Brothers and sisters, we are in 1 Peter 1, verses 10 through 12. Let us hear these verses, God's Word, God's holy, inspired, inerrant, infallible Word read for us today. It says, concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that should come to you have inquired and searched diligently, seeking the events and time the Spirit of Christ who was within them signified when He foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, concerning the things which are now reported to you by those who have preached the gospel to you through the Holy Spirit, who was sent from heaven, things into which the angels desire to look. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. Concerning this salvation, linguistically, For us, this seems a little, perhaps, backward. In our day and age, we would probably want to emphasize the inquiring and the searching diligently that the prophets who prophesied of this grace did. But Paul here, in the grammar of this sentence, emphasizes this salvation. It's one of the benefits of Greek, as you can tell, the ideas that the writers wanted in the forefront of our minds. And that is how Paul structured this text was to focus us on this salvation, this salvation that Peter, as he's been standing at the pinnacle of grace, has seen swirling all around him and all of these ideas that he has been bringing to us. over these past few weeks. And here, as we focus on this salvation, this gospel, this good news, we want to encourage you that this is a simple gospel message. Children young people don't miss this as you turn in your catechisms and you see my goodness. There's over a hundred questions and answers unfolding this simple gospel pastor Joel Don't be confused by the development of our confession of faith so full and so rich and so helpful that it really is a seeking to unfold this simple gospel message that was foretold beforehand. This is one of the themes in Peter's preaching and teaching in scripture. In fact, we read in Acts 3.18, when Peter is preaching in Solomon's porch at the temple, he says, but what God foretold through all the prophets that his Christ should suffer, he thus This was something that Peter emphasized again and again was the foretelling of this gospel message. And what is this simple gospel message, this salvation that these prophets prophesied of, this grace that they have inquired and searched diligently about? Well, we find a beautiful, simple encapsulation of the message of the gospel by the the hand of the Apostle Paul under inspiration of the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 15. Verse three, he says, for I delivered to you first of all that which I also received. That's Paul saying, I'm not making any of this up. I am simply giving to you what was given to me. How Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, was buried rose again the third day according to the scriptures. Now that's the heart of the gospel message. The heart of the simple gospel is Christ's coming, his incarnation, his sinless life, his death, his burial, his resurrection. These three points, death, burial, and resurrection are a part for the whole of all the gloriousness of the incarnation of of Christ's humiliation and then His exaltation. And Paul goes on to point out that Jesus, after He was resurrected, was seen by Cephas, then the twelve, then over 500 people at once. And he was saying a lot of them are still alive. Go talk to them. Go hear their firsthand testimony. though some had passed away. And then he was seen by James, by all the apostles. Last of all, he was seen by me also, Paul says, as by one born at the wrong time. So this simple gospel message, how Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, was buried, rose again the third day according to the scriptures. This is the simple gospel message that was foretold beforehand. In fact, we've gone time and time again back to that proto evangelium, that first telling of the good news in Genesis 3.15, where God is speaking to our enemy, the devil in the form of this serpent, And he says, I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head and you will bruise his heel. The seed of the woman, again, if we know our anatomy and physiology is not how it works, but this is a true statement that is fulfilled in Christ and this battle that would in Sioux, but Christ, this promised one, the Messiah, would have the victory. What you see from that moment in Genesis 3.15 is all of God's people, but especially those who are on the forefront, eventually, as Peter tells us, these prophets who prophesied throughout the Old Testament. But here we see God's people focusing in on this prophetic word given by God in Genesis 3.15. We see it first with with Eve in Genesis 4 verse 1, where it says, Adam had relations with his wife, Eve, and she conceived, gave birth to Cain and said, I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord. And the Hebrew there is very choppy and very truncated. It says simply, I have gotten a man, the Lord. This is Eve's profession of faith that God had fulfilled his word, that there was a seed, an offspring that had come to her. But then, obviously, as the relationship between Cain and Abel matured and ended in murder, it became clear that, well, Cain isn't the promised one because of his great sin. Abel isn't the promised one because of his untimely death. So then toward the end of of chapter four, we read again, Adam had relations with his wife again, and she had another son and called his name Seth for she said, listen, God has granted me another offspring instead of Abel because Cain killed him. And so now here, Eve is living in this hope that any child that would be born to her could be the one to deal with this sin problem. But as generations come and generations go, it becomes clear, as the sin of humanity continues to grow and reaches every nook and cranny of who we are and what we do, that we were going to have to wait. We read in Genesis 5, 28 and 29, even this word from Noah's daddy who said, well, 28 and 29 say, Lamech lived 182 years and had a son. He named his son Noah saying, this one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands because of the ground which the Lord has cursed. Still each generation is holding out hope that this one, this child will be the seed of the woman that was promised by God. And we see then how each generation would explore, would inquire, would search diligently to try to discern this grace that God had promised. Christ died for our sins. Christ was buried. Christ rose again the third day. All of this according to the scriptures, as Paul said, meaning for Paul, of course, that the Old Testament clearly spoke to these events. This is Peter's point here. He's highlighting that these men, as the prophetic word came through them by the Holy Spirit, were not passive. They were not uncaptivated by this message. No, it stirred them. It made them alive as they now began to explore, to inquire and diligently search And the emphasis here is on this salvation that comes by the simple message. Put simply by the shorter catechism as it summarizes Scripture's teaching, the simple message of Christ's humiliation and exaltation. As Peter says here, the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. So we want to now look at these three center points of the gospel message as we take them as a part for the whole of all that God did in Christ Jesus to accomplish our salvation, that Christ died for our sins, Christ was buried, and Christ rose again, and look at some of these prophetic words that were spoken about these events. Psalm 22, which if you were to simply read Psalm 22 and not know that it was Old Testament, sounds like a creative approach to the telling of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. And in verse 15, it says, my strength is dried up like a potsherd, my tongue cleaves to my jaws, and you have set me toward the dust. of death. The psalmist is pointing out the trajectory of those moments in Christ's life where he was headed down to death. Isaiah 53 has a longer passage that speaks of this, starting in verse 5. It says, But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He was brought as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before its shears is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment, he was taken away. And who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living. For the transgression of my people, he was struck. His grave was assigned with the wicked, yet with the rich in his death, because he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He has put him to grief. If he made himself as an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring. He shall prolong his days, and the good pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see the anguish of his soul and be satisfied. By his knowledge, my righteous servant shall justify the many, for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death, and he was numbered with the transgressors. Thus he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors." Brothers and sisters, it becomes clear that the death of Jesus Christ was foretold beforehand. It was prophesied of clearly in the Old Testament. And this stirred the prophets to explore these events and the time that the Spirit of Christ was telling them, was putting within them, Christ died for our sins. Christ was buried. We sing of this in Psalm 16, verses nine and 10 say, therefore, my heart is glad and my glory rejoices. My flesh also will rest in security, for you will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will you suffer your godly one to see corruption. Christ was buried. This is a quick snippet that adds to it very quickly the hope of the resurrection. You will not leave my soul in Sheol. It does not say you will not allow my soul to go down into the place of death. But it does promise that the godly one will not see corruption. Christ's body did not have time to rot in the grave, but his body was in the grave. Thirdly, Christ rose again. Psalm 68 verse 18 says, you have ascended on high, you have led captivity captive, you have received gifts from people, yes, even from the rebellious, that the Lord God might dwell So see, as we think of Christ's resurrection, we think also of His ascension, of His coronation, for all of these glories that were to follow His death. Psalm 110, verse 1, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. That great psalmic text by John, by David that Christ himself used to frustrate his enemies while here on earth, asking them how David could say that. So yes, the prophets spoke clearly of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. These things were told beforehand. When the Spirit of Christ foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow it The all these things were revealed to them, but not just did mere human prophets speak of these things For remember Christ is the true prophet in revealing to us by his word and spirit the will of God for our salvation These things were foretold not just by the prophets by human prophets but the greatest prophet, as Hal Jones would put it, as the prophet. Matthew 12, 39 and 40, Jesus speaking to, again, his earthly enemies, these religious leaders, says, an evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Christ Himself spoke of these things. You remember Jonah being that prophet sent to Nineveh. He ran the other way. He goes on the ship. The storm arises. The the lots are cast and it falls on him and he is thrown overboard and instantly the sea rests and Jonah Is cast into the heart of the sea Jonah 117 we read now the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights And then in chapter two, verse 10, then the Lord spoke to the fish and it vomited Jonah out upon dry land. This is that historic event of which Christ speaks of a historic event to come in his life when he would be killed and would spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. But it gets even more specific than that by Christ's words in Mark 8.31. Mark 8.31. And remember that this is Peter's gospel, as it were, recorded by John Mark. It says, he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed and after three days rise again." There have been many people throughout the history of the world who have had some sort of premonition of their death. It seemed like they almost had some understanding that their time was short. But I can guarantee that no one has ever been able to speak with such great specificity of their death to come as Jesus Christ. He laid it out, speaking prophetically to his disciples of his death and his resurrection to come. In Luke 24, 25 through 27, we get a snapshot of why this is as the resurrected Christ is walking with these two disciples who are bewildered, flabbergasted on their way back to home in Emmaus. And he's asking them what's going on, what's wrong, what haven't you heard? And Jesus wants them to tell Him their thoughts on what's going on. And as they lay it before Him, He said to them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe what the prophets have spoke, was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things? and to enter his glory. And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained to them the things concerning himself in all the scriptures. Christ himself laid it out for his disciples, the necessity of his death, burial, and resurrection. All these prophets over all these years had searched and inquired. They knew what would happen. They knew generally who with prophecies concerning Bethlehem, et cetera. But now here is the prophet declaring the gospel. The good news is here. He has come. And there are two glories here, an earthly one and a heavenly one, these glories of this gospel. The earthly glory that these men stirred by the Holy Spirit didn't simply write down what was put into their minds. They were not just stenographers, court reporters, or secretaries such as the apostles used in so many of their writings. No, these men were stirred to question, to explore, to investigate, to whom are these prophecies pointing? What are the events surrounding this Messiah arriving? They also learned that this was something to come. They hadn't missed it. And while they were saved by it and stirred up by it, it was not for them chronologically. It would save them, but it was for a people yet to come who would see and believe in this promised one. What a great earthly glory that these men would be seeking out in the events and the things transpiring around them. Where is The Christ, where is the Messiah? Is he here yet? Is it this one? Is it that one? And they faithfully preached to all on the earth of the Christ to come. And then there's a heavenly glory that Peter points out as he finishes this passage, saying that these are things into which the angels desire to look. the angels, these divine servants, ready at the Lord's beck and call, so close to the heavenly action, who had borne witness to the creation of the world, the fall of man, the unfolding of the covenants. They were even stirred, if we may say it like that. They desired to look into these things. Sadly, even as they do, they see that it was not for them redemptively. The number of angels, elect and evil is set. Angels cannot become redeemed like people can. Just like people cannot become angels. They saw this even as they stood witness to the risen Christ's ascension and coronation on high, as even now He is seated at the right hand of the Father. What a gloriously simple salvation. Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. He was buried and rose again on the third day according to the scriptures. The prophets testified and it was revealed to them that the Christ would come future to them to suffer and to receive glory. This unseen God of salvation would become seen in our very own flesh and blood. The angels stood witness to it and longed to understand it, though they could not be redeemed by it. Now, friends, what about you? We said at the beginning that the emphasis here grammatically is on this salvation, this grace, But there's another emphasis in this brief passage by repetition. You see it in verses 10 and mostly in verse 12. To you, but you, reported to you, preached the gospel to you. Friends, The passage emphasizes clearly the gospel and its glories. It also emphasizes you. Here, Peter drops the gospel in your lap. And in the passages to come, simply ask, what difference does it make? How then shall you live? Friend, does it make a difference? The gospel is yours, the prophets, foretold it, the prophet foretold it, then accomplished it. The angels even long to understand it. What will you do with it? What will you do with him? Have you embraced Jesus Christ freely offered to us in the gospel? Will you? Don't go another day. Young people, children, hear me. Do not go another day without receiving and resting upon Jesus Christ for the salvation of your soul. I am a sinner. You are a sinner. The only hope we have is found in Jesus Christ, who died for our sins according to the scriptures, was buried and rose again the third day according to the scriptures. Don't go another day without the power and salvation of the resurrected Christ at work in you, your only hope of the glories to come. Let's pray. Father, as we consider this simple gospel message, which is so vital to our eternal destiny. I ask, Lord, that your Holy Spirit would grant faith and repentance to each one. Lord, may we embrace Jesus Christ, this one who came because of your promise, your promise foretold again and again through the prophets of the past, the one who himself foretold of his sufferings and glories to come, the one who accomplished redemption for your people. This one who died for our sins was buried and raised again the third day. May we receive him. and rest in Him for the salvation of our souls. We pray in His name, the name of Jesus Christ, and let's pray together. Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen and amen.