Peter’s Answer to the Acts of Pentecost
How does the anointed follower of Jesus Christ answer the unanswerable questions from the multitudes? Luke records not only the truly awesome events of Pentecost and bewilderment by the crowds, but also the Apostle Simon Peter’s amazing answer to thousands gathered in Jerusalem.
Acts 2:
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind..
Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
Acts of the Apostles 2:2a,6 KJV
(I spoke last time how we might more appropriately [from the KJV] view the Holy Ghost and cloven tongues like as of fire lighting on each one.)
One hundred together as one in prayer in the upper room in Jerusalem receive the Holy Spirit!
We now join the Twelve as they move on into the crowds on the busy streets of Jerusalem and multitudes in the Temple.
Acts of Perplexed Jerusalem Crowds on Pentecost
Now there were Jews residing in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven.
Acts of the Apostles 2:5 NASB
(Not so different from the crowds of a single Sunday of a 21st century Christmas or Easter festival, is it?)
NOTE on Population of Jerusalem [~80,000, possibly swelling above 100,000 during the three festival weeks] - Jewish historian Josephus, who would know because he had lived there during the 60s AD, estimated the number of Pharisees alone to be 6,000 (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 17.42) - * recommended source
Amazed and Astonished
Image an extended and formal debate between two devout religious officials (perhaps a Pharisee and and Sadducee) wondering how Simon Peter and these other lowly uneducated followers of Jesus from ‘up north’ could possibly speak to others in another language.
And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another,
Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
Acts 2:7 KJV
Of course earlier Luke showed us debate with Jesus by perhaps some of the same ‘devout men’ who some attend these very public festivals just for the wine, prestige or public parties.
They were amazed (beside ones self to explain it, as I pointed out last time) and astonished G2296)].
This is the same reaction of Peter and others to the risen Christ, which Luke records in his first account.
And when He [Jesus] had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. While they [the Apostles] still could not believe it because of their joy and astonishment G2296, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?”
Gospel of Luke 24:40-41 NASB20 – Strong’s G2296 – thaumazō
Luke describes the reaction of these men on Pentecost with this same adjective which John employs for an earlier debate of Jesus’ with Nicodemus about the same Holy Spirit which had anointed the Apostles this day.
“Do not be G2296 amazed G2296 that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.”
Gospel of John 3:8 NASB20
The HOLY Spirit – The Directed WIND of ACTS
Luke uses the same word πνεῦμα that John records from the words of Jesus [John 3:8] as ‘wind‘ and ‘Spirit,’ [pneuma] 70 times in Acts of the Apostles.
As Jesus had told Nicodemus,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit G4151, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit G4151 is spirit G4151.
Gospel of John 3:5-6 – Jesus teaches Nicodemus on the Holy Spirit [G4151]
Debate about Peter & the Apostles
- “Look, aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?
- —we hear them declaring the magnificent acts of God in our own tongues.”
- “What does this mean?”
But others were jeering and saying, “They are full of sweet wine!”
Acts of the Apostles 2:13 NASB
14 But Peter, taking his stand with the other eleven [now including Mathias], raised his voice and declared to them:
“Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, know this, and pay attention to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you assume, since it is only the third hour of the day [that is, 9 o’clock in the morning]..
As Luke has already told us, the crowds include hundreds of ‘devout men from every nation under heaven.’
Certainly these religious leaders had been led to the Apostles by the sound of the Spirit. Although you may not recall the words of ‘this Galilean,’ these devout Jews will know the Scriptures Peter is about to preach.
.. On the contrary, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
Joel 2:
Blow a trumpet in Zion,
And sound an alarm on My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
For the day of the Lord is coming;
Indeed, it is near,
2 A day of darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness..
21 Do not fear, land; shout for joy and rejoice,
For the Lord has done great things..
The fig tree and the vine have yielded in full.
23 So shout for joy, you sons of Zion,
And rejoice in the Lord your God;
For He has given you the early rain for your vindication..
The Promise of the Spirit
Hebrew link above is CJB & WLC only
28 It will come about after this
That I will pour out My Spirit on all [flesh] mankind;
And your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will have dreams,
Your young men will see visions.
29 And even on the male and female servants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days..For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
The Prophesy of Joel 2:28-29, 32b *2:28 begins as v.3:1 in Hebrew
There will be those who escape,
Just as the Lord has said,
Even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.
Acts 2:
17 ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says,
‘That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;
And your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
And your young men will see visions,
And your old men will have dreams;
18 And even on My male and female servants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days,
And they will prophesy.
19 And I will display wonders in the sky above
And signs on the earth below,
Blood, fire, and vapor of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood,
Before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.
21 And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Peter’s Amazing Answer from Scripture
Jesus’ Apostle Simon Peter speaks to his fellow faithful Jews, many men gathered to hear from the place of this loud noise some explanation for this amazing sign.
Do you recall the interchange between Judeans near Jesus’ trial and Peter? The Apostle knows first hand how they associate Galileans (and Samaritans) as lesser Israelites of David’s line.
“Men of Israel, listen to these words:
Jesus the Nazarene, a Man attested [proven] to you by God [theos] with miracles [dynamis, power], and wonders [a prodigy, portent or omen] and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— this Man, delivered over [to enemies, or to the power, the will, of some one] by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
The astounded men in the crowd must have wondered:
- Do these men have this same Power [dynamis] which they have just heard?
- Will this Disciple of Jesus now addressing so many continue with his opening indictment?
Yes, and Peter continues with yet another amazing witness of these historic events:
But God raised Him [the man attested, Jesus of Nazareth] from the dead, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.
Acts of the Apostles 2:24 NASB
THIS SPEAKER [PETER] HAS JUST TOLD MEN WHO NAILED JESUS TO A CROSS JUST FIFTY DAYS AGO THAT THIS MAN [JESUS] COULD NOT BE HELD BY THE POWER OF DEATH!
Peter then returns to Scripture in order to present the Jews an understanding of the Lord and their Messiah, Jesus.
Son of David
Luke has already told those who have read in his Gospel account:
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Gospel of Luke 1:32-33 KJV
The Apostle Simon Peter begins here by addressing the house of Jacob by saying, “men of Israel.”
“For David says concerning Him:
‘I foresaw the LORD always before my face,
Acts 2:25 NKJV
For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.
Psalm 16
Mikhtam. By David:
Protect me, God,
for you are my refuge.
I said to Adonai, “You are my Lord;
I have nothing good outside of you.”
7 I bless Adonai, my counselor;
at night my inmost being instructs me.
8 I always set Adonai before me;
with him at my right hand, I can never be moved;
Acts 2:25-
Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue was overjoyed;
Moreover my flesh also will live in hope;
Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Acts 2:27 KJV, quoting Psalm 16:10 –
[NASB]- For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol;
You will not allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.
Tehillim 16:11 (LXX 15:11) ἐγνώρισάς μοι ὁδοὺς ζωῆς πληρώσεις με εὐφροσύνης μετὰ τοῦ προσώπου σου τερπνότητες ἐν τῇ δεξιᾷ σου εἰς τέλος
תּֽוֹדִיעֵנִי אֹרַח חַיִּים שֹׂבַע שְׂמָחוֹת אֶת־פָּנֶיךָ נְעִמוֹת בִּימִינְךָ נֶֽצַח׃
“You have revealed the paths of life to me;
you will fill me with gladness
in your presence.
Acts 2:28 CSB, Peter, quoting David from Psalm 16:11
Certainly, the Apostle must have paused here.. Peter no doubt would have surveyed the eyes of those men in the crowd revealing the impact of the Spirit through these Scriptures upon their hearts.
Brothers
Peter, this lowly Galilean addressing multitudes of devout men (with their wives and families gathered beside them for this Jewish festival celebrated fifty days after Passover), now addresses these Judeans, Israelites and faithful pilgrims in Jerusalem endearingly as ‘brothers.’
ἀδελφός - Strong's G80 - adelphos - From ἄλφα (G1) (as a connective particle) and delphus (the womb) - a brother (literally or figuratively) near or remote i.e. a fellow believer, united to another by the bond of affection
Don’t miss the personalness of the Apostle’s appeal to those convicted by the Spirit.
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.
Acts of the Apostles 2:29 KJV
Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn an oath to him to seat one of his descendants on his throne.
Seeing what was to come, he [David] spoke concerning the resurrection of the Messiah:
He [the Christ] was not abandoned in Hades, and his flesh did not experience decay.
Acts 2:30-31 CSB [also linked above with KJV & NASB]
Luke’s account here in the King James Version brings to mind the familiar genealogy from the opening of his Gospel.
“..that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh [that is: from David’s descendants], he [Yᵊhōvâ] would raise up Christ to sit on his [David’s] throne..”
The Apostle Peter reveals to the multitudes through Scripture they know well:
DAVID, King over a United Kingdom of Israel a thousand years ago — David who was also a PROPHET — predicted the resurrection of Israel’s Messiah.
Then Peter, with the eleven other Apostles who have also shown the crowds signs of speaking in their own native languages standing at his side, confirms their own personal witness to ALL:
We witnessed Jesus’ resurrection!
[Brethren, Peter has already addressed them]:
“It is this Jesus [iēsous] whom God [theos] raised up, a fact to which we are all witnesses.
Acts of the Apostles 2:32 NASB20
Just picture what some men and women among the multitudes must have thought hearing this!
Peter has already restated David’s prophesy, in addition to quoting the prophet Joel. Now the Apostle proceeds to the logical conclusion:
Therefore, since He [Jesus] has been exalted at the right hand of God, and has received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He has poured out this which you both see and hear.
Acts of the Apostles 2:33 NASB
34 For it was not David who ascended into the heavens, but he himself says:
Peter quotes David to affirm his conclusion from PSALM 110:1
The Lord declared to my Lord,
‘Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool.‘
110:1 לְדָוִד מִזְמוֹר נְאֻם יְהוָה לַֽאדֹנִי שֵׁב לִֽימִינִי עַד־אָשִׁית אֹיְבֶיךָ הֲדֹם לְרַגְלֶֽיךָ׃
Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Acts of the Apostles 2:36 NASB – Conclusion of Peter’s sermon
THIS IS THE END OF PETER’S SERMON.
“No it’s not,” you say.
"This can't be the end of Peter's sermon, because the Apostle has more to add."
While it is true that Luke adds an important interaction between Peter and someone from the crowd, allow me to ask you this:
Doesn’t your pastor END the words of his sermon without interchange or response from his church audience?
(We don’t hear Peter say, “Let us pray,” or “Amen.”
The crowds did not see Peter walk away from the pulpit as his praise band begins a song.)
NEXT:
Like some moments following contemporary sermons in the Spirit, worship continues in the hearts of some. The Apostle’s speech certainly is guided by Scripture, but primarily Peter preaches by the HOLY SPIRIT. So the question which follows from the crowd, also the work of the Spirit in the hearts of men, will bring Peter to continue with a powerful answer.
Next, we will hear Peter’s answer to pierced hearts.
To be continued...
