Sermon Notes

There Has Never Been Anyone Like Jesus

Easter 2022

Acts 2:22-24

Unique: (adj.) being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” – Acts 2:22-24

I. THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A LIFE LIKE JESUS’ LIFE

“I am an historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.” – H.G. Wells (1866-1946 – English novelist, teacher, and historian)

“The radical nature of his miracles distinguishes him. It didn’t just rain when he prayed for it; we’re talking about blindness, deafness, leprosy, and scoliosis being healed, storms being stopped, bread and fish being multiplied, sons and daughters being raised from the dead.” – Dr. Gregory A. Boyd, masters from Yale, Ph.D. from Princeton

“Archaeology is a vast subject today, having specialized faculties, institutions, textbooks, and specialized journals all around the world. In the last century rationalist critics were of the general opinion that with the growth of this subject, the Bible will be disproved and rejected eventually. But just the opposite has happened. Things disputed by the critics have turned out to be the way they are described in the Bible. The Bible history was confirmed like no other ancient book in the world. Also, there have been many cases when the wrong notions of the archaeologists were corrected by the Bible. There is at least one case in which a non-Christian archaeologist became a Christian when he saw the amazing accuracy of the Bible.” – Albright School of Biblical Archaeology (William Albright directed the oldest American Center for research of ancient Near Eastern studies in the Middle East and held a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University.)

1 followed by 17 zeroes!

“For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” – Col. 2:9

II. THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A DEATH LIKE JESUS’ DEATH

A. His Death was a Part of God’s Plan

“this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God…” (v.23a)

B. His Death was to Atone for Our Sin

“…you crucified and killed…” (v.23)

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” – Romans 3:23

“For the wages of sin is death…” – Romans 6:23a

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8

III. THERE HAS NEER BEEN A GRAVE LIKE JESUS’ GRAVE

God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. – Acts 2:24

“because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” – Romans 10:9