Passage
14 But Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them: “Men of Judah and all you residents of Jerusalem, let me explain this to you and pay attention to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it’s only nine in the morning. 16 On the contrary, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
17 And it will be in the last days, says God,
that I will pour out My Spirit on all humanity;
then your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.
18 I will even pour out My Spirit
on My male and female slaves in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will display wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below: blood and fire and a cloud of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the great and remarkable Day of the Lord comes.
21 Then everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: This Jesus the Nazarene was a man pointed out to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through Him, just as you yourselves know. 23 Though He was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail Him to a cross and kill Him. 24 God raised Him up, ending the pains of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it. 25 For David says of Him:
I saw the Lord ever before me;
because He is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart was glad,
and my tongue rejoiced.
Moreover, my flesh will rest in hope,
27 because You will not leave me in Hades
or allow Your Holy One to see decay.
28 You have revealed the paths of life to me;
You will fill me with gladness
in Your presence.29 “Brothers, I can confidently speak to you about the patriarch David: He is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn an oath to him to seat one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing this in advance, he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Messiah:
He was not left in Hades,
and His flesh did not experience decay.32 “God has resurrected this Jesus. We are all witnesses of this. 33 Therefore, since He has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, He has poured out what you both see and hear. 34 For it was not David who ascended into the heavens, but he himself says:
The Lord declared to my Lord,
‘Sit at My right hand
35 until I make Your enemies Your footstool.’36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah!”
37 When they heard this, they came under deep conviction and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles: “Brothers, what must we do?”
38 “Repent,” Peter said to them, “and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” 40 And with many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt generation!”
41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about 3,000 people were added to them.
Study Questions
Acts 2:14-41
- Peter speaks “with the eleven” (v.14), signifying that this message is the
testimony of the entire apostolic group. From Peter’s sermon, note several
elements which commentators identify as the standard features of apostolic
preaching throughout the early church:
- citation of Old Testament
- focus on Christ’s death and resurrection
- appeal to repent and offer of forgiveness
Identify the verses where you find each of the above, and think about the relevance and significance of each of the elements.
Citation of Old Testament:
There are numerous citations from the Old Testament as they were Jews who were preaching the Gospel to other fellow Jews. The citations are indicated in verses 16-21, 25-28, 31, 34-35. To the crowd, he was preaching on verses that they have heard before about the Messiah. Peter reaffirms to the crowd that he Jesus is the promised Messiah. As Peter was the one who first called Jesus as Son of God, it is appropriate that he leads his sermon talking about who Jesus really was. To the listening Jews, this was intended to convict their hearts of what they had done to Christ on the cross and the significance of the fulfillment of the cross.
Peter was able to touch the hearts of his listeners by knowing his crowd. Sometimes, it is really easy to talk to someone but have them miss the whole point because I did not recognize that each person may come from different backgrounds. By understanding their situation, I can be an effective speaker and one who can touch the hearts of others. With the Holy Spirit’s guidance, I hope that I can do this in the future.
Focus on Christ’s death and resurrection:
The verses that point out what had happened to Jesus is in verses 22-36. The whole witness of Christ dying on the cross and resurrecting three days later is the most significant thing about Christianity. Peter wanted to emphasize that without His obedience to death on the cross, there would be no salvation. Without His death, the prophecies in the Old Testament would still need to be fulfilled. Peter knows his crowd well; he continues to address and ties in the Scriptures of Old Testament to show his validity and why Christ is indeed truly the Messiah.
When evangelizing, I need to point out the importance of death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Without doing so, I am missing the whole point of being a Christian. Everything hinges on it.
Appeal to repent and offer of forgiveness:
In verses 37-40, the listeners were convicted of the Truth and they repented. Peter lets people know that they need to first repent of their sins and recognize how they sinned against God. Afterwards, they need to have a public confession of their faith, baptism, so that the others around them may know that they have accepted Christ. Only after these can they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Peter’s command at how one can receive the gift should be how one receives salvation. I need to remind myself that when I talk to others about Christ, I need to let them know that they need to repent of their sins. It is easy for someone to just “accept” but without repentance, it is futile as they will continue to go about their old ways without really investigating and looking for the Truth.
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In this sermon, note the words of comfort vs. words of confrontation. Note also the fact that Peter spoke “many other words” not recorded here. What can I learn about Christian communication through this?
Peter’s discernment with knowing when it was the right time to let the crowd know to repent was very powerful and led a lot of the crowd to repent of their sins and turn towards Christ. Looking at Peter, understanding when the right time is very important. Christian communication should involve the Holy Spirit asking for guidance on the timing of confronting words. In the earlier portions of the passage, Peter speaks facts about what was prophesied in the Scriptures. When he saw the crowd opening up and being receptive, he replied back with an “altar call”.
I am very weak at seeing how people are reacting to my words. It is definitely something that I need to practice and ask the Holy Spirit guidance to become better in order to be a more effective speaker and evangelist.
Acts 2:37-40
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Reflect on their dilemma in v. 37 – “Brothers, what must we do?” – and the promise of v.39. Consider the extent of relief and gratitude that those who were “cut to the heart” must have felt at the offer of forgiveness. What can I learn about repentance through this?
Repentance requires understanding of what one has done towards another. In this case, it would be how the people sinned against God. The crucifixion and the resurrection would have been fresh on their minds. They must have realized how their actions should have angered God.
Repentance also alleviates guilt that one may have for another. Guilt is a powerful motivating force because it forces the one to feel the weight of their actions. It keeps pressing down and is definitely not an enjoyable experience. By offering a way to relieve this pressure, Peter gives an opportunity to those around him to be free.
The Gospel does just that. The Good News allows whoever is experiencing guilt to be able to lay their burdens on Christ.
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How does this apply to me or resonate with my experience?
When I heard the Good News, I was going through stressful experience with my mom. That was when she was diagnosed with depression into schizophrenia and I did not really understand what was going on. For someone to seem normal and convinced that they are normal when they are not is a toxic position to be in.
I equate this with how sin is. When we are covered in sin, we do not realize what it means to be without sin. Without hearing about the Gospel and of Jesus, it is impossible for anyone to realize their wrongdoings. When someone is in sin, it is impossible for them to realize that they are in it until another tells them or they are forgiven.
It is easy to live a life telling oneself that everything is going okay and that he or she is not a bad person. Can one truly make such a statement when the definition of “good” is being perfect? Has anyone been perfect all throughout their lives? No. To live a perfect life is impossible. It is because of our Nature and how we are born sinners. It is easy to sin and very tempting to want to sin. Isn’t it easier to cheat than study for the actual test? Isn’t it easier to run a red light when we are busy and it looks like there are no cops? Isn’t it easier to cheat people of money than to put in the time to earn their wage?
Free thought
How is Peter, a fisherman, so charismatic? How did he gain his experience leading the crowd?
Although I am not sure about how Peter is so charismatic, I think he gained his experience leading the crowd while watching and listening to Jesus. Peter learned from the best of the best: Jesus Christ, the son of God.
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