What do we have in mind when we confess that Jesus Christ is Lord[i]. What do we mean by saying he is the Christ, and that he is our Saviour? These are the claims Peter makes for Christ when the church is born.
These claims are basic to our faith. They are also basic to God because it’s his way of fulfilling his plan for our world. They tell us that Jesus alone can secure our life and future.
But in a world that scorns any authority but its own, what do these statements mean to us personally? You probably feel as I do, that the distain of the world for anything unseen can seep into our own souls and dim the joy that is appropriate to us having such a great Lord.
The answer of course, is to let the word of our Lord Jesus Christ have full play in our minds and affections—and in our Christian communities.[ii] And I’m trusting that some simple articles about the authority of Jesus will be some help along the way.
The early chapters of Acts spell out the church’s early experience of Christ as the risen Lord and we can learn much from them.
God has demonstrated that Jesus is Lord, and Christ, by raising him from the dead. These are the two points Peter makes on Pentecost day. But there is another phrase he uses a little later, he is Leader and Saviour, and I’ll begin there.
Peter uses this phrase after he and the other apostles have been arrested. He is responding to authorities who oppose their preaching. But they must obey God rather than man. God has raised Jesus from the dead and seated him in heaven as Leader and Saviour.[iii]
Peter has also used the word meaning Leader, when speaking to people in the Jerusalem temple, and after healing a lame beggar. But there it is translated as Author.[iv] Israel has killed no less than the Author of life.
Here is leadership unlike anything humans can do. We can only arrange and provide for people as they are. We can’t make them different. But Jesus is the Author of life. We were dead to God. But through Christ, we are alive to God and ready to live for him.
The disciples have been introduced to this leadership of Jesus by being with him physically. They have seen him dealing with human need. They have concluded that only he can bring them to God. And they know they can’t go to anyone else.
But now, the mighty events of Christ’s death and resurrection have happened. And the disciples have discovered the shallowness of their relationship with Jesus.
And yet, this resurrected Jesus has carried straight on. He’s picked them up from their failures and taught them to live by his grace. He’s taught them, over several weeks, about the kingdom he is going to establish and administer. And before he’s taken to heaven, he affirms that ‘All authority has been given to me in heaven and in earth’.
Jesus now exercises that authority, leading his church from heaven. He’s no longer visible but he’s still in charge. Jesus has told the disciples that it will be better for them when he goes because he will then send the Holy Spirit to them.[v] And, of course, it is better for us all that the authority of Jesus is being exercised, not from earth but from heaven—by the Holy Spirit being among us.
The apostles wait until the Spirit comes. And come he does!
The Holy Spirit, who has previously spoken only to prophets, now speaks through some 120 people, simultaneously[vi]—and in a variety of languages. Jesus has acted. He is in heaven, but all of them know he’s in charge.
They are enabled to speak about God’s mighty works.[vii] And then, Peter explains what these mighty works are.
There’s the mighty works God did through ‘this Jesus’ while he was on earth.[viii] But these did not establish his authority. We—represented by those there at the time—killed him.
But Jesus has done exactly what has been needed. He’s done what his Father wanted. He’s loved us, and laid down his life for us. This is the mightiest deed that has ever been done.
But the mighty deed that Peter must speak about is God raising Jesus from the dead. This is not just a message about the authority of Jesus. It’s the good news we’ve all needed to hear.
Jesus is not only Leader. He is Saviour.
Notice how much attention Peter gives to King David’s anticipation that death will be overcome.[ix] The great work God is about with us human beings isn’t meant to finish with a funeral!
However, apart from this Saviour, death hangs over all of us. It’s like a shroud we wear prematurely.[x] It affects our approach to everything we do. It keeps us trapped.[xi] We try to make ’heaven on earth’ for ourselves.[xii] And it’s not just that we die that matters to us. Underneath all our protests, we know we’ll get what we deserve.[xiii] We share the same fault as Adam, and the same fate.[xiv]
This shapes our attitude to God and his purposes. We resent his final control over our destiny. We’re trapped in resentment and hostility.
But no longer. Jesus has taken our fault as his own, and suffered our fate—in our place. That’s the love he has for us.
And this man, this Saviour, is alive again—alive to his Father God. And in him, so are we! So, if we’re trusting in him, death no longer has the final say about our identity, or destiny. We know God and know we already have life that is eternal.
And then, there’s another strand to this. Think of the dead weight failure produces in us. Think of the remorse we feel for lost opportunities. Think of Peter and the other apostles. None of them has been the disciple they thought they were.
So, how glad Peter must be to announce the forgiveness of sins![xv] He is not a good man correcting other people who need to be good. He is just one sinner telling other sinners what Christ has done with our sins and with their result.
Neither death or sin has the final say about our life, or future. Forgiveness, and eternal life, now now announced to us in Jesus name.
We remember that the thief who died on a cross next to Jesus asked to be ‘remembered’ when Jesus came into his kingdom—or authority. Now, on Pentecost day, thousands are lining up to be included. ‘Lord, remember me too!’
Clearly, what we really need is not a strong man to represent our interests, or resources enough to secure our future. We have needed, and now we have, a Leader and Saviour who acts from above, who acts truly, who does what will change the future—or, as we say, make history.
We need God! And Jesus brings us to him—clean, unashamed and ready to share in his agenda. We’re not helpless, hopeless victims. We’re sons and daughters of God.
Here is a Leader and Saviour to love and to follow, to trust and to delight in!
Next time, we’ll look at Jesus as the Christ, and after that, as Lord, and finally, as Son of God.
[i] Acts 2:36; Phil. 2:11
[ii] Col. 3:16
[iii] Acts 5:27-31
[iv] Acts 3:15. Archegos can be translated as author or leader.
[v] Jesus mentions this three times—in John 14:16; 15:26; 16:7
[vi] Acts 1:15; 2:1-3
[vii] Acts 2:11
[viii] Acts 2:22
[ix] Acts 2:25-31
[x] Isa. 25:6-9
[xi] Heb. 2:14-15
[xii] Luke 12:19; 1 Cor. 15:22
[xiii] Heb. 9:27
[xiv] Gen. 2:17; 3:19
[xv] Acts 2:38-40
Simply True 