May
14th C. Preaching in
Power – Peter (Jerusalem – To the Jews) Peter preaches the Gospel
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.
The church grows
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. 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
same thing 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 not 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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