Between the Pieces: What Really Happened at the Cross (Part 5)

The following is Part 5 of the transcript of the sermon by Pastor Paul White titled “Between the Pieces: What Really Happened at the Cross”. Check back each day as we continue to post the transcript to this exciting sermon.

Based on Acts Chapter 3, what he believes is, “You killed Jesus. He’s the Holy One and the Just. He’s the Prince of Life. One thing I really know, one thing I’m witness to is that God raised Him from the dead.” Now, as Peter goes along, his theology gets deeper. Aren’t you glad that the longer you live for the Lord, the more revelation you get?

Here’s kind of where we are, we get saved and we walk into the revelation of who God is in us and we rest there and say, “thank you, Jesus,” and if we’re not careful, we’ll stand right there when there’s a whole lot more in who He is. The Old Testament said, “There’s water to the ankles, then there’s water to the knees, then there’s water to the waist.” And we can wade on out into the depths of who God is. If you’ll read the Apostle Paul, you’ll find that Paul adjusted the message of grace as he went along. Read Acts left to right, and when it starts, the church is very law-driven. In fact, they have a big meeting right in the middle of Acts about how law-driven they should be. And they can’t even agree. Later on in Acts, Paul shows up with Timothy, who got saved but has never been circumsized because he was raised in a Gentile household. And Paul circumsizes him to make the Jewish Christians happy. Now, keep reading Paul’s letters and by the time you get to Galatians, Paul goes, “Hey, for those of you that think you need to be circumsized, why don’t you keep the whole law? Because if you’ve got to be circumsized, you’ve got to keep the whole thing.” And I’ll read that, and go, “Wait a minute. You just circumsized a dude back there in Acts.” The problem is if you’re sitting and reading it, it took you an hour to get from one to the other. But it took a couple decades to get there for Paul. What happened in that twenty years? In that twenty years, he went from right here – thinking he needed to mix a little law and grace – to getting way out here where he went: if you think you need to mix it, then you just need law all by itself. We miss that because we are reading it, but he was living it. Now, why does that encourage me? Because this isn’t the end of Peter’s life. This is the beginning of his ministry. And in the beginning of his ministry, all he identified was that the Jews killed Jesus. But then it advanced, and he wrote this:

I Peter 2:21 – [going to lead you into using context of Scripture that I think is going to show you where Peter ultimately came to in the Message of the Cross.]

“For even here unto you were called because Christ suffered for us.”

Look at what Peter picked up on:

Somewhere along the way, between Acts 3, where he had you guys killed the Holy One, he concludes, “Christ suffered for us,” leaving us an example that you should follow his steps. So somewhere along the way, Peter decided that you know what? I believe that not only was He killed at Calvary, but I believe that He suffered for us. I believe that He suffered for me. This is coming into a realization.

Next verse:

“Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth.”

Now Peter has identified that his Jesus had never sinned. And I don’t think that Peter ever doubted that, but he has now decided to write it down. I know that my Jesus never sinned. I was there. I never saw it. I never heard it. And neither did He ever let anything come out of His mouth that didn’t glorify and honor His Father.
There was no guile.

23:

“Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again. When He suffered, He threatened not, but committed Himself to Him that judged righteously.”