Resurrection Preaching in Acts
“Let it be known to you all, 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 stands here before you whole… Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:10,12
When Peter and John healed a 38-year-old man crippled from birth, it drew a crowd. Peter told the amazed throng something even more amazing. This healing was the work of a man whom God had brought back from the dead – Jesus of Nazareth.
Peter pointed to this Jesus as the Messiah promised by God through Moses and the Prophets. But as he and John urged the people to repent of their sins and turn to Jesus for forgiveness, they were interrupted by a group of serious-looking men with long beards and longer faces. They were the religious and political leaders of the nation. They were very upset – not because a man long-crippled could now walk, but because Christ’s men were telling the people that the crucified Jesus had risen from the dead. The Temple Guard arrested and jailed Peter and John. They left them bound over for trial in the morning.
The next day the two apostles were brought before the Sanhedrin – the same Jewish High Court that had condemned Jesus to death a few months earlier. Their interrogation centered on one question: “By what power or by what name have you done this?” Peter’s answer is above in our text: “It was by the name of Jesus.”
When we today tell others about Jesus and how all He’s done for us is sealed and certified by His resurrection, we should not be surprised if some become upset. Proclaiming Jesus’ resurrection raises the issue of why He died. Then we’re talking about sin – all people’s sin. This is a subject people do not like facing on a personal level. Yet they need to, so they can then be shown that Jesus is the substitutionary sacrifice for the sin-guilt of all. His resurrection certifies He paid our sin-debt in full. (1 Cor 15:17-20)
Holy Spirit, fill my heart with Easter joy every day. Help me to daily speak boldly of that joy. Amen.