Good morning,
How did God transform the disciples of Christ? They were baptized by the Holy Ghost. Who stepped up and preached the first sermon of the church age? Peter did. It is found in Acts 2:14-47. We will focus on Peter’s sermon.
Peter’s preaching at Pentecost
Prophecy of Joel (2:14-21, Joel 2:28-32)
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke:20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
The prophet Joel prophesied that the Spirit of God would be poured out on all believers. The purpose was that believers would have the boldness to tell others about Jesus Christ. The end result being men and women, boys and girls, would call upon the name of the Lord and be saved.
The last days refers to the time from Christ’s resurrection all the way to the end of the church age.
Are we willing to allow the Spirit of God to work through us to lead unbelievers to Christ? Please remember, it is our responsibility to tell others about Christ, the Spirit of God’s responsibility to convict unbelievers of their need for salvation, and Jesus’ responsibility to bring them to salvation. We do not win souls. God does.
God raised up Jesus (2:22-24)
22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: 23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: 24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
Peter now expounds on Joel’s prophecy. He explains who Jesus is, a man approved of by God, who did miracles, wonders, and signs, in their presence. How these evil men had Jesus crucified and how God raised Him from the dead. Peter always brings them back to the resurrection.
God is still in the business of doing the miraculous. Every soul won to Christ since Pentecost is a miracle in itself. The very fact that believers in Christ go to heaven when we die, instead of hell, is a miracle of God.
I fear we take these acts of God for granted. Yet we do not deserve the breath we breathe apart from the miraculous blood sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for us. We live today because of what Christ did for us. But Jesus didn’t just give us life, He empowered us to live life. He baptized us with the Holy Spirit of God. We have the Spirit of God living within us. The Spirit of God leads us, guides us, and comforts us.
Allow the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and comfort you today.
David’s testimony of Christ (2:25-28, Psalm 16:8-11)
25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: 26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: 27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
David’s life is characterized by a close walk with God. Whether as a shepherd, servant, warrior, fugitive, adulterer, or King, David always sought God. He knew God was always near him. His heart rejoiced, was glad, he had hope, he knew God would not leave him in hell, and that God had made known to him the ways of life.
Do we live a life this close to God?
Psalm 16 is also a prophetic Psalm. Full disclosure, I do not understand how this is prophetic. However, my research, plus the understanding of Peter’s day, made this obvious. Included below is the question and a very good answer.
Peter preaches Jesus’ resurrection (2:29-36)
29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day. 30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; 31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool.36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
Why does Peter proclaim that Psalm 16 applies prophetically to Jesus and not king David?
1. David…is both dead and buried: Peter points out that this Psalm cannot be speaking of its human author, David – he is dead and remains buried. The Psalm must speak prophetically of the Messiah, Jesus.
a. “The Davidic authorship of the Psalm was common ground between Peter and his Jewish listeners. Peter argues, however, that the Psalm cannot be taken as referring to David himself. Since he died and was buried, and since for the Jews to be buried was the same thing as to suffer corruption and descend to Sheol, it followed that he himself was abandoned to Hades (the Greek word for Hebrew Sheol) and suffered physical corruption. Peter was entitled to make his point with confidence; after all, the proof of David’s burial was visible for all to see.” (Marshall)
b. “If David was not speaking about himself, it followed that he must have been speaking prophetically. Two factors suggested this. First, David himself was gifted with prophetic powers. The same assumption is made in 1:16 and Mark 12:36, and is implicit in Jewish understanding of some of the Psalms as having a future reference. Second, David knew that God had promised faithfully that one of his descendants would sit on his throne. Here Peter has in mind Psalm 132:11. with its divine oath, ‘One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne’ (cf. 2 Sam. 7:12–16; Ps. 89:3., 35–37). To be sure, these references indicate that David would be the father of a line of kings; the throne would remain in his family and not be taken over by usurpers from some other family. Nevertheless, Peter takes it that one descendant in particular is in mind.” (Marshall)
c. “He therefore claims that what David was doing in Psalm 16 was to utter a prophecy regarding the Messiah, who would be his descendant. Instead of being abandoned to Hades, the Messiah would be raised from the dead. The wording of Psalm 16:10 is slightly altered to fit its new context; the word flesh, which has been taken over from Psalm 16:9, refers to the person of Jesus as a whole, and does not suggest that a flesh/soul dualism is in mind.” (Marshall)
Jesus: The Way, The Truth, & The Life Systematic and Practical Theology (http://jesusisgod316.blogspot.com/2015/05/acts-225-36-peters-sermon-on-day-of.html)
The resurrection changes everything. Thursday we will see the results of Peter’s preaching.
Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com
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