Introducing Christianity to the Jews

 

I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock, I will build My church [ekklesia – called out ones], and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven."           Matthew 16:18-19

Jesus’s public ministry began at His baptism, followed immediately by His temptation in the wilderness. While still ministering in Galilee, He introduced the principle of kingdom life, proper behavior in the kingdom of heaven. It meant a radical change in the laws given at Sinai, those commandments that focused on the public activities of the believer. The Sermon on the Mount was intended to focus attention on the private, inward life. In the beginning, Jesus centered on the inward convictions that would result in blessings of the kingdom.

In the above passage, Jesus told Peter that he would be the one given the keys to the kingdom of heaven to introduce the church age at Pentecost. The church would define the spiritual kingdom Jesus came to proclaim, empowered by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, who would guide the believer into all the truth (John 16:13). The church would represent whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. When Jesus gave this power to the apostles, he meant that whatever they forbade in the church should have divine authority; whatever they permitted or commanded should also have divine authority, that is, should be bound or loosed in heaven. Believers would be guided in the church by the Holy Spirit and the truth of the teaching of Christ. 

Raised from the Dead

"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, just as you yourselves know— this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men [Romans] and put Him to death. 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.             Acts 2:22-24 

Just as Peter had stood up among the 120 in the upper room in Acts 1:15, waiting for Pentecost after Jesus’s ascension, Peter is now proclaiming to the large gathering in Jerusalem the fulfillment of prophecies of the Messiah’s death and resurrection. Jesus had proven His identity through many signs and wonders performed in the midst of many. His life was the fulfillment of the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God. He had demonstrated this plan by overcoming death. In Hebrews 2:9, But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. His victory over death was not just for Him but for everyone. He was providing deliverance to believers who, through fear of death, were subject to slavery all their lives (Hebrews 2:15). 

Return to your Rest 

The cords of death [mawet – death occurring by both natural and violent means] encompassed me, and the terrors of Sheol came upon me; I found distress and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I beseech You, save my life!” Gracious is the Lord and righteous; Yes, our God is compassionate. The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me. Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. For You have rescued my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. I shall walk before the Lord in the land of the living. I believed when I said, “I am greatly afflicted.” I said in my alarm, “All men are liars.”                 Psalm 116:3-11

We are not sure who wrote the above psalm, but it expresses praise and service to God because the author had been delivered from impending death and his days had been lengthened out upon the earth. King David wrote many Psalms (i.e., Psalms 18, 22, and 38) about his fears of death, asking God for deliverance and reminding himself that the Lord has dealt bountifully with my soul. Many are prophetic of the coming Messiah and the rest He will bring from all enemies, including death itself. When the writer says, I shall walk before the Lord in the land of the living, he was speaking of a total belief that he would live before the Lord, as in his presence, in his service, and enjoying communion with Him. "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). 

The Jewish mindset at the time of Jesus was a weariness of being controlled by other countries, some more severe than others. There had been 400 years of silence, no prophet speaking to the people since their return from Babylonian captivity. They were tired of having to submit themselves to rulers who sometimes did not allow them to freely worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Old Testament gave many prophesies of the coming Messiah who would establish His kingdom and His rule. However, they had no concept that Messiah would come twice or that He would die for the sins of the world. 

Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob 

On that day, some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, asking, "Teacher, Moses said, 'IF A MAN DIES HAVING NO CHILDREN, HIS BROTHER AS NEXT OF KIN SHALL MARRY HIS WIFE, AND RAISE UP CHILDREN FOR HIS BROTHER.' Now there were seven brothers with us, and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. Last of all, the woman died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her." But Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven. But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 'I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB'? [Exodus 3:6]. He is not the God of the dead but of the living." When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.       Matthew 22:23-33

Jesus made it a point to quote a Scripture from the five books of Moses since the Sadducees only recognized Mose’s writings as authority. There were other verses He could have quoted. It was because all classes regarded the Pentateuch as the fundamental source of the Hebrew Religion and all the succeeding books of the Old Testament as developments of it. Our Lord would show that even there, the doctrine of the Resurrection was taught. He selected this passage as being not a bare annunciation of the doctrine in question but as expressive of that glorious truth out of which the Resurrection springs. The Resurrection means that, although physically dead, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are alive and well, living in the presence of the Almighty.

Introducing the Holy Spirit 

"Brethren, 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. And so, because he was a prophet and knew that GOD HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SEAT one OF HIS DESCENDANTS ON HIS THRONE, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES NOR DID His flesh SUFFER DECAY [Psalm 16:10]. This Jesus, God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.     Acts 2:29-33

In John 7:37-39, Jesus referenced the Holy Spirit on the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles, or Shemini Atzeret, in Jerusalem when He said, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’’ John tells us in Verse 39 that Jesus spoke about the Holy Spirit, whom those who believed in Him would receive. The Spirit would come after Jesus was glorified. "And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you, but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:49).

The Right Hand of the Lord 

The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly. The right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly. I will not die but live and tell of the works of the Lord. The Lord has disciplined me severely, but He has not given me over to death. Open to me the gates of righteousness; I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous will enter through it. I shall give thanks to You, for You have answered me, and You have become my salvation.                  Psalm 118:15-21

When Peter confirms that Jesus had been exalted to the right hand of God, he is speaking of the full approval and authority of God, that Jesus has been given full authority to bring victory over sin and death. “Your right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power, Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy” (Exodus 15:6). David recognized that his consistency was directly related to his willingness to set the Lord continually before his face because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken (Psalm 16:8). The right hand of God represents the manifestation of God’s power to fulfill all of His promises. The Holy Spirit symbolizes the right hand of God within each believer. 

Repent & be Baptized

Therefore, let all the house of Israel [both northern and southern kingdoms] know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified." Now, when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart [katanusso – deeply moved] and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" Peter said to them, "Repent [metanoeo – change the mind, implies pious sorrow for unbelief and a turning to God], and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.             Acts 2:36-38 

Peter’s declaration of the Lordship of Christ was a call to action on behalf of those who heard Peter speak since they were deeply moved. Peter defined that response as repent and be baptized. According to Robertson’s Word Pictures, metanoeesate, first aorist active imperative means. "Change your mind and your life." “Turn right around, and do it now.”  “You crucified this Jesus. Now crown him in your hearts as Lord and Christ.” "And let each one of you be baptized."  Note the change of grammatical number from plural to singular and the change of person from second person to third person. This change marks a break in the thought here that the English translation is not preserved. The first thing to do is make a radical and complete change of heart and life. Then let EACH ONE be baptized after this change has taken place, and the act of baptism be performed "in the name of Jesus Christ."    

Knowing Him 

More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing [gno sis – knowledge by experience rather than intuition] Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law [self-righteousness], but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.              Philippians 3:8-11 

The Apostle Paul, a former devout Pharisee, recognizes in the above passage that the real treasure of this relationship “in Christ” is the experience of knowing Him beyond the Law of Moses he had previously treasured. The Law was the avenue that allowed him to succeed as a Pharisee and Jewish leader since he could perform to earn recognition. He understood that all his abilities and accomplishments through the Law were rubbish and an impediment to knowing Jesus Christ as Lord. This word gnosis emphasizes understanding rather than sensory perception and embraces every organ and mode of knowledge (i.e., seeing, hearing, experience, etc.). This type of knowledge implies verification by the eye or other objective observation. Ultimately, it speaks of the deepest kind of relationship, a connection to the righteousness that comes from God based on faith.  

Out of Faith into Faith

Paul further explains in Romans 4:4-5 that the righteousness of God cannot be earned but must be received as a gift based on faith. Now, to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor but as what is due. But to the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness. God justifies or declares the believer righteous; man's role is to accept God's standards of living. God’s righteousness produces a life defined by integrity and blameless conduct. According to Romans 1:17, For in it [the gospel], the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." The original Greek could be better translated as “by or out of faith into faith.”  When the believer exercises his faith in a given situation, it leads to another opportunity to trust God.  

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.          Romans 10:9-10