Know With Certainty
Overview
A Sermon Worth Studying
A sermon is not a motivational talk, a comedy routine, or a form of entertainment. It is the unpacking of God's Word—verse by verse, sometimes word by word—because we cannot apply Scripture rightly until we understand it. Peter's preaching in Acts 2 stands as a model of this kind of expositional proclamation. He cross-references the prophet Joel, leans on the Psalms, and lets the text—not personal opinion—carry the weight. This is "thus says the Lord," and it has gravitas.
Four Proofs That Jesus Is the Messiah
Peter builds his case for Jesus' messiahship on four pillars: the deeds of Jesus, the death of Jesus, the resurrection of Jesus, and the exaltation of Jesus. Beginning at Acts 2:29, he reminds his hearers that David died and was buried, but God had sworn an oath—echoed in Psalm 132:11—to seat one of his descendants on the throne. Every Jew understood this descendant to be the Messiah. Peter then turns to Psalm 16, quoted in Acts 2:31, to show that the Messiah would not be abandoned to death or see corruption. And to that resurrection, the apostles are eyewitnesses. Christianity is not an irrational leap; 1 Corinthians 15 records more than five hundred witnesses to the risen Christ.
The fourth proof—exaltation—matters deeply. Quoting Psalm 110:1 in Acts 2:34–35, Peter declares that Jesus has been seated at the right hand of God—the position of honor, authority, and protection. In Jewish thought the right hand was the favored hand; in the early empire, "Caesar is Lord" was the required confession of loyalty. Christians could not say it, because Jesus alone is Lord. We may rightly sing "What a Friend We Have in Jesus," but we dare not reduce Him to a buddy. He is the cosmic ruler through whom all things were made, and worship of Him calls for reverence, not casualness.
Where the Sermon Drives: Know With Certainty
Luther taught that every text has a heart, and the preacher must drive to it. Peter's heart-point arrives in Acts 2:36: "Let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified." The phrase "know with certainty" appears only twice in the New Testament and means beyond any doubt. God has established it; it is self-evident. And then comes the law, sharp and unflinching: you crucified Him. Peter did not preach for applause but for the approval of the One who gave him voice. He knew that left to ourselves, our hearts are stone; we are born wanting nothing to do with God. The law must be proclaimed, because we cannot taste the sweetness of the Savior until we feel the severity of our sin.
A Word of Hope for You
The destination of any faithful sermon is never the law alone—it is the gospel. The Jesus whose deeds, death, resurrection, and exaltation Peter proclaimed has borne your debt. He has paid for sin with His shed blood. Those who deserved God's eternal wrath hear instead His sweet word of forgiveness, for the Father looks upon us through the blood of His Son. You have been claimed in the waters of baptism, washed and forgiven, and God is not letting go of you. When you take your last breath here, you will be carried into the immediate presence of the heaven won for you by the Messiah, the Lord Jesus. That word is for you. That word is the destination.
Transcript
You open your Bible Please with me to the second chapter of the Book of Acts as we continue our study in this great book. 0s
The sermon. The sermon. 8s
The sermon is a unique form of speech, isn't it? 12s
The sermon is not a motivational talk given by a motivational speaker. 19s
The sermon is certainly not a form of entertainment delivered by a comedian with well-rehearsed lines. 26s
Why a sermon? 41s
A sermon can challenge and a sermon can make you feel well, quite uncomfortable. 43s
The sermon. 54s
The sermon, if it's going to be a sermon, is really expositional in character. 57s
In other words, it is the unpacking of the word of God, 63s
verse by verse sometimes word by word. 67s
The explaining of the text. 71s
For one can't know how to apply it if we don't understand it. 74s
The sermon in Acts 2, that sermon in Acts 2 is an example to be studied. 81s
As Peter preaches, he is expositionally unpacking the scriptures. 90s
He's cross-referencing the prophet of Joel. 97s
He's making his point by referring to the word of God. 100s
It is not Peter's opinion, it's thus safe the Lord and the sermon has weight. 105s
The sermon has gravitas. 112s
The sermon preaches. 115s
Doesn't it? 119s
We've been looking at this sermon. 123s
It's really two parts. 125s
We've studied the first part. 127s
The first part was Peter explaining the events of pentacost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, 129s
and that which the people were witnessing. 135s
We moved last week into the second part of the sermon, 138s
where Peter is proving that Jesus is indeed the Messiah. 142s
I remember there are several different proofs that he used. 148s
The first proof, the deeds of Jesus, the second proof, the death of Jesus, 153s
the third proof, the resurrection of Jesus, and the fourth proof we're going to get to today. 158s
And remember how it was structured. 166s
It was one verse for the deeds of Jesus, one verse for the death of Jesus, 168s
eight verses for the resurrection of Jesus. 174s
And so we're going to pick up where we left off in examining this resurrection of Jesus, 180s
how it proves his Messiah'ship. 187s
And here's the question I want you to ponder this one. 190s
As we continue to move through Peter's sermon, 194s
where is the sermon driving to? 197s
Where is it going? 201s
Luther said that biblical preaching, 204s
the preacher, there's a heart of the text, 207s
and you need to drive the heart of the text. 210s
So here's the question this morning. 215s
As we're moving through this, 217s
the second chapter of Acts, 219s
here's the question to ask yourselves, 220s
where is Peter driving? 222s
What's the core of the sermon? 228s
What's the heart? 234s
Where's the destination? 238s
So let's study. 242s
In the second chapter of Acts, 244s
we pick up in verse 29. 246s
It's the section here, 248s
remember of proving the Messiah'ship of Jesus 249s
by showing that Jesus had risen from the dead. 252s
So we pick up in verse 29. 257s
Fellow Israelites, 261s
I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David, 263s
that he both died and was buried 268s
and his tomb is with us to this day. 270s
Since he was a prophet, 274s
he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him 276s
that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. 279s
In Psalm 132, 286s
it says this, 288s
the Lord swore to David a sure oath 289s
from which he will not turn back. 293s
One of the sons of your body, 296s
I will set on your throne. 300s
Every Jew, every Jew understood 304s
that the descendant of David 308s
to which was being referred to 312s
was going to be the Messiah. 315s
Every Jew knew that. 318s
So Peter and his preaching 322s
is proving Jesus' Messiah'ship. 323s
He starts out with the word of prophecy 326s
and he says the Messiah's going to be 328s
Then he goes to the fact 335s
that the Messiah is going to rise 337s
from the dead. 340s
Look at the very next verse, verse 31. 342s
For seeing this, 345s
David spoke of the resurrection 347s
of the Messiah saying, 349s
He was not abandoned to Haiti, 352s
nor did his flesh experience corruption. 354s
That's Psalm 16. 359s
So Peter here, 362s
in establishing Jesus's Messiah'ship, 363s
he says, 366s
He's going to come. 367s
He's the descendant. 368s
We all understand that indeed, 369s
this is the Messiah, 371s
the descendant here, 372s
and then he says, 374s
now notice what Psalm 16 says. 375s
It says this descendant, 377s
this Messiah is going to rise from the dead. 378s
Then you go into verse 32. 382s
This Jesus, 386s
God raised up and of all 387s
and of that, 389s
all of us are witnesses. 391s
You see his progression there? 394s
He's a descendant of David. 396s
The Messiah is going to rise from the dead. 398s
And that's exactly what this Jesus did. 401s
And we're all what? 405s
We're all eye witnesses, 407s
these are. 409s
Sometimes Christianity is portrayed as a leap 412s
frog over irrationality. 415s
Let's Scripture tells us that there are more than 419s
five hundred witnesses. 420s
First Corinthians 15 of the resurrection of Christ. 422s
The apostles had seen the resurrected Christ. 426s
They ate with the resurrected Christ. 429s
You can't get all of the witnesses 432s
to the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ in a courtroom. 435s
They would spill out onto the streets 439s
by the portrait that is portrayed here. 444s
The painting that is given to us 448s
is of the factual nature of the resurrection 451s
of the Lord Jesus Christ. 455s
This is not some irrational leap into faith. 458s
This is, we have eyewitnesses 463s
that have seen him. 466s
The proofs that. 471s
The deeds of Jesus, that's first. 474s
The death of Jesus, that's two. 476s
The resurrection of Jesus, that's three. 479s
And four. 483s
The exaltation of Jesus. 487s
The exaltation of Jesus. 490s
You can give you the little background. 493s
First and second century. 496s
There was what was called Emperor Worship. 499s
And the citizens of Rome of the Roman Empire 502s
had to make a statement of loyalty 506s
and the statement of loyalty was Caesar is Lord. 510s
Caesar's Lord. 516s
Caesar was worshiped. 517s
Well, Christians couldn't do that, right? 521s
Because Jesus is Lord. 524s
Jesus is the only Lord, not some human being, not some ruler 525s
and it cost many of them their lives. 530s
They submitted to Caesar, indeed, 537s
submitting to the governing authorities. 539s
They were civil servants of Caesar. 542s
In the words, there was never a movement in Christianity 545s
to overthrow the government. 548s
Never. 550s
But to declare that he was Lord, 553s
that's where they couldn't go and understand of the so. 558s
Because Jesus is the exalted and reigning Lord. 562s
Look with me, please. 568s
At the very next verse, verse 33, 571s
being therefore exalted at the right hand of God. 575s
So you've got the death of Jesus. 580s
You've got the resurrection of Jesus. 582s
You've got the exaltation of Jesus to the right hand of God. 583s
Last week we study how the right hand is that hand of protection. 589s
There's also another image with regard to the right hand. 594s
In Jewish thought, the right hand was the favorite hand. 597s
And so when the king would be on a throne to the right of the king 602s
would be someone of authority, someone of honor, 606s
someone of power. 610s
So when it says that Jesus Christ was exalted to the right hand of God 613s
that is God's way of declaring not only the image of protection 618s
that we talked about last week, 622s
but now the image is that person on the right hand here 624s
is this position of honor. 629s
This position here that he, now the Lord Jesus Christ, 633s
is the cosmic ruler overall. 636s
We can be tempted to understand Jesus as our pal and buddy. 642s
Indeed, we can sing what a friend we have in Jesus. 651s
And there is that intimacy, but beloved, we must never move into 655s
an understanding of Jesus as a buddy. 660s
Because that diminishes the fact that he is indeed the cosmic ruler 667s
that indeed all things were created through him. 672s
That's why worship is characterized by reverence and respect. 677s
That's why as we gather as a people, there is not a casualness 682s
with regard to how we go about worship, 689s
but we understand that as we move into this place, 691s
this is, we stand on holy ground, 695s
and we bow before the one who holds our very breath. 697s
He's not a casual pal. 704s
He is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, 707s
and he reigns, and he has been exalted to the right hand 711s
of the Father, the position of honor. 716s
What else it says? 722s
Halfway through 33, and having received from the Father, 725s
the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this 729s
that you both see and hear. 733s
Remember Jesus said that he would send the Holy Spirit. 736s
That's exactly what has occurred. 739s
What is it that they see in here? 741s
Remember, they heard the sound of the rush of the mighty wind 743s
as the spirit came. 747s
They saw the tongues as a fire resting upon the people. 748s
They heard the proclamation of the mighty deeds of the power of God 753s
in languages that they hadn't studied, 758s
and now all of a sudden there is this fluency 761s
as these different languages, births, births, 763s
That is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, 768s
sent by the Lord Jesus Christ, verse 34. 771s
For David did not ascend into the heavens, 776s
but he himself said, 778s
the Lord said to my Lord, 781s
sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. 783s
That's Psalm 1.10. 792s
Earlier it was Psalm 1.16 that had to do with the resurrection. 794s
Psalm 1.10 is a word of prophecy with regard to the exaltation of Christ. 798s
And notice that King David is deferring to his Lord, 804s
which is the Messiah. 809s
There is a submitting of the King David 813s
to the Lord's ship of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. 817s
Verse 35, until I make your enemies your footstool. 823s
In other words, everything that is opposed to the gospel, 828s
everything that is opposed to Christ, everything that is opposed to the church, 830s
will one day end. 834s
Ultimately we see that's at the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. 839s
When the exalted one comes again, 845s
this is amazing, sermon, is it thought? 850s
This is a sermon that you study, 854s
and you say, how is this constructed? 856s
And you break it down, and you say, 859s
now this is a sermon, 862s
an expositional unfolding of the text. 864s
Where's he driving? 873s
Where's he driving? 875s
Where's the endpoint? 879s
Where's the heart? 883s
We're Martin Luther with preach. 889s
Luther quite often would say, 893s
I'm not speaking to the doctors out there. 897s
You said, I'm not speaking to the masters out there. 902s
In other words, speaking of those with elevated education. 905s
Luther said, I'm speaking to the children, 911s
because I want my sermons to be understandable. 915s
Now, we can debate how consistent Luther was 919s
and realizing that as you look at some of Luther's sermons, 924s
which can get rather complicated. 929s
But that was Luther's goal, 932s
that when he preached, he preached to the children in the crowd. 934s
So the question then is, 943s
where does Peter drive this sermon? 948s
Because his point, 957s
his heart, 960s
the destination, 963s
is amazingly, 965s
amazingly clear. 969s
Verse 36. 976s
Therefore, 980s
let the entire house of Israel know with certainty. 983s
That word, 1003s
they're translated, 1008s
no with certainty. 1010s
It's used only two times in the New Testament. 1010s
It means beyond any doubt. 1013s
There's no doubt to this. 1016s
So no, 1019s
in the absence of doubt here. 1021s
There's no doubt. 1024s
Therefore, let the entire house of Israel know with certainty 1025s
that God has made him both Lord and Messiah 1027s
that word made here means established. 1032s
In other words, 1035s
God has established. 1036s
He's made it so self-evident 1038s
that Jesus Christ is Lord and Messiah. 1039s
So he says, 1043s
therefore, let the entire house of Israel know 1044s
without any doubt here that the Father has made it evident 1047s
that Jesus is the Lord and Messiah. 1052s
Then notice that. 1056s
Next thing he says, 1056s
this, 1060s
Jesus, 1062s
whom you, 1068s
crucified. 1071s
There it is, isn't it? 1076s
That's why he went back to the prophet Joel 1082s
and walked him through the prophet Joel. 1086s
That's why he said, 1090s
let me explain to you what happened at Pentecost 1091s
and let me explain to you why Jesus is the Messiah. 1093s
That's why he went through 1097s
the deeds of Jesus, the death of Jesus, 1100s
the resurrection of Jesus, the exaltation of Jesus. 1103s
That's why he proves that Jesus Christ is the Messiah 1107s
because he's driving to the point 1111s
where he turns to them and says, 1114s
and you crucified 1119s
the Messiah. 1127s
You crucified 1132s
the Lord. 1137s
Peter did not shy away 1144s
from the proclamation of the law. 1146s
The law is that which convicts us of our sin. 1153s
And he didn't shy away from it. 1158s
Peter was not preaching for the applause 1163s
of those that were listening to him. 1166s
Peter was preaching for the approval 1171s
of the one who had given him voice to preach. 1173s
Not for applause of the people, 1180s
but for the approval of God Almighty. 1184s
And Peter here reveals that they had spurned the Messiah 1192s
that they had turned away 1198s
that they had rejected him. 1200s
Left to ourselves, that is our natural state. 1208s
That is what we do by nature. 1213s
We are born wanting absolutely nothing to do with God. 1216s
Nothing to do with Him. 1221s
There is not an inkling in us 1223s
in terms of a relationship with God. 1226s
Our hearts as our confessional writings say, 1230s
our hearts are like stone. 1233s
That is why we as a people must never ever shy away 1240s
from hearing the law. 1246s
That is such a move nowadays in churches 1251s
to never ever proclaim the law. 1254s
It is the antithesis of what we see constantly in biblical preaching. 1258s
There are some churches that don't put crosses up anymore 1263s
because they don't want to offend people. 1266s
There are some churches that talk about self esteem 1269s
instead of the Savior. 1273s
There are some churches that do more group therapy 1276s
on Sunday morning that an exposition of the word of God 1279s
why because there is a fear 1283s
that if one gets to proclaim the law, 1287s
that the people will say, 1293s
I want to hear that. 1298s
Do you see that is our reaction? 1301s
Because sermons, sermons are not motivational talks 1307s
are they? 1311s
Sermons are not entertainment. 1312s
Sermons can make us uncomfortable 1315s
and can challenge us. 1318s
And when we hear the law revealed to us, 1320s
we don't want to hear that. 1324s
When we hear indeed that we have sinned against him 1330s
and thought word indeed when we hear that we don't love him 1333s
with our whole heart, mind, and spirit when we hear 1336s
that what we deserve is his eternal wrath. 1341s
Who wants to hear that? 1346s
I'd rather hear some smiling preacher 1351s
tell me how wonderful I am 1355s
and that I can form my own destiny. 1359s
But the biblical preacher, 1368s
the Peter's, the Paul's, 1371s
they understood that before you can understand 1376s
the sweetness of the Savior, 1383s
you have to understand the severity of our sin. 1388s
Because if we don't understand our sinfulness, 1396s
we'll never understand Jesus. 1402s
Peter, 1409s
dry us to say, 1412s
and you 1418s
can't understand Jesus. 1419s
Crucified him. 1422s
The gospel, 1429s
the gospel comes next week. 1432s
But it's too long to wait, isn't it? 1436s
It's too long to wait. 1439s
So I'm going to give you a little glimpse 1444s
into where it goes next week. 1446s
Because in the end, 1450s
the destination of the sermon is never the law. 1452s
It's the gospel. 1458s
And next week, it's too long to wait. 1461s
So here's the good news. 1469s
This Jesus, 1472s
who came with his deeds of power, 1475s
who died and rose and exalted 1478s
at the right hand of God Almighty, 1480s
this Lord Jesus Christ has borne your debt 1482s
and my debt. 1487s
He has paid for our sinfulness 1488s
through his shed blood on the cross. 1491s
We who deserved to hear 1494s
God's eternal wrath, 1496s
hear the sweetness of God's Word of forgiveness. 1499s
As God looks upon us, 1506s
as Brian sang this morning, 1509s
with eyes of mercy, 1512s
as he looks at us through the blood of his son. 1516s
That word of forgiveness 1524s
and reconciliation is for you. 1526s
You have been claimed 1529s
in the waters of baptism, 1530s
and God isn't letting go of you. 1532s
God has made his decision about you. 1534s
And that decision is that you belong to him 1537s
and baptized child. 1540s
You have been washed and forgiven. 1542s
And when you take your last breath 1545s
here, 1547s
you are transferred 1549s
into the immediacy of the presence 1550s
of the beauty of heaven 1554s
that has been won for you 1555s
through the Messiah, 1558s
the Lord Jesus. 1561s
That word is for you. 1564s
And that word is the destination. 1572s
Of this servant. 1581s