A great crowd had gathered in the street, and the apostles, under divine inspiration, addressed them in different tongues, Peter as the leader coming prominently to the front: “Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice.” They were twelve witnesses of the resurrection of Christ from the dead, for they had seen him after he had risen, and had eaten with him; they constituted a jury of twelve honest and true men, and Peter as their foreman, “standing up with the eleven,” gave their verdict!
Acts 2:15. For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
At nine o’clock in the morning, it was not to be supposed that they had become drunken.
Acts 2:16-18. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 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: and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall/prophesy:
Every member of the Christian community should be anointed by the Holy Spirit. The blessing would not simply be given to one here and another there, but there would be a wonderful outpouring that should fall upon the whole multitude of believers.
Acts 2:19-21. And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: and it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
This is a wonderful connection in which to find such a promise as this, ¾a darkened sun, a blood-red moon,¾ yet “whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” When the worst comes to the worst, prayer will still be heard, and faith will lead to salvation! O matchless grace of God! Is there not someone here who will call upon God’s name now before that evil day comes in all its fullness? “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Oh, that every one of you would lay hold of that promise! It is said that drowning men will catch at a straw. This is no straw, but a gloriously strong lifebuoy; only get into it, and it will float you to glory.
Acts 2:22. 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:
Note that Peter does not begin with the Deity of Christ. He will get to that soon; but, like a wise speaker, he commences with points upon which they were all agreed, or which they could not deny. He therefore calls Christ “a man approved of God,” and he reminds them of the “miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him” in their midst. They knew that God had thus attested his mission, so he appealed to them for confirmation: “As ye yourselves also know.”
Acts 2:23. Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
There is a wonderful blending, in this verse, of the predestination of God and yet the responsibility of man. I suppose our finite faculties cannot yet discern where these two things meet; but faith, in the absence of every other power, believes them both. The predestination of God does not alter the moral quality of the acts of wicked men. Man acts freely, as freely as if there were no divine predestination; yet the free agency of man does not affect the foreknowledge and predestination of God.
Acts 2:24. Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should he holden of it.
It was possible for him to die, but it was not possible for him to be held in the bonds of death.
Acts 2:25. For David¾
Speaking of Christ in the Psalm which, at first sight, might seem to refer to David himself, but which was even by the Rabbis believed also to refer to the Messiah, and which we know did indeed refer to the Messiah.
Acts 2:20-27. Speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: therefore did any heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, —
Hades, the world of separate spirits, —
Acts 2:27. Neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
David was speaking of someone who, though he should die, would never in his body feel the natural effect of death, namely decay.
Acts 2:28-29. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. 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.
Peter craves liberty to speak with freedom, and then he very shrewdly gives to David the high title of patriarch, which is not generally given to him, so as to win their attention and approval: “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,” and therefore he did not speak about himself in the words Peter was quoting.
Acts 2:30-32. 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; he seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
Peter points to the eleven around him, there they stood, steadfast in the midst of the surging crowd, assenting to the bold declaration of their leader.
Acts 2:33-35. 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. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand until I make thy foes thy footstool.
See how he builds up his argument with clear and cogent reasoning.
Acts 2:36. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
How those men must have started when he came to that which was the finale of his address, the point at which he had aimed all along!
Acts 2:37. Now when they heard this, they were picked in their heart, —
The pointed truth had gone home to their heart, and they were wounded by it.
Acts 2:37. And said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
These may have been the same people who mockingly said, “These men are full of new wine.” They began badly, but they ended well. I hope none of you have come here to mock; but if you had done so, and then went out pricked in your heart by the truth you had heard, it would be better than coming in an attentive frame of mind, and then going out unimpressed as so many do. God prevent it!
Acts 2:38. Then Peter said unto them, Repent,¾
Change your mind entirely, be sorry for what you have done, repudiate what you have done by a holy repentance of it: ‘Repent,’ —
Acts 2:38. And be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins,
Peter urged them to repent, and bade them confess their faith by being baptized in God’s appointed way.
Acts 2:38. And ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
“You shall be sharers in this wonderful manifestation which has so astounded you.”
Acts 2:39. 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.
What promise did Peter mean? Why that promise in the 21st verse, “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” That promise is also given to you, my hearers, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even in the most distant heathen land, for the “whosoever” in the promise applies to every one who “shall call on the name of the Lord.” Do not therefore shut yourselves out, or try to shut others out, but believe the promise, call upon God, and you shall be saved.
Acts 2:40. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
Peter first bore witness to the truth, and then pleaded with his hearers to receive his testimony. All true ministers will both “testify and exhort.” Some are always exhorting; they cry, “Believe, believe,” but they do not tell their hearers what is to be believed. Others are always testifying; they preach good doctrine, but they do not like to exhort sinners to repent, and believe the gospel. Each of these is a one-legged ministry, but we must have two legs to our ministry, and, like Peter, “testify and exhort saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.” “Come out from those who crucified Christ, quit the generation that is guilty of the blood of the Son of God, put your repentance between you and them, put your public baptism between you and them, avow that you belong not to them, but to him whom they crucified, and whom God hath exalted.”
Acts 2:41. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
They not only believed what he said, but they were glad to believe it; acknowledging that they had greatly sinned, they rejoiced that there was a promise which covered even their sin: “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Then, having repented and believed, they were baptized upon profession of their faith, according to the true Scriptural order.
Acts 2:42. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
They believed the doctrine that was taught by the apostles, and they had fellowship with them and with all other Christians with whom they were associated. They did not try to go to heaven by some underground railway without confessing Christ; but, having confessed their faith in Christ they further manifested their devotion to him “in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” I do not know how many prayer-meetings they had, they must have kept on praying, and praising, and preaching pretty well all day long.
Acts 2:43. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.