MPC, 2nd September 2001.Acts 13 - "Unperishable King"
Phil Campbell MPC, 2nd September 2001.
On the way home from school on Wednesday this week, our Susie fell off her bike. She was just about home. In fact, right at the gate. And off she came; skinned knees to prove it. She dragged herself in the door like a wounded warrior. Very brave. But very sore.
If the same thing had happened in the streets of London a couple of years ago, things could have gone differently. Because over there when a little girl fell off her bike, she had the opportunity of a lifetime. She's sitting on the curb in tears with her bent bike, and at that very moment it turns out that THE QUEEN MOTHER is being driven past in her Rolls Royce. She sees it happen. And it guess it brings out the grandmother in her. STOP THE CAR, says the Queen Mother. So the driver pulls over. “Help her up,” says the Queen Mother, who I think was 98 at the time. So the driver gets out of the car and goes to help.
And the Queen Mother says to the little girl, HOP IN – we’ll give you a lift home. To which the small English girl replies, “NO THANKYOU - I’m NOT SUPPOSED TO take lifts from strangers.” And so off she went pushing her bent bike all the way home. When she could have had a lift with ROYALTY.
Now I guess as that little girl gets older, maybe she’ll regret she missed a ride in the Royal Rolls Royce. As far as she was concerned, it was just some old lady in a big car. When it was THE QUEEN MOTHER. She missed the RIDE OF A LIFETIME. Mind you, I guess she’ll become one of the heroes of the Republican movement. But there she was. Face to face with Royalty. And she didn’t recognise it.
The passage we’re looking at in Acts this morning is all about RECOGNISING YOUR KING when he comes by. It’s about RECOGNISING JESUS.
And we’re going to see it’s SURPRISING the people who DIDN’T. And it’s SURPRISING THE PEOPLE WHO DID. We're going to see that people who you’d expect to recognise their King don’t. And people who you wouldn’t expect to recognise him… DO.
Our attention has switched from PETER, to SAUL AND BARNABAS. Last week we saw Peter come face to face with the fact that God's plans went further than just PREACHING TO JEWS.
And now the spotlight switches back to Saul. Who we last saw struck down on the road and CHANGED FOR EVER in Acts 9. Barnabas has linked up with him, and they're based in Antioch.
And at the start of chapter 13, we see Saul and Barnabas commissioned - for the work the Holy Spirit has got planned for them. This is the chapter where we're told Saul changes his name to PAUL. So keep in mind it’s the same guy. But here they are at the start of the chapter, commissioned - to go overseas… as the first ever missionaries. The other night a few of us got together out at the airport to do the same with Dale Stock. And it all started HERE. Acts 13. With Paul and Barnabas.
And over the next few chapters, if you've got one of the study booklets you can trace out on a map where they go to, on what’s the FIRST of Paul’s famous missions.
First of all, they sail for Cyprus. Verse 4. An island about the same size as Tasmania; and about 100 kilometres off the coast.
Now you'll notice a pattern. Because when they get off the boat in verse 5, the first thing Saul and Barnabas do is head for the Jewish Synagogue in Salamis. See if there are any JEWS who are going to RECOGNISE THEIR KING.
And then across the island with their helper John Mark to the city of Paphos. Now here’s where you get a real surprise. Because here's someone you'd never expect to RECOGNISE JESUS as ROYALTY. His name’s Sergius Paulus, and he’s the Proconsul. Which means the Roman Governor of the Island. Almost royalty himself. You can read the details in verse 6 to 12 later on; but notice the results. “When the proconsul SAW WHAT HAPPENED, he BELIEVED… for he was amazed – he was AMAZED AT THE TEACHING ABOUT THE LORD.
Here's the Roman Proconsul of Cyprus. Bowing to a higher authority. THE ROMAN GOVERNOR - accepting Jesus as GOVERNOR OVER HIM. Very suprising.
But I want to move on with you quickly to look at what happens on the next stopover; (you can follow it the map if you like) – verse 13, Paul and Barnabas sail from the other end of the island; they’re back on the mainland, up North. Perga. And from there to Pisidian Antioch. And again, the same pattern as before. To the synagogue; and they sit down and listen to the reading from the scriptures And then they’re invited to speak.
Now if you've ever wondered what the Old Testament is all about, here's a chance to get the whole thing in a Readers Digest CONDENSED BOOK version. Because when Paul stands up to speak, when he stands up to preach in the synagogue to these Jews and Gentile God worshippers, what he does is he takes them for a guided tour through their HISTORY. By giving them a guided tour through the Old Testament. And tells them that JESUS is the one who brings all the Old Testament scriptures to a CLIMAX. The Old Testament leaves Israel WAITING FOR A KING. A King who'll rule for ever. Never to see decay.
Paul's message is simple. That King has COME. But are they going to RECOGNISE HIM?
He says God chose your forefathers, you Jews, starting with Abraham; follow it from verse 17; he tells them how Israel was led out of Egypt in the Exodus; how he gave them the promised land. How they were ruled over by judges, and then King Saul; and then King David. Who was a man after God’s own heart. It's the old testament books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, Kings. All in a nutshell.
Now it’s at this point I want you to notice that everything Paul says from here on in, is going to be about RECOGNISING ROYALTY. Everything he says from this point on is going to be about the ROYAL FAMILY OF ISRAEL.
He’s talking to men of Israel; and to Gentiles who have already joined them in the synagogue. Now he’s going to give them some CLUES about RECOGNISING THEIR KING.
With the Queen Mum, most people would recognise her from the smile and the wave; and probably the hats and the Rolls Royce are a bit of a giveaway too. So how's Isreal meant to recognize the ETERNAL KING when he comes?
Look carefully what Paul’s saying in the section from verse 23 to 39; and you’ll see why it is that the people of Israel should have recognised ROYALTY when they saw JESUS.
John the baptist came; verse 23, he says, the people of Jerusalem and their rulers DIDN’T RECOGNISE JESUS as King; they had him executed instead. Dead and buried.
And verse 30; here’s the big one; that’s not the end of the story. Because God raised him from the dead.
Now those are the facts; that’s what Paul and the apostles are telling people. They’re witnesses to the fact Jesus has risen. But I want you to notice in the next few verses how he goes on to make the point that the RESURRECTION OF JESUS is the ultimate CLUE to the fact that he’s ROYALTY. There’s more to the resurrection of Jesus than meets the eye. Because it actually SHOWS HIM TO BE the ETERNAL KING Israel’s been waiting for – for hundreds of years.
Because he says, WE TELL YOU THE GOOD NEWS; verse 32; “What God promised our fathers, he has fulfilled for us, their children, BY RAISING UP JESUS.” And in the RESURRECTION OF JESUS, Paul can see the FULFILMENT of every promise of God. In a way that maybe you haven’t thought of.
Remember, Paul’s preaching a sermon in the Jewish synagogue here, in the city of Pisidian Antioch; and so it’s not really surprising that he’s quoting the Old Testament. But the verse he focuses on in an unusual one. He quotes from Psalm 2; he quotes from Isaiah; he reminds them that God’s made a promise that DAVID’S LINE IS GOING TO RULE FOREVER.. And then in verse 35, he quotes from Psalm 16, where King David says to God “You will not let your Holy One see decay.”
Now here’s the issue. Here’s the point Paul’s making. Here's how it normally works. You’re born. You die. You're eaten by worms. This body DECAYS. Doesn't matter if you're Bill Gates or Kerry Packer or a rock-star in a plane crash. Happens to everyone. And it happened to King David, just like it happened to everyone else.
So what's the PSALM TALKING ABOUT? I mean, the Jews have been reading Psalm 16 for hundreds of years. YOU WILL NOT LET YOUR HOLY ONE SEE DECAY. What's it mean? Cold storage? Paul says, verse 36, when David had served God’s purpose, HE FELL ASLEEP like everyone else. He died. He was buried with his fathers; HIS BODY DECAYED. Nature took its course.
But here’s the clue. Paul’s in the middle of telling them about someone who died. But DIDN’T STAY DEAD. Who was BURIED. But DIDN’T STAY IN THE GRAVE. He’s telling them about someone in David’s line WHO DIDN’T SEE DECAY. Literally. Which means, he’s the one David was talking about ALL ALONG.
And that’s the clincher in verse 37; he says “But the one God raised from the dead DID NOT SEE DECAY.” Which means, he’s the HOLY ONE OF GOD. The Messiah King they're waiting for.
Now look, you may well be sitting there this morning thinking SO WHAT. I mean, it’s dusty enough listening to sermons these days without having to go back 2000 years and listen to Paul preaching in a place you’ve never heard of talking about bits of the bible you’ve never even thought of.
But the fact is, it’s a CLINCHER. That all the promises of the Old Testament POINT RIGHT AT JESUS. And his RESURRECTION is the icing on the cake – the final evidence that THIS IS THE KING. And if you're there in the synagogue listening to Paul and you don’t recognise Jesus as your King, you’re missing something far bigger than a ride in a nice Rolls Royce.
Because if you reject him; then you’re missing the biggest thing God’s ever done in history. And it’s not just embarrassing. It’s fatal.
Have a look at the words in verse 38 and 39. And if you haven’t followed anything else this morning, follow this.
You want to know what you miss out on if you don’t recognise Jesus? You miss out on THE WAY OUT OF THE CYCLE OF DECAY. The way out of the cycle of SIN AND DEATH.
Jump in at verse 38. Here’s the crunch –
Paul says to them, “Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS IS PROCLAIMED TO YOU. Through HIM, everyone who believes is JUSTIFIED from everything you couldn’t be justified from by the law of Moses.
Now JUSTIFIED means DECLARED TO BE RIGHTEOUS. Justified means COUNTED INNOCENT. And that’s the problem, isn’t it. The problem with problem with the law of Moses that Israel had lived under, the problem with the 10 commandments and all the other laws – all they could do was point out where they've gone wrong. All they can do is CONDEMN. And never the reverse.
There was a letter in the Courier Mail the other day COMPLAINING about the way Radio stations will tell you where there are SPEED CAMERAS set up. Obviously written by someone who's never been CAUGHT BY ONE. See, when you’re caught on the camera, it’s no good saying, but look at all the OTHER SPEED CAMERA'S I’ve gone past and been still in the speed limit. Doesn't count.
Laws can never JUSTIFY YOU. They can only condemn. Catch you when you're WRONG. And so here are these Jews who have been struggling to get right with God by keeping the law; and the thing they need most is to just be FORGIVEN. Have the slate wiped clean. Which is exactly what Jesus has done in his death on the cross. Taken God's CURSE for every sin, every broken law.
Paul finishes with a warning. Take care, he says in verse 40; take care that you don’t miss out on recognising YOUR KING. When he’s staring you in the face. Just like the prophets said. See, you Jews, Paul says if you’re scoffing, if you’re saying it’s a lot of nonsense, if you’re saying IT’S NOT FOR ME… be careful. Because in the end you’ll PERISH.
Read what the prophets said, and take it to heart. “Look you scoffers, wonder and perish – for I’m going to do something in your days that you would NEVER BELIEVE – even if someone told you.
He did it in sending Jesus. And RAISING HIM FROM DEATH. Now they’ve been told. So what happens.
Verse 42, crowds mill around Paul and Barnabas, and they say, THAT WAS TERRIFIC, come back next week and tell us some more. And a whole lot of them were converted. And then the next Saturday, just about the whole city was there – everyone had brought a friend. Verse 44, almost the whole city gathered to hear the WORD OF THE LORD.
But when the Jews see the crowds – and I guess it’s the Jewish leaders here, the power brokers; it’s the Jews of INFLUENCE – they're filled with jealousy. And speak against what Paul's been saying.
And Paul and Barnabas answer them boldly. They say, YOU’VE HAD YOUR CHANCE. You needed help: you’ve been offered a ride home in the Royal Rolls Royce. You’ve had your offer. If you’re not going to RECOGNISE ROYALTY, it’s up to you. Verse 46, they say, “We had to speak the word of God to YOU FIRST… Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves WORTHY OF ETERNAL LIFE, we now turn to the gentiles – for this is what the Lord has commanded us… to be a light to the gentiles. And bring salvation to the ends of the earth. See if THEY'LL recognize Jesus as the King that he is.
Which is where WE COME IN, isn't it. With the question DO YOU? Do you - all these years away, half a world away - when you see Jesus, when you hear the message of the gospel, do you RECOGNISE ROYALTY there? Like Sergius Paulus did?
Because recognizing the King who didn't see decay is the only way into the KINGDOM that doesn't see decay.
In the end, Paul and Barnabas are run out of town. Paul says, what it shows is you don’t consider yourselves WORTHY of eternal life. Funny twist, isn’t it. I guess it means to count yourself worthy of eternal life means to count yourself a sinner… Counting yourself as someone LOST. In a perishing world. And Jesus stops by; and he says, can I give you a lift home. And you’re saying to him – no thanks; I’m not meant to take a lift with strangers.
That would be a terrible thing, wouldn’t it. And if you sense God’s Spirit is stirring your heart about that this morning, maybe you need to do what the Gentiles do in verse 48; they were glad. And honoured the word of the Lord. And all those who were appointed for eternal life believed.
Maybe you’ve come to that point. Or else you need to. If you want to talk about it, grab me sometime. Ring me up. But in the end it’s between YOU AND HIM. Recognise him as who he is. Recognise Jesus as ROYALTY. Take him on as your very own personal HEAD OF STATE. And as you do that, know what it means to be TRULY FORGIVEN FOR YOUR SINS. A fresh start. With a fresh heart. Justified from everything that you could never be justified from no matter how hard you might have been trying.