April 5, 2026: Sunday School

Order of Service

• Prayer of Invocation
• Sermon
• Closing Prayer

---

Sermon Title: The Resurrection Rooted in the Word and Program of God

Scripture: Acts 2:23-32

I. Introduction — Why Trust the Resurrection?

• A. The apostles root confidence in the resurrection not primarily in eyewitness testimony, but in the Old Testament word.
  1. Peter declares in Acts 2:32: "This Jesus God raised up, and of that we are all witnesses."
  2. Yet even eyewitness testimony is secondary to the grounding of Scripture.
• B. Jesus himself grounds resurrection confidence in the Old Testament, telling disciples in Luke 24:45-46 that the Christ must suffer and rise on the third day according to the Scriptures.
• C. John notes in John 20 that Peter and John "did not understand the scripture that he must rise from the dead" until they saw the empty tomb.
• D. Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15 that Christ was raised "in accordance with the Scriptures" — this is of first importance.

II. Christ's Resurrection Is Rooted in the Promise of God

• A. Peter's sermon at Pentecost in Acts 2:23-32 grounds the resurrection in Psalm 16:8-11.
  1. Psalm 16 is a psalm of David — a song of confident trust in his covenant Lord.
  2. The key promise is in Psalm 16:10: "You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption."
• B. Peter argues that David himself died, was buried, and his tomb remains — David could not be the ultimate referent of these words.
  1. David spoke more than he fully realized; as a prophet he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ (Acts 2:30-31).
  2. Only Jesus can fully claim the words of Psalm 16:10 — his body would not suffer the normal effects of death in those three days.
• C. Peter's confidence rests primarily on the word of God, not on personal testimony — God's word announced beforehand that Christ must rise, and God cannot lie or change his mind.
• D. Additional Old Testament passages that imply or promise the resurrection of the Messiah include Isaiah 53:10-12, Psalm 110:1, 4, and Psalm 118:22.
• E. Jesus himself in Matthew 16:21 rooted his own confidence in the resurrection in his Father's word, taking disciples to the Scriptures when he first announced his death and rising.

III. Christ's Resurrection Is Rooted in the Program of God

• A. Paul's first recorded sermon in Acts 13:29-37 weaves together three Old Testament passages to show that God's redemptive purposes demand the resurrection.
• B. First passage — Psalm 2:7: "You are my Son; today I have begotten you."
  1. Jesus fulfills this in stages, but Romans 1:3-4 shows he was publicly declared Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead.
  2. At the resurrection, Jesus entered into a new phase of his sonship as the redeeming and reigning Son.
• C. Second passage — Isaiah 55:3: "I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David."
  1. God's covenant promises to his people flow through the Davidic heir — one who must sit on the throne forever (2 Samuel 7:14-16).
  2. If the son of David dies and remains dead, the covenant blessings are cut off; therefore the program of God demands a living, ever-reigning Messiah.
  3. As Calvin writes: "In order that Christ may secure to us forever the grace of God, Christ himself must live forever."
• D. Third passage — Psalm 16:10 again: "You will not let your holy one see corruption."
  1. Paul ties all three passages together: the Son who enters a new phase of sonship, who must ever live to fulfill the Davidic covenant blessings, is the same holy one whose body did not see corruption.
  2. Christ is the "firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Corinthians 15) — an ever-living Savior who lives to intercede, and through whom all covenant benefits flow on without end.
• E. The resurrection was not merely possible — it was a divine necessity demanded by both the promise and the program of God.