Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.gracespringfield.com/sermons/42655/the-jewish-final-solution-to-the-worlds-problem-jews-and-the-day-of-pentecost-part-3/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] If you will return, please, to the Book of Acts, Chapter 2, once again, we will get today's material underway. I am satisfied that it will probably, for some of you, be very revealing, and for others it will be kind of ho-hum because you will have heard it before, sometime during the last 44 years that we have been together here at Grace.

[0:24] But the content is absolutely monumental, and the implications thereof are likewise. We are calling this particular series, which is somewhat extensive and will continue on, I do not know how far into the future, but we are calling it the Jewish Final Solution to the World's Problems.

[0:48] And that final solution to the world's problem, of course, is the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth when things will be as they ought to be, and the one who is going to make them that way will be Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

[1:07] He is the Jewish Final Solution to the world's problem. And the world's problem, of course, is its sin. Someone has made the observation that there isn't anything at all that is wrong with people except the way they treat each other.

[1:23] Well, that kind of sums it up. That's our problem, the way we treat each other. We have ways of insulting and offending and inflicting pain and heartache and everything else upon one another.

[1:36] And it is essentially because we are self-centered in our composition. You see, and it's imperative that we understand this, otherwise you won't have any idea who the enemy is.

[1:53] And you are the enemy because we are all our own worst enemy. A major consequence that occurred in connection with the original fall.

[2:09] When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they took upon themselves something God didn't create in them.

[2:21] They took upon themselves a sin nature they didn't have originally. That came as a result of their disobedience.

[2:33] Their disposition changed. And even their destiny changed because they had been told by God, the day that you eat thereof you will surely die.

[2:43] Well, they ate, they died immediately, spiritually. And death, physical death, set in and was realized several hundred years later.

[2:54] But eventually it caught up with them as it catches up with all of us. And I am satisfied that the greatest single consequence that resulted from that original fall and that original disobeying God, the most significant consequence came to, well, it came down to this.

[3:21] It's all about me. I, myself, am the core. I am the center. It is an ingrained self-centeredness.

[3:37] It is an automatic selfishness. It is a compulsion to have our own way about whatever it is we want, even at the expense of someone else not getting their way.

[3:51] And when you meet somebody who wants their way and you have your way and they are opposites, what do you have? You've got conflict. You have conflict.

[4:02] People are at loggerheads. And sometimes it even happens with nations. And when it happens with nations, we call it war. And if it involves enough nations, we call it a world war, because there are a whole lot of them involved.

[4:18] This self-centeredness is a curse upon humanity. And every one of us has made this way. You are just as self-centered as I am.

[4:29] And sometimes it can really get ugly. The only panacea that has been provided to combat that self-centeredness is the Spirit of God who comes in and takes up residency within the believer when they come to faith in Jesus Christ.

[4:47] But even then, he does not simply overrule or stamp out our self-centeredness. We know that because there are plenty of Christians who are just as self-centered as some non-Christians.

[5:00] But what the Spirit of God does is he provides us with a potential that we no longer have to be self-centered. We may continue in our self-centeredness, and a lot of Christians do.

[5:12] But you don't have to. There is a superior way to go. There is a way of joy and peace and satisfaction. And that comes from what Paul described in Romans chapter 6, walking in the Spirit as opposed to walking in the flesh.

[5:28] Because when we walk in the flesh, all we want to do is our own thing. When we walk in the Spirit, we want to do God's thing. And the difference is between day and night. So this is what's wrong with the world.

[5:40] Everybody in the world is like this. Everyone everywhere. Everyone that belongs to the human race is essentially self-centered. That's part of the human condition.

[5:52] And that's also why Jesus Christ came to free us from this kind of self-centeredness. So we could actually reflect his character and what he said about, I am come to do my Father's will.

[6:11] I do always those things that please him. I have a problem with doing things that please God. Because the things I want to do that please me get in the way.

[6:23] You have that problem? I think we all do. That's part of the curse. So a Christian can cycle in and out of the flesh. You may walk in the flesh today and walk in the Spirit tomorrow.

[6:34] That all depends on to whom you are surrendering. The members of your body as instruments to righteousness or unrighteousness. So it is up to us. Anyway, this condition pervades the whole world.

[6:48] And the final solution to it is what Jesus Christ came to accomplish. And he did that for phase one of establishing this incredible kingdom that we're talking about where the world is going to be fixed and everything is going to be right.

[7:05] Phase one is accomplished. Phase two is not. We are living right now between phase one and phase two. Phase one is the preparation and groundwork laid for the coming of the kingdom.

[7:18] We've got that. Christ did that. We'll see that in Acts chapter three. Phase two is when Jesus actually comes physically, literally to this earth in a second return and establishes that kingdom.

[7:34] That will be phase two. We don't know when that's going to happen. But I'll tell you this much. The nation of Israel and the Jew is going to be right smack dab in the middle of it all.

[7:54] Israel, the Jewish nation, and the Jewish people, now scattered all throughout the world, are going to be the divine catalyst through which all of this is going to occur.

[8:08] And it is all because of the promise God made to Abraham 4,000 years ago, 6,000 years ago, almost, well, 5,000 years ago, when he said in chapter 12, through you and your seed, all nations of the earth will be blessed.

[8:28] And that's what's coming. So what we are dealing with now has to do with an historical unfolding of events that have taken place en route to that.

[8:42] And here in Acts chapter two, commonly referred to as the day of Pentecost, we see a major step forward being taken.

[8:52] Now, granted, I can't say that one terribly significant has been taken in the last 2,000 years since the day of Pentecost, unless the founding of the nation of Israel, with David Ben-Gurion being its first president, is of even more significance than we think it is.

[9:14] And I already think it is pretty significant. So the Jew is going to be right in the middle of all of this. And I've jotted down something that I want to share with you. Let me just read this and we'll get to our text shortly.

[9:25] An evil, an evil global conspiracy led by none other than Satan himself and directed toward the Jewish people is becoming more apparent day by day.

[9:44] This persecution of the Jew began in Egypt when they were in bondage there and has continued to this present day.

[9:55] The Holocaust that happened in the 1940s has provided the major manifestation of this persecution of the Jewish people.

[10:09] And yet they haven't seen anything. There is a whole lot more coming. The immediate and obvious cover for this latest wave of anti-Semitism is radical Islam and the fanatic jihadists that it inspires.

[10:31] But make no mistake, the principal mover and shaker of anti-Semitism has always been and will continue to be Satan himself.

[10:43] During the end time, which we may well be approaching, this will become more and more apparent. So much so, it will even be flaunted through the evils of the Antichrist, the one who will be the personal emissary of Satan himself.

[11:03] Israel, as the nation, is the key player in all of this, whether or not they fully realize it. And many of our Jewish friends today, in fact, I think we could say most of our Jewish friends today, have no idea how really strategic they are for the future.

[11:22] They are painfully aware that they and their ancestors have suffered from not only the Holocaust, but untold other incidents of persecution throughout all parts of the world.

[11:33] And you know what? It is starting here, now, as I speak. I don't know if you were aware of it or not, but it was on the news just within the last week, how there have been eruptions of anti-Semitism, protests, banners written up and displayed on some of our leading universities on the West Coast.

[12:01] And much of this, of course, is fueled by a very liberal academia, who see the Palestinian and their cause as David, and they see Israel as the big bully, Goliath, and they are taking that tack.

[12:22] And many of them, of these institutions, have already withdrawn millions of dollars that they've had invested in Israel. They call it divestiture.

[12:33] And they're taking their funds and their money out. And, of course, that creates more hardships for Israel. I have an article here that is a handout.

[12:44] It's a picture of a rather sad, forlorn-looking lady. This was in the Springfield newspaper, February 1st, just a couple of weeks ago.

[13:01] Her name is Jael Bosch-Fittering, 73, has lived in Berlin most of her life. But after recent terrorist attacks in Europe that included an anti-Semitic theme, she noted, I just wonder, as I look around Europe today, about those who stayed until it was too late the last time.

[13:31] Isn't that something? The article is titled, Jews Wonder If It's Time to Flee. Again. You can pick up your copy of this article.

[13:44] It's in the literature rack by the door as you exit toward the parking lot. So, this is where things are going.

[13:56] And we are en route. And what we plan to do is give you the content as it occurred historically, those events that were of greatest significance in the Bible.

[14:09] And then we are going to move out of the Bible. And we will engage in some brief history lessons regarding Europe during the Middle Ages, as it involved not only Islam, and we'll see some historical significant things with Islam, the founding and the philosophy of it, and how that couples with the Jew and the persecution that they have endured, particularly during what is commonly called the Dark Ages, and even somewhat later, even up to this present time.

[14:41] The anti-Semitism is just amazing. And all of it, virtually all of the anti-Semitism, and not only anti-Semitism, but racism. When you're talking about black and white issues, virtually all of the items that are debated from the standpoint of discrimination, whether it's on the basis of religion or race or whatever it is, virtually all of it is born out of two things.

[15:11] One is ignorance, and the other is arrogance. And I've defined arrogance as nothing but ignorance on steroids.

[15:24] And we've got a whole lot of that today, because people can be so ignorant that they actually think, they actually believe that there is, well, like Hitler, an Aryan super race, and all other races are inferior.

[15:43] There is only the Aryan super race. That is the top of the totem pole. Well, that's just downright stupid. There is no such thing as a superior race or inferior race.

[15:55] There is no such thing as an inferior person because of the color of his skin. He isn't as worthy as somebody who has a different skin color. This is all ignorance we're talking about, stupidity.

[16:08] And then when people get aggressive about it and demanding about it, then that's where the arrogance comes out. And it is just absolutely amazing. But I want to get you into Acts chapter 2.

[16:19] We've got some content here that I think is really very, very significant. We've already explained and taken the position that is contrary to the standard fare.

[16:32] And by the way, I guess I've developed a kind of unwanted reputation for that. And for your information, no, I do not enjoy being in the minority about anything.

[16:51] It can be very uncomfortable. It's a lot more soothing to be with a majority where you know most of the folks are in agreement with you.

[17:03] But when you have to take a position that you know is held in the minority, it makes you feel like, well, who do you think you are? You know, what makes you, why do you insist on being different?

[17:17] And I trust that that isn't the case because I can tell you that I really don't much appreciate that. And yet, when you were convinced that this is what the scriptures say, you just have to go with it.

[17:31] Let the chips fall where they may. And go ahead and let them call you the names they want to call you about being an isolationist, a separatist. He's got to think differently. He's got to see it differently.

[17:43] Whatever. Anyway, this is the way I see it. And what would you have me do? Teach according to the way I don't see it? So this is all I can do. And in saying that, we take the position that the day of Pentecost is not the beginning of the church.

[18:02] It's not the founding of the church. And when we talk about the church, we are thinking in terms of the church, which is the body of Christ that is described in Ephesians and Colossians and 1 Corinthians.

[18:15] It is the amalgamation of Jew and Gentile together, where the distinctions are broken down, where there's neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, but everyone is on an equal plane in Christ.

[18:33] And that is the church. That did not exist in the book of Acts at the time the day of Pentecost was taking place. We have a very clear, distinctive revelation of Jewish people involved exclusively.

[18:52] No Gentiles involved at all. No non-Jews. These are all, no Gentiles. These are all Jews. And when you understand that, you'll have no difficulty in seeing what took place on the day of Pentecost with the speaking in tongues, the miraculous miracles, etc., as being a fulfillment of what God promised would come to pass in the prophets of Joel.

[19:22] But as we took you there earlier, we noticed that it is only the beginning of that fulfillment, because Joel's prophecy goes on to talk about signs and wonders taking place in the heavens and in the atmosphere so that these things would be visible to everyone.

[19:41] Well, they never happened in connection with the day of Pentecost. They are going to happen. And we visited Matthew 24, the Olivet Discourse, where Christ refers to those things.

[19:52] And that has to do with phase two. That hasn't occurred yet. That's in connection with the coming of Christ. Phase two. Phase one simply lays the groundwork for it.

[20:05] And phase one consists of Christ coming to the earth in his first coming and being made sin for us. And when Christ died for the sins of the world, he balanced the scales of moral righteousness in God's view, and that allowed God to remove the effects of the curse.

[20:29] But they're not removed. They're still very much with us. So where's the removal of the effects? That's phase two. Phase two. And guess, guess upon whom phase two is dependent.

[20:49] The Jew. The nation of Israel. Am I saying that it is the Jewish nation that is the logjam that's keeping this whole thing from being fulfilled?

[21:03] That is precisely what I'm saying. And when the history, when the nation of Israel gets on board, then things are going to happen in rapid fire order.

[21:16] So what I want you to do is look at this passage in Acts chapter two on the day of Pentecost. And I just briefly want to throw out a question for you to consider because I'm satisfied that it too is very, very germane.

[21:30] As a result of this language and the noise of this rushing mighty wind, we are told that there was a huge multitude of people who are involved.

[21:42] They are from all over the world. And Peter, when he explains what this is all about, people are saying, they hear this noise. It's the noises of a rushing mighty wind.

[21:53] And I don't know if you've ever been in a tornado or not. You probably haven't. Happily, probably never want to be either. But I have read the testimony and heard a number of people who were actually in and survived a tornado.

[22:07] I mean, the thing passed right over or right close to them. And almost all of them had the same thing to say. They said, it sounded like, it sounded like a really noisy freight train passing about three feet away from you.

[22:27] Real noise. And they all described it as a train. A loud noise from a train. And folks, all that is, is wind. It's just air in turbulence creating all that noise.

[22:41] One wonders what it was that they heard on the day of Pentecost. Was it like that? I suspect maybe it was because the noise had to have been heard a long distance away. And people were there on the Temple Mount.

[22:53] And they were saying to one another, what's that? What is that? It's coming from over there. They hear this tremendous noise. And everybody rushes over there. See what's producing it. What's going on? And when they get there, they come upon these people who are speaking and being heard in languages that they never learned.

[23:17] And it's amazing because they always had to deal with a language barrier and work with interpreters before. And now everybody is hearing it in their own language. And Peter stands up and in verse 16 says, this is that which was spoken of through the prophet Joel.

[23:34] And then he goes on and quotes this from Joel. But you'll note in verse 20, the sun turned into darkness, the moon into blood. That never happened. Before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come.

[23:46] That never happened. That still hasn't happened. The day of the Lord still hasn't occurred. What is this today? This is the day of man. This isn't the day of the Lord.

[23:58] This is man's day. The day of the Lord is when things will be done under his direction, not ours. That's the day of the Lord.

[24:09] That's never occurred either. But it is coming. And when he says, before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

[24:20] And who will be those who will be calling on the Lord? It will be these people. The Jew. And they will be calling on the Lord. They will be calling on the name of the very one whom they have denied as their Messiah for the last 2,000 years.

[24:37] They won't be denying him here. But I want you to notice what this passage does not say. And it took me quite a while to see this. In fact, I never did see it on my own.

[24:48] It was pointed out to me. And when it was pointed out, my first response was to reject it. Because that's not right. That doesn't make any. But upon further reflection, more examination, it is right on.

[25:02] And that is this. Peter, who responds to this situation, does not preach at all what we call the gospel of the grace of God.

[25:15] Peter does not go on to tell them that Christ died for their sins. And that if you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, God will take your sins, transfer them to Christ.

[25:28] He'll take Christ's righteousness, transfer it to you. And it is all about the substitutionary death of Christ. Well, almost everybody knows that that's true.

[25:40] Except it isn't true. Peter never preached that. Do you know what the essence of Peter's message was? It wasn't a salvation message.

[25:51] It wasn't a believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. No, no. That wasn't the message. That wasn't what Peter delivered. What Peter delivered was an accusation. An indictment.

[26:04] And the essence of Peter's message was this. God sent his son Jesus to be our Messiah in response to the promise he made to Israel.

[26:16] And instead of accepting him, you crucified him. You killed him. But God raised him from the dead. And Peter went on to emphasize the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

[26:34] That's his big message. Because all through the earthly ministry of Christ, for three years, for three years, the only single burning question throughout all the land of Israel, the only question that mattered was, who is this man?

[26:51] Is this the one promised by Moses and the prophets? Or is it not? Everything centered around the identity of Jesus of Nazareth.

[27:03] Is he the Messiah or isn't he? That was the question. That was the only question. And you had to line up on one side or the other. And multitudes did.

[27:13] That's still the question. I want you to read with me, if you will. Beginning here with Acts 2 and verse 22. Notice he identifies his audience.

[27:26] Men of Israel. They are the only men there. They are the only ones allowed there. Gentiles are not allowed here in this area.

[27:37] Not at all. Not at all. Men of Israel. Listen to these words. Jesus the Nazarene. A man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through him in your midst.

[27:55] Just as you yourselves know. I cannot help but believe. As Peter was saying these words.

[28:07] There were people there in his audience. That had seen. The miracles that Jesus did. Had heard what Jesus had said.

[28:21] There were witnesses there. Just as you yourselves know. And isn't it a stretch to say Peter probably pointed his finger at that crowd. Just as you yourselves know.

[28:34] This man. Delivered up. By the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God. That's God's part. Jesus Christ was God's elect son.

[28:51] He elected him. Chose him. To pay this price. Of redemption. And he was willing to pay it. This is the sovereignty of God.

[29:03] And it is coupled with the responsibility of man. God did this. God sent him. And God saw to it that he was delivered. Because that's how sin was atoned for.

[29:15] But that's not Peter's message here. He doesn't go into that. That comes later in the book of Acts. And this is I think very significant. Because we've got a doctrinal situation here that is developing.

[29:27] He is not preaching death, burial, and resurrection of Christ for your sins. Put your faith and trust in him. You'll be cleansed of your sins and given eternal life.

[29:37] That's a message that's coming later. That's not a message these people were getting now. Nor that Peter was delivering. Nor were they even prepared to receive that message. And if you want to know where that is really spelled out with great detail.

[29:54] Read what Paul says in Romans chapter 3 and Romans 4. There you get the real scoop in depth about the death of Christ and what it accomplished.

[30:08] You nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put him to death. But God raised him up again.

[30:19] Putting an end to the agony of death since it was impossible for him to be held in its power. That's the resurrection. And that's the essence of his message. God sent him.

[30:30] You killed him. But God raised him again from the dead. That's the essence of Peter's message here. David says of him. How long has David been gone?

[30:41] When Peter delivers this message, David the king has been dead and buried for a thousand years. And he is quoting a prophecy of David.

[30:54] David the king says, I was always beholding the Lord in my presence, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken. Therefore, my heart was glad and my tongue exalted.

[31:06] Moreover, my flesh also will abide in hope. Because thou wilt not abandon my soul to Hades, nor allow thine Holy One to undergo decay. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life.

[31:18] Thou wilt make me full of gladness with thy presence. This is what David the psalmist wrote. Who was David talking about? Well, most everybody who read the psalm thought.

[31:32] He's talking about himself. This is David giving a personal testimony. After all, couldn't David the king say, I was always beholding the Lord in my presence.

[31:44] He's at my right hand that I may not be shaken. Therefore, my heart was glad and my tongue exalted. Couldn't David say that? Couldn't David claim that that was true of him as the king of Israel?

[31:55] I think so. That's not a stretch. But the rest of it doesn't fit. The rest of it doesn't fit. Verse 27. Because thou wilt not abandon my soul to Hades, nor allow thy Holy One to undergo decay.

[32:14] Well, David can't be talking about himself there. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life. Thou wilt make me full of gladness with thy presence.

[32:26] And then he drops this bombshell. Brethren, verse 29. Brethren, listen to me. I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

[32:48] And so, because he, David, was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants upon the throne, he, David, looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah.

[33:11] That he, the Messiah, was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh suffer decay.

[33:23] This Jesus, God, raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. And these people are going like this. Oh!

[33:35] Wow! Really? You know, for the first time, that psalm of David makes sense. How could David say, you will not allow my soul to see corruption?

[33:49] Because his did see corruption. We know where David's buried. And you can go to that tomb and dig up his bones. If that isn't corruption, I don't know what is. And Peter says, David looked ahead, and David was given a supernatural glimpse of a son of his that would be born a thousand years down the road.

[34:17] And he would be the one whose flesh would not see corruption. And these people are looking at each other quizzically and saying, is this right? Can this be?

[34:29] And the plot only thickens. This Jesus, God, raised up again, which we are all witnesses. Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God, speaking of Jesus, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, which we have just experienced here, he has poured forth this which you both see and hear.

[34:54] For it was not David who ascended into heaven. But he himself said, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on my right hand until I make thine enemies a footstool for thy feet.

[35:09] Well, what kind of double talk is that? The Lord said to my Lord. This is deity speaking to deity. This invokes the Trinity. This is God the Father speaking and saying to God the Son.

[35:23] After his death, burial, and resurrection, ascension back to heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father, the Father turns to the Son, and this is what he says.

[35:34] Sit at my right hand until I make thine enemies a footstool for thy feet. Who are the enemies?

[35:45] The enemies. The enemies consist of everyone who is in opposition to God. Doesn't make any difference. Where they are in the world or when they live, in opposition to God, they are the enemies.

[35:59] And they are going to be made a footstool for the Son's feet. That is nothing more than a metaphor that expresses the idea that all of the enemies are going to be placed under the complete control and dominion of the Son.

[36:15] His foot will be on their neck, if you will, in absolute supremacy. Is it now? Of course not.

[36:27] Of course not. But this is what's coming. This will be phase two. Therefore, verse 36, let all the house of Israel know, because of course they are the only ones there, know for certain that God has made him, this Jesus of Nazareth, both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.

[36:57] And these people are absolutely stunned. I mean, they have been hit by a bolt of lightning, the likes of which they are trying to process.

[37:10] And it is an overwhelming concept. They are reeling, emotionally, psychologically, staggering, from this information.

[37:20] It is just, Peter has just dumped it on them. This whole nine yards of this content. This one, you crucified. He was the Messiah all along.

[37:33] God brought him back from the dead. And these people are mouths wide open looking at each other. They are absolutely dumbfounded.

[37:49] Sometimes bare naked truth can come to someone like a thunderclap. And all of a sudden, they see something they never saw before.

[38:01] And it just bowls them over. That's what we've got here. Just bowls them over. And their response is, verse 37 says, now when they heard this, the text says they were pierced.

[38:27] pierced to the heart. That means this did not have a superficial effect on them.

[38:38] One that was going to wear off by the time they got out to the parking lot. It means this truth penetrated. That Peter, the Spirit of God, took this truth and rammed it, drove it home into the hearts of these people.

[38:59] They were pierced by it, stunned by it, staggering. Wow! It just bowls them over. And those who are persuaded, they just say to themselves, you know how you know in your heart of hearts that something is true?

[39:17] you just know it. I mean, you may not even know how you know it, but you know it. And there's no denying it.

[39:29] And that's what some of these at least were experiencing. And their response is, brethren, what shall we do?

[39:44] What can we do about this? I am convinced that those who are asking the question, brethren, what shall we do? Were those who believed the message.

[39:58] And there's some hand-wringing going on. And they are saying, you know what? This all fits. This all comes together you can't deny it. This is the way it is.

[40:12] We really blew it. We really blew it. Big time. What can we do? We can't undo it. We can't back up the clock. What can we do?

[40:25] And here is a beautiful, beautiful provision. God always leaves this way out. Peter says, you can own up to it.

[40:40] You can admit it. You can believe it. And the word that is used is metanoia in the Greek.

[40:52] Peter is saying, you can change your mind. and when you do, you are admitting that you have been wrong all along.

[41:08] Are you big enough to admit that? Are you man enough or woman enough to say, I have been wrong all along.

[41:21] I need to reverse myself. Why? Because the evidence demands it. The information is undeniable.

[41:34] I can stay unbelieving, stay with my heels dug in, stay and say, I will not change.

[41:46] This is what I have always believed and I am not going to change now. You can do that. You can do that. That's called being unrepentant. These are people for whom no amount of information will suffice.

[42:03] They are the unrepentant. But for those who are willing to acknowledge, I've been wrong. I've been blind.

[42:16] I've been wrong. Now I see the light and I've got to go with it. Got to follow the truth wherever it leads.

[42:28] Don't want to live a lie. Don't want to believe a lie. And when you hear something that completely contradicts a position that you have previously held, it immediately creates an intellectual struggle in your mind.

[42:47] You begin mulling that over. You begin processing it. It creates a conflict mentally. What are you going to do? That's exactly the position these are in.

[43:00] Repent and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.

[43:10] Now, many would tell us, and I'm sure I do not question their motive at all, and I'm sure that their heart is right before the Lord, but they insist that this is Christian being baptized.

[43:26] Well, in the first place, these people are not Christians. These are Jews. They are Jews who are coming to a position of believing that Jesus is the Messiah. And it isn't Christian baptism.

[43:39] Guess whose baptism this is. Any idea? It's John's baptism. It's the baptism that it had always been.

[43:51] This is the same baptism with which John baptized. This is the same baptism with which Jesus and his apostles baptized, although the text tells us that Jesus himself didn't baptize any, but his apostles did, and all they were doing was carrying on John's baptismal ministry.

[44:11] That he was commissioned to provide for who? For the nation of Israel. What about all the Gentiles? No! No! For Israel! Israel exclusively! Why Israel?

[44:22] Because Israel was the nation that God said, I'm going to make you a kingdom of priests. And when one was initiated into the Jewish priesthood, it was at the age of 30, which is what Jesus was when he was baptized by John, and he was a priest after the order of Melchizedek, and John himself became a priest, one of the things the priest does when he's initiated into the priesthood is he is cleansed.

[44:48] He undergoes a ceremonial purification. It is a cleansing of the body. And it is reminiscent or figurative or speaking of a spiritual cleansing, which of course is internal where water cannot reach.

[45:04] This is why John was baptizing everyone who came to him from the nation of Israel, and there's no indication that he asked them, now, are you from the tribe of Levi? Are you from the priestly tribe?

[45:16] No, no, no. Because it didn't make any difference. He's going to make a nation of priests. And they came from all of these different tribes, and they were all baptized of John.

[45:27] And the people were accustomed to that, but the scribes and the Pharisees and the Sadducees turned thumbs down on John and on John's baptism.

[45:39] And we are told in Luke's gospel that the Pharisees, Sadducees, received not the baptism of John. They rejected the counsel of God against themselves, not being baptized of John.

[45:56] They rejected John, and they rejected the one John presented as the Messiah. Rejected them both. And now, Peter is saying, that's one more thing you have to acknowledge that you were wrong about.

[46:15] You refused John's baptism when he was here. do you refuse it now? And those who came to faith, those who came to the position, Jesus was the Messiah and we crucified him.

[46:31] I think they stood in line to be baptized with no questions and no hesitation because real repentance, real repentance is followed with acts of obedience.

[46:46] And that's exactly what they're doing. And when they came to that conclusion, water baptism, as practiced by John, was the only logical, inevitable consequence.

[46:58] Of course, they would be baptized, and they were. And they were to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. That is exactly what happened when the Spirit of God came down at the beginning of the chapter, and they were speaking in tongues that they had not learned.

[47:21] This is the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and this is exactly what John meant when he was preaching, because he made it so crystal clear. John said, I indeed baptize you with water, but there comes one after me who is mightier than I.

[47:38] He will baptize you with the Spirit and with fire. fire. And the Spirit will be the baptismal mode for those who are believers. The fire will be the baptismal mode for those who are the rejecters.

[47:52] And that's not a pretty picture, but that's the only other option that is left. And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, for the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, and these are, of course, Jews who are in the diaspora, who are not even there, as many as the Lord our God shall call to himself.

[48:20] And with many other words, he, Peter, solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, Be saved from this perverse generation. So, those who had received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about 3,000 souls to their number.

[48:42] and they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayer. I'm going to close this, even though I'm not finished, because I want to allow at least a couple of minutes for Q&A, but I want to point out one additional significant, very important distinction.

[49:02] Jesus is here baptizing believing Jews with the Spirit of God. God. And the question is, who is the baptizing agent?

[49:16] Christ is. And what is the medium that is being used, what is it with which these people are being baptized or identified with?

[49:28] It is the Spirit of God. Now, I think that should be rather clear, and it's in fulfillment of what John said. He will baptize you with or in the Holy Spirit.

[49:41] So, Jesus is the one here doing the baptism, and the Spirit of God is that with which they are being baptized. Are we clear on that?

[49:54] But when we come over to 1 Corinthians 12, 13, Paul says, for by one Spirit, are we all baptized into one body?

[50:14] There, the Holy Spirit is the agent that does the baptizing, and it is the body of Christ into which we are baptized.

[50:28] And there's no water. There's no water in this baptism. It is completely different. I cannot simply deny these distinctions and say, well, it doesn't matter, they don't make any difference.

[50:45] Well, I think they make a lot of difference. We can't play fast and loose with these words. You can't say, well, baptism by the Spirit, baptism of Jesus, it doesn't make any difference, all the same thing.

[50:56] No, no, no, no, no, it isn't the same thing. We don't have the right to try to make them the same thing. If the Spirit of God wanted to communicate them and make them the same thing, he could have very easily done that.

[51:07] But he made a distinction. And on the day of Pentecost, Christ is the one who is baptizing with the Holy Spirit. But into the body of Christ.

[51:18] And what's the body of Christ involved? It's not just Jews. It's Jew and Gentile. God is the baptizing agent and it is into the spiritual body of Christ that we are baptized.

[51:36] It's, I think, undeniable. And it deserves our attention because it really does make a difference.

[51:47] John's baptism was just for Jews. Just for Jews. Even the Ethiopian eunuch, when he's coming from Jerusalem worshiping Candace, the treasure of Candace, he's an Ethiopian eunuch.

[52:01] What's that mean? It means he was probably a black man. You mean a black man can be a Jew? Well, absolutely. Absolutely. Sammy Davis Jr. was a Jew.

[52:12] You know that? He was a proselyte. And this man was the treasure of Candace, the queen of Ethiopia, and he was coming. From Jerusalem.

[52:23] And I say he was a Jew, but the text doesn't say he was. But if he was coming from Jerusalem, what does that say? He was in Jerusalem to worship.

[52:35] Who goes to Jerusalem to worship? Jews! The man was a Jewish convert, and he was reading from a Jewish Bible, reading the prophecy of Isaiah. I say, of whom is the prophet speaking, himself or someone else?

[52:47] And Philip joined him by the chariot, and he revealed Jesus the Messiah to him. And then he was baptized. Well, of course he was. He was a Jew.

[52:58] What was that baptism? Christian baptism? No. It was John's baptism. It was the only baptism anybody knew at that time, and it was very much in vogue. So we get into all kinds of complexities and difficulties when we try to make something say something other than what it says.

[53:13] And this is just one example. There are lots more to come. We're still dealing with phase one and moving to phase two. Have you a question or comment? I've dumped a ton of material on you, and it may be kind of overwhelming, but anybody have a comment or question?

[53:31] I've got a roving mic here. Over here, Dave Campbell has. Thank you. Thank you. I believe, and you've touched on this before, but even the believing people here in the end of Acts 2, 3,000 at that point, the Jewish leadership still did not get it.

[54:03] They did not want to go ahead and repent and acknowledge what had happened. You're right. You're absolutely right. I wish this could be one of those three-hour sessions because I really wanted to get into chapter 3.

[54:15] And you're so right, Dave, because we become enamored with the fact that 3,000 were saved, 3,000 came to faith in Jesus as the Messiah, and I don't think there's an evangelist anywhere that wouldn't be thrilled with results like that, but I want to assure you that there was, in all likelihood, a much larger crowd there than 3,000.

[54:38] We don't know how many because we're not told. And you're so right. When Peter resumes his message, as we will see in Acts chapter 3, he's preaching essentially the same thing and just uses a different jumping-off point, which is the man laid at the gate temple beautiful, who was healed, never walked a day in his life, and he drew a big crowd and Peter finished his message there.

[55:01] And there it is made very, very clear as you read the end of that, instead of people rejoicing and coming to faith, the religious establishment descends on them and begins a series of arrests.

[55:20] And it is the early seeds of persecution that set in as early as Acts chapter 4. So they are still having nothing to do with Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah.

[55:31] Joe? I think Jesus' resurrection and so forth convinced the apostles and the other believers that he really was who he said he was.

[55:43] They had doubts. When he was hanging on the cross, they had doubts. This actually convinced them and they got salvation through repentance and baptism at that time. God only wants us to act when he gives us information.

[55:58] He gives us information, his will to do. And we can't fault the apostles or even the believers back then for believing that the death and resurrection, what Paul's preaching came later.

[56:12] Right. Right. That we can't fault them. No. They weren't given the information yet. Absolutely. About that way. We would have been no smarter about it than they were.

[56:22] Yeah, right. So we shouldn't condemn them and feel bad. They weren't given the information. You're absolutely right. Information is a key. always has been, always is, because people can't process content if they don't get the information.

[56:35] And really, when the gospel is preached, that's all you're doing is just giving people information. You're giving them something to process in their mind and a reason to believe. This will have to be our last comment and then we'll dismiss.

[56:50] Marvis? I had a question about because the leadership did not believe. Get closer to the mic please. Because the leadership did not believe. in the tribulation time, there will be the 144,000 Jewish men who will be going out and preaching.

[57:08] Will that include the Jewish leadership, do you think? Or how does the Jewish leadership fit into the tribulation, I guess, is my question.

[57:20] I can't say that it would probably be unwise to say that there won't be any holdouts. I'm sure that there will be. But I think that the vast majority of the nation of Israel is going to come to faith in Jesus as their Messiah during that time.

[57:42] You know that little phrase that a lot of people really have trouble with that Paul incorporates in Romans chapter, I think it's 13, and he closes out and he says, and so all Israel shall be saved.

[57:56] And some people think, I've even heard some erroneously think that anyone who is a Jew is automatically saved just because he's a Jew. Well, it's not teaching that at all, but it's teaching that in that end time, when that time comes, the entirety of the nation of Israel comprised of however many millions it's going to be, while they are going to be accepting and receiving the brunt of persecution, they are going to come to faith in Jesus as their Messiah, and that will be the fulfillment, and so all Israel shall be saved.

[58:31] That's fascinating stuff, and it's upcoming. Eventually we'll get there, so don't give up on this. We'll make progress. Okay, that'll have to be our last comment. Would you stand, please? We'll be dismissed. Father, out of all the things that we've learned and explained, there still remains a whole lot that we don't know, don't understand, do not sufficiently grasp, certainly not as much as we want to, but we do pray that what we've learned today will serve as a motivation for us to expand our knowledge and understanding.

[59:06] Simply so, we can appreciate you and the truth more and serve you more fervently and more intelligently. And about that word repentance, we are so grateful that you have made us volitional beings who have a will and we can change our mind when the evidence requires it.

[59:33] And for anyone who may be here today struggling with this issue, we pray that you would reveal to them that you are always ready to graciously receive and accept to yourself anyone who will acknowledge their sin, admit their wrong, their waywardness, admit their rebellion, and simply place themselves in a position of trust and confidence to the Lord Jesus Christ for who he is and what he did.

[60:08] thank you so much for being that willing, loving, accepting God that you are. We simply need to face the truth, own up to it, and then embrace Jesus.

[60:21]  May that be the reality of each and every one of us this day. We pray in Christ's name. Amen.