THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST
PART (2): WHAT IS THE GOSPEL'S CONTENT?
Acts 13:26-39
Theme: God's redemptive, kingdom purposes are fulfilled through the life, death, resurrection, and rule of Jesus Christ, meaning God's promise of salvation is certain to those who trust in him.

God's redemptive, kingdom purposes are fulfilled...

There is a recurring theme in this section of Scripture that Christ is the fulfillment of numerous promises that God made in the Old Testament to send a Savior. The repetition is so frequent, it cannot be missed.

v. 27 - For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him.

v. 29 - And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb.

vv. 32-35 - And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this He has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, 'You are my Son, today I have begotten you.' And as for the fact that He raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken this way, "I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.' Therefore He says also in another Psalm, 'You will not let your Holy One see corruption.'

A significant parallel passage records the words of the risen Jesus:

Luke 24:27 - And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Luke 24:44-48 - 'These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.' Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, 'Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.'

The Gospel begins by letting us know that something has happened whereby all the purposes of God for redemption have been accomplished through the person of Jesus Christ. The people of God had waited for thousands of years for their Deliverer to come and accomplish their salvation. The Gospel says the Deliverer indeed has come and has fulfilled everything necessary for our salvation.

Jesus was not some random guy who taught about love, who lead an exemplary life, and then died. Though we might still talk about that kind of man, his life in itself would not constitute any kind of good news for us. The news concerning Jesus is good for us only if it fulfilled God's promises to send for us His Anointed One as our Redeemer and Lord.

Consequently, the Gospel is not, "Try to live like Jesus did." It is, "Your salvation is accomplished - God's kingdom has come." Believe in him.

How did Jesus Christ fulfill God's eternal kingdom purposes for the redemption of people and the restoration of all things?

1. Through the righteous life of Jesus Christ

We're often "guilty" of thinking of salvation apart from the life that Jesus lived. We go straight to his death and skip right over the fact that his perfectly obedient life is vital to our salvation. Without his righteousness having been lived for us, there would be nothing positive for God to credit to our account. We still could not make ourselves worthy to stand in the glorious presence of a holy God.

But a part of the good news is that there is One Who is worthy to stand in God's presence - and that he is prepared to share his worthiness with those who believe in him. How do we know he is worthy?

v. 28 - They found in him no guilt worthy of death.

This verse is an interesting one, partly because it is a profound understatement and partly because it mirrors God's ultimate verdict concerning Jesus Christ.

The word translated "guilt" indicates an accusation that is grounded in reality. What this verse is saying is that there was nothing in Christ by which anyone could accuse him. Nobody had "the dirt" on him that they could bring to light. That's precisely because Jesus had lived a perfectly righteous life and could not be accused of any wrong. So this statement mirrors God's judgment that His Son had done nothing worthy of punishment. God's verdict was that Jesus Christ was innocent.

Jesus' innocence (passive & active) is referred to in a number of places in Scripture. And in many of these passages it is intentionally linked to the promise of salvation. Here are just a couple:

1 Peter 1:18-19 - You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers...with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

Romans 5:18-19 - Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.

The general point is this: we need someone to live the life we should've lived, but couldn't. The Gospel says that Someone is Jesus Christ.

2. Through the atoning death of Jesus Christ

Something has to be done with our sin and with the fact that we are, by nature, sinners. Sin is the violation of God's law, and the consequence of breaking laws is punishment. This is true in every culture. God could not be righteous if He simply ignored the rebellious idolatry of our sin.

So the second facet of this good news is that Jesus Christ died for our sins. Because Jesus was the promised Redeemer, his death was extraordinary. It was the death that finally and fully satisfied the demands of God's law and held out the offer of forgiveness of sins. While the Jewish leaders thought they were having Jesus executed (v. 28), in reality, the death of Jesus was...

[carrying] out all that was written of him (v. 29).

We don't have the time or space to fully develop this idea here. But this is one of the clearest themes that runs through the entirety of Scripture - that the Son of God would come and shed his blood and die for the sins of people whom he would redeem. Paul plainly identified this as a key facet of the Gospel message:

1 Corinthians 15:1-3 - Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved...: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.

The general point is this: in order to fulfill all righteousness, someone has to suffer and die for the sins against God that we have all committed. The Gospel says that Someone is Jesus Christ.

3. Through the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ

...the third facet of the Gospel is Jesus' bodily resurrection

following his death for our sins. Without the resurrection, there is no reason to believe we could ever receive God's grace, hope, or life.

The resurrection is an essential, indispensable part of the good news, because it is the resurrection that guarantees us that God was satisfied with the righteous life and atoning death of Jesus Christ. If God were not satisfied and granted favor, Jesus would be nothing more than a corpse. And that's not good news for anyone.

This is why the apostles, far more than modern pastors and teachers, made a regular, conscious effort to preach the resurrection as Gospel.

vv. 30-33 - But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus...

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 - Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved...: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures...

Romans 1:1-4 - Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who ... was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord...

The point is this: we need to be absolutely certain that the One we are believing in for our salvation is worthy of our

faith. Otherwise our hope and faith is little more than wishful thinking or a blind leap. The Gospel assures us, through the resurrection, that Jesus is infinitely worthy - and infinitely trustworthy. The Gospel assures us that our Lord and Savior is right now the Living God, able to give us the promises of life and grace and peace that he offers through faith in him.

4. Through the sovereign rule of Jesus Christ

Of the four facets of Jesus' work that constitute the Gospel message, I believe this is the one that is most often omitted. Yet you can hardly read the testimony of Scripture without concluding that the present rule of Christ has something to do with the good news for us. What is the connection? Another way of asking this, looking at this passage, is: Why are there so many references to David and the Psalms here when Paul is preaching about the Gospel? See for yourself what I mean:

vv. 32-35 - And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this He has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, 'You are my Son, today I have begotten you.' And as for the fact that He raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken this way, "I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.' Therefore He says also in another Psalm, 'You will not let your Holy One see corruption.' For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, but he whom God raised up did not see corruption.

The gist of these verses is that something spectacular has happened to Jesus Christ by virtue of his life, death, and

resurrection that never happened to king David. And that is that Christ has been exalted to the right hand of God. "You are my Son, today I have begotten you" is a coronation formula that indicates God has made Jesus the King to rule forever on David's throne. By his life, Jesus proved to be the righteous king that David was not. By his death and resurrection, Jesus conquered death that had corrupted David. So, as another passage says:

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11).

Jesus now rules over all creation. He has received the inheritance; and, by virtue of his rightful possession of it, the good news is that he is able to share it with those who become children of God through him. Because he is enthroned, he has sent his Spirit to live in us and bear his fruit of salvation in us.

Jesus is exalted and he reigns forever as the perfect Prophet, Priest, and King. It is good news for us that One has finally come to be for us these things. As the Living Word and the crown of God's revelation to man, we can be assured of knowing the truth in him. As Priest, Sacrifice, and Temple, all in one, we can be assured that we may be accepted by God because Christ is in His presence for us. And as King, we have full right of citizenship and an inheritance in the kingdom through him.

Because Christ rules as Judge, we have the assurance that we will not be cast out. He himself is the bloody sacrifice that paid for our sins in full, and he lives and pleads for us. What assurance that the One who will judge us in the end is the same One who brings us our salvation!

The point is this: The One who offers us the promise of salvation through his life, death, and resurrection is also the One who reigns forever. No one can annul his promises to us because Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lord (and even the Judge of judges and the Priest of priests).

...meaning God's promise of salvation is certain to those who trust in Christ.

This phrase fits logically with the first (in the theme). The four facets of Christ's work in between the two are simply the fleshing out of what Christ did to fulfill all of God's redemptive kingdom purposes for creation.

The Gospel is good news because the work of Christ in fulfillment of all of God's redemptive purposes is for us. They are promises based in historic fact that we have rightful claim to by grace through faith. The Gospel would not be good if it merely expressed good truisms about Christ. It is good because salvation is truly and freely offered to us. The Gospel is good news because there are actual, guaranteed benefits that are graciously given to those who simply believe in Christ.

vv. 38-39 - Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.

The Gospel is the promise that God's redemptive work was completed in Christ so that our sins, right now, really can be forgiven in him. And we really can be set free from the curse of the law because Christ became the curse for us.

So this, in a nutshell, is the Gospel:

God's redemptive, kingdom purposes are fulfilled through the life, death, resurrection, and rule of Jesus Christ, meaning God's promise of salvation is certain to those who trust in him.

~Matt Hand, Pastor of Northfield Church in Denver, Colorado.