Act 4:1 (ESV) And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,
Act 4:2 (ESV) greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
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Act 4:10 (ESV) let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well.
Act 4:11 (ESV) This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.
Act 4:12 (ESV) And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
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The Sadducees were a strong opposition of the Gospel BECAUSE it claimed resurrection as it’s foundational principal.
Pharisee’s opposed Jesus because Jesus focused on the fulfillment of the law and the transition from external rules pointing toward the perfect Law of Christ to Spirit’s leading and the internalization of God’s character through our adoption into God’s family.
In Acts we see the Sadducees oppose the apostles because of their focus on the resurrection as the affirmation and confirmation of Christ’s deity and saving work
Christ’s resurrection is the core message of the Gospel.
1Co 15:3-8 (ESV)
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
Resurrection is the proof of God’s stated solution to our sin/self/separation problem.
Adam and Eve chose to separate from God…
Gen 2:16-17 (ESV)
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,
17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Separation from God - no eternal hope or destination other than separation from all that is good in God.
Christ declared Himself the Way…
Joh 14:6 (ESV)
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
What separates us from God is the destructive power of death.
Resurrection = Christ’s absolute sovereignty over ALL things
We can put our whole faith and trust in Him.
Rom 8:31-32 (ESV)
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
This is why Paul said…
Php 3:7-14 (ESV)
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…
10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
