PETER’S PENTECOSTAL APOLOGY
#838 PETER’S PENTECOSTAL APOLOGY
Scripture Acts 2:14-40, NIV Orig. Date 11/20/1985
Passage: 14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 “‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’[a]
22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men,[b] put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David said about him:
“‘I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest in hope,
27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
you will not let your holy one see decay.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.’[c]
29 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 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.”’[d]
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.”
Purpose: Continuing a study in Acts, to help my people to get a deeper feel for the early church and her commitment to Christ
Keywords: Lordship of Christ Prophecy Resurrection Decision
Timeline/Series: Acts
Introduction
Although this is the first occasion of a sermon in which Christ is proclaimed, we cannot in any sense perceive of Peter as the one who began the tradition. We know that Jesus preached both to His disciples and to the assembled multitudes, and that He commanded His followers to do so. Unquestionably, preaching as a vehicle for the conveyance of ideas, probably dates to man in pre-history.
Peter was, however, the first Christian apologist. As far as records indicate, he was the first to use preaching as a means to defend what he had learned from another: of course, Jesus. The term, apologist, as used here, is not the idea of making excuses for, but rather, defending. His interest is not in the formulation of his own ideas, but to set down in exacting terms what has been taught by another, and why it is right,
In light of this, preaching has not changed much in these 1900-plus years. If it is true preaching, it is not the formulation of one’s own ideas, but the setting forth of Christological truth. As in Peter’s day, its influence and its power rests on the empathy of the hearer. The one who listens, or hears, must be tuned in.
Rollo May, Christian psychologist, in The Art of Counseling, suggests: “It is in this profound and somewhat mysterious process of empathy that understanding1, influence, and the other significant relations between persons takes place.”
The example of the Old Testament prophets (Numbers 27:18) is clear. When they preached, it was as if God, Himself, were on the podium. Visualize Isaiah, as he proclaimed, “Come now and let us reason together . . . . Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall become as wool.”
We feel some of this same sympathy here in Jerusalem as Peter begins to preach, not from believers only, but from all who are tuned in to this new spiritual dynamism.
I. First Are Incidentals Relative to the Spoken Word. V14, “But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them.”
“Said,” v14, (spoke out) is the same word as “utterance” in v4: It is the Spirit’s work:
· 24 speeches in Acts
· Luke depended on others for texts
· Peter is spokesman for the eleven
· This proclamation as much as “tongues” is the work of the Holy Spirit
· To a totally Jewish audience.
II. Then, There is the Announcement of the “Day of the Lord.” V16f, “But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy . . . .’”
There is a defense of Pentecostal integrity. Believers are wrongly accused. “They are full of new wine.” The Spirit gives “utterance” to Peter.
Take a moment to imagine the scene at Jerusalem. Hardly 9:00 in the a.m., people were just beginning to stir, then the Word begins to spread in excitement at the Temple. People were hungry then as now for excitement. Some were late arriving. Others were not empathetic. Thus, the charge of “drunkenness.”
Peter cites the Joel prophecy to impact this event with scripture. Joel 2:28-32. It expresses a time when God will pour out His Spirit on His people. Not on a few exceptional individuals. See Numbers 14:25. Gideon—Judges 6:34. Saul—I Samuel 10:10. But on all His people. Pentecost was for all. Verses 19-21 speak of cosmic disturbances and seem to have no direct link to Pentecost. But Joel affirms this as an end-time event. Peter substituted “in the last days” for Joel’s “afterward.”
The early church would live out its mission in the arena of expectation of Christ’s return. Circumstance of end time are apparent. The Kingdom of God already exists. The victorious Christ rules. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Victorious faith in this 20th Century, as well, must exploit this expectation of return.
III. Next, Peter’s Sermon Contains Affirmations of the Basic Facts of Jesus Life. V22f, “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves know.”
His Hebrew connection is clearly established. A worker of miracles. By His birth linked to miraculous. Jesus’ ministry not only declared the work of God, but became the newsworthy event in the land. In the “determined counsel” of God, He was born, lived, died.
Now to deal with the “scandal” of the cross. V23, “by lawless hands have crucified.” His death was clearly the will of God. It was death by crucifixion (a disgrace). Plate with 3-year old in corner with forlorn puppy looking back. Disgraced. (Rockwell?)
The agent for that death was the stubborn resistance of God’s own people. They who had suffered for their sins under the hands of others, looked for a Messiah to deliver from suffering. A suffering Messiah was unacceptable. Recount the disciples when Jesus foretold of His death. Matthew 16:21-23.
The crucifixion demoralized them. Psalm 2 was their text. V6, “I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion.” But Isaiah 52/53 (53:3) and Zechariah 9: “He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, And we hid, as it were, our faces from him.”
Peter goes on to make it very clear that this Jesus, whom they have killed, is not dead, but alive. Alive at the direct intervention of God. Alive because death could not control His destiny. Alive because it was not possible for Jesus to be other than as God’s sovereignty had planned.
Let no doubt persist, the early church looked upon the crucifixion, not as the cruel, unjust judicious matter that it was, but as a part of the plan of God. They had heard Jesus on this very subject: “You are so foolish, so slow of heart to believe. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to have entered his glory?” Luke 24:25-27.
IV. Again, the Sermon Authenticates the Superiority of Christ Over the Law. V29, “Men and Brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.” Review his declaration to them. V14, “Men of Judea,” of the nation. V22, “Men of Israel,” of the chosen people.
With the link to prophets (Joel), now is a link to their illustrious King David. V25/28. There is the superiority of living hope over dead tradition. Christ lives. David does not. Psalm 16 is a breakthrough of faith, but David is not its fulfillment.
V10, “Nor will you allow your holy one to see corruption.” Till David’s time, the people believed in a shadowy, half-life in a place known as “Sheol.” “Hades” is the Greek form (2:27), this is not Hell. David was convinced that he would not be “abandoned.”
Jesus is the One through whom such deliverance to life is made possible.
The resurrection, then, is that which proves Jesus to be the Messiah. Up to now, He was “Jesus,” and “Jesus of Nazareth.” He now begins to be called, “The Christ.” Not a title. Greek or Hebrew for Messiah. Peter used in Mark 8:29 without understanding.
Up to now, Jesus had forbade the use of the term. In Mark 8, Jesus healed a blind man at Bethsaida, “Instructs him not to tell” (v26). V29 Peter “’Thou art the Christ.’ He charged them to tell no one.” (Mark 9:9) Transfiguration. “Tell no man till the son of man were risen.” All Rome had to do to stay the hand of believers in Christ, all the Sanhedrin had to do to silence the voice of Christian witness, was to produce the body of Jesus. A day, a week, a month, a year later they could not. Jesus is alive.
V. One Thing More Remained for this Keynote Message of the Christian Era: To Call People to Decision. V21, “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” V35, “Let all the house Israel know . . . [he is] both Lord and Christ.” V38, “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
Let all people know the vitality and the integrity of the preached word, standing unchanged but not unchallenged. The initial burden is on the preacher. But the hearer had best not toy around with a faithful spokesman of the Word.
To jeopardize the ministry of one who preaches the wholeness of the word is to be guilty.
When one usurps his place with words of rebuke or offense, be prepared to assume his burden. Your concerned counsel he covets. Your love and prayer he requires. Your support he treasures.
Every born again Christian has a responsibility to work with their pastor to encourage responses to the invitation to faith.
Closing
Many remember news reports out of Germany during World War II. There were thronged multitudes. We heard fanatical “Sieg Heil!” And the response came in menacing unison, “Sieg Heil!”
But let us remember that there is a louder chorus to be heard; and no words from time immemorial are more menacing to the powers of darkness in the world. It is the call to faith, the mandate of the church, “Christ is Risen!” And the response “He is risen, indeed, Hallelujah!”
Links and references
1May, R. (1967). The Art of Counseling. Abingdon Press.
https://www.amazon.com/Art-Counseling-Rollo-May/dp/0898761565
Illustration filed with sermon #838, source unknown.
(1) The Spirit indwelled some of God’s people, but not all of them. This was a selective indwelling. The Spirit especially indwelled those who were religious leaders. For instance, the Spirit came upon Gideon (Judges 6:34) and David (I Samuel 16:13).
(2) The Spirit came to give special powers to these selected leaders. These powers were seen in the natural realm, but they were supernatural in the sense that they were gifts of God. The Spirit came upon Gideon (Judges 6:34), and he led a protest against idolatry. Following that, he led the Israelites to a great victory over the Midianites (Judges 11:29-33). Samson received extraordinary human strength because of the coming of the Spirit of God. Bezaleel, Aholiab, and others were given wisdom by the Spirit to design and work on the tabernacle (Exodus 31:1-6). Some have seen significance in the fact that different words are used in the Old Testament to describe the relationship of the Holy Spirit to individuals. For instance, in some places it is said that the Holy Spirit came upon individuals such as Gideon (Judges 6:34). In other places it is said that the Spirit dwelt in some persons such as Joshua (Numbers 27:18) and Daniel (Daniel 5:11-14). In Exodus 31:3 Bezaleel is described as one who is filled with the Spirit. A comparison of these passages and the powers given to the individuals makes it seem unlikely that any sharp distinction is to be drawn between the use of these terms.
(3) The Spirit often was given to persons for limited periods of time. He could be withdrawn if persons acted in a way unworthy of the Spirit of God. Saul sinned against God, and the Spirit of the Lord departed from him (I Samuel 16:14). David sinned against God and then pleaded with God not to take the Holy Spirit from him (Psalm 51:11).