20230813 Acts 2:14-36 Peter’s Pentecost Sermon
Acts 2:1-13 describes the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the 120 disciples. By the power of the Holy Spirit, they speak in foreign languages. Because it occurred during the Jewish feast of Pentecost, Jews and Proselytes from around the known world were in Jerusalem. They heard a group of Galileans speaking in their own languages, declaring the mighty deeds of God. Acts 2:1-13 ends with two reactions. Some were mocking and saying that the 120 who were speaking in tongues were drunk. Others asked, “What does this mean?”
Acts 2:14-36 answers this question. It is Peter’s second speech or sermon in Acts. He bears witness to the resurrected Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit for the expansion of the kingdom in Jerusalem. Peter does three things with his speech. First, he shows that the event of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit fulfills prophecy (Acts 2:14-21). Second, he preaches Christ. He talks about Jesus, his ministry, his miracles, the fact that his hearers were responsible for his death and that God raised him from the dead (Acts 2:22-33). Third, he declares that God has made Jesus, Lord (Acts 2:34-36).
(Excursus) Before getting into the text there is a technical issue we need to address. Careful readers of Acts are often troubled by the way the Psalms are applied to Jesus, his ministry or related events. In Acts 1, Peter used Psalm 69:25 to show that Scripture had foretold that Judas was going to buy a land that would become unused. He also uses Psalm 109:8 to show they had to replace Judas. In their original contexts, these Psalms are curses David pronounced on his enemies. Now, in Acts 2, the same phenomenon occurs. Psalms that do not appear to be about the Messiah or Jesus get applied to him. This is most likely what is going on. The book of Psalms is made up of songs or psalms. There is an introduction with Ps 1-2 then it contains 5 books. When you take individual psalms, they mean what they say in their historical context. The Psalms belonged to the people of Israel. The people could borrow and appropriate the words of the Psalms for their own worship and prayer. Psalms gain an extra layer of meaning when we study them in the context of the book of Psalms. So many Psalms are about the first David and his struggles. The further we get into the book of Psalms, the greater the expectation becomes for a new David to come. When we take the book of Psalms as a whole, we understand that because of the trajectory from David to the second David, what was true about the first David is true about the second. This is why, it is appropriate read Psalms about David with Messianic lenses. This is important for the study of Acts 2:14-36 because the speech has three parts,[i] and in each part, Peter quotes scripture to make his argument.
In Joel 2:28-32, Joel prophesied that in the last days, God would pour his spirit on all flesh, sons, daughters, young men, elders, male, and female. Joel foresaw that they would prophesy and see dreams and visions. There were going to be signs in the heavens, blood, fire, vapor, and smoke. All this was going to occur before the great day of the Lord.
In quoting from Joel 2, Peter is declaring that the last days have begun! The "last days" is the era in which the Holy Spirit has been poured out. It is the last period of redemptive history before Christ returns to bring in the final state in the New Heavens and New Earth. All the events that Joel prophesied about leading up to the great day of the Lord, occur in the book of Acts. There are prophecies, dreams, and visions.[ii]
As far as the cosmic signs, like the darkened sun and the blood moon, this is common Apocalyptic images. It is language of cosmic upheaval. In Isa 13:10, the darkening of the stars, sun, and moon described the destruction of Babylon. Jesus used similar language to refer to the destruction of the temple (Matt 24:29). This apocalyptic language describes the collapse of a political system. Since the stars did not literally fall down from the sky with the downfall of Babylon or the destruction of the Temple, it is unlikely that we should expect literal blood moons or that the stars would fall, before Christ’s return. A change in political systems affects all areas of life in such a way that the Biblical authors describe it in terms of cosmic upheaval! It teaches that the events are so significant that even the sun and moon were shaken by them! The cosmic upheaval elements of Joel in Acts refer to the events that happened with Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, ascension, and pouring out of the Holy Spirit. This is a radical change from the perspective of the kingdom of God. It had come with power!
We can draw an application from Peter’s quote from Joel. Joel anticipated the Spirit of God poured out on “all flesh.” Peter ends the quote saying, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” This is one of the best news about the gospel and also the most offensive. It is the best news because no one is ever off-limits. No sin, no horrific deed, or shameful thing makes one beyond reach of God’s grace. This is also the offensive part. It means that in Christ, God can forgive even mass murderers, serial killers, and your evil boss, or whoever is making your life hard. Life in the Spirit is available today for all. It is a life of transformation that produces healthy church communities marked by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Sadly, so often the church has been an environment where wounding takes place. The church is guilty of gossip, judgment, manipulation, abuse or neglect. By God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, a church can be a healthy community characterized by the work of the Spirit. We want to be a safe space for transformation. Doctrine and behavior are important, but what matters is heart transformation by the Spirit. As we submit to God and commit to one another, the Spirit works through each of us to minister to one another. As we love people who suffer or are different than us, we bear witness to the Holy Spirit poured out on all flesh and his resurrection power in us!
In Acts 2:22-23, Peter speaks of Jesus’ miracles. Peter says they were signs of God’s approval. A lot of the Jesus’ miracles had parallels in the OT or were connected with prophecies about the Messiah’s ministry. In this way, these miracles confirmed Jesus’ identity as the Messiah. Peter tells hearers that they had witnessed these miracles themselves. It would have just taken one person to speak up, to say that Jesus was a fake for his credibility to be in danger. Peter is not appealing to emotion or eloquence but to their own experience. He wants them to understand the significance of the events that have just occurred.
In Acts 2:23, Peter shifts to Jesus’ death. He says that it was part of God’s plan. Peter also accuses his hearers of killing Jesus. They killed him by sending him to the Romans for execution. It is highly probable that some in the crowd were part of the crowd who demanded that Pilate would crucify Jesus. Beyond this, we all have a role in the death of Christ. He died for sins. He died because of what we have done.
Peter shifts from our guilt to the work of God. In Acts 2:24, Peter declares that God raised Him. Death was not able to keep him. He quotes Psalm 16 in Acts 2:25-28 to show that Scripture foresaw that the Messiah would be raised. This fits the pattern of the use of Psalm in the NT. The original Psalm had the meaning of the original author. It seems to be about David enjoying eternal life. Because of the organization of the book of Psalms which points forward to the coming of David, a new David, the Messiah is what the first David pointed to. What was said of David can at times apply to the Messiah. If David knew that he would be in the presence of God forever, then how much more Christ. Peter goes further to say that this text applies more to Christ than David, because David died, and they all know where his tomb is. Christ’s resurrection is great news for us.
One of the most important doctrines in the NT is Union with Christ. In a mysterious way, believers are united with Christ so that what is true of Christ becomes true of the Believers. We celebrate this truth in baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Because Christ died to sin, we died to sin. Because he rose from the grave, we will rise from the grave! In this way Ps 16:8-11 originally spoke of David’s eternal life, in a greater way it speaks of Christ’s resurrection, and now, Ps 16:8-11 is ours in Christ. We can say: “9Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. 10For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 11You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” We can endure all things in this life, abuse, injustice, bullies, sickness, grief, bareness, bereavement, neglect, knowing that even our death will not have the final word. Resurrection will.
Peter ends his message on Jesus’ Lordship. If we connect the Joel 2 prophecy with the Psalm 110 as Peter does, we see that on one hand, all those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved, and on the other that Jesus is that Lord. Peter will make this explicit in the next part of the chapter, but for now we all have an application. The mistake of crucifying Jesus in the first century is being made today by those who do not recognize Christ as Lord. The same way there was even good news for those responsible for killing Jesus in the first century, so it is for all of us. We all have to submit to Christ’s Lordship. For those who do not believe, it begins by evaluating the biblical truths about Jesus and the transformation of the church. For those who do believe, until we die or Jesus returns, we need to continue to evaluate our lives and surrender more to Christ’s Lordship. This is true for all areas. We must submit to him with our finances, our desires, our ego, and our preferences. All along we remember what a good, kind, and gracious Lord he is. He takes care of us, so we can joyfully submit!
[i] The sermon breaks up in three parts with three vocative statements: “Men of Judea and those dwelling in all Jerusalem” (Acts 2:14), “Men of Israel” (Acts 2:22), “Men, Brothers” (Acts 2:29).
[ii] Bruce, The Book of the Acts. 2:19-21.
Acts 2:14-36 answers this question. It is Peter’s second speech or sermon in Acts. He bears witness to the resurrected Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit for the expansion of the kingdom in Jerusalem. Peter does three things with his speech. First, he shows that the event of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit fulfills prophecy (Acts 2:14-21). Second, he preaches Christ. He talks about Jesus, his ministry, his miracles, the fact that his hearers were responsible for his death and that God raised him from the dead (Acts 2:22-33). Third, he declares that God has made Jesus, Lord (Acts 2:34-36).
(Excursus) Before getting into the text there is a technical issue we need to address. Careful readers of Acts are often troubled by the way the Psalms are applied to Jesus, his ministry or related events. In Acts 1, Peter used Psalm 69:25 to show that Scripture had foretold that Judas was going to buy a land that would become unused. He also uses Psalm 109:8 to show they had to replace Judas. In their original contexts, these Psalms are curses David pronounced on his enemies. Now, in Acts 2, the same phenomenon occurs. Psalms that do not appear to be about the Messiah or Jesus get applied to him. This is most likely what is going on. The book of Psalms is made up of songs or psalms. There is an introduction with Ps 1-2 then it contains 5 books. When you take individual psalms, they mean what they say in their historical context. The Psalms belonged to the people of Israel. The people could borrow and appropriate the words of the Psalms for their own worship and prayer. Psalms gain an extra layer of meaning when we study them in the context of the book of Psalms. So many Psalms are about the first David and his struggles. The further we get into the book of Psalms, the greater the expectation becomes for a new David to come. When we take the book of Psalms as a whole, we understand that because of the trajectory from David to the second David, what was true about the first David is true about the second. This is why, it is appropriate read Psalms about David with Messianic lenses. This is important for the study of Acts 2:14-36 because the speech has three parts,[i] and in each part, Peter quotes scripture to make his argument.
1 Acts 2:14-21 The Holy Spirit
Now, we can focus on Peter’s Speech. The first part of the speech is Acts 2:14-21. Peter argues that those speaking in tongues cannot be drunk because it is too early in the day for that. Rather, OT prophecy was finding its fulfillment. Peter quotes Joel’s prophecy about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.In Joel 2:28-32, Joel prophesied that in the last days, God would pour his spirit on all flesh, sons, daughters, young men, elders, male, and female. Joel foresaw that they would prophesy and see dreams and visions. There were going to be signs in the heavens, blood, fire, vapor, and smoke. All this was going to occur before the great day of the Lord.
In quoting from Joel 2, Peter is declaring that the last days have begun! The "last days" is the era in which the Holy Spirit has been poured out. It is the last period of redemptive history before Christ returns to bring in the final state in the New Heavens and New Earth. All the events that Joel prophesied about leading up to the great day of the Lord, occur in the book of Acts. There are prophecies, dreams, and visions.[ii]
As far as the cosmic signs, like the darkened sun and the blood moon, this is common Apocalyptic images. It is language of cosmic upheaval. In Isa 13:10, the darkening of the stars, sun, and moon described the destruction of Babylon. Jesus used similar language to refer to the destruction of the temple (Matt 24:29). This apocalyptic language describes the collapse of a political system. Since the stars did not literally fall down from the sky with the downfall of Babylon or the destruction of the Temple, it is unlikely that we should expect literal blood moons or that the stars would fall, before Christ’s return. A change in political systems affects all areas of life in such a way that the Biblical authors describe it in terms of cosmic upheaval! It teaches that the events are so significant that even the sun and moon were shaken by them! The cosmic upheaval elements of Joel in Acts refer to the events that happened with Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, ascension, and pouring out of the Holy Spirit. This is a radical change from the perspective of the kingdom of God. It had come with power!
We can draw an application from Peter’s quote from Joel. Joel anticipated the Spirit of God poured out on “all flesh.” Peter ends the quote saying, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” This is one of the best news about the gospel and also the most offensive. It is the best news because no one is ever off-limits. No sin, no horrific deed, or shameful thing makes one beyond reach of God’s grace. This is also the offensive part. It means that in Christ, God can forgive even mass murderers, serial killers, and your evil boss, or whoever is making your life hard. Life in the Spirit is available today for all. It is a life of transformation that produces healthy church communities marked by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Sadly, so often the church has been an environment where wounding takes place. The church is guilty of gossip, judgment, manipulation, abuse or neglect. By God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, a church can be a healthy community characterized by the work of the Spirit. We want to be a safe space for transformation. Doctrine and behavior are important, but what matters is heart transformation by the Spirit. As we submit to God and commit to one another, the Spirit works through each of us to minister to one another. As we love people who suffer or are different than us, we bear witness to the Holy Spirit poured out on all flesh and his resurrection power in us!
2 Acts 2:22-28 Jesus’ Resurrection
Acts 2:22-28 is the second part of the Speech. Peter says nothing more about the Holy Spirit, he speaks about Jesus. A church that is Spirit-filled will do likewise. It focuses on Jesus. The Spirit is a spotlight on Christ and our need for Christ. In this part of the speech, Peter discusses Jesus’ public ministry (Acts 2:22), his execution (Acts 2:23), and resurrection (Acts 2:24), and God’s sovereign hand over it all.In Acts 2:22-23, Peter speaks of Jesus’ miracles. Peter says they were signs of God’s approval. A lot of the Jesus’ miracles had parallels in the OT or were connected with prophecies about the Messiah’s ministry. In this way, these miracles confirmed Jesus’ identity as the Messiah. Peter tells hearers that they had witnessed these miracles themselves. It would have just taken one person to speak up, to say that Jesus was a fake for his credibility to be in danger. Peter is not appealing to emotion or eloquence but to their own experience. He wants them to understand the significance of the events that have just occurred.
In Acts 2:23, Peter shifts to Jesus’ death. He says that it was part of God’s plan. Peter also accuses his hearers of killing Jesus. They killed him by sending him to the Romans for execution. It is highly probable that some in the crowd were part of the crowd who demanded that Pilate would crucify Jesus. Beyond this, we all have a role in the death of Christ. He died for sins. He died because of what we have done.
Peter shifts from our guilt to the work of God. In Acts 2:24, Peter declares that God raised Him. Death was not able to keep him. He quotes Psalm 16 in Acts 2:25-28 to show that Scripture foresaw that the Messiah would be raised. This fits the pattern of the use of Psalm in the NT. The original Psalm had the meaning of the original author. It seems to be about David enjoying eternal life. Because of the organization of the book of Psalms which points forward to the coming of David, a new David, the Messiah is what the first David pointed to. What was said of David can at times apply to the Messiah. If David knew that he would be in the presence of God forever, then how much more Christ. Peter goes further to say that this text applies more to Christ than David, because David died, and they all know where his tomb is. Christ’s resurrection is great news for us.
One of the most important doctrines in the NT is Union with Christ. In a mysterious way, believers are united with Christ so that what is true of Christ becomes true of the Believers. We celebrate this truth in baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Because Christ died to sin, we died to sin. Because he rose from the grave, we will rise from the grave! In this way Ps 16:8-11 originally spoke of David’s eternal life, in a greater way it speaks of Christ’s resurrection, and now, Ps 16:8-11 is ours in Christ. We can say: “9Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. 10For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 11You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” We can endure all things in this life, abuse, injustice, bullies, sickness, grief, bareness, bereavement, neglect, knowing that even our death will not have the final word. Resurrection will.
3 Acts 2:29-36 Jesus’s Lordship
The third part of Peter’s sermon is Acts 2:29-36. Peter quotes Psalm 110:1-2 in Acts 2:34-35. Psalm 110 is the most quoted Psalm in the NT. In it, David refers to two individuals: “the Lord” and “my Lord.” He writes, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘sit at my right hand until I might place your enemies under your feet.’” The argument is a little bit tricky. First, because Jesus rose from the grave, Ps 16 is about him, and he is the Messiah. Second, Ps 16 says that the Messiah is at the Father’s right hand. Third, Ps 110 declares that the one at the Father’s right hand is LORD! Therefore, the one Peter’s hearers killed is the Lord himself! They are guilty of killing the Messiah who is Lord over all things! Peter has just turned up the intensity. No one questions at this point that the Jews send Jesus to be killed. Peter explained the identity of the one they killed. He was a miracle worker because God approved of him. It gets worse. This one they crucified is Lord and reigning at the Father’s side. This will be the case until all his enemies will be placed under his feet. They could not have killed anyone more important. This is the biggest mistake they could make. If you attack your judge you are in serious trouble!Peter ends his message on Jesus’ Lordship. If we connect the Joel 2 prophecy with the Psalm 110 as Peter does, we see that on one hand, all those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved, and on the other that Jesus is that Lord. Peter will make this explicit in the next part of the chapter, but for now we all have an application. The mistake of crucifying Jesus in the first century is being made today by those who do not recognize Christ as Lord. The same way there was even good news for those responsible for killing Jesus in the first century, so it is for all of us. We all have to submit to Christ’s Lordship. For those who do not believe, it begins by evaluating the biblical truths about Jesus and the transformation of the church. For those who do believe, until we die or Jesus returns, we need to continue to evaluate our lives and surrender more to Christ’s Lordship. This is true for all areas. We must submit to him with our finances, our desires, our ego, and our preferences. All along we remember what a good, kind, and gracious Lord he is. He takes care of us, so we can joyfully submit!
Conclusion
This was Peter’s Pentecost sermon. He has borne witness to the resurrected Christ. He has used Joel 2, Psalm 16, and Psalm 110 and applied it to the events of his day to show that Joel prophesied the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is the Messiah of which David said would not see corruption. This Messiah they killed is now the Lord of all. His reign will continue to expand until his return to judge the living and the dead. We join in the kingdom by celebrating the work of Christ. We hate our sin. We hate that we have harmed others. We love the savior. We celebrate Christ as a community of believers. We join the expansion of Christ’s reign by living in submission to the king, in the new creation society that is the church and by announcing the forgiveness of sins to those who will hear![i] The sermon breaks up in three parts with three vocative statements: “Men of Judea and those dwelling in all Jerusalem” (Acts 2:14), “Men of Israel” (Acts 2:22), “Men, Brothers” (Acts 2:29).
[ii] Bruce, The Book of the Acts. 2:19-21.
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