Pentecost— The Revelation of the Sovereign Christ

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: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 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: And I will shew wonders in heaven 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 come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. 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: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. 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: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 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 sepulchre is with us unto this day. let me...: Or, I may 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. 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. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. - Acts 2:14-36

    We have before us the sermon which Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost. It is remarkably simple. It displays no great learning. It contains no heights of oratory. It contains no thrilling stories or illustrations. It is a simple declaration of divine truth, delivered to the hearts of men by the power of God. There is nothing in it to impress the flesh. But there is much here to prick the heart! The one object of Peter's sermon at Pentecost, and the one object of the Holy Spirit who inspired it, was to set forth before fallen, guilty, needy sinners the redemptive accomplishments and resurrection glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.

    1. Peter explained the significance of what happened on the Day of Pentecost (2:14-21)

    Peter met these men where they were. They were mocking the apostles upon whom the Holy Spirit had fallen. They attempted to explain away the work of the Spirit which they could not understand (1 Cor. 2:14) by saying that those men who spoke by the Spirit of God were drunk (2:13). Peter stood, lifted up his voice with confidence and boldness and said, 'Listen to me. I will explain to you from the Word of God, which you profess to believe, what is happening in your midst. This marvellous outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the fulfilment of Joel's prophecy' (Joel 2:28-32). Joel identified the Messiah positively by giving a fourfold proof of his enthronement and the establishment of his kingdom. These things point to the Lord Jesus Christ and say, 'This is the Messiah!'

    Firstly, 'the last days' began with the coming of the Messiah (1 John 2:18). 'The last days' encompass the whole space of time from the first advent to the second advent of Christ.

    Secondly, the Spirit of God has been poured out upon all flesh, Jews and Gentiles, men and women, rich and poor (2:17-18; Gal. 3:13-14; Col. 3:11). Though men in the Old Testament were from time to time filled with the Spirit (1 Peter 1:11;Neb. 9:20), this great outpouring of the Spirit was reserved asa signal that Christ has come and his kingdom has been established. People in the Old Testament were regenerated by the Spirit of God just as they are today (John 3:3-8). Yet the works of God's grace were primarily limited to the nation of Israel. Now his grace is scattered throughout the nations of the world.

    As we noted in the previous chapter, the miraculous gifts of tongues, prophecy, visions, etc. were temporary. They were given to announce the enthronement of Christ. It should also be noted that as early as Paul's first letter to the Corinthians God forbade any kind of public ministry by women (1 Cor. 14:26,34).

    Thirdly, the judgement of God has fallen upon the nation of Israel for their rejection and crucifixion of Christ (3:19-20; Matt. 22:7). Joel described God's judgement of Israel in figurative symbols. Because of their contempt of the gospel, God destroyed the civil government of Israel as a nation and turned the light he had given them into darkness (Luke 19:41-44; 23:28-29; Rom. 11:7-11,25). Blinded Israel stands as a beacon to warn all who trifle with the things of God (Rom. 1:21; Prov. 1:23-33).

    Fourthly, the gospel of the grace of God is now proclaimed to all the nations of the world (2:21). God now gathers his elect from among the Gentiles by the preaching of the gospel according to his wise and sovereign purpose of grace (Ps. 2:7-8; Rom. 10:10-13). This is the meaning of Pentecost. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit declares that Christ has come, redeemed his people and established his kingdom. At last, God's promise to Abraham is fulfilled (Gal. 3:13-14).

    2. Peter proclaimed the person and work of Christ (2:22-24)

    He seems to have anticipated a question which the Jews, whose hands were freshly stained with the blood of Christ, might ask: 'If this Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ of God, if he has established his kingdom, how do you explain the fact that we have nailed him to the cross?'

    'Jesus of Nazareth' was 'a man approved of God' as the God man (2:22). His claims to divinity (John 8:56; 14:9; Rom 9:5; 1Tim. 3:16) were proved by his miracles. Those miracles performed by Christ were indisputable facts of public record. They could not be disputed even by his murderers. That man who turned water to wine, calmed the raging sea, gave sight to the blind, fed the multitudes, cleansed lepers and raised the dead is God!

    How did Christ, the God-man, come to die the painful, shameful death of the cross? Verse 23 gives us the answer. The death of Christ was an act of God (Rom. 5:8; 8:32; 2 Cor. 5:21; Isa. 53:10). He was foreordained and predestinated to be our substitutionary sacrifice (1 Peter 1:18-20; Rev. 13:8; Heb. 13:20). The only way sinners could be saved is by the satisfaction of justice. The only one who could satisfy justice is the Son of God. And the only way he could do it was by death (Heb. 9:22), the death of the cross (Gal. 3:13). Yet Christ died by the hands of wicked men, acting according to their own free will. If nothing else convinces men of the abhorrence of free-will doctrine, this should—free will crucified the Lord of glory!

    By his resurrection from the dead our Saviour abolished death (2:24). He abolished the penal aspect of death for his people. He abolished its power, its terror and its fears for all who believe (Heb. 2:15). The resurrection of Christ was God's public declaration that justice has been satisfied for his people's sins (Rom. 4:25-5:1).

    3. Peter gives proof from the Old Testament Scriptures that the Messiah must both suffer death and be resurrected by the power of God (2:25-31)

    Quoting Psalm 16:8-11, the apostle shows that David's words were a prophecy of Christ's death, resurrection and exaltation. In all that he did, our Redeemer sought the glory of God, doing his Father's will. He said, 'I foresaw the Lord always before my face' (John 12:28-32; 17:4-5). He was, as a man, sustained and strengthened in his work by the assurance of his Father's presence. He said, 'He is on my right hand, that I should not be moved' (Isa. 50:5-7). Our Saviour faced his greatest trial with joyful confidence that he would, by his obedience unto death, both obtain the place of highest glory and save his people (2:26-28; Phil. 2:5-11; Heb.12: 1-3). In all these things, the person spoken of was not David, but David's Lord, Jesus Christ (2:29-31).

    May God give us grace ever to follow our Redeemer's example, doing the will of God for the glory of God, being sustained by the awareness that God is with us, rejoicing always in the hope of everlasting glory.

    4. Peter declares that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has been given dominion as Lord over all God's creation (2:32-36)

    We shall study these verses more fully in the next chapter, but here are two facts that all men must face.

    Firstly, the Christ whom we have crucified is now the exalted King of heaven and earth (2:32-33,36).

    Secondly, sooner or later we must all bow to and acknowledge the rightful dominion and lordship of Jesus Christ (2:34-35).