Who is Jesus?

Acts 2:1-41

Hear the Word

(Groups) Read Acts 2:1-41

The Facts–"Just the Facts, Ma'am."

•	At what point in Peter's sermon does Luke say the people were "pierced to the heart?"

◦	After they had heard that "God has made Him both Lord and Christ–this Jesus whom you crucified."

•	(Groups) Today's study will focus on who "this Jesus" is. Tell me the three parts of Peter's description of Jesus from verse 36.

◦	God has made Him Lord

◦	God has made Him Christ

◦	You crucified Him

•	What would it mean for Peter's hearers to hear that they had crucified the Christ? To a first-century Jewish audience, what would the title, "the Christ," mean? It would be helpful in answering this question to know what the word, Christ means. Who can tell me? (Might have to supply the answer if no one knows.)

◦	Christ is the Greek word for Messiah which means, the Anointed One

•	What evidence does Peter give in his sermon that they had done just that?What does the word Christ mean? (Might have to tell what Christ means if no one knows.)

◦

•	For Jews, what would it mean for them to have crucified their Messiah?

◦

•	Our passage does not give us a full description of what the phrase, the Anointed One, means. To gain a better understanding of what that phrase would have meant to Jesus' hearers, I want you to take a peek at Luke 4:14-21 with me.

Hear the Word

(Groups) Read Luke 4:14-21

The Facts–"Just the Facts, Ma'am."

•	How did Jesus return to Galilee, according to verse 14?

-	In the power of the Spirit

•	Why does Jesus say that the Spirit of the Lord is upon Him?

◦	Because He has been anointed

•	I want you to take a look at the previous context and tell me when that anointing took place?

◦	At His baptism when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him (Ch. 3:22)

•	And what was Jesus anointed for?

◦	Ministry–to preach the gospel to the poor, to heal and set free, etc.

•	How do we know that Jesus is referring to Himself from this passage?

◦	Because after reading from the Scripture in Isaiah, He says, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

•	I want to turn to one more passage that gives us an idea of what this anointing of the Spirit looks like. Turn to Luke 7 and let's read verses 19-22.

Hear the Word

Read Luke 7:1922

The Facts–"Just the Facts, Ma'am."

•	Who comes to Jesus?

-	Two of John's disciples

•	What do thy ask Him?

◦	If He is the Expected One

•	How does Jesus answer their question?

◦	He performs miracles of healing for them and tells them to report these miracles of healing, along with the fact that the gospel is preached to the poor as evidence. (Notice, in Jesus' answer, He refers back to that same passage in Isaiah, clearly linking anointed one with expected one.)

•	What evidence does Peter give that Jesus is the anointed one in Acts 2? Keep in mind the characteristics of the Anointed One that we saw from Luke.

◦	Peter says that Jesus was a "man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst"

-	What does that mean–"a man attested to you by God?"

▪

-	Did you catch that? Peter described Jesus as a what?

▪	A man

•	What would it mean for Peter to identify this man as the Christ? What would his hearers have heard by the word, Christ? (Might have to tell what Christ means if no one knows.)

◦	The anointed one, the Messiah

•	What evidence does Peter give that Jesus is the anointed?

◦	He says that Jesus was "delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God" (vs.23)

-	Delivered over to who?

▪	To you, the people who Peter was addressing

*	And what did they do with Him?

+	Nailed Him to a cross by the hands of godless men

+	Put Him to death

-	And how was Jesus delivered over?

▪	By the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God

*	What does it tell you about God that He would deliver over Jesus with foreknowledge?

+	God knew what we would do to His Son and sent Him anyway. (Are you hearing that? You do not just sneak up on the God of Heaven and crucify His Son. How many of us would hand over a family member knowing in advance that that individual would suffer a cruel death?)

+	How could someone go throug

*	Why would someone be willing to do this? Tell me, why would God do this?

*	What is significant about the fact that it was predetermined?

+	God had made up his mind ahead of time to let them kill His Son. It was in God's plan. It was not an accident. (You might say that the people did not "get away" with murder.)

•	What does the fact that God followed through on His plan tell you about Him?

◦	It reveals God's trustworthiness. He does what He determines beforehand. It also reveals His extreme mercy and grace.

•	What does this reveal about us?

◦	It reveals our hatred. (We are God's enemies.)

◦	It reveals our depravity. (We would kill our own Creator if given the opportunity.)

◦	It reveals our untrustworthiness. (When God delivered His Son over to us we killed Him. And our Creator is willing to die, to cease to exist, if that would let us live happily ever after. Now, that is love.)

•	By the way, what would happen to all of us if God had died eternally?

◦	If He dies we die. (It is by Him we live and move and have our being. He is not only the Creator but the Sustainer of all things.)

•	So what was the good news in Peter's sermon?

◦	"But 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." (vs. 24)

•	And where did God raise Him to?

◦	To the right hand of God (vs. 33)

-	Where He received what?

▪	The promise of the Holy Spirit

*	And what did He do with that gift?

+	He poured it forth

•	In his sermon, how does Peter describe the pouring forth of the Holy Spirit?

◦	In prophecy, visions, dreams, wonders, and signs (verses 17-20)

•	Why would Peter bother explaining what this outpouring on the Spirit looked like?

◦	The crowd was amazed and bewildered because everyone heard the believers speaking in their own language. They wondered how this was possible because those speaking were Galileans while they were from many different places.

•	What does Peter attribute this miracle to?

◦	He claims it is the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy.

•	What time period does Joel's prophecy refer to?

◦	The last days

-	What follows after that?

▪	The great and glorious day of the Lord.

•	In light of this, what is Peter trying to tell his hearers about the time in which they were living?

◦	They were living in the last days

-	And what could they expect to follow?

▪	The great and glorious day of the Lord (put in question about calling on the name of the Lord and being saved)

*	And in the rest of the context, who does Peter say is the Lord?

+	Jesus the Nazarene

•	And as the Lord, what is Jesus to do?

◦	Sit at God's right hand until His enemies are made a footstool for His feet.

-	In the context, who might have been identifying with His enemies?

▪	The people

*	Why?

+	Because they crucified Him

-	And what is to become of His enemies?

▪	They are to be made a footstool for His feet

*	What feeling might this statement have invoked in the hearts of Peter's listeners?

+	Fear

•	But what else might the listeners have felt? To answer this question, I want you to tell me what is the good news in the fact that Jesus is now Lord?

◦	The prophecy of Joel says that, "It shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

-	So what else might Peter's hearers have felt?

▪	Hope

•	(Groups) In light of what we have seen, what amazing contrast is Peter making by calling Jesus both Lord and Christ?

◦	He is claiming that Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecy: #1 as Messiah–the one with the intention to save, (The one who meekly followed through on God's plan by suffering a cruel death at the hands of His enemies) and #2 as Lord–the one who now has the authority to save.

•	"Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ–this Jesus whom you crucified." What fantastic point is Peter making with this statement?"

◦	That they had crucified their Messiah–the one who came with the intention to save, and their Lord–the one who now has the authority to save.

•	Notice, what kind of conviction follows this statement?

◦	They were "pierced to the heart."

◦	They asked, "Brethren, what shall we do?" (They are ready to hand their lives over to this God.)

•	Have you been "pierced to the heart" by the statement: "God has made Him both Lord and Christ–this Jesus whom you crucified?" (Don't take answers yet.)

•	If so, what would be an appropriate response? What was the response of the people?

◦	They said, "What shall we do?"

•	What two instructions did Peter give the people in response to their question?

◦	"Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins."

•	I just want to focus on repentance today. Next time we will look more closely at the significance of baptism. Why would Peter tell them to repent? What does it mean?

◦	The basic meaning is to turn, to change direction. (Give people the answer if they do not know.)

•	What would it mean for the people to turn? What form would the change of direction take?

◦	To change their concept of the Messiah.

◦	To change their understanding of who Jesus was

◦	To turn to Jesus as the Savior

◦	To accept Peter's sermon personally

•	What did the people do with Peter's instruction?

◦	They received it.

•	You have just heard the same sermon. Jesus came and suffered death for you, when you were still His enemy. He is now Lord and calling you to Himself (verse 39). He has told you that everyone who calls on His name will be saved. This is your opportunity today. Who would like to make a statement of faith in light of what we have seen?

The Church in Acts

Acts 2:41-47

Hear the Word

(Groups) Read Acts 2:41-47

The Facts–"Just the Facts, Ma'am."

•	What are the four things in verse 42 that the early church members

did?

◦	"They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."

•	I want you to notice how often they were involved in these four activities. What does the text say?

◦	"They were continually devoting themselves."

-	(For emphasis) How often?

▪	Continually. Are you hearing the significance of that? (Apparently, these activities were not a once a week happening.)

Interpretation–"What Does It Mean?"

•	(Groups) What does devoting themselves mean? What did it look like in the next five verses? (How are these four enlarged in vv. 43-47?)

◦	Verse 43–"Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles."

◦	Verse 44–"And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common;"

◦	Verse 45–"and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need."

◦	Verse 46–"Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,"

◦	Verse 47–"praising God and having favor with all the people."

Facts–"Just the Facts, Ma'am."

•	What was the Lord doing all this time?

◦	"And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved."

Interpretation–"What Does It Mean?"

•	I am interested in knowing why the Lord was willing to add daily to their number? If we understood this, and put it into practice, what might He also be willing to do among us?

◦	Add daily to our number those who are being saved.

•	(Groups) In order to understand why the Lord was willing to add to their number daily, we need to know what is significant about these four activities. Why these four? What sense can you make of them? How would you organize them? How do they relate to each other? Into what different areas do they fit?

◦	Mental, Social, Physical, and Spiritual (Match with corresponding activities.)

•	(Groups) How might this explain why the Lord would be willing to add daily to their number if they continually devoted themselves to these four things? Take a minute to discuss this in your groups.

◦	Balance, health in the body of Christ. God created us to be whole.

•	What would happen if the church got out of balance in any one area? Read the first few verses in chapter six and see what it looked like in the early church.

◦	The widows of the Hellenistic/Grecian Jews were being overlooked in the daily distribution of bread.

◦	What would it look like to be unbalanced in each area? Give me some modern-
day examples:

-	Mental church–all head and no heart.

-	Social church–becomes a club without a Biblical mission.

-	Physical church–feed the hungry body but not the hungry soul.

-	Spiritual church–no impact on the practical.

•	(Groups) What is the significance of the order in which these activities are listed? (Give some time to discuss in groups, then pull back together and go over each one.)

◦	Mental: Why would the list begin with hearing the apostles' teaching rather than prayer and the spiritual realm, for instance?

-	I want you to note what happened in the previous verses when people heard the apostles' teaching? How did it affect them?

▪	They were pierced to the heart. There is a priority to hearing the Word of God–that is what cuts to the heart.

*	Why? What was the content of the apostles' teaching that pierced their hearts? What was Peter teaching?

+	That Jesus was the Messiah and the Lord. That they had crucified Him, but that death could not hold Him. That now He is in heaven, and that everyone who calls on His name will be saved.

-	"faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." (Rom 10:17) (Apparently, we cannot even enter into the spiritual life without the Word.)

-	"be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Rom 12:2) The mind is God's chosen channel to reach us. The mind is where we choose to believe in Him. (If God does not have your mind, He does not have any of you. Your body may go through the motions of religion--outwardly fellowshipping, meeting physical needs, and praying–but as Jesus put it, "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.'" (Matt 15:8-9) It is interesting that in the previous verse Jesus accuses the pharisees and scribes of invalidating the Word of God for the sake of their tradition, thus teaching the precepts of men rather than the Word of God. It is also interesting that their worship is in vain because their hearts are far from God–here the heart refers to the mind. Apparently, one can be very spiritual without being true to the Word. E.g.-think of all the spiritual people in the world that are not following the Word of God.)

-	God's Word is a revelation of Himself. You cannot have a manifestation of God's presence if people are not hearing the Word. We enter into relationship with Him through His Word. That is how we know He is trustworthy.

-	We do not even know how to have genuine fellowship with each other until we are both trusting in God through His Word.

◦	Social: Why would fellowship follow hearing the Word?

-	Through the Word, we learn to trust God, and only as we trust God can we enter into true fellowship with one another. As we respond to God's Word and see others respond as well, we sense: "I trust God, and you do, too. Maybe I can trust you then."

-	What happens to fellowship that does not begin by entering into relationship with God through the Word?

▪	We create a false fellowship that is superficial and not based on true trust. We invent ways of ministering to each other that do not meet real needs. (Did you know that this kind of fellowship does not exist among non-believers? Only those who have been loved by God can love unselfishly. Every other relationship on this planet is most concerned with, "What do I get out of it." Only God can give a person concern for others because of their intrinsic value.)

◦	Physical: Why would the physical follow the first two?

-	There is a natural giving and receiving among those whom you trust. It is mistrust that keeps us from graciously giving and receiving. It is easy to wonder if we will be taken advantage of if we give to those we mistrust. It is also hard to receive from those we do not trust. We wonder about their motives for giving to us.

◦	Spiritual: What kind of prayer is described in these verses?

-	Praise to God.

-	Why would praise follow the previous three activities?

▪	It was this experience of having a common Savior, of trusting one another, and of looking out for one another's needs that resulted in praise to God.

▪	Can you imagine what that sort of a life would be like–to be mentally, socially, and physically whole? What would be a natural response?

*	Praise God!

Let's Illustrate!

After hearing about the amazing experience of the believers in Acts, it is

natural to be amazed and to wonder if anything near to that experience could exist

today. It does! Some friends started studying the Bible the way we have been doing. Eventually, they started seeing Jesus. They saw how much He valued them and how good His plans were. Their hearts were melted; openly they confessed their need of God and their gratitude for such love. As they acted in faith, they became the closest of friends. They began to say things like, "Wouldn't it be great if we could all move in together and share this ministry with others?" The trust increased to the point that each knew the others would drop everything to minister to one who was hurting. An example of this is the following story, told from Greg's perspective:

"My friends were coming over for the weekend to attend a Bible study training seminar that I was leading. I was looking forward to seeing them and dreading it at the same time. I had been seriously depressed for some time, and didn't know how I would handle the company. All I wanted to do was survive the weekend until everyone left.

When they arrived, I squared my shoulders, pasted on a smile, and went out to welcome them–determined to be cheerful.

After the training, my friends had planned to hang out for some fun. Under the circumstances, I was not in much of a mood for "fun." I must not have been doing a very good job of hiding it, because Shelly exploded, "Why are you so depressed all the time? I don't even feel welcome here."

I was flabbergasted! She had seen right through my efforts to be cheerful. I figured I might as well be honest with her. I told her of my depression and apparent inability to be welcoming under the circumstances. Her reply astounded me! She said, "You are a part of us. What affects you affects us. I want to do whatever it takes to help you get through this."

She gathered the rest of my friends around me. Amazingly, rather than being put off by my issues, they took my willingness to share as a sign of trust. They said that they were honored to be part of my life and were committed to me. We talked into the night, and it became clear that I needed to talk honestly with some family members, the sooner the better. The next day, the entire group, in caravan, drove two hours out of their way to pray with me before sending me in to "the lion's den." They said they would wait for me at a local restaurant and pray for me until I contacted them or returned.

Praise the Lord for such fellowship!"

Application–"Make it Personal!"

•	How are you being convicted today?

◦	Is the crucified Jesus your Messiah and Lord? As we have seen, that is the first order of business. Unless you are accepting that message, the experience we have seen in Acts will be out of reach. Does anyone need to respond to the apostles' teaching today?

◦	Are you sick of playing church? Do you long to be part of a wholistic community in which all the parts care for each other as though they were caring for themselves? What would be an appropriate first step in light of what we have seen? Let's make a list of appropriate actions on the board. Which of these actions seem most applicable to you? Who would like to share what step they plan to take?