We saw last week something of the amazing events of Pentecost and the impact they had on the crowd as they heard the wonders of God being proclaimed in their own languages. God was showing that this message was for the whole world! But the event needed to be explained; on its own, it only left the crowd divided: some were perplexed, others mocked.
1. Explaining the Event: God's New Age (vv.14-21)
Peter steps up to the mark to explain what's happening in this amazing scene. Given that he and the others had struggled to come to terms with Jesus' death and needed the Lord to open the scriptures to them, his answer is proof of Jesus' promise that when the Spirit came, he would lead them into all truth.
Peter tells the crowd that they aren't drunk, as some had said in mockery. Rather, this is what God had promised long ago through the prophet Joel. This was the dawning of God's new age, the climax of his plans and purposes. These events had been foretold in the OT, not just in Joel but in many places.
What did Joel say? In essence, he said the Spirit would be given and that when he was given, old boundaries would be broken down and all people would be able to know the Lord.
In the past, only a few were prophets, only men could be priests and then only at the right age. Now, each could know the Lord personally, without any human intermediary. That seems to be what the reference to prophecy, dreams and visions is meant to signify (cf. Jer. 31:34).
And all who would call on the name of the Lord would be saved. The day of the Lord is not simply a day of judgement but of salvation. Salvation has come near, the door is open to all who know their need.
This would take place in the context of signs and wonders, a shorthand way of speaking of cataclysmic events in the world (what could be more cataclysmic than the death of Jesus?).
Joel was speaking of a time when God's blessings would not be confined to the few but opened to the many; he prophesied of a salvation open to all who would call on the Lord.
And the Jews knew that all this would take place when the Messiah had come. The coming of the Spirit was seen as the culmination of the work of the Messiah. He would bring in the kingdom of God and at that time, God would pour out his Spirit upon all flesh.
Peter's explanation lifts these events out of mere puzzle and an opportunity to mock and places them in their true context: God's great plan of salvation for a fallen world, his desire to bless people of all nations.
2. Explaining the Event: Messiah Vindicated (vv.22-36)
The dawning of the new age meant that Messiah had come. And as Peter continues his explanation from v.22ff, it is the Messiah that he focusses on.
In v.21 he spoke of people calling on the name of the Lord; in v.22, he tells the people what that name is: it is Jesus of Nazareth. These events are only truly comprehensible in the light of Jesus and what he has done.
He begins by reminding them that Jesus had been accredited by God among them by miracles, wonders and signs. It had been clear that God was at work in Jesus.
And yet they had put him to death with the help of pagans! The Jews had rejected the promised Messiah! They had been responsible for his death at the hand of others.
That raised a very important question in Jewish minds. Could a rejected, crucified man really be the Messiah? The rest of Peter's explanation gives the answer.
And the answer is, Absolutely! They had rejected Jesus but God hadn't! They had crucified him but it was impossible for death to hold him.
To prove his point, Peter quotes David in Ps.16 16, where he asserts that God would not allow his Holy One to see decay. Now, David had died and been buried and his tomb was still there - so he wasn't that Holy One! Who was then? David was speaking about the Messiah; Jesus had been raised by God and had been seen by the apostles.
And not only had he been raised, he had also been exalted to the highest place, at God's right hand (quoting from Ps.110). The despised, rejected Messiah had been vindicated by God and given all authority and power. And from his position of power, it was he who had given the Holy Spirit. The great events of Pentecost flowed directly from the vindication and reign of Jesus as the true Messiah, God's chosen King.
Peter's summary of this in v.36 is very powerful: "God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ". It is Jesus who brings in God's new age, who alone makes access to God possible for all people.
Pentecost is not ultimately about the phenomena that the crowds had seen and heard; it's about the Messiah. The Holy Spirit, in coming upon the disciples, was pointing to Jesus as Lord and Christ. We need to make sure we learn from this ministry of the Spirit. It is Jesus who is central; not the signs, but the one they point to.
And there is a further challenge here for us. Whilst Pentecost cannot be repeated, people today should be able to see evidence of the Spirit at work in our lives, producing fruit that points to and honours Jesus as Lord. The kind of thing that entails is amplified in vv.42-47 which we'll look at next week.
3. Applying the Event: Repent & Be Baptised (vv.37-41)
The effect of Peter's speech is both immediate and astonishing - those who had so recently rejected the Messiah were cut to the heart in conviction of their sin and received Jesus as Lord, 3000 of them. Here is further evidence of the Spirit powerfully active in honouring Jesus as Lord and Christ.
Peter's answer to the crowd's question, 'What shall we do?' is one of the fullest in the whole NT. They are to repent of their sin and own Jesus as Saviour (baptism). In that way, they will be forgiven their sin and receive the promised Holy Spirit.
And we're told that with many other words he warned them. Here is an issue that is utterly crucial, nothing else is as important as this. Where do you stand in relation to Jesus? He is the one true Messiah, the only Saviour from sin. To reject him is to invite certain judgement and condemnation. You must turn from sin and embrace the Saviour; you must call upon him and identify yourself with him in baptism. There is no other way to be right with God and to share in God's promised blessing of a new start in a new age.
Where do you stand today? Have you repented and turned to Jesus? Are you looking to honour him in your life? Is this the issue above everything else to you? If you feel convicted in your heart and know that God is calling you, then now is the time to turn to him.
May God grant his blessing to each one of us, for his glory's sake. Amen.
