“PETER – A ROCK (PART 2)”
SELECTED SCRIPTURES
I. Introduction
One of the greatest debates of our age is the debate over how we came to be, how you and I and everyone and everything came into existence. On one side of the debate are those who say that everything came from nothing by a willful act of the supreme and sovereign Creator, the God of the Bible. The Latin term for this act of creation is “ex nihilo,” (ex-nee´-hi-lo) which literally means “from nothing.” Genesis tells us about it. The first verse of the first chapter gets right to the point. You know it well.
Genesis 1:1
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
“…the beginning…” of what? It must mean from the beginning of the heavens and the earth, from the beginning of time. It must mean that because it can’t mean from the beginning of eternity. Why? It can’t mean from the beginning of eternity because eter-nity has no beginning and eternity has no end. That’s why we call it “eternity.”
You do understand that just as time had a beginning, so too it will have an end, don’t you? Just as before the beginning of time, there was eternity past, so too after the end of time there will be eternity future. The point is this: God created everything, even time, from nothing, and just as this creation will finally cease to exist, so too will time as we now know it cease to exist. Will that be the end? Well, it will be the end of time. But that only means a return to eternity – not eternity past, but eternity future.
Why is this a difficult concept for us? You and I are creatures of time. We were created in time and we live in time. We have no experience with anything other than time. And time only moves in one direction. It isn’t last year, nor will it ever be again. It isn’t last week or yesterday, nor will it ever be again. If for some inexplicable reason, you are not quite sure that time only moves in one direction, just look in the mirror.
So again, God created everything from nothing. He transformed a vacuum, a complete emptiness, no things, not into some things, but into all things. He did so by the power of His Word. Genesis 1 repeatedly testifies, “Then God said…and it was so.”
That’s the position taken by one side of the great debate. The only thing I’ll say about the other side is that they believe all things pretty much came from no things too, or at least from some ancient, nebulous, and undefinable mass of matter that became all things all by itself. Please don’t press them on where their ancient, nebulous, undefinable mass of matter came from. They seem to have a really difficult time with issues like that.
So while one side of the debate says that everything came from nothing by God, the other side essentially says that everything came from nothing by accident.
The interesting thing is that most of those on that side of the debate like to say that those of us who believe in Genesis and the God who inspired its writing, believe a “fairy tale.” So which is it? Did God create the universe and everything in it or did the universe come into existence all by itself? Which of the two sounds more like a “fairy tale” to you?
The Bible teaches that God transformed nothing into everything. Could that have been the greatest miracle of all? What about this? What about the transformation of death into life? Is being resurrected, that is being transformed from death into life, the greatest mir-acle of all? Or this? What about a sinner, a spiritually dead soul who opposes God, hates His truth, and loves this world and its pleasures, being transformed into one who loves God, begins to understand His truth, and starts to see sin and the world for what it really is? Could that be the greatest miracle of all – making a spiritually dead sinner alive?
Well, our task this morning is not to categorize, rank, or rate miracles. Our task this morning is to look into the Bible, God’s written Word to us, and see the results of another transformation. It’s what happens when God chooses a lost man, a sinner who possesses no particular talents or special abilities, and miraculously transforms him into what most of us would describe as a spiritual giant. Such a man was Simon the fisherman from the village of Capernaum on the northern coast of the Sea of Galilee.
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II. Review
We met Simon last Sunday morning. We saw what kind of a man he was. We saw that he was overeager, brash, impulsive, and outspoken. We saw that he was a man with a weak and flawed character. Then we saw how Jesus began transforming Simon into what he would become, Peter – a Rock.
So Jesus taught and Simon learned. But it was an arduous task. However, as time went on Peter began to learn the things that would transform him into the man Jesus intended him to be. Peter learned submission, restraint, humility, sacrifice, courage, and love.
Yet even after the crucifixion and resurrection Peter still exhibited the flaws and weak-nesses of the old Simon. But then the real change took place. Just ten days after Jesus ascended to heaven, the Holy Spirit came, the Church of Jesus Christ was born, and the weak and flawed Simon was fully transformed into the strong and Spirit-filled Peter.
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III. Text
Jeff read Acts 1:1-5, where Jesus reiterates His earlier promise to send the Holy Spirit. He also read Acts 2:1-13, where the Spirit comes and fills God’s people. This event is the very birth of the church.
The Apostle Peter has been prepared for this moment. Just as he had led the twelve, he will now become the first leader of the church. At this point in his life there is little of the “old Simon” left in him. He has been completely transformed.
Remember Peter’s former immaturity, his impulsiveness, his pride, his “big mouth,” and then listen to him as he is filled with the Holy Spirit and preaches the first sermon.
Onlookers had witnessed the coming of the Spirit and had been amazed at what they had seen and heard. They couldn’t explain it and so they said, “These people are drunk.”
*Acts 2:14-21
14 But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea, and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give heed to my words.
15 “For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day;
16 but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: (17-21 quotes Joel)
17 [‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘that I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all mankind; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;
18 Even upon My bondslaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit and they shall prophesy.
19 ‘And I will grant wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke.
20 ‘The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the LORD shall come.
21 ‘And it shall be, that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.’”]
Look again at v. 17. It is the key to correctly understanding what the Prophet Joel was talking about. When he used the words, “…it shall be in the last days…,” it refers to the entire dispensation of grace in which we have lived for the past two thousand years.
So these “last days” actually began with the birth of the church on the day of Pentecost. I think this helps to explain why the apostles all believed that Jesus would return at any moment. They understood that the first day of the church was already the “last days.” Since we are still in the church age, the last days, we also believe that Jesus will return at any moment. Can you see why there is such a sense of urgency about proclaiming the gospel? With regard to Christ’s return, God has kept the church on “the edge of her seat,” as it were, from the very beginning of her existence.
These “last days” will conclude with Christ’s Second Coming. At that time all living Jews will repent and be saved. And then all Jews will be redeemed and enter into the Millennial (Messianic) Kingdom. This is what Paul spoke of in Romans.
Romans 11:25b-26
25b …a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;
26 and thus all Israel will be saved…
Now look again at vv. 19-20. What Joel said, and what Peter reiterated here in Acts, helps us understand the events spoken of in Revelation where John describes the Great Tribulation just before Jesus’ return to the earth. Now look once more at v. 21. Within this context the statement applies specifically to Israel. But in the broader sense it is always true that, “…everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
So in the first church, on the first day, the first segment of the first sermon closes with a call for salvation. The second segment is the clear proclamation of who Jesus really is.
*Acts 2:22-36
22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know –
23 this Man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
24 “And God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. (vv. 25-28 quotes David)
25 “For David says of Him, [‘I was always beholding the LORD in my presence; for He is at my right hand that I may not be shaken.
26 ‘Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue exulted; moreover my flesh also will abide in hope;
27 because You will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.
28 ‘You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of gladness with Your presence.’]
29 “Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
30 “And so, because he was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants upon his throne,
31 he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay.
32 “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.
33 “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.
34 “For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘The LORD said to my lord, “Sit at My right hand,
35 until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”’
36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ – this Jesus whom you crucified.”
In v. 22 Peter begins the second segment of his sermon. He reminds his hearers of what many of them already know. First, Jesus validated His identity by miracles, signs, and wonders. Second, Peter speaks of the truth of God’s plan, foreknowledge, and sove-reignty in delivering His Son to be crucified. Third, God raised Jesus from the dead.
There is a sense here that God raised Jesus because He had to! Look at v. 24. “And God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for (Jesus) to be held in its power.” God raised Jesus because God could not not raise Jesus.
Here is the point. You cannot kill God! Jesus’ life in the flesh could be taken from Him, but death could not hold Him, death could not keep Him. All of the powers of death, the grave, hell, and Satan himself could not keep the Son of God in the ground. So Acts 2:24 is really another proof text with regard to Jesus’ true identity. He is God in human flesh, and it is impossible for death to have any power over Him.
What is the applicable reality for you and for me? It is simply this. Are you in Christ? You aren’t sure? Well, have you put your faith and your trust in Him and in Him alone – not in your religion, not in your “good works” – but in Him? Have you turned to Jesus, repented of your sin, and asked Him to forgive you and take control of your life? If your answer is, “Yes, to the best of my ability, that is precisely what I have done.” Then on the authority of the written Word of God, I can confidently tell you that you are in Christ.
And just as Jesus died and His body went into the ground, so too will you die. You will go back to the dust from which you came. But here is the good news for all who are in Christ. Just as Jesus was raised to eternal life and glory, so too will you be raised. If you are in Christ, you must be raised from the dead, because He was raised from the dead.
You see, Christian, it is not a question of if you will be resurrected. It is only a question of when you will be resurrected. The answer to that question is given to us by the Apostle Paul in his first letter to the church at Thessalonica. In it he describes the rapture.
*1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.
18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
But we are in the process of looking at the Apostle Peter’s first sermon in Acts 2. Are you beginning to get a sense of the magnitude of what he is talking about? Peter has spoken directly or indirectly to things like God’s eternal plan, His sovereignty, mankind’s guilt over putting Jesus on the cross, the deity of the Christ, fulfilled prophecy, victory over death and the grave, and the Second Coming.
The stumbling and bumbling fisherman Simon has been transformed into Peter – the Rock, and he’s just getting started.
Look again at Acts 2:25-28. Peter quotes King David from Psalm 16 and explains that the real subject of the prophecy about resurrection was not David at all, but Jesus Him-self. Then in vv. 29-32 Peter drives that home by telling them that, although David has not yet been resurrected, Jesus Christ has already been resurrected.
So far Peter has said that the Holy Spirit has come and the church has been born. He has said that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, that He was crucified, and that He has risen from the dead.
Now in vv. 33-36, the third and final segment of the first sermon ever preached in the church, Peter will tell us that Jesus has ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of God, the promise of the Holy Spirit has come, and Jesus, who has always been Lord, has been exalted as both Lord and Christ. And there is one other thing to be said. Look carefully at Acts 2:36. The words are spoken to the Jews in Jerusalem, but they apply to every human being who has ever lived. We murdered Him, “…this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Do you really understand that you and I are responsible for His murder? Do you really understand that you and I put him on the cross? We say, “I didn’t have anything to do with it. I wasn’t there. I wasn’t even born yet.” But I tell you, we did it and we are responsible. We are as responsible for it just as much as if we had conducted the mock trials ourselves. We are as responsible for it just as much as if we had beaten Him nearly to death ourselves. We are as responsible for it just as much as if we held Him down and pounded the nails into His hands and feet ourselves. (the hammer and nails)
I tell this you without reservation. We can never fully grasp the cross, we can never fully grasp the magnitude of who Jesus Christ is, and we can never fully understand who and what we are, unless and until, we understand that we, collectively and individually, are fully responsible for the murder of Jesus. First, we are sinners because we born in sin. Our parents were sinners and so we inherited sin from them. Second, we are sinners because we are a part of a race of sinners. Third, we are sinners because we commit sin.
This sin is universal and it has separated us from God. It is your sin and it is mine. It is the sin of the Jews who plotted His murder. It is the sin of the Romans who carried it out. It is sin that nailed Jesus to the cross, and it is sin that killed Him.
Do you see why a gospel without repentance from sin, without even the mention of sin itself, is not the true gospel at all, but a false gospel that has no power to save and can never bring anyone to salvation?
Again, Acts 2:36 speaks of a universal truth. “…this Jesus whom you crucified.” Don’t be so quick to blame the Jews. Don’t be so quick to blame the Romans. They didn’t put Jesus on the cross. What put Him on the cross was their sin and my sin and your sin.
Now look at how they responded to Peter’s words.
*Acts 2:37-39
37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”
38 And Peter said to them, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (“Who is this for?”)
39 “For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call to Himself.”
This magnificent sermon wasn’t preached by someone that you and I would think of as one of the great preachers. It wasn’t preached by a Jonathan Edwards, or a Charles Spurgeon, or a Martin Lloyd Jones, or a John MacArthur, or anyone else with multiple seminary degrees in languages and theology and doctrine. It was preached by a simple fisherman, a flawed sinner named Simon, whom Jesus transformed into a Rock.
Peter has told us that the Holy Spirit has come and the church has been born. He has identified and confirmed the Person of Jesus Christ. He has told us what we must do with these truths. In short, “Repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.”
In the next three verses we see Peter’s instruction and the practical outworking of all he has said as the infant church takes its first steps.
*Acts 2:40-42
40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!”
41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
42 And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Here in v. 42 you see why we do what we do in church. The apostles’ teaching literally became the New Testament that is in front of you right now. So we read it, we preach it, and teach it, and we honor it. We strive for fellowship among us, and in the process, we enjoy the love of the brethren. We break bread, that is, we serve Communion regularly. We will do so again next Sunday. And we pray. We pray individually and we pray corporately.
In addition to all of that, we sing “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” according to Paul’s instruction in Ephesians 5:19. And finally, we cheerfully give of our substance according to the apostles’ teaching in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7.
From that moment in Acts the gospel was preached. People were told they were sinners, judgment was coming, and they needed to repent and put their faith in Jesus.
That is the central message of the church but you wouldn’t know it today, would you. The things people must know are suppressed. Much of the professing church no longer preaches, teaches, or even mentions sin, judgment, or repentance. Those things offend the sensibilities. But until someone recognizes their own sin, fears God’s wrath and the judgment to come, and repents, there is no salvation. That’s the bad news.
So a gospel without those things is not the gospel of Jesus Christ at all. The gospel of Jesus Christ is good news. He died for sinners, removed God’s wrath and the judgment to come from them, and took it upon Himself. Believe it, repent of your sin, put your faith in Him, and you are saved. It is no more complicated than that.
This is the gospel Peter preached. And, as you would expect, he was persecuted for it. In Acts 4 the Jewish authorities told him he was to stop preaching it. His response was…
*Acts 4:19b-20
19b “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge;
20 for we cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard.”
In Acts 5 Peter and the other apostles were warned again.
*Acts 5:28-29
28 “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”
29 But Peter and the apostles answered and said, “We must obey God rather than men.”
The Apostle Paul had great respect for Peter and the other apostles. In his letter to the churches in Galatia Paul referred to Peter, James, and John as “pillars” in the church. As the years went by Peter continued to preach the gospel in Judea and throughout all of Israel. He also traveled to Greece and to Asia preaching the “good news.” Some historians, both Christian and secular, believe that Peter also preached in what is today Central and Western Europe, but that remains unclear.
What is clear is the kind of man he became when Jesus transformed him from Simon into Peter. That can be seen over and over again in the Book of Acts and in 1 and 2 Peter. The last two were most likely written within three or four years of his execution. The two letters prove that Simon the fisherman had become Peter the Rock in every important sense of the word. In his letters to Christians he deals with the great doctrines of the Trinity, election, foreknowledge, salvation, and sanctification. He teaches about the precious blood of Christ, revelation, and faith, hope, and the glory to come.
1 Peter tells us much about the grace of God and the Christian’s duty under that grace.
2 Peter is about growing in Christ, the denunciation of false teachers, and our hope for the future. And then Peter’s ministry on earth came to a close.
In John’s gospel, Jesus told Peter the time would come when Peter would be crucified.
John 21:18-19a
18 “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself, and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will gird you, and bring you to where you do not wish to go.”
19a Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God.
That time came about thirty-five years later. Peter was martyred sometime during the year 67 AD. The ancient historians tell us that Peter was forced to witness first the tor-ture and then the crucifixion of his own wife. Only after that was he himself crucified. Tradition says he told his executioners that he was not worthy to be crucified as his Lord had been. So they accommodated him and he was crucified head down. And so both Peter and his wife entered into the glorious presence of their Lord and Savior.
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IV. Conclusion
What can we learn from Peter? How about this? You and I can be like him. How?
*1 Peter 2:1-5
1 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,
2 like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,
3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.
4 And coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected by men, but choice and precious in the sight of God,
5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
In v. 2 Peter speaks of Christians as newborn babes who are to long for the pure milk of the Word. The metaphor is clear. Regardless of how old you are, when you come to Christ, you are born again, just as Jesus said. You might be eighty years old, but in Christ you are a baby all over again. And as a baby, you need milk. So Peter tells us the Bible is that pure milk. The pure milk of the Word of God is the only food you need to grow and become mature in the faith.
Look at v. 4. The metaphors continue. Peter, the one whom Jesus transformed into a Rock of a man, refers to Jesus as a “living stone.” And then in v. 5 he tells us that all who are in Christ are so inextricably linked to Him that we are living stones ourselves.
In Peter we see how God can transform us into men and women who can glorify God in ways we’ve never even dreamed. Will you let Him do His transforming work in you?
I’m going to close this morning by reading the benediction from last Sunday morning.
These are Peter’s last words to us.
2 Peter 3:17-18
17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness,
18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and in the day of eternity. Amen.