Acts 10:34-38
First Sunday after Epiphany—Baptism of Our Lord Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke Sunday, January 15, 2023
“The Anointed One Brings Peace”
“…and give you peace.” If you have been here many times, you have almost undoubtedly heard those words many times. They are the last words that I or one of your other pastors speaks in the Liturgy, the order of Divine Service. Your worship folder notes that those words have been spoken over God’s people in worship for centuries, going back even before the Church of God knew the name of Jesus Christ. And peace really is an amazing word on which to end our spoken Liturgy because that single word perhaps more than any other grasps what is so amazing about the message that runs through that entire service. And that word, peace, is likewise appropriate for today because it so neatly summarizes the message of this particular Sunday of the Church Year. There are many interesting and amazing things for us to consider as we recall how Jesus went to the Jordan River and how he was baptized by the man who baptized so many that he has the title the Baptist, but nothing is more interesting or more amazing than this message: The Anointed One Brings Peace.
The words of our text are words spoken by Peter as recorded in Acts chapter 10. We have in front of us just verses 34-38, but we’ll hear much more about the context of these words as we consider them. Peter says more than just these words on this particular occasion, but when he starts explaining to people the things that God wants them to know, Peter begins not only talking about Jesus but specifically talking about his baptism.
Peter talks about the baptism that John preached. He describes Jesus’ baptism this way: God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Prophets, priests, and kings were all anointed in the Old Testament. They had oil poured over their heads indicating that they had been selected for a particular role. When Jesus was baptized, that was an anointing. Jesus was about to begin his public ministry. He was done with the quiet life that came before that the Bible tells us so precious little about. He was indeed appearing as the theme of our worship series suggests. He was putting himself out in front for teaching and instructing and performing miracles and so much more. And it all began with his baptism by John’s hand.
Jesus was not anointed with oil. He was baptized with water. He was anointed with the Holy Spirit. Matthew’s Gospel described for us the Holy Spirit descending like a dove. And Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit’s power. That may sound surprising. That may sound a little strange. After all, Jesus is God. We just spoke weeks ago about how even as a tiny infant in Bethlehem Jesus was also the true, eternal, and all-powerful God. That remains true, but in the God-man Jesus Christ in his earthly ministry, God had humbled himself. He was living as a human being. He was under the law and under restrictions and confined in ways that had never been intended for God. He was not making the use of or putting on display the power and the glory that was his as God. Instead, in our place, he was relying on the power of the Holy Spirit and in that power, he was built up for the work that he was doing.
And how succinctly that work is summed up here: He went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the Devil, because God was with him. We are going to continue to hear more about Jesus and his ministry throughout our Church Year. We are going to focus on accounts of him healing and doing other miracles and calling disciples and teaching the people. Come back week after week and hear some of these amazing events. And yes, some of what Jesus did was to cast out demons who were possessing people and keeping them under their demonic control. Jesus helped them by releasing them from this possession, but his work means more than just that. Jesus helped out all who were oppressed by the devil. And that includes us. Oppressed by the devil is an accurate description of where we have been, and unfortunately where we too often are. We are born in sin, not on God’s team, but as his enemies. And even now, you know what it looks like to be oppressed by the devil. It means that his crafty temptations keep worming their ways into our ears and into our hearts and convincing us to do what no child of God ought to do. And the devil keeps whispering to us the lie that if there is anything to do or to be done about our situation, we need to do it ourselves. If there is anything to be fixed about our lives, it is up to us to fix it. But where is peace in that? Where is peace in continually striving to do enough or be enough? Where is the peace in knowing what I have done wrong in the past and hoping and wondering whether I have possibly done enough to make up for it? That is no peace at all.
Peace is found in the ministry of Jesus. He went around doing good and healing and helping. God was with him. In other words, the peace comes from his good, not from yours. He had done good quietly for roughly thirty years on earth. And by good, I mean he has done everything perfectly. And at his baptism he appears and bursts onto the scene that all might realize that he is the promised One, the One who had been prophesied. His doing good has been guaranteed by the voice of his Father and our Father, his God and our God. He said, “This is my Son, whom I love. I am well pleased with him” (Matthew 3:17).
The good Jesus had done was the reason John was uncertain about baptizing him, but it was also the reason Jesus was baptized. He was the perfect Savior stepping into the place of sinners. He was doing all that needed to be done to fulfill righteousness and to bring peace. The Anointed One brings peace through his good work. And he brings peace for all nations. As I mentioned earlier, Peter’s words here come in a much larger context. This account really begins with Peter receiving a vision in which God invited him to eat foods that he had previously known to be unclean. Before that, in another city, Cornelius, a Gentile centurion, had a vision that told him to send for Peter to learn from him. Cornelius sent messengers to Peter who explained to him what had happened, and Peter set out to meet Cornelius.
The next day Peter did meet Cornelius. He even went inside the house of this Gentile man, which may not sound like a big deal, but it was. Before that time Peter would not have even considered doing that. It was forbidden to him as a Jew to associate in that way with a Gentile. But Peter had received the message from God that he was not to consider anything unclean that God had made clean. He had heard the message God sent to Cornelius, that Peter should come to him to tell him what he had been missing. Cornelius had converted to the Jewish religion. He was a generous supporter of the Jewish people and interests. He had heard of Jesus, just as so many in that entire region had, but he didn’t really know him until Peter came.
And that is why Peter began his speech the way he did. “Now I really am beginning to understand that God does not show favoritism, but in every nation, anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” Peter knew before this what the Bible said about Jesus being the Savior of the world. He was familiar with passages that demonstrated God’s love for and interest in all people. But he didn’t really “get it” until he walked into the house of a Gentile who was begging to learn more. He didn’t fully grasp what the love of God meant for everyone. It meant peace. It meant that the message of peace that for centuries had been delivered to and through the Jewish people was going out to bring peace in new measure to Gentiles, too. The Anointed One brings peace by his good works, by his innocent death, and by his glorious and victorious resurrection to all nations.
That is amazing news for you and for me. We are part of the all nations, the Gentiles. It may have seemed to some for a time that God did have his favorites. God didn’t have favorites. What God really had was a plan. What God had was a promise. It always included all nations and now we see the true beauty of it. We have the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
And we have opportunities to share that message and that peace with others. Peter’s experience reminds us that as God does not show favoritism, neither should we. It was a special and unique opportunity that Peter had, guided by visions from God, but you have opportunities, too. The person who walks in these doors but looks a little different or makes us uncomfortable somehow—they need God’s peace. The neighbor who has a lifestyle that you know is not God-pleasing, not to mention the fact that it bothers you—he needs God’s peace. The person you are not sure about because she has a different political leaning than you do—she needs God’s peace. Whenever your conscience speaks up and rightly reminds you that you have done wrong again—you need God’s peace. And you have it, to know and to share, because you know where that peace is found, in Jesus Christ, the Anointed One.
You don’t need to wait until the end of the service to hear it. You have been hearing it throughout. “Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth.” You are forgiven. You have peace with God. You have what you need most and what serves you best now and forever. The One anointed to save you brings you peace.
The Text: Acts 10:34–38 (EHV)
34Then Peter began to speak: “Now I really am beginning to understand that God does not show favoritism, 35but in every nation, anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36He sent his word to the people of Israel, proclaiming the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
37“You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached. 38God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the Devil, because God was with him.