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March 30, 2008
Easter 2
Acts 2:14a, 22-32
Pastor Ben Berger

WE ARE ALL WITNESSES

I made a new t-shirt this week. It reads, “WE ARE ALL WITNESSES” and has a cross below. It’s based on a shirt made by Nike for Lebron James. Last year when Lebron James took the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals, they made a t-shirt that read, “WE ARE ALL WITTNESSES.” They witnessed the greatness of Lebron James. This t-shirt witnesses someone even greater than Lebron James, Jesus Christ. A witness proclaims what he has seen and heard. Today Peter and the other disciples witness to us the resurrection of Jesus. Based on what they saw and heard, including and especially Jesus’ resurrection, they proclaim Jesus as Savior. Today we too become witnesses who have heard and seen Jesus’ resurrection and can now proclaim him as Savior. WE ARE ALL WITNESSES.

It’s Pentecost and Peter has just finished explaining why all of the disciples are prophesying in different languages; they were witnessing. Now Peter wants to proclaim as Savior the one they witnessed, Jesus. “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man…” Peter wants to remind the people of the man who walked among them on earth just days before. But Peter also wants the people to admit that Jesus was more than a man.

“Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know” (22). While true man, Jesus was also true God. And God himself proved or accredited Jesus as God by miracles, wonders and signs. Every miracle proved that Jesus is true God – turning water into wine, making the blind see or the deaf hear or the mute talk, making the paralyzed walk, raising the dead, rising from the dead. These people witnessed Jesus’ miracles and powers with their own eyes. They saw and talked to those Jesus healed. They were all witnesses.

Yet Peter proclaimed, “you…put him to death by nailing him to the cross” (23). Even though the Jews had all the proof necessary to see that Jesus was God and Savior as he proclaimed, they crucified him. Certainly they sinned by putting an innocent man to death. But their greater sin was rejecting the promised Messiah. God gave them every chance to hear and see proof that Jesus was the one he sent. They refused. They rejected Jesus and put him to death.

Let’s not excuse ourselves from that “you…put him to death by nailing him to the cross.” I know we weren’t there when Peter spoke those words, but they have been recorded as a witness for us too. We too have responsibility for nailing Jesus to the cross. I know we didn’t shout “Crucify” with our voices, but our sins don’t stop shouting. We don’t want Jesus to die, but we don’t stop sinning. And I know we haven’t rejected Jesus as Savior; we believe in him as Savior. But we often reject his will for our lives. We live as we want, leaving Jesus on the side; and then we expect him to forgive us, which he could only do by dying on the cross. We are just as guilty as those standing before Peter. We put Jesus to death by nailing him to the cross and Peter is a witness.

“But God raised him from the dead” (24). Let’s back up a little. Before God raised Jesus and before he was crucified, he was “handed over…by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge” (23). God knew all along what would happen to Jesus. In fact, God planned it. Don’t misunderstand; God didn’t plan sin. He didn’t force Judas to betray Jesus or the Jews to reject him or the Romans to crucify him. However, God used such sin for his plan and purpose. Even before the creation of the world, God saw sin coming and planned to send a Savior from sin. God sent his only Son, Jesus.

After Jesus finished the work of saving sinners by living a perfect life and dying on the cross, God raised him from the dead. By raising Jesus from the dead God proved that he had accepted Jesus’ work of salvation. And God proved that he loved his Son and was well-pleased with him. God proved that Jesus is the Savior. God did not hide his plan; it was all recorded in Scripture.

Peter reveals God’s plan as recorded in Psalm 16, which was written by Kind David. David too was a witness of Jesus and his resurrection. Much of the Psalm can be applied to David himself. He witnessed God’s presence in his life, saw the Lord always before him. His heart was glad and tongue rejoiced in Christ. God taught David the paths of life both on earth and to heaven and filled David with joy. And David’s body also lived in the hope that he would not be abandoned to the grave because he knew that God would not let Jesus, his Holy One, see decay.

Take a closer look at verse 27. The Holy One to which David refers must be Jesus. David knew he wasn’t holy; he confessed his sin often in many other psalms. And, as Peter later points out, David’s body saw decay. Already at his time David witnessed to Jesus’ resurrection and therefore trusted in his own resurrection.

Because Jesus’ body did not see decay, you too can trust that God will not abandon you to the grave. Yes, you will die; the wages of sin is still death. But you will not stay dead; you will not be abandoned to the grave. Jesus was abandoned on the cross; God forsook him. That’s what hell is and Jesus suffered hell for our sins. But God did not abandon Jesus to the grave; he didn’t even let his body decay. God raised Jesus from the dead. And God promises to send Jesus to also raise you from the dead. He will then give you a glorious body like Jesus now has. And he will take you, new body and soul, to live forever in heaven. There will be no more death. Rather, God will fill you with all joy in his presence.

Do you understand how huge this is? What are all the problems you face in this world? You face problems with your body. At my young age, I still creak and ache and hurt. Not with a new body in heaven. You face emotional problems. We all get frustrated, angry, sad and upset. Not in heaven; not in God’s presence. You face the fear of death. Not in heaven. There will be no more death. We will have glorious bodies in a perfect world with perfect relationships surrounded by God’s presence. All your problems will be gone because God raised Jesus from the dead.

And we are all witnesses of the fact. Peter and the other disciples weren’t debating whether or not Jesus really rose from the dead. They were witnesses. They spent three years living with him. They saw his betrayal, arrest, and unjust suffering. They watched all three hours he hung on the cross. They put his body in the tomb and rolled the stone in front. But then they saw the empty tomb, the angels, the folded close. They saw Jesus himself. They saw him twice behind locked doors. They saw him on the water and on the shore. They saw him walking on the road, teaching as he had before. They saw him in small groups and in a group of over 500. They watched as he ascended to heaven. They were all witnesses.

And as witnesses they reported what they saw and heard. They now proclaimed Jesus’ death and even more so his resurrection. They taught others what he taught them. And we are the benefactors of their witness. God used them to record the life, death and resurrection of Jesus in the Scriptures so that we could see and hear Jesus too. So that we could see God’s plan. So that we could believe in Jesus as our Savior.

Now we are all witnesses. You have heard God’s word. God has sent the Holy Spirit to use that word to create faith in your heart so that you now see Jesus as your Savior. And the Holy Spirit encourages you as a witness to proclaim what you have seen and heard to others. Tell them what you know about Jesus. Tell them how Jesus is always with you. Tell them how Jesus fills you with joy. Tell them of your hope in the resurrection.

Have you ever done that? Even once with just one person? Told them about the resurrection? We aren’t always the best witnesses, are we? We might not deny Jesus as Peter did, but we don’t always witness as Peter did either. In fact, we most often reject Jesus with our silence, our unwillingness to say anything. Either we don’t recognize the opportunities or we simply don’t take the opportunities. We could certainly work hard at creating the opportunities.

And God will give us many more opportunities to witness. Because God has raised Jesus from the dead and given us faith to believe in Jesus as Savior, he’s already forgiven our sins. He’s already forgiven our silence. Already forgiven our missed witness opportunities.