Acts 2B We return tnight t a critical mment in the Bk f Acts The Spirit has arrived and with Him came unique demnstratins f His pwer amng the crwd Last week we nticed that these manifestatins led t tw different respnses frm the crwd that bserved the event We ll return t examining the tw respnses and then mve t the secnd half f the chapter But first we need t retrace ur steps thrugh a very imprtant issue arising frm the text here That is why des the arrival f the Spirit ccur lng after these men became believers, especially in light f the fact that this is n lnger Gd s pattern Last week I taught that the answer is that Gd is seeking t distinguish this day in ur memries This is the day that the Feast f Weeks r Pentecst is fulfilled As such, it s imprtant that believers thrughut histry understand plainly that n this day Gd instituted an unique ministry f His Spirit Beginning n this day, all believers wuld receive a persnal indwelling f the Spirit, which we call the baptism f the Hly Spirit r the Baptism f Fire Since this marks such a dramatic departure frm Gd s previus wrking amng men, it warranted a unique and unrepeatable display f Gd s pwer t set it apart Instead f indwelling these believers n the day they believed, the Father waited t send His Spirit until this special day Fr that reasn, these men received the Spirit after they had believed s as t mark the day But after this day, believers receive the Baptism f the Spirit when they believe 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 2B! 2 Hwever, there are tw exceptins in the bk f Acts in which this delayed indwelling f the Spirit takes place We will study these in detail as we reach them...ne ccurs in Acts 8 when the Samaritans receive the Gspel And the ther happens in Acts 10 when the Gentiles first receive the Gspel Fr nw I want t remind yu f smething I taught n the first night The stry f Acts is a stry f the utward mvement f the Gspel frm Jerusalem t Rme And it s the stry f hw Gd s grace mves utward frm Jews first, then t Samaritans and finally t Gentiles As the Gspel reaches each f these audiences, there is yet anther pprtunity fr Gd t make clear the arrival f a new ministry fr the Spirit S in Acts 2 we see Gd bringing the indwelling f the Spirit t Jews And in this way, Scripture cnfirms that salvatin is frm the Jews and they will receive Gd s prmises first They are the nes wh experience the fulfillment f the Jewish Feast f Weeks But then when Gd pens the dr fr Samaritans and later Gentiles, He will redisplay these manifestatins fr their benefit But after the third grup sees the sign, this unique delayed indwelling f the Spirit cmes t an end And the assciated physical manifestatins f the indwelling, having met their purpse, als quickly begin t diminish Returning t the reactins f the crwd, remember what we saw last week Acts 2:12 And they all cntinued in amazement and great perplexity, saying t ne anther, What des this mean? Acts 2:13 But thers were mcking and saying, They are full f sweet wine. The grup f visiting Jews recgnizes the miracle but can t understand what they see 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 2B! 3 A secnd grup f lcal Jews dismiss the entire event as merely drunk men They d nt perceive the event as supernatural in rigin, and therefre it triggers n questins Bth these grups are unbelievers wh are seeing this manifestatin f Gd, with sme respnding with an pen heart and thers respnding by mcking Paul explained hw Gd used this unique display 1Cr. 14:20 Brethren, d nt be children in yur thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in yur thinking be mature. 1Cr. 14:21 In the Law it is written, BY MEN OF STRANGE TONGUES AND BY THE LIPS OF STRANGERS I WILL SPEAK TO THIS PEOPLE, AND EVEN SO THEY WILL NOT LISTEN TO ME, says the Lrd. 1Cr. 14:22 S then tngues are fr a sign, nt t thse wh believe but t unbelievers; but prphecy is fr a sign, nt t unbelievers but t thse wh believe. Quting frm Isaiah 28:11, Paul says this gift was given t fulfill prphecy given t Israel Gd tld Israel they wuld knw when Gd was judging them when they saw Him pening the muths f Gentiles t speak in freign tngues Here we see the beginning f that prphecy, when unbelievers respnd t sign by questining it and lking fr answers Ntice that Paul says that the sign was nt fr believers as a means f edifying r building up faith It was a sign t unbelievers And yet it s clear that this sign was never intended t save a man by itself It was intended t cause questining Isaiah says that the sign will nt transfrm the Jewish natin int believers In rder fr this sign t becme the means fr salvatin, it must be united with understanding cncerning the meaning f the sign 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 2B! 4 And s it falls t Peter t preach a sermn t the crwd which ffers an explanatin fr the events they ve witnessed Acts 2:14 But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his vice and declared t them: Men f Judea and all yu wh live in Jerusalem, let this be knwn t yu and give heed t my wrds. Acts 2:15 Fr these men are nt drunk, as yu suppse, fr it is nly the third hur f the day; Acts 2:16 but this is what was spken f thrugh the prphet Jel: Acts 2:17 AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS, Gd says, THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS; Acts 2:18 EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT And they shall prphesy. Acts 2:19 AND I WILL GRANT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW, BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE. Acts 2:20 THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME. Acts 2:21 AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED. Peter hears the snide cmments frm the lcal Jews f the city, s he stands with the eleven and raises his vice s that everyne in the crwd can hear him And then he delivers a sermn Beginning with a reading f Scripture, frm memry in this case Befre we examine what Peter says in this chapter, let s cnsider the pattern that Scripture is presenting here Because this is ne instance where a useful pattern is present, and we shuld take nte f it and fllw it First, we have already nted that the situatin began with a supernatural display f Gd s pwer Specifically, a wrk f the Spirit brught abut the pprtunity fr Peter t preach and deliver this message Similarly, if we are t reach the wrld with the Gspel, ur wrk must always begin with a wrk f the Spirit amng the peple 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 2B! 5 It wn t always be such a vivid display Nr will it necessarily grab the attentin f s many peple at ne mment Nevertheless, if ur message will reach anyne, it must cme by the pwer f the Hly Spirit Jhn 6:44 N ne can cme t Me unless the Father wh sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up n the last day. Here the drawing ministry f the Spirit is evident in the way the visiting Jews in the crwd respnd t the miracle by asking it s meaning Similarly, ur wrk tday in presenting the Gspel depends n the Hly Spirit t prepare hearts and draw men t Christ But just as in this case, that drawing wrk is nly half the equatin The secnd part f the prcess is fund in a message that brings the Wrd f Gd Paul describes this tw-part prcess succinctly in Rmans: Rm. 10:17 S faith cmes frm hearing, and hearing by the wrd f Christ. Faith cmes frm hearing the message f the Gspel, as delivered by the Wrd f Gd And Peter pens his sermn with a presentatin f Gd s wrd, and in particular a passage that says smething abut the circumstances We re witnessing the Biblical way preaching shuld be dne A reading f Gd s wrd Accmpanied by expsitin f it s meaning Fllwed by an applicatin and call t believe based n its meaning The pwer f such preaching isn t fund in the persuasiveness f the speaker s wrds But rather in the pwer f Gd s Spirit and His wrd 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 2B! 6 Turning t Peter s sermn itself, Peter defends the men He makes clear they aren t drunk as sme suppse, since it s nly abut 9:00 in the mrning Rather, Peter says their behavir is cnsistent with what Jel wrte cncerning the last days Peter qutes frm Jel 2, and yet lk carefully at what Jel says He begins describing a puring ut f the Spirit n men And as a result f the utpuring f the Spirit, yur sns and daughters will prphesy See visins, dream dreams And accmpanying this mment, there will be miraculus signs in the sky And it will all take place befre the great and glrius return f Christ Lking at thse details, we immediately ntice that nne f thse things have happened in this mment Furthermre, the things that have taken place at Pentecst like speaking in tngues and the wind and fire are NOT mentined in Jel s prphecy S thugh Peter read frm Jel, this passage is clearly talking abut a different mment than the ne that tk place in the upper rm In fact, the mment Jel is describing is the same mment described in Zechariah 12 immediately befre the Lrd returns t reign This is the prphecy f hw the natin f Israel will receive the utpuring f the Hly Spirit at the f Tribulatin and receive the Lrd We studied this mment as yu remember in Isaiah S why des Peter read frm Jel in this mment? Peter is referencing Jel t make the pint abut hw Gd uses His Spirit t create manifestatins 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 2B! 7 When the Hly Spirit is pured ut n Israel in the last days f Tribulatin, thse men and wmen will act in ways similar t the way the disciples are acting here They will be filled by the Spirit and say and d things that will appear strange S here, Peter is making an applicatin f Jel, nt an interpretatin Peter is saying that this scene shuld be understd t be a wrk f the Spirit because f what Jel said t expect in the last days Simply put...these witnesses shuld understand this strange behavir as a wrk f Gd by His Spirit and nt as human weakness S having read Gd s wrd, nw Peter turns t applying it fr the sake f his audience This is where the preaching begins But ntice that like all gd Biblical preaching, the sermn hinges n the meaning f Biblical text and nt n human wisdm, funny stries, etc. The turning pint f the sermn cmes with the final verse f Jel Everyne wh calls upn the name f the Lrd in respnse t Gd s Spirit will be saved The nly questin left t address is wh is this Lrd? Acts 2:22 Men f Israel, listen t these wrds: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested t yu by Gd with miracles and wnders and signs which Gd perfrmed thrugh Him in yur midst, just as yu yurselves knw Acts 2:23 this Man, delivered ver by the predetermined plan and freknwledge f Gd, yu nailed t a crss by the hands f gdless men and put Him t death. Acts 2:24 But Gd raised Him up again, putting an end t the agny f death, since it was impssible fr Him t be held in its pwer. Acts 2:25 Fr David says f Him, I SAW THE LORD ALWAYS IN MY PRESENCE; FOR HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN. Acts 2:26 THEREFORE MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE EXULTED; MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL LIVE IN HOPE; Acts 2:27 BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES, NOR ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY. 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 2B! 8 Acts 2:28 YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; YOU WILL MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH YOUR PRESENCE. Acts 2:29 Brethren, I may cnfidently say t yu regarding the patriarch David that he bth died and was buried, and his tmb is with us t this day. Acts 2:30 And s, because he was a prphet and knew that GOD HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SEAT ne OF HIS DESCENDANTS ON HIS THRONE, Acts 2:31 he lked ahead and spke f the resurrectin f the Christ, that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SUFFER DECAY. Acts 2:32 This Jesus Gd raised up again, t which we are all witnesses. Acts 2:33 Therefre having been exalted t the right hand f Gd, and having received frm the Father the prmise f the Hly Spirit, He has pured frth this which yu bth see and hear. Acts 2:34 Fr it was nt David wh ascended int heaven, but he himself says: THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, Acts 2:35 UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET. Peter begins in addressing the crwd as the men f Israel At this pint, Peter is preaching t Jews alne And this is hw it shuld be The Jew was t receive the Gspel first Only later des Gd pen the ears f Samaritans and Gentiles Until brings Peter t understand that the Gspel will reach the entire wrld, He is lgically fcused n Jews Peter then begins t name the Messiah wh is respnsible fr stirring up this crwd Jesus f Nazareth, Wh prved His claims with signs and miracles that Gd perfrmed thrugh Him by the Spirit And these men remember all these things It was nly 50 days earlier But the questin n their minds wuld have been hw the Messiah culd have been put t death? Peter anticipates this questin and answers it The man was delivered ver t death by Gd Himself 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 2B! 9 And this was a predetermined plan by Gd s freknwledge Predetermined means determined by Gd s fixed purpse And freknwledge means t knw befrehand in the sense f pre-planned S Gd brught Jesus t death because it was a pre-planned event in keeping with Gd s fixed purpse And yet Peter makes clear that Gd wrked thrugh the agency f sinful, gdless men in accmplishing this utcme Since Gd is nt the authr f sin, He relies n sinful men t act n their sinful impulses and He directs them t His intended end In the end, Gd brught Jesus back frm the dead, because it was impssible fr death t hld Christ Death is reserved fr thse wh are guilty f sin and deserve death Since Jesus was sinless, He culdn t be held in death frever He remained there lng enugh t accmplish Gd s purpse and then He was resurrected Then Peter qutes frm several different Psalms written by David t prve his pint cncerning Jesus as Messiah First David said in the psalms cncerning the Messiah that He is always seated at the right hand f the Father And the Messiah s flesh will live in hpe because His sul will nt be left in Hades nr will the bdy underg decay Instead the Messiah will knw the way f life Traditinally, Jews rabbis interpreted these verses t be a descriptin f David himself But Peter crrects that view and pened by saying that David spke these statements abut the Messiah, nt himself And Peter then makes the bvius bservatin that David didn t resurrect, at least nt yet 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 2B! 10 He was still buried in a grave nearby in Jerusalem S these wrds culdn t have been referring t David They were describing smene wh is resurrected frm death and brught t eternal life withut suffering decay in the meantime Only Jesus fits that descriptin Then Peter ges n t say that David knew he was prmised t have a descendent n his thrne frever And the fulfillment f that prmise is met in a resurrected Lrd wh can live frever and sit n that thrne withut ever suffering death again Finally, Peter says that this Jesus having ascended is the One Wh sent the Hly Spirit as prmised t His sns, thus resulting in this strange display Peter testifies in v.32 that they witnessed this resurrectin And it was the fulfillment f David s prphecy that the Lrd wuld sit at the right hand f the Father Nt that David himself was t receive this prmise Finally, Peter brings his sermn t a climax Acts 2:36 Therefre let all the huse f Israel knw fr certain that Gd has made Him bth Lrd and Christ this Jesus whm yu crucified. Acts 2:37 Nw when they heard this, they were pierced t the heart, and said t Peter and the rest f the apstles, Brethren, what shall we d? Acts 2:38 Peter said t them, Repent, and each f yu be baptized in the name f Jesus Christ fr the frgiveness f yur sins; and yu will receive the gift f the Hly Spirit. Acts 2:39 Fr the prmise is fr yu and yur children and fr all wh are far ff, as many as the Lrd ur Gd will call t Himself. Acts 2:40 And with many ther wrds he slemnly testified and kept n exhrting them, saying, Be saved frm this perverse generatin! Acts 2:41 S then, thse wh had received his wrd were baptized; and that day there were added abut three thusand suls. Haven spken truth backed by the pwer and authrity f Gd s wrd, Peter gives a call fr repentance 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 2B! 11 And the wrk f the Hly Spirit is clearly evident in their hearts They were pierced, which means shcked r stunned They knew this was true, but the news stunned them because it shwed them they had previusly rejected Christ And nw they were understandably cncerned fr what they culd d abut this situatin S they ask Peter Peter answers and says that frgiveness is available, if they repent and are baptized Then they t can receive the baptism f the Spirit The clse cnnectin Peter makes between salvatin and baptism is uniquely assciated with the Jewish generatin f his day Nrmally, we wuldn t declare that baptism is a necessary requirement fr salvatin And it wasn t a requirement fr salvatin in Peter s day either But the generatin f Israel that rejected Jesus was under a special judgment that Jesus Himself declared in the Gspels Because the natin f Israel rejected their Messiah, Jesus declared this generatin f Jews t be under a penalty They cmmitted the unfrgivable sin and were appinted t suffer the judgment f AD 70 Virtually the entire natin was executed by the Rmans If a Jew wanted t avid that judgment in this generatin, they must believe in the Gspel and be baptized s that they were separated frm their generatin This is the meaning f Peter s cmment in v.40 They were being called t eternal salvatin thrugh faith, and t an earthly salvatin frm the AD 70 judgment thrugh baptism 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 2B! 12 In Acts, every time we see baptism s clsely cnnected t a message f salvatin, it s always present t a Jewish audience wh were in jepardy f this specific judgment Tday, we wuldn t preach that smene be baptized t be saved Rather, we preach as Paul did that Gentiles shuld be baptized as an bedient act f faith And n this day, 3,000 men received the testimny f Gd s wrd as preached thrugh Peter And they did as Peter cmmanded instantly grwing the early church ten fld n it s first day 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.