May 14th
C.
Preaching in Power – Peter (Jerusalem
– To the Jews) (Proclamation)
Peter
preaches the Gospel of the Kingdom
14: 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 vapour of smoke: 20: The sun shall be turned
into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that 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. 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. 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. 29: 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. 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 that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified,
both Lord and Christ. 37: Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their
heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren,
what shall we do? 38: Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every
one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39: For the promise is unto you, and to
your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God
shall call. 40: And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying,
Save yourselves from this untoward generation. 41: Then they that gladly
received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them
about three thousand souls. 42: And they continued stedfastly in the apostles'
doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
The
church grows
43: And fear came upon every soul: and many
wonders and signs were done by the apostles. 44: And all that believed were
together, and had all things common; 45: And sold their possessions and goods,
and parted them to all men, as every man had need. 46: And they, continuing
daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house,
did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47: Praising God, and
having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such
as should be saved.
Peter stands up to preach and specifically to
answer the cynics who said they are drunk. Peter addresses the Men of Judea and
the inhabitants of Jerusalem. He says we are not drunk because it is it only
9am. But this phenomenon is the product of the same person that was spoken of
by the Prophet Joel. Joel prophesied of the return of Christ to establish his
kingdom and a new covenant with Israel.
Joel said that it will come to pass in that day that the Lord will pour
out his Spirit upon all flesh and your sons and daughters will prophesy etc. –
There will be wonders in the heavens above and signs in the earth beneath blood
and fire and vapour of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the
moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord shall come. And
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Now Peter is not
saying that this event was being fulfilled on this day. What he was saying was
the same Spirit which will be manifest in that day is the same Spirit who is
now in operation for all to see. The day of Pentecost did not herald the day of
the Lord. There was no darkening of the sun or moon. There was no blood, fire
and vapour of smoke. What was happening was that the Holy Spirit was
manifesting himself in the witness of the Apostles through the communication of
the Gospel in languages. Peter addresses the people of Israel. He begins with his
subject. Jesus of Nazareth. Approved of God among you by miracles and wonders
and signs. This was his subject and the ‘Signs’ were the proof of his Messianic
claims. He was delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God
but You took him and crucified him BUT God raised him from the dead. David
prophesied of this. Then he addresses the men more personally. Let me speak
freely of David. He is dead and buried right! David being a prophet and knowing
that God had promised him a seed to sit on his throne he seeing this before
spoke of the resurrection of the dead, when he said… that his soul was not left
in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up and
we are witnesses of this fact. He is even now seated at the right hand of God
exalted and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit he
has given the Holy Spirit to us and the Holy Spirits ministry you now see and
hear. Peter brings his masterful speech to an end by saying.. Therefore let all
the house of Israel know for sure, that God hath made the same Jesus, who you
crucified, both Lord and Christ. The
people were ‘pricked in their heart’, in other words they understood clearly
what Peter was saying and they were struck with conviction of their sin. So
they responded saying, what shall we do? Peter responded in the way he had
preached to Israel right through the towns and villages of Judea. Repent, and
be baptized every one of you. in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of
sins, and you will also receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Because the
promise is unto you Israel, and your children, and to all Jews that live far
away, as many as the Lord our God shall call to return unto him. And Peter said
so much more than this such as. Save yourselves from this contradictory
generation. (Christ often referred to ‘This Generation’, it was the generation
that saw his signs and heard his word that would come under the judgment of God
for their rejection of his word.) Those that gladly received his word were
baptized right then. About three thousand were added to the company of
disciples. This group of disciples attended consistently in hearing the
teaching of the Apostles in fellowship one with another and they ate together
and spent much time in prayer. The fear of God descended on everyone and many
signs and wonders were performed by the Apostles (which are not recorded here).
The believers were united and they shared their possessions and if they needed
money they sold what they could and distributed the money according to need.
The disciples united in worship in the temple and they ate together in their
houses with great joy and total devotion. They praised God and God gave them
approval with all the people. The Lord was adding to their number every day
those who were being saved.
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