Head of a New Humanity
A Sermon on Acts 2:24
Scripture
24Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
Sermon Description
The Christian faith is one that is based on real historical facts. Just as the Old Testament tells of actual people, places, and events, the New Testament does as well. However, as Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones demonstrates in this sermon on Acts 2:24 titled “Head of a New Humanity,” there are some who claim that the hallmark of true religion ignores historical events, and is built on one’s feelings and emotions. They claim that the historical existence of Jesus is not important because they feel in their hearts that He lived and rose from the dead. This may sound pious and spiritual, but is it biblical? Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones answers this question with a resounding no. He says that the Bible teaches not only the historical events of the life of Jesus and His resurrection, but the New Testament authors, particularly Paul, view the physical, bodily resurrection as central and necessary to salvation. The Bible says that if Christ did not rise from the dead in a physical body then there is no salvation and there is no Christianity. The church must fight against all heresies that claim the physical resurrection is not important. The hope of all Christians is that one day they will be resurrected just as Christ was.
Sermon Breakdown
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The sermon text is Acts 2:24 - "Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it."
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Peter is preaching the first Christian sermon on the Day of Pentecost.
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Peter asserts that Jesus rose from the dead and had to rise from the dead. It was impossible for death to hold him.
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There are two aspects to this message: the fact of the resurrection and why the resurrection had to happen.
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The fact of the resurrection is disputed today but it is the foundation of Christianity. Without it, there is nothing to preach and no church.
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Some today say the resurrection accounts are not facts but are meant to inspire. But the New Testament presents the resurrection as a fact.
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Jesus had to rise from the dead because of who he is - the Son of God and the Holy One. As the Son of God, death could not master him.
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Jesus had to rise to fulfill Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. If he did not rise, God's word would have failed.
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Jesus had to rise to fulfill his own prophecies about rising on the third day. If he did not rise, he would be found a liar.
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Jesus had to rise or else the devil would have triumphed over him. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, including death.
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If Jesus did not rise, his redeeming work would have been incomplete. We need more than forgiveness - we need righteousness, new life, access to God, help in temptation, hope for our bodies, and assurance of future glory. All of these come through Jesus' resurrection.
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The resurrection proves Jesus will one day return, judge his enemies, and establish his kingdom. Death has been conquered, so all other enemies will be too.
Other Sermons
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.