1 00:00:00,056 --> 00:00:04,629 The only reason this book works is because Christ is risen. 2 00:00:04,629 --> 00:00:08,152 There is no reading this if Christ isn't risen. 3 00:00:08,152 --> 00:00:11,894 Throw your Bible away if Jesus isn't risen. 4 00:00:11,894 --> 00:00:13,655 Because it means nothing. 5 00:00:13,705 --> 00:00:15,616 but it still has some good wisdom. 6 00:00:15,617 --> 00:00:18,378 Until you die and there's nothing left. 7 00:00:18,519 --> 00:00:21,600 If Christ isn't risen, there's nothing here. 8 00:00:22,141 --> 00:00:25,704 The following message was recorded at Kingstree Church. 9 00:00:25,704 --> 00:00:29,366 May the Spirit use it to help you see, savor. 10 00:00:29,366 --> 00:00:34,729 And sing the beauty of God in the crucified and risen Jesus Christ. 11 00:00:36,691 --> 00:00:39,003 We are returning to Acts. 12 00:00:39,003 --> 00:00:41,605 We're looking again at Acts chapter two today. 13 00:00:41,605 --> 00:00:46,218 So if you recall, last week we began to look at Acts chapter two. 14 00:00:46,218 --> 00:00:48,780 Specifically, we're looking at Pentecost. 15 00:00:48,780 --> 00:00:53,003 So this sending of the Spirit at Pentecost. 16 00:00:53,003 --> 00:00:54,794 And that's where we're going to be again today. 17 00:00:54,794 --> 00:00:58,248 And we're going to specifically be looking at Peter's. 18 00:00:58,248 --> 00:01:01,180 Sermon and how he interprets Scripture. 19 00:01:01,180 --> 00:01:04,832 You might think, oh, okay, what's a whole sermon about that? 20 00:01:04,832 --> 00:01:06,343 But here's the thing. 21 00:01:06,343 --> 00:01:15,248 As Protestants, one of the most essential truths that we stand upon is the supreme authority of Scripture. 22 00:01:15,248 --> 00:01:17,909 That's down at the very roots of what we believe. 23 00:01:17,909 --> 00:01:20,111 Scripture is the final authority. 24 00:01:20,111 --> 00:01:26,156 It doesn't mean Scripture is the only authority, but it does mean that Scripture is the final authority. 25 00:01:26,156 --> 00:01:31,110 We believe that this book contains the word of God, the words of God. 26 00:01:31,110 --> 00:01:34,593 And what this book teaches is true. 27 00:01:34,593 --> 00:01:35,213 And that's good. 28 00:01:35,213 --> 00:01:36,555 That's the right thing to say. 29 00:01:36,555 --> 00:01:38,336 That's a wise claim. 30 00:01:38,336 --> 00:01:47,103 Because if this book contains God's speech, then of course it has an authority greater than human speech. 31 00:01:47,103 --> 00:01:48,905 Doesn't mean we don't care what people say. 32 00:01:48,905 --> 00:01:53,909 It doesn't mean we don't care what tradition has said or what the wisdom of people who've gone before us has said. 33 00:01:53,909 --> 00:01:55,700 It does not mean that. 34 00:01:55,840 --> 00:02:00,002 It simply means what is found in this book is of a different category. 35 00:02:00,002 --> 00:02:08,395 It is it is the words of God, so it carries a unique authority, an authority that determines final truth. 36 00:02:08,455 --> 00:02:13,797 That's that's essential to our confession as Protestant Christians. 37 00:02:14,158 --> 00:02:21,661 But if that's our claim, and it is, then it really matters how we come to this book, how we interpret this book. 38 00:02:21,661 --> 00:02:24,442 Because it's one thing to say the truth is here. 39 00:02:24,812 --> 00:02:31,328 It's another thing to say, and and and this is what it says, because it it entails an interpretation. 40 00:02:31,328 --> 00:02:33,420 When you read something, you have to interpret it. 41 00:02:33,420 --> 00:02:35,793 You have to understand what it's saying. 42 00:02:35,793 --> 00:02:46,442 And so an authoritative text requires some some kind of authoritative interpretation, some kind of key, some kind of way of how do I understand what this says? 43 00:02:46,963 --> 00:02:50,178 And that is what we are going to be looking at. 44 00:02:50,178 --> 00:02:56,079 This morning, because you ask yourself, where do I find that authoritative interpretation of the authoritative text? 45 00:02:56,180 --> 00:03:02,721 Well, in the text itself, we find the Bible interpreting the Bible. 46 00:03:02,881 --> 00:03:08,163 Inside the Bible, you find passages of scripture that interpret other passages of scripture. 47 00:03:08,163 --> 00:03:14,385 And that helps us to learn: okay, this is how I'm supposed to be reading the Bible. 48 00:03:14,385 --> 00:03:17,905 I look at how the Bible reads the Bible, as it were. 49 00:03:18,166 --> 00:03:19,992 That's what we're going to be doing this morning. 50 00:03:19,992 --> 00:03:29,088 We're going to be looking at how does Peter, an inspired author of Scripture, how does he read the Bible? 51 00:03:29,308 --> 00:03:34,402 And the goal of doing that is not just, we we, of course, want to see Christ and be built up. 52 00:03:34,402 --> 00:03:37,494 That happens whenever we rightly unfold scripture. 53 00:03:37,494 --> 00:03:46,860 But the goal specifically today is: I want to see, I want us to see how are the apostles interpreting scripture? 54 00:03:46,941 --> 00:03:49,652 How are the apostles reading the Bible? 55 00:03:49,762 --> 00:03:53,643 Because then I want to begin to gain that same kind of reading. 56 00:03:53,643 --> 00:03:57,384 I want to see the Bible in that same kind of way. 57 00:03:57,384 --> 00:04:00,125 That's what we're looking at this morning. 58 00:04:00,445 --> 00:04:06,847 And to do that, we're going to look at two of the passages that Peter interprets in Acts chapter two. 59 00:04:06,847 --> 00:04:11,628 He pulls on two texts of scripture, and that's what we're going to be looking at. 60 00:04:11,628 --> 00:04:19,670 And I should say here at the beginning: when I say scripture, for Peter, for all the apostles, for the Lord himself, the Bible. 61 00:04:19,777 --> 00:04:21,717 Was what we call the Old Testament. 62 00:04:21,717 --> 00:04:26,768 Their scripture, their inspired scriptures, were what we call the Old Testament. 63 00:04:26,768 --> 00:04:34,258 The New Testament is really their Christocentric interpretation of the Old Testament. 64 00:04:34,258 --> 00:04:41,861 So what the New Testament is, it's their commentary and their unfolding of their Bible, which was the Old Testament. 65 00:04:41,861 --> 00:04:45,421 And we, coming after them, have both Old and New Testaments. 66 00:04:45,741 --> 00:04:48,682 So we're going to ask ourselves: how did Peter read his Bible? 67 00:04:48,682 --> 00:04:49,688 And the goal is. 68 00:04:49,688 --> 00:04:53,967 Help me learn to read my Bible in a similar way. 69 00:04:54,149 --> 00:04:58,408 Before we look at the text, let me pray for us then as we get into this this morning. 70 00:05:01,058 --> 00:05:16,213 Father, as we come and talk about issues of interpreting Scripture and coming to the truth that is here, and faithfully dividing and understanding this word, we are completely 71 00:05:16,213 --> 00:05:17,883 dependent upon you. 72 00:05:18,583 --> 00:05:22,464 I am completely dependent upon you. 73 00:05:22,665 --> 00:05:27,326 It is your presence, it is your spirit, it is your grace. 74 00:05:27,446 --> 00:05:41,486 That must go before us, that must open our eyes, that must illumine the text and allow us to see what is true here, to keep us from imprinting on the Bible our own distortions and 75 00:05:41,486 --> 00:05:50,822 grant us to see even all of our frailty and sin, to see the truth in this text, in this book. 76 00:05:50,822 --> 00:05:56,906 Lord, wash our eyes and grant us to see more clearly. 77 00:05:57,144 --> 00:06:05,194 Who you are and what you've said and what you've done in Scripture and supremely, Father, in your Son. 78 00:06:05,194 --> 00:06:16,129 So we pray now for the Holy Spirit to illumine our own eyes, to help us to see, help us to understand, help us to follow Peter's thought and think his thoughts after him, and to 79 00:06:16,129 --> 00:06:19,912 treasure Christ and obey Christ with him. 80 00:06:20,273 --> 00:06:27,188 Lord, I pray for this grace this morning for me and for everyone here and for the students downstairs, your blessing, your presence with them. 81 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:30,028 We pray all these things, Father, in Jesus' name. 82 00:06:30,028 --> 00:06:30,899 Amen. 83 00:06:32,632 --> 00:06:43,672 So the first text we're going to look at comes in Acts chapter two, starting in verse 16 and moving down all the way to 21. 84 00:06:43,672 --> 00:06:45,134 So Peter stands up, remember? 85 00:06:45,134 --> 00:06:46,015 People are confused. 86 00:06:46,015 --> 00:06:46,855 What's going on? 87 00:06:46,855 --> 00:06:47,646 What's going on here? 88 00:06:47,646 --> 00:06:50,298 People are speaking in tongues I don't understand. 89 00:06:50,359 --> 00:06:54,032 Peter stands up and says, Let me explain to you what's going on. 90 00:06:54,032 --> 00:06:58,686 And the way that he explains is by drawing upon scripture. 91 00:07:00,750 --> 00:07:05,452 Specifically, he's quoting Joel chapter two. 92 00:07:05,452 --> 00:07:11,084 So the book of Joel chapter two, Peter cites it here, just like we might say. 93 00:07:11,084 --> 00:07:16,036 Well, just like it says in Ephesians, Peter is citing Joel. 94 00:07:16,036 --> 00:07:25,340 Now, there's something I want us to see before even we get into the Joel text, and that is that what Peter's doing here is fusing together two different texts. 95 00:07:26,101 --> 00:07:27,851 And you may, it may sound strange. 96 00:07:27,851 --> 00:07:29,614 When I get into it, you might say, 97 00:07:29,614 --> 00:07:32,065 Uh, that's not such a big deal, really. 98 00:07:32,065 --> 00:07:35,316 I mean, maybe he just wanted to change a few words. 99 00:07:35,497 --> 00:07:36,437 But it is important. 100 00:07:36,437 --> 00:07:44,081 He's bringing together a passage from Isaiah 2 and a passage from Joel II, and he's fusing them together. 101 00:07:44,081 --> 00:07:51,684 And by doing that, he's asking us to interpret these two texts in light of one another. 102 00:07:52,384 --> 00:07:55,125 And again, you're gonna say, Well, aren't you being too picky about this? 103 00:07:55,125 --> 00:07:56,678 Well, just think about it this way. 104 00:07:56,678 --> 00:07:59,539 Remember, his audience is aware of these various texts. 105 00:07:59,539 --> 00:08:01,400 They understand them. 106 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:10,023 Imagine if I said this: a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there lived a hobbit. 107 00:08:10,524 --> 00:08:13,605 Now, some of you might say, I have no idea what you're talking about. 108 00:08:13,605 --> 00:08:22,689 Some of you might say, wait a second, you just took Star Wars and the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings and put them together. 109 00:08:22,689 --> 00:08:26,450 A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, there lived a hobbit. 110 00:08:26,796 --> 00:08:28,967 Now, I didn't have to say anything to you. 111 00:08:28,967 --> 00:08:34,779 You just knew by putting those two phrases together, you just took two whole worlds and brought them together. 112 00:08:34,779 --> 00:08:40,662 And all of a sudden I'm thinking of elves in X Wings and Darth Vader in Mordor and all this stuff. 113 00:08:40,662 --> 00:08:43,713 You're confusing, you're bringing together these two worlds. 114 00:08:44,133 --> 00:08:46,794 If you're aware of that, you say, Yeah, I get what you're saying. 115 00:08:46,794 --> 00:08:50,175 Even though I only added four words, there lived a Hobbit. 116 00:08:50,175 --> 00:08:56,672 I added four words, but those words carried enough weight that if you understand what those two 117 00:08:56,672 --> 00:09:00,845 Statements mean it changed your perception of the whole thing. 118 00:09:00,965 --> 00:09:02,256 That's what Peter's doing here. 119 00:09:02,256 --> 00:09:11,292 He's only using a small quote from Isaiah, but if you understand the text from Isaiah, he's bringing two scriptural worlds together. 120 00:09:11,292 --> 00:09:14,694 And he's saying, think about these in light of one another. 121 00:09:14,694 --> 00:09:18,417 Think about Isaiah 2 and Joel 2 together. 122 00:09:18,417 --> 00:09:19,322 That's what he's doing. 123 00:09:19,322 --> 00:09:21,479 All right, so let's look at what he does. 124 00:09:21,579 --> 00:09:25,972 He begins by saying, Acts chapter 2, verse 17, he says. 125 00:09:26,306 --> 00:09:27,206 Let me explain this to you. 126 00:09:27,206 --> 00:09:28,667 Let me explain to you what's going on. 127 00:09:28,667 --> 00:09:32,208 This is what was uttered through the prophet Joel. 128 00:09:32,328 --> 00:09:35,429 And in the last days it shall be. 129 00:09:35,709 --> 00:09:38,950 God declares that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. 130 00:09:38,950 --> 00:09:39,990 And then he goes on. 131 00:09:39,990 --> 00:09:43,541 That first part, and it shall in the last days it shall be. 132 00:09:43,541 --> 00:09:45,832 That's not in Joel. 133 00:09:45,832 --> 00:09:47,172 That's from Isaiah. 134 00:09:47,172 --> 00:09:47,612 Okay? 135 00:09:47,612 --> 00:09:50,113 That's his text he's pulling from Isaiah. 136 00:09:50,113 --> 00:09:51,774 I told you you'd think it's small, but it's not. 137 00:09:51,774 --> 00:09:53,592 It brings some big stuff in. 138 00:09:53,592 --> 00:09:58,085 So let's go back to Isaiah, or just listen closely to me as I go back. 139 00:09:58,085 --> 00:10:07,740 Isaiah chapter two, because apparently Peter thought to explain what's happening on Pentecost, I need to draw on Isaiah chapter two. 140 00:10:07,740 --> 00:10:11,071 And I say, What's going on in Isaiah chapter two? 141 00:10:11,072 --> 00:10:12,462 Well, why did you go there, Peter? 142 00:10:12,462 --> 00:10:13,953 Well, let's go back. 143 00:10:13,953 --> 00:10:16,415 Isaiah chapter two, verses two and three. 144 00:10:16,415 --> 00:10:20,357 Here's what it says: It shall come to pass in the latter days. 145 00:10:20,357 --> 00:10:22,578 There's the part Peter takes. 146 00:10:22,578 --> 00:10:23,318 And 147 00:10:23,390 --> 00:10:25,070 fuses to Joel. 148 00:10:25,351 --> 00:10:33,533 But by doing that, just like when I said there lived a hobbit, you thought of all the things related to Hobbits and Lord of the Rings, if if you're that kind of person. 149 00:10:33,773 --> 00:10:41,875 So too, just by mentioning this phrase, it shall come to pass in the latter days, I Peter's saying, think about the whole context here. 150 00:10:41,875 --> 00:10:43,175 So let's look at it. 151 00:10:43,176 --> 00:10:52,140 Here's what it says: It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains. 152 00:10:52,140 --> 00:11:03,939 And shall be lifted up above the hills, and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house 153 00:11:03,939 --> 00:11:10,324 of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways, and that we may walk in his paths. 154 00:11:10,324 --> 00:11:17,969 For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 155 00:11:17,969 --> 00:11:19,274 oh 156 00:11:19,274 --> 00:11:21,155 What's going on in this text? 157 00:11:21,155 --> 00:11:24,738 Why would Peter say this has to do with Pentecost? 158 00:11:24,738 --> 00:11:26,559 How is Peter reading this text? 159 00:11:26,559 --> 00:11:28,180 Remember, that's what we're asking. 160 00:11:28,340 --> 00:11:29,771 Well, we see what's going on here. 161 00:11:29,771 --> 00:11:30,852 It's the last days. 162 00:11:30,852 --> 00:11:32,213 Okay, that's one thing. 163 00:11:32,213 --> 00:11:33,364 It's the last days. 164 00:11:33,364 --> 00:11:34,665 What else is going on? 165 00:11:34,665 --> 00:11:45,702 The mountain of the house of the Lord, that is the place where the temple is built, Jerusalem, Mount Zion, is going to be lifted up and all the nations are going to flow to 166 00:11:45,702 --> 00:11:46,993 that place. 167 00:11:47,273 --> 00:11:48,854 So the last days. 168 00:11:49,132 --> 00:11:51,803 The temple of the Lord in Jerusalem is exalted. 169 00:11:51,803 --> 00:11:53,983 All the peoples come to it. 170 00:11:53,983 --> 00:12:01,025 And then the law of the Lord, the word of the Lord, will go out from Zion, out from Jerusalem. 171 00:12:01,025 --> 00:12:02,506 That's what's happening in this text. 172 00:12:02,506 --> 00:12:07,667 Last days, temple, nations to the temple, law going out. 173 00:12:07,667 --> 00:12:09,627 That's what's happening in this text. 174 00:12:10,048 --> 00:12:11,048 Okay. 175 00:12:11,148 --> 00:12:14,309 Well, how does that fit with Pentecost? 176 00:12:14,309 --> 00:12:16,950 One thing briefly to say: do you remember what Pentecost was about? 177 00:12:16,950 --> 00:12:18,790 It was about the harvest. 178 00:12:19,298 --> 00:12:20,959 And the giving of the law. 179 00:12:21,119 --> 00:12:26,923 So this passage in Isaiah talks about the nations coming in, being harvested, and the law going out. 180 00:12:26,923 --> 00:12:31,346 So this is a this is a Pentecost-flavored text already. 181 00:12:31,526 --> 00:12:36,589 But why would Peter use it to describe what's happening in Acts? 182 00:12:36,670 --> 00:12:40,392 Again, remember the question today is why is Peter thinking this way? 183 00:12:40,392 --> 00:12:42,293 How is he coming to the text? 184 00:12:42,414 --> 00:12:49,336 Well, in Isaiah, we see the nations flowing to the end time temple. 185 00:12:49,336 --> 00:12:52,487 The temple of the Lord will be lifted up, the nations will flow to it. 186 00:12:52,487 --> 00:12:55,127 In Acts, what do we see? 187 00:12:55,268 --> 00:13:01,059 We see the nations being gathered to the spirit-filled disciples. 188 00:13:01,059 --> 00:13:02,630 You remember that last week? 189 00:13:02,630 --> 00:13:05,971 All the nations are coming together and saying, What's going on? 190 00:13:05,971 --> 00:13:06,551 What's happening? 191 00:13:06,551 --> 00:13:11,212 The nations are coming together around this group of disciples. 192 00:13:11,412 --> 00:13:16,833 So Peter says, Do you remember when it talks about all the nations flowing to the temple? 193 00:13:17,194 --> 00:13:19,062 That's being fulfilled right now. 194 00:13:19,062 --> 00:13:29,701 As all of you from other nations are gathering to the disciples, to the spirit-filled disciples, to those, remember, they had the fire descend upon them, just like the temple 195 00:13:29,701 --> 00:13:31,152 did when it was inaugurated. 196 00:13:31,152 --> 00:13:38,077 The disciples are standing there with the fire of the spirit upon them, like the temple, and the nations are gathering to them. 197 00:13:38,298 --> 00:13:42,101 And Peter says, That's what Isaiah was anticipating. 198 00:13:42,161 --> 00:13:48,426 So Peter reads that Isaiah text, and he doesn't look for some physical building. 199 00:13:48,458 --> 00:14:02,967 In Jerusalem to be built, he says, no, that text in Isaiah is fulfilled as the Holy Spirit descends on the people and makes them the temple, and the nations come to them in 200 00:14:02,967 --> 00:14:06,809 Jerusalem on the mountain of the Lord as the true temple. 201 00:14:06,809 --> 00:14:08,930 So this is how Peter's mind is thinking. 202 00:14:08,930 --> 00:14:11,251 This is how he's approaching Scripture. 203 00:14:11,251 --> 00:14:13,303 But then what else happens in Isaiah 2 there? 204 00:14:13,303 --> 00:14:15,852 Remember, it says, the law of the Lord. 205 00:14:15,852 --> 00:14:20,264 Shall go out from Zion, for out of Zion shall go forth the law. 206 00:14:20,545 --> 00:14:25,147 And when you hear Zion, think Jerusalem, think the temple, the whole that they're all connected. 207 00:14:25,387 --> 00:14:29,882 So in Isaiah, the law is going out from Jerusalem. 208 00:14:29,882 --> 00:14:31,531 Well, what about in Acts? 209 00:14:31,531 --> 00:14:34,422 What do we see going out from Jerusalem in Acts? 210 00:14:34,422 --> 00:14:36,993 Remember what Jesus said at the beginning of Acts? 211 00:14:37,534 --> 00:14:45,638 He said, You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses. 212 00:14:45,728 --> 00:14:52,322 In Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. 213 00:14:52,723 --> 00:15:04,251 So in Isaiah, Isaiah is envisioning a day when the temple will be lifted up and the nations will flow to it and the law of Yahweh will go out from Jerusalem. 214 00:15:04,631 --> 00:15:10,615 And in Acts 2, the disciples are lifted up, the people are coming to them. 215 00:15:10,615 --> 00:15:12,177 And what goes out from Jerusalem? 216 00:15:12,177 --> 00:15:14,758 The witness about Christ. 217 00:15:15,192 --> 00:15:21,064 The witness about the risen Christ goes from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria to the ends of the earth. 218 00:15:21,064 --> 00:15:33,487 So when Peter comes to Isaiah 2 and he reads that the law of in the last days, the law of Yahweh is going to go out into all the world, he realizes that is fulfilled as we proclaim 219 00:15:33,487 --> 00:15:37,828 Christ from Jerusalem into all the world. 220 00:15:37,928 --> 00:15:44,000 In other words, for Peter, Christ, slain and risen, is the law of the Lord. 221 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:51,012 Is the teaching of the Lord, is the teaching that goes out in the last days and is heard among all the nations. 222 00:15:51,012 --> 00:15:54,473 Christ is the fulfillment of that. 223 00:15:54,473 --> 00:15:56,834 So this is how Peter is reading Isaiah 2. 224 00:15:56,834 --> 00:16:06,656 Remember, the only reason we're Isaiah, we're in Isaiah 2 is because Peter pulls from that first part and plugs it into Joel and says, read these two together. 225 00:16:06,656 --> 00:16:12,768 So we looked at this part he takes out of Isaiah and some of the context around there, some of the way he's reading that text. 226 00:16:13,132 --> 00:16:14,313 He plugs it into Joel. 227 00:16:14,313 --> 00:16:15,704 So let's now look at Joel. 228 00:16:15,704 --> 00:16:20,077 How does why did you take Isaiah, Peter, with all this situation we just talked about? 229 00:16:20,077 --> 00:16:22,508 Why would you do that and connect it to Joel? 230 00:16:22,508 --> 00:16:23,149 What's going on? 231 00:16:23,149 --> 00:16:24,750 What's your what's your mind thinking? 232 00:16:24,750 --> 00:16:27,131 How are you reading your Bible? 233 00:16:27,372 --> 00:16:34,276 Well, we looked at Joel last week, so I'm not going to spend a lot of time on it today, but you see what it says. 234 00:16:34,276 --> 00:16:37,718 You can just look at it in Acts, Peter's citation of it. 235 00:16:38,019 --> 00:16:43,180 In the last days, that's from Isaiah, God declares, I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. 236 00:16:43,180 --> 00:16:45,491 And your sons and daughters will prophesy. 237 00:16:45,491 --> 00:16:49,053 Your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. 238 00:16:49,053 --> 00:16:54,656 Even on the male and female servants, says the Lord, I will pour out my spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy. 239 00:16:54,656 --> 00:16:58,478 And then look down in verse 21 of Acts chapter 2. 240 00:16:58,478 --> 00:17:00,759 This is still drawing upon Joel. 241 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:08,364 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. 242 00:17:08,364 --> 00:17:13,166 So if we want to just summarize quickly what's going on in the Joel text, Joel. 243 00:17:13,205 --> 00:17:28,776 Is envisioning a day, end of days, again, the last days, when the Holy Spirit is given, and the the salvation of God is worked, and every hope of salvation is narrowed down to 244 00:17:28,776 --> 00:17:30,518 one name, Yahweh. 245 00:17:30,518 --> 00:17:31,038 You see that? 246 00:17:31,038 --> 00:17:33,305 I'll pour out my spirit in the last days. 247 00:17:33,305 --> 00:17:38,663 I'll pour out my spirit, and anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 248 00:17:38,904 --> 00:17:41,816 So Joel is saying, there'll be last days. 249 00:17:41,816 --> 00:17:47,110 The Spirit will be given, and only those who call on Yahweh in that day will be saved. 250 00:17:47,110 --> 00:17:47,991 Okay. 251 00:17:47,991 --> 00:17:51,493 Peter apparently reads that and says, that's happening right now. 252 00:17:51,674 --> 00:17:52,815 That's happening right now. 253 00:17:52,815 --> 00:17:53,756 That matters. 254 00:17:53,756 --> 00:17:59,060 Again, Peter doesn't read that and start checking, you know, the news and like, when is this going to happen? 255 00:17:59,060 --> 00:18:02,523 And let me try to line this up with this up and calculate when this. 256 00:18:02,523 --> 00:18:05,165 He says, no, that happened with Christ. 257 00:18:05,165 --> 00:18:06,707 That's how Peter reads that. 258 00:18:06,707 --> 00:18:08,718 That happened with Christ. 259 00:18:08,718 --> 00:18:11,330 That's here with Christ. 260 00:18:11,458 --> 00:18:17,280 He's reading, as we said last week, that the end days, the last time has come. 261 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:22,781 And Joel says there will be a spirit-filled people. 262 00:18:23,622 --> 00:18:28,143 And Isaiah said, There will be a temple to which the nations gather. 263 00:18:28,243 --> 00:18:38,036 And by fixing those two texts together, Peter's saying what we've already seen the spirit filled people is the temple to which the nations will gather. 264 00:18:38,306 --> 00:18:39,316 We looked at that last week. 265 00:18:39,316 --> 00:18:40,347 We're seeing it again here. 266 00:18:40,347 --> 00:18:52,814 I'm emphasizing it because I want you to see Peter's interpretation of the Bible has no problem with saying the promises of an end-time temple, the promises of God dwelling with 267 00:18:52,814 --> 00:18:58,557 his people, they're fulfilled as the Spirit comes upon the church. 268 00:18:58,697 --> 00:19:05,060 They're fulfilled as we are united to Jesus, the temple in his body. 269 00:19:05,341 --> 00:19:06,741 It's an awesome thing that's been done. 270 00:19:06,741 --> 00:19:08,330 And Peter sees that. 271 00:19:08,330 --> 00:19:09,371 In scripture. 272 00:19:09,371 --> 00:19:13,024 But then there's another thing about this reading of Joel that I really want to emphasize. 273 00:19:13,024 --> 00:19:14,315 We didn't look at this last week. 274 00:19:14,315 --> 00:19:16,076 I want you to see it this week. 275 00:19:16,356 --> 00:19:19,389 Look down in verse 21 of Acts chapter 2. 276 00:19:19,389 --> 00:19:21,600 This is still citing Joel. 277 00:19:21,741 --> 00:19:26,265 Peter finds this to be uh relevant to act to the situation at Pentecost. 278 00:19:26,265 --> 00:19:34,491 He says, It shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 279 00:19:34,491 --> 00:19:36,533 We might think, well, that's pretty straightforward. 280 00:19:36,533 --> 00:19:38,214 But in Joel. 281 00:19:38,274 --> 00:19:41,296 That Lord is Yahweh. 282 00:19:41,296 --> 00:19:46,979 Remember, there's a way that the Hebrew text is able to show. 283 00:19:46,979 --> 00:19:50,801 Am I talking about Lord as in like master or sir? 284 00:19:50,961 --> 00:19:56,324 Or am I talking about Lord as in Yahweh, the I am God? 285 00:19:56,504 --> 00:19:59,806 And in Joel, it is referring to Yahweh. 286 00:19:59,806 --> 00:20:06,069 That that is that says, everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh will be saved. 287 00:20:06,269 --> 00:20:07,778 And Peter says. 288 00:20:07,778 --> 00:20:09,919 That moment is happening right now. 289 00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:15,823 And who is the Lord that Peter then says, call upon his name and be saved? 290 00:20:16,264 --> 00:20:17,504 Jesus. 291 00:20:17,785 --> 00:20:18,486 Jesus. 292 00:20:18,486 --> 00:20:22,968 Look, look just a few verses later in chapter 2, verse 38. 293 00:20:23,349 --> 00:20:25,120 That the people hear this, right? 294 00:20:25,120 --> 00:20:28,392 They hear Peter's sermon and they say, What should we do? 295 00:20:28,393 --> 00:20:36,538 And Peter responds and says, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ. 296 00:20:37,048 --> 00:20:38,379 For the forgiveness of your sins. 297 00:20:38,379 --> 00:20:46,464 So the name upon which we call to be saved, the name of the Lord is Jesus, the name of Jesus. 298 00:20:46,464 --> 00:20:50,307 And you see that all throughout the rest of Acts, if we had time, we could look at each one. 299 00:20:50,447 --> 00:20:57,592 Nearly every instance of name in this book refers to the name of Jesus, the name of the Lord Jesus. 300 00:20:57,592 --> 00:21:06,888 And so what's going on here is that Peter is saying to us through his interpretation of the Old Testament, I have no problem. 301 00:21:07,160 --> 00:21:13,372 When it says call on the name of Yahweh, to interpret that as saying, call on the name of Jesus. 302 00:21:13,392 --> 00:21:16,032 Peter is fine, that's how Peter reads it. 303 00:21:16,373 --> 00:21:18,853 People will say, Where does the Bible say Jesus is God? 304 00:21:18,853 --> 00:21:27,736 Saying Jesus is God in this context is nowhere near as significant for a Jewish audience as saying Jesus is Yahweh. 305 00:21:27,736 --> 00:21:29,306 Jesus is your Lord. 306 00:21:29,306 --> 00:21:32,337 Jesus is your covenant creator. 307 00:21:32,337 --> 00:21:34,978 That's what Peter is saying here. 308 00:21:35,238 --> 00:21:36,236 Peter's saying, 309 00:21:36,236 --> 00:21:43,791 When I read Yahweh in the Old Testament, I'm understanding that to be fulfilled in Jesus. 310 00:21:44,112 --> 00:21:48,894 How do I call on the name of Yahweh, the I am, the Creator God? 311 00:21:49,135 --> 00:21:51,026 I cry out to Jesus Christ. 312 00:21:51,026 --> 00:21:52,236 I call upon Jesus. 313 00:21:52,236 --> 00:21:56,220 And let me just pause here and say quickly because I know the terminology can be confusing. 314 00:21:56,220 --> 00:21:59,712 Name here doesn't mean you need like a magical name. 315 00:21:59,712 --> 00:22:01,944 Like I need to pronounce it just right. 316 00:22:01,944 --> 00:22:03,285 It doesn't mean that. 317 00:22:03,285 --> 00:22:05,474 Name means his character. 318 00:22:05,474 --> 00:22:08,135 His person, who he is. 319 00:22:08,536 --> 00:22:18,943 So Peter is showing us here by his interpretation of this text who Yahweh is, is who Jesus is. 320 00:22:19,004 --> 00:22:20,484 That's what he's saying. 321 00:22:20,525 --> 00:22:28,010 And this means something absolutely transformative has happened in the apostolic mind. 322 00:22:28,010 --> 00:22:34,392 The apostolic mind is the apostles come to read scripture because now when they read the I am. 323 00:22:34,392 --> 00:22:42,423 The Savior, the covenant Lord, they see the crucified man who is raised up and reigning. 324 00:22:42,423 --> 00:22:43,705 That's what they, that's how they see. 325 00:22:43,705 --> 00:22:44,765 That's how they think. 326 00:22:44,765 --> 00:22:50,486 That's why it can say later on in the New Testament, Jesus led his people out of Egypt. 327 00:22:50,585 --> 00:22:53,407 It can, that's how they're thinking, that's how they're reading. 328 00:22:53,747 --> 00:22:56,208 Now, think about what changes. 329 00:22:56,368 --> 00:22:59,019 This is this is not just, yeah, he's got his theology right. 330 00:22:59,019 --> 00:23:02,450 No, this is transformation of how you perceive reality. 331 00:23:02,450 --> 00:23:04,070 What changes 332 00:23:04,140 --> 00:23:13,592 When you realize, as one of the apostles, the man who was crucified the day before yesterday is God. 333 00:23:13,853 --> 00:23:17,994 He is the God by whom and for whom all things exist. 334 00:23:17,994 --> 00:23:20,535 He's the one who brought us out of Egypt. 335 00:23:20,535 --> 00:23:23,735 He's the one who laid the foundations of the earth in the beginning. 336 00:23:23,735 --> 00:23:26,256 He's the one who holds the stars in his hands. 337 00:23:26,256 --> 00:23:29,057 He's the one who is light and life. 338 00:23:29,157 --> 00:23:33,728 What changes when you realize, and I saw him die for me? 339 00:23:33,932 --> 00:23:35,262 And rise again. 340 00:23:35,443 --> 00:23:36,963 Everything changes. 341 00:23:37,064 --> 00:23:42,267 Everything changes, including, of course, your interpretation of the whole book that's about that God. 342 00:23:42,267 --> 00:23:48,470 The whole interpretation changes now because you realize I've met him, I know him, I've seen him. 343 00:23:48,770 --> 00:23:50,952 So that's Peter's reading of Joel. 344 00:23:50,952 --> 00:23:59,656 Let's move more quickly into Peter's reading of Psalms 16, Psalms 16, verses 8 through 11. 345 00:23:59,997 --> 00:24:02,998 This comes your Bible probably. 346 00:24:03,128 --> 00:24:10,102 sets off the quotations like in a in a little indented paragraph so you can see it as you're looking here at Acts two. 347 00:24:10,102 --> 00:24:15,015 You can see that first quote from Isaiah and Joel from verses 17 to 21. 348 00:24:15,015 --> 00:24:17,986 And then Peter gives a little bit of commentary. 349 00:24:17,986 --> 00:24:23,029 And then you can see another another quote comes in down in verse 25. 350 00:24:23,390 --> 00:24:31,596 So that verse, that quote starting in verse 25 and going to 28 is a quote from the book of Psalms, from Psalm 351 00:24:31,596 --> 00:24:33,727 Verse chapter 16. 352 00:24:33,827 --> 00:24:40,311 But where I want you to look is right underneath that, Peter gives his interpretation of this psalm that he reads. 353 00:24:40,311 --> 00:24:41,791 And here's what he says. 354 00:24:42,172 --> 00:24:47,554 He says, Brothers, I may say to you, and let me let me read you the psalm to give you the context. 355 00:24:47,915 --> 00:24:48,615 Here's the psalm. 356 00:24:48,615 --> 00:24:53,878 I saw, I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken. 357 00:24:53,878 --> 00:24:59,211 Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced, my flesh also will dwell in hope. 358 00:24:59,211 --> 00:25:01,248 This is David writing about his hope. 359 00:25:01,248 --> 00:25:02,239 In the Lord. 360 00:25:02,239 --> 00:25:06,883 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your holy one see corruption. 361 00:25:06,883 --> 00:25:09,905 You have made known to me the path of life. 362 00:25:09,905 --> 00:25:12,788 You will make me full of gladness with your presence. 363 00:25:12,788 --> 00:25:16,170 David wrote that about something he was going through. 364 00:25:16,211 --> 00:25:21,134 Peter says, Let me give you the authoritative interpretation of the text. 365 00:25:21,575 --> 00:25:28,150 He says, I may say to you with confidence about our patriarch David that he both died and was buried in his tomb. 366 00:25:28,150 --> 00:25:30,252 Because that psalm sounds like he's saying, 367 00:25:30,252 --> 00:25:31,053 I'm not going to die. 368 00:25:31,053 --> 00:25:32,823 I'm going to be saved from death. 369 00:25:33,265 --> 00:25:34,866 And Peter says, Well, he did die. 370 00:25:34,866 --> 00:25:37,388 He's buried right here in this city. 371 00:25:37,508 --> 00:25:39,350 He died and he was buried. 372 00:25:39,350 --> 00:25:42,933 Being therefore a prophet, here's how we interpret this text is what he's saying. 373 00:25:42,933 --> 00:25:51,781 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God has sworn with an oath to him, that is to David, that he would set one of his descendants on the throne. 374 00:25:51,781 --> 00:25:58,426 He, David, foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ. 375 00:25:58,520 --> 00:26:03,852 That he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 376 00:26:04,092 --> 00:26:10,955 So Peter looks at this text in Psalm 16 and he says, David is talking about Jesus here. 377 00:26:10,955 --> 00:26:12,676 We touched on that last week. 378 00:26:12,676 --> 00:26:16,057 Let me let me clarify it a little bit for you. 379 00:26:16,057 --> 00:26:21,679 What Peter is saying is that the promises to David are fulfilled in Jesus. 380 00:26:21,780 --> 00:26:24,631 The promises to David are fulfilled in Jesus. 381 00:26:24,631 --> 00:26:27,776 And you may say, oh, that's very basic. 382 00:26:27,776 --> 00:26:28,967 I understand that. 383 00:26:28,967 --> 00:26:31,228 Jesus is the king, he's the Davidic king. 384 00:26:31,228 --> 00:26:32,429 I understand that. 385 00:26:32,429 --> 00:26:40,753 But think about how that changes the way we ought to interpret the text, the way the apostles interpreted the text. 386 00:26:40,854 --> 00:26:49,078 In 2 Samuel 7, God promises David, one of your offspring will reign forever on the throne. 387 00:26:49,439 --> 00:26:51,339 That's the promise that's given. 388 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:55,692 And Peter says that's fulfilled in Jesus Christ. 389 00:26:56,162 --> 00:27:08,682 Which means in the apostles' mind, whenever scripture talks about the coming king, the promised king, the great king, the kingdom of God, the way that God will raise up a ruler 390 00:27:08,682 --> 00:27:10,284 to set everything right. 391 00:27:10,284 --> 00:27:15,497 Whenever they read that, and it's all over the place, they say, I know him. 392 00:27:15,558 --> 00:27:17,039 I've seen him. 393 00:27:17,159 --> 00:27:25,750 That one that's being spoken about here, the one to whom the whole Old Testament is aiming, it's the man who died and rose again. 394 00:27:25,750 --> 00:27:26,641 It's Jesus Christ. 395 00:27:26,641 --> 00:27:31,013 That's how the apostles are interpreting this text. 396 00:27:31,334 --> 00:27:33,996 So Jesus fulfills these promises. 397 00:27:33,996 --> 00:27:37,258 That's how Peter's mind is approaching the text. 398 00:27:37,258 --> 00:27:42,782 But then we can say that same answer in a different way that pushes things forward a little bit. 399 00:27:42,782 --> 00:27:52,049 Not only does Jesus fulfill those promises made to David, he proves the truth of those promises. 400 00:27:52,049 --> 00:27:52,659 Think about this. 401 00:27:52,659 --> 00:27:54,196 This has an emotional. 402 00:27:54,196 --> 00:27:56,507 Edge to it, an experiential edge. 403 00:27:56,507 --> 00:27:58,708 Peter highlights the problem for us. 404 00:27:59,029 --> 00:28:04,052 God promises David, one of your descendants will reign forever. 405 00:28:04,052 --> 00:28:06,152 One of your offspring will reign forever. 406 00:28:06,193 --> 00:28:08,914 And David says, You won't let me see Hades. 407 00:28:08,914 --> 00:28:10,294 I won't see corruption. 408 00:28:10,294 --> 00:28:11,896 I'm hoping in you. 409 00:28:11,936 --> 00:28:12,897 But what happens? 410 00:28:12,897 --> 00:28:16,999 David dies, and every one of his children dies. 411 00:28:16,999 --> 00:28:18,479 Everyone dies. 412 00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:23,062 And so the promise was made, but death 413 00:28:23,278 --> 00:28:25,739 Seems to say, that's not true. 414 00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:29,922 Death seems to negate the promise of God. 415 00:28:29,922 --> 00:28:31,743 And imagine how you feel that. 416 00:28:31,743 --> 00:28:34,224 Imagine the Jewish people. 417 00:28:34,224 --> 00:28:39,837 They had all these promises, and here they are, a little embattled people in first century Palestine. 418 00:28:39,837 --> 00:28:41,788 They're saying, you know, what happened? 419 00:28:41,788 --> 00:28:43,249 What happened to all the promises? 420 00:28:43,249 --> 00:28:48,852 Death, death, death sweeps away these promises. 421 00:28:49,653 --> 00:28:52,084 But then if one is raised from the dead, 422 00:28:52,256 --> 00:29:00,774 If Christ is raised from the dead and becomes the inheritor of all the promises and can say, Look at me. 423 00:29:00,774 --> 00:29:02,555 Do you want to see them fulfilled? 424 00:29:02,555 --> 00:29:04,216 They're fulfilled in me. 425 00:29:04,477 --> 00:29:08,461 He doesn't just fulfill them, he proves they were always true. 426 00:29:08,461 --> 00:29:10,322 He vindicates them. 427 00:29:10,322 --> 00:29:12,204 He vindicates God. 428 00:29:12,204 --> 00:29:14,936 And he says, It's always been true. 429 00:29:14,936 --> 00:29:16,888 He is trustworthy. 430 00:29:16,988 --> 00:29:19,360 So the promise of a forever king. 431 00:29:19,726 --> 00:29:22,767 Seems to be brought into question because they keep dying. 432 00:29:22,767 --> 00:29:28,690 But when the king is raised from the dead, that allows the promise to work. 433 00:29:28,690 --> 00:29:31,771 It allows the Davidic promise to work. 434 00:29:31,771 --> 00:29:38,714 And as I as I alluded to just a moment ago, this is not just how the apostles read the Davidic promises. 435 00:29:38,714 --> 00:29:44,456 This is how the apostles are understanding every promise in Scripture. 436 00:29:44,756 --> 00:29:48,916 We can't go into the full pattern here, but just call it up in your mind. 437 00:29:48,916 --> 00:29:53,210 In generalities, God makes promises all through the Old Testament. 438 00:29:53,210 --> 00:30:04,430 King, kingdom, peace, righteousness, union with God, or in in in uh the text from Psalms here, communion, life, joy, promises. 439 00:30:04,430 --> 00:30:05,800 it sounds great. 440 00:30:06,221 --> 00:30:16,990 Except everyone keeps dying, everyone keeps getting sick, everyone keeps breaking down, and none of the promises seem to have any staying power. 441 00:30:17,376 --> 00:30:24,790 It's as if the promises are a little pebble and they're thrown up in the air, but the gravity of death pulls them back down. 442 00:30:24,790 --> 00:30:27,952 And it looks like we're doing well and death. 443 00:30:27,952 --> 00:30:31,433 It looks like the promise is true and death. 444 00:30:31,574 --> 00:30:35,836 Death keeps saying, You can't trust God. 445 00:30:35,836 --> 00:30:37,177 You can't trust him. 446 00:30:37,177 --> 00:30:38,618 He's not true. 447 00:30:38,618 --> 00:30:40,068 He's just trying to make you happy. 448 00:30:40,068 --> 00:30:41,459 He's just pulling the wool over your eyes. 449 00:30:41,459 --> 00:30:46,818 He's just giving you a bunch of good sounding stuff, but grave the grave is where it ends. 450 00:30:46,818 --> 00:30:48,298 That's what death says. 451 00:30:48,559 --> 00:30:53,600 To all the prom all the promises are brought into question because of death. 452 00:30:53,880 --> 00:31:02,442 But when Christ is raised, because Christ is raised, he inherits every blessing. 453 00:31:02,523 --> 00:31:04,763 He inherits every promise. 454 00:31:04,903 --> 00:31:09,865 Every word that fell to the ground is picked up in him and fulfilled in him. 455 00:31:09,865 --> 00:31:14,676 And when he walks out of the grave, everything God ever said. 456 00:31:14,924 --> 00:31:20,017 Is proven true in his flesh, absolutely true in his flesh. 457 00:31:20,017 --> 00:31:27,381 It's like in Christ, those promises that are thrown up, and death says, I got you, I'm pulling you back down with Jesus. 458 00:31:27,381 --> 00:31:30,402 Promises are thrown up, death says, I got you, I'm pulling you down. 459 00:31:30,402 --> 00:31:43,209 And Jesus punches through the earth, breaks all the way through the earth, breaks out the other side, and ascends into orbit and is illumined as a star. 460 00:31:43,209 --> 00:31:44,888 He it's this the stone of 461 00:31:44,888 --> 00:31:51,302 Breaks through the death, comes out the other side, and goes up and is illumined and is proven true. 462 00:31:51,302 --> 00:31:53,983 And death says, I couldn't hold that. 463 00:31:54,163 --> 00:31:55,274 I couldn't keep that. 464 00:31:55,274 --> 00:31:59,947 I couldn't bind that because he shattered me from the inside. 465 00:31:59,947 --> 00:32:03,058 So every promise then is proven true. 466 00:32:03,058 --> 00:32:05,510 Every hope is vindicated. 467 00:32:05,510 --> 00:32:10,053 Every word is secured when Christ is raised from the dead. 468 00:32:10,053 --> 00:32:13,054 That's that's the implication of what Peter's doing here. 469 00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:16,892 But then push it a step further, think about what this means. 470 00:32:17,833 --> 00:32:22,215 If God's promises are not true, then God is a liar. 471 00:32:22,596 --> 00:32:26,858 And if God's a liar, this whole book is worthless. 472 00:32:26,918 --> 00:32:32,561 Everything, all of scripture is a joke if God's a liar. 473 00:32:33,082 --> 00:32:40,746 So the crucified Jesus who rises up again and proves God true in his resurrection. 474 00:32:41,526 --> 00:32:50,428 Not only does it vindicates the Davidic promise, which is where Peter's emphasizing here, not only vindicates every promise, but vindicates this whole book. 475 00:32:50,488 --> 00:32:55,610 The only reason this book works is because Christ is risen. 476 00:32:55,670 --> 00:33:06,883 The only reason this whole everything we believe hangs together is because the crucified man who is our God is raised up again from the dead. 477 00:33:06,883 --> 00:33:10,494 There is no reading this if Christ isn't risen. 478 00:33:11,682 --> 00:33:17,085 Throw your Bible away if Jesus isn't risen, because it means nothing. 479 00:33:17,136 --> 00:33:21,809 but it still has some good wisdom until you die and there's nothing left. 480 00:33:21,929 --> 00:33:25,031 If Christ isn't risen, there's nothing here. 481 00:33:25,392 --> 00:33:26,713 But he is risen. 482 00:33:26,713 --> 00:33:27,533 He is risen. 483 00:33:27,533 --> 00:33:28,634 Hear me saying that. 484 00:33:28,634 --> 00:33:31,276 And therefore, this book is true. 485 00:33:31,276 --> 00:33:32,297 God is true. 486 00:33:32,297 --> 00:33:33,737 Hope is true. 487 00:33:33,938 --> 00:33:36,259 His promises are true. 488 00:33:36,540 --> 00:33:40,172 The slain and risen Christ is the linchpin. 489 00:33:40,440 --> 00:33:44,731 Who holds together in himself everything God has ever said. 490 00:33:44,991 --> 00:33:52,613 He's the capstone on the whole arch of scripture, and he's the note that harmonizes the whole. 491 00:33:53,154 --> 00:33:58,695 And remember why we're saying this, because when the apostles come to this book, that's how they're looking at it. 492 00:33:58,695 --> 00:34:04,137 They're not looking at it as a string of pearls put together, a number of little wise things to say. 493 00:34:04,137 --> 00:34:09,282 They're not looking at it as just a story or just a bunch of instructions to tell me what to do. 494 00:34:09,282 --> 00:34:13,463 They're looking at it as the witness of the slain and risen Christ. 495 00:34:13,784 --> 00:34:17,565 So let's move to the conclusion then and try to pull together what we've seen. 496 00:34:17,565 --> 00:34:25,219 What can we say about how the apostles are reading their Bibles based upon what we've seen of Peter here in Acts 2? 497 00:34:25,219 --> 00:34:27,099 I think just two very simple things. 498 00:34:27,099 --> 00:34:28,610 Of course, we could say a lot more. 499 00:34:28,610 --> 00:34:30,411 Two very simple things. 500 00:34:30,611 --> 00:34:38,464 The first thing we can say is that when the apostles come to their Bibles, they realize the story is about. 501 00:34:38,464 --> 00:34:39,594 Jesus. 502 00:34:39,715 --> 00:34:43,274 The story is about Jesus. 503 00:34:43,274 --> 00:34:44,788 And that's just what Jesus says. 504 00:34:44,788 --> 00:34:46,519 That's nothing, nothing radical. 505 00:34:46,519 --> 00:34:49,882 That's just what Jesus says in Luke chapter 24. 506 00:34:50,563 --> 00:34:56,287 Remember, when he talks to his disciples, it says, Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. 507 00:34:56,287 --> 00:35:02,691 Meaning, of course, they did not understand the scriptures until they got this bit of information. 508 00:35:02,911 --> 00:35:07,264 He opened their minds to understand the scriptures and said to them, Thus it is written. 509 00:35:07,544 --> 00:35:19,579 The Christ should suffer, and on the third day rise from the dead, and repentance of sins should be forgiven, should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning in 510 00:35:19,579 --> 00:35:20,179 Jerusalem. 511 00:35:20,179 --> 00:35:23,081 So Jesus is saying, You wanna understand this book? 512 00:35:23,081 --> 00:35:25,041 It is about me. 513 00:35:25,041 --> 00:35:31,524 And not just me, me crucified and raised, because that's where God declares his name. 514 00:35:31,924 --> 00:35:33,725 Jesus says, This whole book is about me. 515 00:35:33,725 --> 00:35:36,350 So the apostles, when they come to it, they say, 516 00:35:36,350 --> 00:35:45,897 Everywhere I see God, everywhere I see his work, everywhere I see his promises, I'm seeing Jesus, the slain and risen Jesus. 517 00:35:45,897 --> 00:35:48,838 That's how they're reading the Bible. 518 00:35:49,619 --> 00:35:52,321 And now, does that mean, well, it doesn't have anything to say about me? 519 00:35:52,321 --> 00:35:53,836 Like, what's it say about me? 520 00:35:53,836 --> 00:35:56,263 it has lots to say about us. 521 00:35:56,364 --> 00:36:03,729 But the key is whatever Scripture says about us, it says about us only in relation to Christ. 522 00:36:04,370 --> 00:36:05,162 Whatever 523 00:36:05,162 --> 00:36:07,544 Encouragement scripture has for us. 524 00:36:07,544 --> 00:36:11,647 It is encouragement to us as we are united to Christ. 525 00:36:11,708 --> 00:36:20,095 Whatever warnings scripture has for us, it is warnings to us as we are opposed to Christ. 526 00:36:20,136 --> 00:36:29,864 But whatever this book says about us, it comes to us, it speaks to us only in relation to Christ, because the book is about Him. 527 00:36:29,864 --> 00:36:31,185 Yes, we are the true temple. 528 00:36:31,185 --> 00:36:32,096 We saw that in 529 00:36:32,096 --> 00:36:34,127 Isaiah 2 and the way Peter's working with that. 530 00:36:34,127 --> 00:36:36,268 We're the people who are gathered together. 531 00:36:36,268 --> 00:36:38,049 We're the people filled with the Spirit. 532 00:36:38,049 --> 00:36:40,991 We're the people not abandoned to Sheol. 533 00:36:40,991 --> 00:36:45,193 But we are these things because of who Christ is. 534 00:36:45,193 --> 00:36:47,634 It's the only reason we're those things. 535 00:36:48,075 --> 00:36:54,698 For the apostolic mind, Jesus is not the hero of our story. 536 00:36:54,878 --> 00:36:59,681 Rather, we are supporting characters in his story. 537 00:36:59,681 --> 00:37:02,302 Sometimes you hear Jesus is the hero of my story. 538 00:37:02,572 --> 00:37:05,083 No, that you still said my story. 539 00:37:05,204 --> 00:37:16,810 Jesus, it is his story, and we are characters in that, supporting characters, whose joy is to orbit the one whom the story is about. 540 00:37:16,810 --> 00:37:23,594 So when I come to the text with apostolic eyes, I ought to come and rather than saying first, where am I in this text? 541 00:37:23,594 --> 00:37:24,994 Where am I here? 542 00:37:25,595 --> 00:37:29,657 We ought to say, Where is Jesus in this text? 543 00:37:29,897 --> 00:37:31,658 And what does that mean about me? 544 00:37:32,108 --> 00:37:34,379 What does this say about the Lord? 545 00:37:34,440 --> 00:37:35,741 And what does that mean about me? 546 00:37:35,741 --> 00:37:37,962 How has Jesus done this? 547 00:37:38,043 --> 00:37:39,434 And how does that then affect me? 548 00:37:39,434 --> 00:37:41,146 Because it's about Him. 549 00:37:41,146 --> 00:37:41,896 It's about Him. 550 00:37:41,896 --> 00:37:54,076 And the second thing we could say about the apostolic reading of Scripture, not only is the story about Jesus, but like we just touched on a moment ago, this book does not work 551 00:37:54,076 --> 00:37:55,737 apart from Christ. 552 00:37:56,058 --> 00:38:01,352 So it's kind of a simplistic way to put it, but this book does not work. 553 00:38:01,642 --> 00:38:16,608 Apart from the crucified and risen Jesus, the Bible makes sense and holds together, and most importantly, is true only as it is read through the lens of the crucified and risen 554 00:38:16,608 --> 00:38:17,728 Jesus. 555 00:38:18,009 --> 00:38:31,104 This book is true only as we read it, as Jesus tells us to read it, in light of him as the slain and risen one to whom the whole thing points, and of whom the whole thing. 556 00:38:31,104 --> 00:38:32,134 Is speaking. 557 00:38:32,134 --> 00:38:33,955 That's the apostolic mind. 558 00:38:33,955 --> 00:38:36,155 And so my prayer is that we would gain that. 559 00:38:36,155 --> 00:38:36,936 We would grow in that. 560 00:38:36,936 --> 00:38:42,335 Now I'm not saying all of you go out and be just as good interpreters of scripture as the Apostle Peter. 561 00:38:42,335 --> 00:38:43,397 I'm not saying that. 562 00:38:43,397 --> 00:38:55,901 But I'm saying we want to begin to gain the mind of Scripture, the mind of the Spirit, the mind of Christ as we're reading about him in the text. 563 00:38:56,101 --> 00:38:57,971 Now, final point for this morning. 564 00:38:57,971 --> 00:39:00,342 Let me transition a little bit into 565 00:39:00,790 --> 00:39:02,471 Applying this to us. 566 00:39:02,732 --> 00:39:03,802 How does this apply to us? 567 00:39:03,802 --> 00:39:14,180 Well, I think one way it applies to us is this way: the true reading of Scripture is also the true reading of our lives. 568 00:39:14,380 --> 00:39:15,781 And here's what I mean by that. 569 00:39:15,781 --> 00:39:28,050 Just as the apostles read this book, and they say the only right interpretation of this book is that it is about Jesus, and it is true only in light of Jesus. 570 00:39:28,704 --> 00:39:33,535 So too we ought to say about the book of our own life, the book of our own story. 571 00:39:33,535 --> 00:39:47,599 My story, my life is also about Jesus, and it is true only when I read it through Him, only when I read it in light of Him. 572 00:39:47,979 --> 00:39:54,641 So if we read this book here as though it is about us, we're going to come to the wrong understanding. 573 00:39:54,641 --> 00:39:56,761 We're going to deceive ourselves. 574 00:39:56,762 --> 00:39:58,486 If we read this book here, 575 00:39:58,486 --> 00:40:05,129 Without the slain and risen Jesus as our interpretive lens, we're going to misunderstand what it's talking about. 576 00:40:05,129 --> 00:40:11,911 And we're going to say, boy, it's full of false hopes, it's full of failed promises, and it ends in exile. 577 00:40:12,512 --> 00:40:26,027 So too, if I try to read the story of my life as if it's about me, if I try to bring my in if I try to interpret this story as being about me, then the same kind of brokenness is 578 00:40:26,027 --> 00:40:26,467 going to happen. 579 00:40:26,467 --> 00:40:28,118 I'm going to get it wrong. 580 00:40:28,236 --> 00:40:38,176 I'm going to misunderstand, misread the day, the week, the situation, the moment, because I'm reading it as if it were about me. 581 00:40:38,176 --> 00:40:39,416 And it isn't. 582 00:40:39,517 --> 00:40:44,692 The apostles' approach to scripture shows us the right interpretive approach to our lives. 583 00:40:44,692 --> 00:40:48,145 So my life, just this book is not about me. 584 00:40:48,145 --> 00:40:50,667 My life is not about me. 585 00:40:51,188 --> 00:40:53,870 My life is about Christ. 586 00:40:54,646 --> 00:40:59,147 Jesus is not merely the one who saves the main character, me. 587 00:40:59,147 --> 00:41:01,626 Here's the one who saved the main character. 588 00:41:01,626 --> 00:41:03,048 No, my life. 589 00:41:03,048 --> 00:41:05,189 He is the main character. 590 00:41:05,189 --> 00:41:08,249 In my life, he's the main character. 591 00:41:08,570 --> 00:41:12,591 So a simple way to put it is today is not about me. 592 00:41:12,811 --> 00:41:15,872 This moment is not about me. 593 00:41:15,892 --> 00:41:20,413 This situation that's striking me right now, it's not even about me. 594 00:41:20,573 --> 00:41:22,213 It's about Christ. 595 00:41:22,333 --> 00:41:24,898 It's about Christ, it's about what he's doing. 596 00:41:24,898 --> 00:41:31,880 What he's saying, how he's being shown, how he is being for me what is needful. 597 00:41:32,120 --> 00:41:41,142 So this turn of events, this sleepless night, this frustrating moment, this tiring week, it isn't about me. 598 00:41:41,142 --> 00:41:43,003 The whole thing, it's not about me. 599 00:41:43,043 --> 00:41:44,458 It's about him. 600 00:41:44,458 --> 00:41:52,146 And the truth of these situations is what they are in relation to him, not what they are in relation to me. 601 00:41:52,146 --> 00:41:53,546 That takes some. 602 00:41:53,656 --> 00:41:57,607 Category shifting and prayer and laboring to see again. 603 00:41:57,607 --> 00:41:58,867 Or let's look at the other one. 604 00:41:58,867 --> 00:42:01,958 Remember, the apostle said, this whole book only works. 605 00:42:01,958 --> 00:42:07,009 It's only true when we read it in light of the crucified and risen Jesus. 606 00:42:07,150 --> 00:42:08,650 Same thing for us. 607 00:42:08,890 --> 00:42:23,488 If I look at my life through the interpretive lens of stress, busyness, tension, envy, anger, failure, whatever it might be, if that's the lens I'm reading my life in. 608 00:42:23,488 --> 00:42:25,299 Or or loss. 609 00:42:25,639 --> 00:42:29,701 Of course I'm going to see it as I'm I'm this is full of depression. 610 00:42:29,742 --> 00:42:41,238 This is full of broken relationships, irretrievable losses, and dried up hopes and chronic pain and bodies and minds that are turning against us and promises that sounded really 611 00:42:41,238 --> 00:42:44,850 great and they never, never were fulfilled. 612 00:42:45,791 --> 00:42:52,044 That's what it'll be if I'm reading my life without the interpretive lens of Christ. 613 00:42:52,312 --> 00:42:56,762 But just as if I come to this book without Christ, it's not true. 614 00:42:56,762 --> 00:43:02,090 I'm not i the Bible is not true if I don't interpret in light of Christ. 615 00:43:02,090 --> 00:43:10,757 So to the interpretation I give of my life, I give of this moment, I give of this suffering, if Christ is not the lens, that's not the truth. 616 00:43:10,877 --> 00:43:12,258 That's not true. 617 00:43:12,359 --> 00:43:14,900 That's not the final truth of that event. 618 00:43:14,900 --> 00:43:21,996 No, the true reading of your every experience and your life as a whole. 619 00:43:22,036 --> 00:43:25,007 Is what it is in Christ. 620 00:43:25,067 --> 00:43:33,249 The true reading of your life is what it is at it as it is held and healed in his hands. 621 00:43:33,869 --> 00:43:35,089 What is that? 622 00:43:35,130 --> 00:43:37,590 I think we can say this, wrapping up. 623 00:43:37,590 --> 00:43:47,893 I think we can say this, Christian, the defining character of your every moment, if you're interpreting it in light of Christ, the defining character of your every moment is love. 624 00:43:48,333 --> 00:43:51,570 And the sure end of your every story is. 625 00:43:51,570 --> 00:43:53,271 Is joy. 626 00:43:53,271 --> 00:43:54,691 That is the truth. 627 00:43:54,691 --> 00:43:58,673 That's the truth if we're interpreting in light of Christ. 628 00:43:58,873 --> 00:43:59,473 How do I know it? 629 00:43:59,473 --> 00:44:06,236 Well, listen, my every moment, our every moment is held in Jesus on the cross. 630 00:44:06,236 --> 00:44:08,257 Look at Jesus on the cross. 631 00:44:08,257 --> 00:44:12,418 Every moment of your life is in him. 632 00:44:13,219 --> 00:44:18,541 Every moment you want to see look at Christ and say, this moment's in there. 633 00:44:18,541 --> 00:44:19,962 This grief is in there. 634 00:44:19,962 --> 00:44:21,496 This sorrow's in there. 635 00:44:21,496 --> 00:44:23,787 This is there, my death is there. 636 00:44:23,787 --> 00:44:25,348 And what is that moment? 637 00:44:25,348 --> 00:44:26,568 Love. 638 00:44:26,868 --> 00:44:28,148 Love. 639 00:44:28,869 --> 00:44:29,299 It's love. 640 00:44:29,299 --> 00:44:30,450 And you say, I don't feel that. 641 00:44:30,450 --> 00:44:31,990 We don't feel it yet. 642 00:44:32,070 --> 00:44:37,593 But that's the promise in Christ, interpreted in light of him. 643 00:44:37,593 --> 00:44:42,135 Every moment, Christian, is love, and you will see it. 644 00:44:42,135 --> 00:44:50,892 That's why Paul can say, I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth. 645 00:44:50,892 --> 00:45:00,247 Nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 646 00:45:00,247 --> 00:45:03,509 Interpreted in light of Christ, Christian, every moment is love. 647 00:45:03,509 --> 00:45:08,352 And interpret interpreted in light of Christ, every moment ends in joy. 648 00:45:08,352 --> 00:45:09,892 How can we say that? 649 00:45:10,033 --> 00:45:14,315 Because the end of your story is revealed at the resurrection. 650 00:45:14,315 --> 00:45:15,005 That's the end. 651 00:45:15,005 --> 00:45:16,436 That's where it's going. 652 00:45:16,676 --> 00:45:18,357 God promises it. 653 00:45:18,457 --> 00:45:20,278 And what is the resurrection? 654 00:45:20,940 --> 00:45:30,337 Joy, joy beyond belief, which is why Isaiah can write this: the ransomed of the Lord shall return, every one of them. 655 00:45:30,638 --> 00:45:31,359 Every one of them. 656 00:45:31,359 --> 00:45:34,491 Loss is over in Christ. 657 00:45:34,491 --> 00:45:38,725 If you're in Christ, the right interpretation says loss is over. 658 00:45:38,725 --> 00:45:40,566 Those losses are not final. 659 00:45:40,566 --> 00:45:42,888 Those losses will not define you. 660 00:45:42,888 --> 00:45:50,154 The ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing. 661 00:45:50,924 --> 00:46:04,124 And everlasting joy shall be upon their heads, and they shall obtain gladness and joy and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 662 00:46:04,345 --> 00:46:08,748 That's the true interpretation of your life because of Christ. 663 00:46:08,869 --> 00:46:20,206 So let us read this book and this book as being about Christ and true only as interpreted by 664 00:46:20,206 --> 00:46:22,467 Through the lens of Christ. 665 00:46:22,467 --> 00:46:37,033 Because the only place any verse in this book and any moment in this life is finally true is as it is orbiting Christ as its center, and as it is held in his hands, and as it is 666 00:46:37,033 --> 00:46:39,214 named by his love. 667 00:46:39,414 --> 00:46:41,294 That's the only time it's true. 668 00:46:41,855 --> 00:46:49,578 And so as we come to this table as Christians, what you're coming to is the interpretive lens of all reality. 669 00:46:50,124 --> 00:46:57,108 We are called as Christians to interpret everything through this, through this, because what is here? 670 00:46:57,108 --> 00:47:06,764 This is the witness, this is the proclamation, this is the remembrance, this is the symbolism of Christ crucified and raised up again. 671 00:47:06,764 --> 00:47:10,707 This is the lens through which we are to read scripture. 672 00:47:10,707 --> 00:47:11,207 Right here. 673 00:47:11,207 --> 00:47:16,520 You are about to eat the lens through which you're supposed to interpret scripture. 674 00:47:16,778 --> 00:47:20,559 This is the lens through which we are to interpret our life. 675 00:47:20,640 --> 00:47:26,782 You're going to take into your body the lens that God says, interpret everything through this. 676 00:47:26,982 --> 00:47:36,506 Interpret everything through what I've done, through who I am, through this love toward which everything is moving and nothing can stop. 677 00:47:36,506 --> 00:47:37,787 This is the truth. 678 00:47:37,787 --> 00:47:41,988 What you're about to take into yourself by faith, that is the truth. 679 00:47:42,249 --> 00:47:45,910 So may God give us grace to read every verse of scripture. 680 00:47:45,910 --> 00:47:55,265 And every moment of our lives in light of this table that we're about to come to and partake in, and to remember the love that is witnessed here. 681 00:47:55,265 --> 00:47:58,920 Let me pray for us and then we'll come to the Lord's table together. 682 00:48:03,726 --> 00:48:10,368 Father, it is so dangerously easy for me to stand here and talk about things. 683 00:48:11,028 --> 00:48:18,470 And the talk is proven in the trenches, in the doing, in the living. 684 00:48:19,310 --> 00:48:31,354 So I pray, Father, for myself and for my brothers and sisters, just as we're about to physically actually eat this bread and this wine, so too, these things we've considered 685 00:48:31,354 --> 00:48:32,862 today would physically 686 00:48:32,862 --> 00:48:45,487 actually be present in our lives, that we would interpret our lives and act accordingly, seeing Christ as the one for whom all things are about. 687 00:48:45,487 --> 00:48:47,008 Everything's about Him. 688 00:48:47,328 --> 00:48:50,709 And interpreting these moments in light of Him. 689 00:48:50,870 --> 00:48:52,270 Help us do that. 690 00:48:52,270 --> 00:48:53,751 Help us live that. 691 00:48:53,751 --> 00:48:56,412 Help us love because of that. 692 00:48:56,812 --> 00:48:59,033 And we thank you, Father, for Jesus Christ. 693 00:48:59,033 --> 00:49:01,708 Open our eyes to Scripture 694 00:49:01,708 --> 00:49:06,180 And to our lives to see what is true in your slain and risen Son. 695 00:49:06,180 --> 00:49:07,921 We thank you for him, Father. 696 00:49:07,921 --> 00:49:09,901 In Jesus' name, amen. 697 00:49:10,222 --> 00:49:15,464 Thank you for listening to this message from Kingstree Church in Sabina, Ohio. 698 00:49:15,464 --> 00:49:24,048 To see more of the beauty of God and the crucified and risen Jesus Christ, come worship with us on Sundays at 10 a.m. 699 00:49:24,048 --> 00:49:27,989 or visit our website at Kingstreechurch.org.