Day 15—Acts 2:32-41

³² God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. ³³ Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. ³⁴ For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
       ” ‘The Lord said to my Lord:
       “Sit at my right hand

    ³⁵ until I make your enemies
       a footstool for your feet.” ‘

    ³⁶ “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

    ³⁷ When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

    ³⁸ Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one 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 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

    ⁴⁰ With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” ⁴¹ Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

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It is time to enter into the book of Acts with this study.  There are quite a few statements referring to salvation in the book of Acts, not to mention the numerous examples and stories of people who dedicated their life to Jesus.  I’m not sure how long I’ll look in Acts, but I assure you I’ll only look at Scriptures I believe have something to do with our salvation.

Today’s text is found in one of the most exciting places in the New Testament chronology.  The disciples of Jesus, who numbered around one hundred and twenty people at this point (Acts 1:15), were all together in a room when the day of Pentecost came (a Jewish traditional festival).  Previously, Jesus told them to wait in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit to come on them in power (Acts 1:4-5) and that he needed them to stay in Jerusalem to be his witnesses, to share his message.  It was amazing when the Holy Spirit finally came because the disciples found themselves speaking in foreign languages with no effort at all; it was definitely the power of the Holy Spirit that enabled these Galileans to do this.  There were many Jews in Jerusalem for the Pentecost festival from surrounding nations who spoke in these foreign languages, so it was truly mind-blowing for them to hear these disciples of Jesus speak in their native tongues.  It was a true miracle at Pentecost!

I don’t think the disciples of Jesus could have realized what God was going to do that very day.  However, we know because we have the rest of the story.  God’s Holy Spirit opened a door of opportunity to take this group of one hundred and twenty disciples of Jesus to an astounding three thousand—all in one day!  That is some incredible church growth!  I guess when God is behind something we should expect to be amazed.

Our text today is at the end of a great testimonial speech Peter made to all of these Jews who gathered in Jerusalem for the Pentecost festival.  The speech is filled with Old Testament Scripture that the listening Jews would fully understand, and the entire speech is made to prove that Jesus is the true Son of God, the very Messiah these Jews had been waiting for, and the actual savior of the World. 

What amazes me in this speech is when Peter, at the very end of his speech, blames these Jews for crucifying Jesus—which would have been only fifty days prior to this festival—the one who Peter just proved to be the Son of God and Messiah!  This was actually something that normally would have caused these Jews to pick up stones and kill Peter and the others on the spot.  However, the Holy Spirit of God got their attention through the language miracle they were experiencing, and instead of picking up stones they were “cut to the heart.” 

We know this feeling, when something grips our heart all of a sudden, like a reality that you can’t undo, a death of a loved one or the instant effects of an extremely poor decision.  When something cuts your heart an overwhelming sense of desperation fills your core and you feel completely helpless.  I think this is what these Jews felt in our text today when they realized they were guilty of crucifying God’s true Son, the savior of the world, their perfect Messiah and king.

In their desperation of helplessness, knowing they have done the worst possible and displeasing thing they could have done in God’s eyes, they ask the big question: “Brothers, what shall we do?” 

I am assuming it was without hesitation that Peter tells them to do two things: repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (or Jesus the Messiah; or Jesus the King).  I think repent in this text means to look at what you’ve done and be totally sorry for doing it, specifically in their case repent from the sin of crucifying Jesus.  When they crucified Jesus they showed ultimate rejection of him and his teaching.  Peter here tells them to repent of your rejection of him (which is the deepest sin) and now give your life to Jesus.  In other words, leave your life of not believing in Jesus and enter the new wonderful life only found in him. 

Baptism here was the act where these Jews would pledge their hearts and lives to Jesus Christ, and fully dedicate their lives to living in his name as his disciples.  They symbolically took their clothes of rejection off and now put on the clothes of believing in Jesus.  Once they completed their dedication ceremony, the forgiveness of God was theirs–and bonus, the Holy Spirit they experienced through the convicting miracle they just witnessed was theirs as well!  Only through God’s sacrificial gift of Jesus is there forgiveness, and those who give their lives to him—and in our text today, through their baptism—will have access to that forgiveness.  But even in today’s text it’s not the ritual of baptism, it’s what happens in the heart, the dedication that lies there.  Nevertheless, who can argue that baptism is certainly instructed here, and as we studied before, instructed by Jesus himself (Matthew 28:16-20). 

It is interesting to note that these Jews were only “added to their number” after they accepted Peter’s message and were baptized.  Baptism was a sign, the initiation into the fellowship of disciples.  They weren’t considered a part of the group until they were officially baptized.  But it is important to remember, this group was the entire body of Christ at the time.  This wasn’t a baptism to be a part of a congregation; this was an initiation baptism into the fold of God, the body of Jesus Christ, into the church that has grown to include those like me today who have given their life to Jesus in their hearts and in action.