ACTS 2 (PART 2)
Read Acts 2:14-41
This Book is known as Acts, but it might equally be called ‘Acts and Addresses’ as it contains many addresses to the people by the apostles, particularly Peter and Paul, Here we have the first of them, Peter speaking to the crowd immediately after the Spirit had come upon him and his fellow disciples. This sermon sets the tone for the many others that we will come across later.
Peter started by explaining what had just happened with the coming of the Holy Spirit. He was addressing people who had come to Jerusalem for a festival, so they were Jews and familiar with the Old Testament. And that is where Peter started. He quoted from the prophecy of Joel which said that in the last days God will pour out his Spirit upon the people. And that, said Peter, is exactly what you have just seen. Peter and the other disciples were convinced that Jesus was ushering in the last days and his appeal to the scriptures was intended to validate the events of that day. In effect he was saying, “you know what scripture says about the last days, well now you have seen it with your own eyes”.
Peter then went on to explain how Old Testament prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus. Peter spoke of the resurrection of Jesus but also of how each and every person was responsible for Jesus’ death by their sin. Then there was the call to repentance with the assurance of forgiveness of sin. Peter from the very outset preached the core of the gospel message – conviction of sin, the centrality of the resurrection and the need for repentance. His preaching was very effective and we read that about three thousand were baptised and added to the number of Christians on that day.
Peter’s message focussed on Christ. It is he who is the centre of our faith. After all, our religion is not Godianty or Churchianity; it is Christianity. Peter’s message is a good summary of what the Christian faith consists of:
- Jesus was a man divinely attested by miracles and he is the son of God
- He was put to death by wicked people
- He was raised up from the dead and the apostles witnessed to this
- His death paid for the sins of all who trust in him
- He ascended to the right hand of God the Father
- He poured out the Holy Spirit which he gives to all who believe and repent
This is the message that we as Christians need to pass on to the world in which we live. Our challenge is how to be faithful to this mission and to present the gospel in a way that people will understand and accept. Peter helps us here with his absolute insistence that we should focus on Jesus. He is the beginning, middle and end of our faith and it is upon him that we should be centred.