You will need people to read from Acts 2, verses –
A 22, 23, and 24, (3 Verses read separately)
B 25-28, (4 Verses)
C 29-33, (5 Verses)
D 34-36, (3 Verses)
E 42-47, (6 verses)
And you will read verses 37-41
Who can remember what we looked at last time?
- Feast of Pentecost
- Hundreds of thousands of Jews from all Israel plus many nations around the Mediterranean Sea
- Christians met Sunday Morning
- Holy Spirit fell
- Speaking in different recognisable languages
- Peter started preaching
- Quoted from Prophet Joel: . . . ‘And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Peter continued by boldly stating facts that were well known to his audience:
‘A’ read 22
22 ‘Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.
Most people would have known about Jesus. Remember, most of those in the crowd would also have been there for the recent Passover and would have at least been aware of the Crucifixion.
Having started, Peter was now going to confront the crowd with the part they had played, either actively or passively, in the death of Jesus.
‘A’ read 23
23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
Notice the word ‘you’.
Getting them to recognise their guilt and sin was the first step to them accepting Jesus as saviour and Lord.
But we should remember, we too are just as guilty – Jesus died for us too, and it was just as much our sin that nailed him to the cross.
‘A’ read 24
24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
Now Peter began to introduce the idea that ‘This man’ in verse 23 was much more than just a man. God had raised him to life, but more than that: because of who Jesus was ‘it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him’. Again, prompted by the Spirit, he quoted from Psalm 16:8-11.
‘B’ read 25-28
25 David said about him:
‘“I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest in hope,
27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
you will not let your holy one see decay.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.”
This would have been a very well-known prophetic scripture, but until now it was simply regarded as looking forward to a long-promised messiah.
‘C’ read 29-33
29 ‘Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.
The rumours about Jesus’ resurrection that everyone had heard, were true; and that pointed to the fact that he must be the Messiah. In proof of that he had now poured out the Holy Spirit on his disciples for all to see.
Peter again quotes from psalms (110:1)
‘D’ read 34-36
34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
‘“The Lord said to my Lord:
‘Sit at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.’”
36 ‘Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.’
It was inescapable: Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah from God and he had come to establish his Kingdom.
ME read
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’
Again, the Holy Spirit took control, convicting people of their sin and opening their hearts to be prepared to accept Jesus. We must always remember that this is the Spirit’s work, not ours.
ME read
38 Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
What does repent mean?
It seems that repentance in Bible times literally meant to turn – either from evil, or towards good, or both; and it carried with it the sense of regret or remorse.
Repentance has to be a conscious decision.
What is the Holy Spirit’s role in this?
Human nature is reluctant to do this – it needs the Spirit to prompt us.
Peter said ‘Repent and be baptised’
Linking repentance with baptism was already a well-known practice that had specifically been encouraged – by?
John the Baptist.
But now it would be linked to the personal receipt of the Holy Spirit who would come and bring the presence of Jesus into the hearts of every believer.
What is the purpose of Baptism? What actually happens when someone is Baptised?
(We must respect that there are differences of opinion here)
In the Catholic Church, infants are baptized to welcome them into the Catholic faith and to free them from the original sin they were born with.
For Anglicans, christening is a sign of beginning in the Christian faith, where parents and Godparents undertake to guide the child into a Christian faith as it grows older (leading to eventual confirmation). A number of Anglicans are later baptised as adults.
For Baptists it is not some sort of mystical ritual that we have to go through. It is an outward demonstration of what has already taken place in the hearts of the believer. But at the same time, it can be a powerful spiritual experience.
But it is not Baptism that makes you a Christian.
Remember Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
For some people, conversion and the coming of Jesus into their hearts is a sudden dramatic experience. For others it is a gradual process before we can say ‘Jesus is mine and I am his’.
For a Christian, Baptism should be an act of obedience, symbolizing:
- the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour,
- the believer's death to sin,
- the burial of the old life, and
- their resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus.
- Also it is a testimony to the believer's faith in the final resurrection of the dead.
For this new Christian church, it was also a mark of identification, and a significant act of witness to those who were hostile to their new ‘Way’.
ME read
39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off
At this time Peter may well have thought that the promise was only for the Jewish people, scattered far and wide throughout the known world. It would be some time before he recognised that it was for Jews and Gentiles alike (Acts 10).
– for all whom the Lord our God will call.’
What do you understand from this?
This introduces the doctrine of election, or predestination. (It would take a whole study to cover this here – it will be covered in the study on John 15d)
ME read
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’
What was particularly corrupt? Not only personal sin but possibly the whole religious system.
ME read
41 Those who accepted his message were baptised, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Simple gospel preaching, controlled by the Holy Spirit, is still instrumental today in bringing many people to Christ around the world, sometimes in dramatic numbers. Here the original group of one hundred and twenty (Acts 1:15) grew dramatically and could no longer be hidden!
Now ‘E’ read the final section, verses 42-47.
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
The early church was established.
What were the four items of primary focus? (verse 42)
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Teaching:
Obviously there was so much these new converts needed to understand, and they were eager listeners – and good training for those Apostles who would soon become missionaries.
Fellowship:
The fellowship of Christian believers was something new and exciting. Christians have been adopted into God’s family, and the family bond is hard to explain unless you have experienced it for yourself.
Breaking of Bread:
Originally this was simply eating together, a natural part of their new-found fellowship. As time went by, the Apostles would have taught the new converts about the events of Jesus’ last supper and his commands to remember him. (Luke 22:19-20) because of course no Gospels had been written yet!
Elements may then have been incorporated into their meals. Eventually Paul had to regularise these ‘Love Feasts’ (1 Corinthians 11) and this would become the communion meal which has continued to be a central part of the life of the church.
Prayer:
This of course is the natural way for Christians to communicate with God not only to express our worship, submission, confession, and desires; but also to just spend time sharing with him about our life and the things that are important to us. It is also an essential time when we can listen to God too.
43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.
Many translations use the word fear, instead of awe. How the tables had been changed from a few hours ago when the disciples had met together. Now it was the others who were in awe, perhaps literally frightened by what they had seen. Besides speaking in different tongues, it would appear that the Apostles also had a healing ministry: ‘many wonders and signs performed by the apostles’.
44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.
It seems that this was an unusual spontaneous reaction as the new ‘family’ of believers became aware of needs in their midst.
How can we overcome ‘compassion fatigue’ as we respond to the plight of Christians in need today?
46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.
(For a picture and explanation see next study)
Notice how these new Christians were keen for fellowship and gathered in the most obvious public meeting place – even though that would soon attract the attention of the Religious authorities!
They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
What particularly made this a golden time for the new church?
Thousands of new believers were eager to share their new experiences, and also to learn more of Jesus. The new church was pure and simple: without structures, buildings, councils, constitutions, rules, powerful pressure groups, divisions, denominations, etc.
What happened next?
look at verses 9 and 10
9 ‘Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs’
They would all now have had to return home where doubtless they would have told of their experiences.
Some may well have decided that their new Christian life was worth giving up everything for and so remained in Jerusalem with the local converts who welcomed them into their homes. And all the time, more and more were being converted and added to their number.
