written by David, but the promises that the psalmist makes to God go far beyond
the life span of David. The psalmist
speaks of promises that Messiah alone can bring about (v. 25-31). He will do a work of reconciliation, causing
all the ends of the earth to remember, turn to the Lord, and worship Him
forever (v. 27). This will include those
who have already died (v. 29) and those who had not yet been born
(v.30-31). This work of saving humanity
by healing the great breach between God and man caused by sin is the work of
Messiah. He alone would make many righteous
(Is 53:11) and enable the necessary reconciliation with God to take place. That reconciliation was absolutely required
if the eternal worship in the presence of God described in Psalm 22 was to ever
happen. Therefore, the One speaking in
Psalm 22 must ultimately be Messiah, which Jesus confirms by saying the words
of verse one on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Third, you need to see that Psalm 22
insists that the Messiah will suffer.
This is beyond question. Listen
to verses 14-18.
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of
joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; 15 my strength is dried up like a
potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of
death. 16 For dogs encompass
me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and
feet- 17 I can count all my
bones- they stare and gloat over me; 18
they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.
It is not only obvious from these words that Messiah
would suffer, it is also now plain to us that the very experiences of Jesus on
the cross are being described.
And to rise from the dead – I need to draw particular attention
to two phrases in what I just read. “I
am poured out like water” and “You lay me in the dust of death.” The first of these is the language of the
drink offering. The water is poured out
before the Lord. No man can drink that
water. It is gone. This is a reference to death, as when Paul
writes to Timothy, “I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the
time of my departure has come.” (2 Tim 4:6).
The difference in Psalm 22 is that this is presented as a completed past
event, rather than an imminent reality that is presently beginning. The second expression is clearer. “You lay me in the dust of death.” When God lays you in the dust of death, you
are dead. This aspect of the suffering
of Christ is important, because the later verses clearer present the Messiah as
alive again. Thus, as it was necessary
for the Christ to suffer, and even die according to this Psalm, it was also
necessary for Him to rise from the dead if these words would be fulfilled. Everything from v. 21 in the psalm which says
“You have rescued me.” through the end of the psalm that declares “he has done
it.” describes a Messiah who is very much alive.
This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is
the Christ.
– Paul then proclaimed from the Scriptures a Messiah who lived, died, and rose
again. He further proclaimed that this
Messiah was none other than Jesus. No
one else could have fulfilled the words of Psalm 22 except Jesus of Nazareth,
the sinless substitute for sinners who died for us on a Roman cross. To look for other Messiahs is a vain
enterprise. I read recently of a
mathematician’s effort to calculate the probability of anyone other than Jesus
of Nazareth fulfilling the many Old Testament prophecies concerning
Messiah. He determined that it was a
fraction with 1 in the numerator’s place, and an exceedingly long number beyond
my power to express in the denominator’s place.
In a word, it is impossible.
In the
interest of time (Paul spent three Sabbaths on this) I have limited myself to
Psalm 22. I have not even touched upon
Psalm 16 that we will sing later in this service, or the many other psalms that
speak about being brought to life again, let alone all the words of the
prophets regarding the coming Messiah.
The truth is that there are such a large number of passages to turn to
in the Old Testament to show the sufferings and resurrection of Messiah, that
it would take years to go through them all.
Another point should also be made.
These passages are far clearer to the reader after the decisive events
they describe have actually happened. It
is as New Testament believers in Jesus as the promised Messiah that the more
shadowy but voluminous references to Him in the Old Testament shine more
brilliantly to the eyes of faith.
The response of the hearers
Some
of them were persuaded – This is the message that Paul brought to the
synagogue in Thessalonica, and some of the Jews who gathered there heard the
evidence that Paul presented from passages in the Scriptures, and they were
convinced by it. They believed in the promise of Psalm 22, and they knew it had
everything to do with Jesus. Many
Gentiles and leading women from Thessalonica joined them in that faith.
But
the Jews… - But others did not believe the truth but persecuted it. But there is no amount of persecution that
can change the facts that are presented for your consideration and belief this
morning. Even those who hated the
Christian message knew something about what it was. They knew that Christians believed that there
is another King – Jesus.
He Is! Notice what the detractors of the faith know. They do not say that Christians believe that
there was another king. Christians believe there is a
King. He is alive. He died for your
transgressions. But now He lives for
your justification. He lives to do what
only Messiah can do. He works
reconciliation throughout the earth between the elect children of God and the
Lord of glory, who is forever to be praised.
He Is Jesus –
The Christ! This living One is Jesus the
Christ. There is no other possible
Messiah. You will either worship God
through Him or you will have no blessing from God at all.
He is King! Anything less than His complete rule and reign over your
heart, soul, mind, and strength is not worthy of such a great King.