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Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 2:14

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But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all [ye] that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

14 21. St Peter’s Sermon. Refutation of the Mockers

14. But Peter, standing up, &c.] The twelve naturally take the leading place among the disciples, and Peter, who had been spokesman before, begins the general address now, directing it principally to those who were dwellers in Jerusalem and the neighbouring country, for it was more likely to be these who gave vent to the mocking speeches than the foreigners who would better recognize the astounding nature of what had come to pass.

and said unto them ] Better, and spake forth onto them. The original word is the same as that used to describe the gift which they had just received. “They spake as the Spirit gave them utterance,” lit. to speak forth (Act 2:4). St Paul employs it when Festus had said he was mad. “I speak forth the words of truth and soberness” (Act 26:25).

and hearken ] The word is only found here in the N. T. It signifies to take anything into the ears.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

But Peter – This was in accordance with the natural temperament of Peter. He was bold, forward, ardent; and he rose now to defend the apostles of Jesus Christ, and Christ himself, from an injurious charge. Not daunted by ridicule or opposition, he felt that now was the time for preaching the gospel to the crowd that had been assembled by curiosity. No ridicule should deter Christians from an honest avowal of their opinions, and a defense of the operations of the Holy Spirit.

With the eleven – Matthias was now one of the apostles, and now appeared as one of the witnesses for the truth. They probably all arose, and took part in the discourse. Possibly Peter began to discourse, and either all spoke together in different languages, or one succeeded another.

Ye men of Judea – People who are Jews; that is, Jews by birth. The original does not mean that they were permanent dwellers in Judea, but that they were Jews, of Jewish families. Literally, men, Jews.

And all ye that dwell … – All others besides native-born Jews, whether proselytes or strangers, who were abiding at Jerusalem. This comprised, of course, the whole assembly, and was a respectful and conciliatory introduction to his discourse. Though they had mocked them, yet he treated them with respect, and did not render railing for railing 1Pe 3:9, but sought to convince them of their error.

Be this known … – Peter did not intimate that this was a doubtful matter, or one that could not be explained. His address was respectful, yet firm. He proceeded calmly to show them their error. When the enemies of religion deride us or the gospel, we should answer them kindly and respectfully, yet firmly. We should reason with them coolly, and convince them of their error, Pro 15:1. In this case Peter acted on the principle which he afterward enjoined on all, 1Pe 3:15, Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear. The design of Peter was to vindicate the conduct of the apostles from the reproach of intoxication; to show that this could be no other than the work of God; and to make an application of the truth to his hearers. This he did:

By showing that this could not be reasonably supposed to be the effect of new wine, Act 2:15.

(2)By showing that what had occurred had been expressly predicted in the writings of the Jewish prophets, Act 2:16-21.

(3)By a calm argument, proving the resurrection and ascension of Christ, and showing that this also was in accordance with the Jewish Scriptures, Act 2:22-35. We are not to suppose that this was the whole of Peters discourse, but that these were the topics on which he insisted, and the main points of his argument.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Act 2:14-40

But Peter standing up with the eleven.

The scene

Never was such an audience assembled as that before which this poor fisherman appeared: men of different nations, rapidly and earnestly speaking in their different tongues; one in Hebrew, mocking and saying, These men are full of new wine; another inquiring in Latin; another disputing in Greek; another wondering in Arabic; and an endless Babel beside expressing every variety of surprise, doubt, and curiosity. Amid such a scene the fisherman stands up; his voice strikes across the hum which prevails all down the street. He has no tongue of silver; for they say, He is an unlearned and ignorant man. The rudeness of his Galilean speech still remains with him; yet, though unlearned and ignorant in their sense–as to polite learning–in a higher sense he was a scribe well instructed. On whatever other points the learned of Jerusalem might have found Peter at fault, in the sacred writings he was more thoroughly furnished than they; for though Christ took His apostles from among the poor, He left us no example for those who have not well learned the Bible, to attempt to teach it. Yet Peter had no tongue of silver, or of honey, no soothing, flattering speech, to allay the prejudices and to captivate the passions of the multitude. Nor had he a tongue of thunder; no outbursts of native eloquence distinguished his discourse. Indeed, some, if they had heard that discourse from ordinary lips, would not have hesitated to pronounce it dry–some of a class, too numerous, who do not like preachers who put them to the trouble of thinking, but enjoy only those who regale their fancy, or move their feelings, without requiring any labour of thought. Peters sermon is no more than quoting passages from the Word of God, and reasoning upon them; yet, as in this strain he proceeds, the tongue of fire by degrees burns its way to the feelings of the multitude. The murmur gradually subsides; the mob becomes a congregation; the voice of the fisherman sweeps from end to end of that multitude, unbroken by a single sound; and, as the words rush on, they act like a stream of fire. Now, one coating of prejudice which covered the feelings is burned, and rends away: now, another and another: now the fire touches the inmost covering of prejudice, which lay close upon the heart, and it too gives way. Now, it touches the quick, and burns the very soul of the man! Presently, you might think that in that throng there was but one mind, that of the preacher, which had multiplied itself, had possessed itself of thousands of hearts, and thousands of frames, and was pouring its own thoughts through them all. At length, shame, and tears, and sobs overspread that whole assembly. Here, a head bows; there, starts a groan; yonder, rises a deep sigh; here, tears are falling; and some stern old Jew, who will neither bow nor weep, trembles with the effort to keep himself still. At length, from the depth of the crowd, the voice of the preacher is crossed by a cry, as if one was mourning for his only son; and it is answered by a cry, as if one was in bitterness for his first-born. At this cry the whole multitude is carried away, and, forgetful of everything but the overwhelming feeling of the moment, they exclaim, Men and brethren, what must we do? (W. Arthur, M. A.)

St. Peters first sermon

Here we have the report of a sermon preached within a few days of Christs ascension, addressed to men many of whom knew Jesus Christ, all of whom had heard of His work, His life, and His death, and setting forth the apostolic estimate of Christ, His miracles, His teaching, His ascended condition and glory. We cannot realise, unless by an intellectual effort, the special worth of these apostolic reports contained in the Acts. Men are sometimes sceptical about them asking, How did we get them at all? how were they handed down? This is, however, an easier question to answer than some think. If we take, for instance, this Pentecostal address alone, we know that St. Luke had many opportunities of personal communication with St. Peter. But there is another solution. The ancients made a great use of shorthand, and were quite well accustomed to take down spoken discourses, transmitting them thus to future ages.

I. The congregation assembled to listen to this first gospel discourse preached by a human agent was a notable and representative one. They were all Jews or Jewish proselytes, showing how extremely wide, at the epoch of the Incarnation, was the dispersion of Gods ancient people. The Divine seed fell upon no unploughed and unroken soil. Pure and noble ideas of worship and morality had been scattered broadcast throughout the world. Some years ago the judgment of Solomon was found depicted on the ceiling of a Pompeian house, witnessing to the spread of Scriptural knowledge through Jewish artists in the time of Tiberius and of Nero A race of missionaries, too, equipped for their work, was developed through the discipline of exile. The thousands who hung upon Peters lips needed nothing but instruction in the faith of Jesus Christ, together with the baptism of the Spirit, and the finest, the most enthusiastic, and the most cosmopolitan of agencies lay ready to the Churchs hand. While, again, the organisation of synagogues, which the exigencies of the dispersion had called into existence, was just the one suited to the various purposes of charity, worship, and teaching, which the Christian Church required.

II. The brave, outspoken tone of this sermon evidences the power and influence of the Holy Spirit upon St. Peters mind. Chrysostom notes the courageous tone of this address as a clear evidence of the truth of the resurrection.

III. Again, the tone of St. Peters sermon was remarkable because of its enlarged and enlightened spirituality. It proved the Spirits power in illuminating the human consciousness. St. Peter was rapidly gaining a true conception of the nature of the kingdom of God. He enunciates that conception in this sermon. He proclaims Christianity, in its catholic and universal aspect, when he quotes Joel as predicting the time when the Lord would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh.

IV. Let us look somewhat farther into the matter of this earliest Christian sermon, that we may learn the apostolic view of the Christian scheme. What was the conception of Christs life, work, and ascended state, which St. Peter presented to the astonished multitude? We must not expect, indeed, to find in this sermon a formulated and scientific system of Christian doctrine. St. Peter was as yet far too near the great events he declared, far too close to the superhuman personality of Christ, to coordinate his ideas and arrange his views. Yet his discourse contains all the great principles of catholic Christianity as opposed to that low view which would represent the earliest Christians as preaching the purely humanitarian scheme of modern unitarianism. St. Peter taught boldly the miraculous element of Christs life, describing Him as a man approved of God by mighty works, etc. Yet he did not dwell as much as we might have expected upon the miraculous side of Christs ministry. And that for a very simple reason. The inhabitants of the East were so accustomed to the practices of magic that they simply classed the Christian missionaries with magicians. The apostles had, however, a more powerful argument in reserve. They preached a spiritual religion, a present peace with God, a present forgiveness of sins; they pointed forward to a future life of which even here below believers possess the earnest and pledge.

V. Again, the sermon shows the method of interpreting the psalms and prophets popular among the pious Jews of St. Peters time. St. Peters method of interpretation is identical with that of our Lord, of St. Paul, and of the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. He beholds in the Psalms hints and types of the profoundest doctrines of the Creed. He finds in the sixteenth Psalm a prophecy of the intermediate state of souls and of the resurrection of our Lord. (G. T. Stokes, D. D.)

St. Peter to the multitude

1. We are struck first with the calmness and concentrated force of this address. How difficult the task which St. Peter undertook! He had to speak on the spur of the moment, and to a crowd excited as only an Eastern crowd can be. It is not easy for the most practised orator to catch the ear, and hold the attention of a confused and hostile crowd. Shakespeare means us to recognise consummate skill in Mark Antonys handling of the Roman citizens at Caesars funeral; but he used flattering words, and he spoke in order to rouse the people against the assassins of Caesar, not against themselves. St. Peter had to address the crowd on a theme which could not be welcome, and to stir them to self-condemnation. Yet we see no trace of hesitation or embarrassment. The speech was as well conceived and compacted as if it had been premeditated for weeks. It soothed the tumult of unfriendly excitement, and stirred a tumult of convicted conscience.

2. An opening for the address was made by the rude jeering of some as to the source of that ardour which glowed in the faces and uttered itself in the words of the brethren. This charge was easily disposed of. It was a fair specimen of the capacity of carnal men to judge spiritual.

(1) But St. Peter brushed it away with a sentence. It was enough that it was but the third hour of the day. What Jew would have drunk wine at all on such a morning, and before the morning sacrifice i And even if one or two could be so lost to shame, how absurd to accuse one hundred and twenty! Even the heathen reckoned it disreputable to drink strong wines in the morning. Cicero tells us indeed that the revelry at Antonys villa began at nine oclock; but this was regarded as the foolish excess of debauchees.

(2) But the complete refutation of it was the whole tone and tenor of the address, which was calm and well considered to a marvel. It showed that he and his companions were certainly not filled with wine, wherein is excess. They were filled with the Spirit. The apostle gave this as the true explanation, and proceeded at once to illustrate and support it by a felicitous quotation from one of the ancient prophets. He knew that in order to convince it was necessary to proceed on the common ground of Scripture. No one in that multitude, however prejudiced or impatient, could object to the citation from Joel. What St. Peter taught was the beginning of a fulfilment of Joels prophecy. It was the sign of a new era; the inauguration of a time, the length of which no man could define, but ending with a great and terrible day of the Lord. Such was the exordium of St. Peters speech. We can see the mockers silenced, some of them, let us hope, ashamed. The crowd ceased to sway and shout, listening to the calm, clear, strong statement which carried with it such a ring of certainty.

3. Then the speaker, pursuing his advantage, addressed himself to the main theme. The Spirit had come upon them, that they might preach Christ with power. The apostles never dragged in their great theme abruptly or awkwardly. Here St. Peter found a starting-point for preaching Jesus in the concluding words of the passage he had cited from Joel, Whosoever should call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Who was the Lord, whose great and notable day should terminate the dispensation of the Spirit? St. Peter and his colleagues were prepared to say and prove that it was Jesus. And then for the first time the sin of the crucifixion was charged on the conscience of the Jews, the fulness of the gospel made known. Not a few of those present had joined in the cry, Crucify Him! That had not been, however, spontaneous; but had been stirred up by the rulers. And now that hot blood had cooled there must have been sore misgivings, which the apostle soon deepened. He reminded his hearers of the mighty works and wonders and signs by which God had accredited His prophet. He appealed to their own knowledge of those things; and their silence intimated that they could not dispute the fact.

4. Having gained the point, St. Peter proceeded to show who the prophet Jesus was–

(1) By reference to His crucifixion. Was this fatal to a claim of Messiahship? Peter would once have said so; but now he stood there prepared to show that it formed an essential part of the proof that He was indeed the Christ. It was Gods purpose, and was predicted in the ancient oracles. Jewish teachers had turned away from a suffering to an exclusively glorious Messiah. But none the less was He so predicted, and none the less was the fulfilment secured by Gods determinate counsel. Therefore was Jesus delivered into the hands of those who hated Him, who crucified Him by the hand of men without the law–the Roman soldiers. But it was really on the Jews and their children that the blood of the Just One lay–Ye did crucify and slay.

(2) Then, in a breath, the speaker announced a fact which gave a new turn to the whole history in the resurrection of the Crucified One. Whom God raised up, etc. This, indeed, had been announced immediately after; but a counter story had been set afloat that the body had been stolen. These conflicting rumours had left the whole matter in a haze of doubt. But, before adducing witnesses, St. Peter referred again to the Old Testament. With a fine skill which the Holy Ghost had taught him, he prepared the Jews for receiving evidence, by showing that it was far from incredible, since it had been clearly foretold in one of the prophetic Psalms. Of course this did not prove that Jesus was that Christ. But, if it could be proved that Jesus had risen, His fulfilment of this oracle would go far to place it beyond doubt that He was the Messiah. And then the proof was adduced. Pointing to the Christian company, St. Peter said boldly, This Jesus did God raise up, whereof we all are witnesses. How could any fact of the kind have better attestation?

(3) The argument had to be carried one step further; and the speaker, not knowing how long the crowd might continue to listen, proceeded at once to say that the risen Jesus was exalted by the right hand of God. On this point, too, St. Peter found support in the Old Testament–Jehovah said to Adonai (Psa 110:1-7.). Every one knew who was meant by Jehovah: but who was Adonai? David could not have meant himself, for he was not his own Lord; far less could he have given such a title to any of the kings of the earth. The Spirit had inspired him to sing thus of the Lord Christ, and the proof of His ascension was before the eyes of the multitude. On the followers of Jesus, and on them only, had descended the new energy from heaven.

5. Thus the proof was completed at every point. There was no declamation but compact statement and close reasoning, leading up to the conclusion that God had made the crucified Jesus both Lord and Christ. And now the Christians beheld the crowd no longer mocking, but subdued, ashamed, conscience-stricken. Pricked in their hearts, many cried out, What shall we do? A welcome interruption! It showed St. Peter that he had struck the right chord, and that the Holy Spirit was speaking through him to the people. It enabled him to follow up his address with a very pointed application, and a very earnest appeal. They could not undo their own act, but God had done that already. This, however, they might and should do without delay:

(1) Repent.–It was not enough to be pricked in heart. Repentance is more than vexation with ones self, or even poignant sorrow. The apostle bade them reconsider the whole matter, and so change their minds regarding the Nazarene, and consequently their attitude.

(2) And be baptised every one of you unto the remission of sins.–This implied that they should believe, and confess their faith-for faith is always allied with repentance unto life, and is the instrument of forgiveness. Those who sincerely repented of their rejection of Jesus, must now believe in Him as the Christ; and in token thereof were called to join the company of His followers by openly receiving that baptism, which Christ had authorised them to administer. The consequence of this would be, that they would obtain not only pardon, but the Holy Ghost; for the promise was to their nation first, though also, God be praised, to the Gentiles–as many as the Lord our God shall call.

6. Such was the speech of St. Peter; and the result was glorious. The fisher of men let down a good net into the deep, and caught a great draught–drew to the shore of faith and peace three thousand souls. He wrought no miracle to astonish and impress them. It was better that no sign or prodigy performed by the apostles should interfere with the direct and solemn application of truth to the conscience. He performed no ceremony. The notion of a Christianity that trusts to ceremonial and celebration was quite foreign to the apostolic conception. The speaker prevailed by the word of his testimony. The three thousand felt the power of the truth and yielded to it–the Spirit of the Lord disposing and enabling them so to do. Thus they repented, believed, were baptized, were pardoned, were quickened to newness of life.

7. In one day! It was the typical and significant day of our dispensation, a day which should be expected to repeat itself. True, there cannot be a second descent of the Holy Spirit, any more than there can be a second incarnation of the Son. But the Church should ask and look for a continuance of the mighty working of the Holy Ghost, and so for conversions by thousands. The Church wants no other means of increase than those by which it was founded–

(1) the fire of the Holy Ghost, and

(2) the testimony of anointed witnesses in sound speech that cannot be gainsaid, testifying to Jesus, the Saviour, that He is the Christ of Israel, and the Lord of all. (D. Fraser, D. D.)

The first apostolic appeal to the multitude

The wondering, the questioning, and the mockery compelled the apostles to explain. So have young Christians often been constrained by what they saw or knew to attempt work for which they had little inclination. In making this appeal the apostles–

I. Had a leader. All had been speaking with tongues, and when that sign had answered its first purpose it was necessary for one to appeal to the intelligence of all. Peter now stood up.

1. A man of confidence and quick decision. What a change since his denial.

2. A man who could command attention. For this end he lifted up his voice. Having to plead for Christ and truth, he gladly used his best powers.

3. A man of knowledge; be it known unto you. Some were guessing and misinterpreting, and honesty demanded a hearing for one who said he had certain knowledge.

4. A man of words. Hearken to my words. He proceeded to prove what he had boldly affirmed. In this he is an example. He gave the sense of Scripture, and did his work with sobriety and earnestness, and without reflections on the spirit of the crowd.

II. Had to rebut error. There were misconceptions which had to be removed, and in doing this Peter did not mock the mockers, or show irritation. He calmly and kindly rooted out error that truth might take its place. Note that–

1. Peter denied the false charge of drunkenness, but not as a malicious calumny, but as the actual opinion of intelligent men. As ye suppose. In this way we may introduce an argument against the false doctrines of the day. But denial was not enough, so–

2. He gave a clear reason–the hour was too early and too sacred for intoxication. Religious controversy ought to be based on undeniable facts. Yet this was not enough, so Peter–

3. Interpreted the facts which the mockers had misinterpreted. It was the fulfilment of Joels prophecy. Would that all preachers would meet the demand for facts by the positive truth of the Word of God.

III. Realised that there is given to believers what mens natural suppositions misrepresent. It was natural for men to think that they could explain the strange signs; but the error was brought home in due time. How many to-day are like this multitude. They observe the profession and zeal of Christians, and hear about their experiences, but put it all down to superstition, weakness, or delusion. (W. Hudson.)

Preaching on the day of Pentecost

The restoration of Peter was fully recognised by his brethren. They felt bound to imitate Christs conduct. He knew what underlay the weakness of His servant, and having received him to favour, sent him forth with fresh power to feed the lambs, etc. Whom God receives, let no man refuse. A tempted Christian may fall, but if he repent, his fellow Christians should receive him back. Let us contemplate–

I. The circumstances in which Peter preached.

1. He preached upon the day of Pentecost. All the memories of Gods goodness in seedtime, summer, and autumn, were then occupying the minds of the Hebrews. And Peter rose to appropriately publish Gods glorious gospel of mercy.

2. His audience was peculiarly stimulating. Like Simeon they waited for the consolation of Israel. They had come from distant parts, and presented, in their diversified wants, a type of the worlds necessities. Following the law they found the gospel. The law was a schoolmaster that brought them to Christ. An appreciative assembly has a stimulating effect upon any orator; and this audience, composed of devout inquirers, anxious to learn the whole truth about Christ, was sufficient to give the eloquence of true earnestness of Peters preaching.

3. His position was that of spokesman for and defender of his brethren.

4. He preached under the immediate inspiration of the Holy Ghost and with a tongue of fire.

II. The sermon that Peter delivered. We cannot say it was a great sermon, in the modern sense. There is no profound and far-reaching grasp of Divine truth; no display of mental and spiritual genius; no soaring flight of imagination; none of those marvellous revelations which are given in Isaiah and Ezekiel; none of those mighty sentences, lightning-like in their flash, thunder-like in their sound, that rolled from the mouth of Cicero or Demosthenes; and certainly none of that loud-coloured grandiloquence, which is so much admired by a sensation-loving world. The preaching of Peter, or Paul, or Christ, is usually destitute of these artistic qualities, and yet conspicuously fitted to serve its heavenly purpose. The characteristics of Peters sermon are very distinct.

1. It was Scriptural. His subject was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. He brings a text from Joel (Act 2:28-32), to show that the Spirit was promised, and should have been expected in some such way as that in which He had actually come. The use which Peter makes of his proof-text is simple, yet skilful; displays good powers of reasoning, and above all, reveals a clear knowledge of the Scriptures; and the finishing stroke brings out, most happily, the grand design of God in His wonderful promise, and its more wonderful fulfilment–That whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

2. Most faithful. The trumpet at his mouth gave no uncertain sound. He spake no smooth things, and minced no truth to suit fastidious tastes. Speaking, though he was, against the great men of his nation, and among an excited populace, who had a few weeks ago destroyed his Master, the earnest preacher was unconscious of timidity, and he did not hesitate to tell them plainly, that they had taken with wicked hands and crucified and slain the Lords anointed. Harsh words, no doubt; but words like the hammer that breaks the rocky heart. And the man who would preach the Word of God with true faithfulness to his fellow-sinners must be prepared at any risk to expose and condemn every sort of wickedness.

3. Evangelical. It contained very prominently the three Rs which Rowland Hill has made proverbial in our country

(1) Ruin by the fall. The apostle gave prominence to the ruinous effects of sin. Jerusalem sinners had committed an awful crime in killing the Son of God.

(2) Redemption through the death of Jesus.

(3) Regeneration through the power of the Holy Spirit. Repent, and be baptized, etc.

III. The success of Peters sermon. We find it very difficult to realise the impression produced. There is nothing like it in modern times. People assemble in great crowds to hear the best of preachers, and go away in a state of stolid indifference. From week to week the whole preaching of the Christian sabbath, in every village and town, passes over without the smallest degree of spiritual excitement. We surely need more of that earnest, heaven-reaching prayer, that will bring the Spirit of God, like a rushing mighty wind, to fill our house and every heart with spiritual animation. This was the prime result of Pentecostal preaching. Thousands of sleeping souls were awakened. We have heard of men sailing towards the rapids of Niagara, all unconscious of danger, until they felt their boat quiver in the struggling water, and stars away with alarming speed. In a moment they were filled with anxiety, and began to pull and cry with all their might for safety. So with Jerusalem sinners under the sermon of Pentecost. The whole crowd was shaking like fields of corn in the autumn wind, or tossing like troubled waves upon the stormy ocean. And with one loud cry that went ringing through the holy city, and up to the Holy God, they said, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Blessed question from a sinners heart! And the question must have gone with a grateful thrill to the preachers heart, as it surely went like a shout of triumph to the heart of Jesus on the throne. We have read somewhere of a Russian prince, coming in the course of hunting to a rivers side, where a few peasants had brought to the bank a person apparently drowned. The prince had previously been reading some directions which had been issued by a humane society, about the mode of restoring animation to people who have been rescued from under water. He leaped from his horse, stripped off his flowing robes, gave instructions to the peasants how to assist, and commenced the work of rubbing the cold limbs of the unfortunate man with all his might. The work was continued by the prince for a whole hour, without any appearance of success. At length the lifeless-looking bosom began to heave and give signs of animation. On seeing which, the prince looked up, with beaming countenance, and exclaimed: This is the happiest moment of my life. He had saved a man from death. Not less would it be a happy moment for the heart of Elisha, when he felt the flesh of the Shunamites child waxing warm, and saw him open his eyes in life and happiness. But we can believe it was even a happier moment for the apostle of Christ on the day of Pentecost, when the people cried, What shall we do? and so gave signs of being raised from spiritual death to Christian vitality. No time was lost in telling the inquirers their path of duty. Look to Jesus and be saved. (J. Thompson, A. M.)

A varied ministry blessed by the Holy Spirit

Mark the course of a river like the Thames; how it winds and twists according to its own sweet will. Yet there is a reason for every bend and curve: the geologist, studying the soil and marking the conformation of the rock, sees a reason why the rivers bed diverges to the right or to the left; and so, though the Spirit of God blesses one preacher more than another, and the reason cannot be such that any man could congratulate himself upon his own goodness, yet there are certain things about Christian ministers which God blesses, and certain other things which hinder success. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The first sermon

1. The gospel is not a system of doctrines, a code of laws, still less a fabric of fancies or theories: it is a record of facts. It is this characteristic which makes it–

(1) So satisfactory; we can plant the foot firmly upon it, for it is founded upon a rock.

(2) So universal: not the religion of a few philosophers, capable of arguing out deep truths or of rising to lofty mysteries, but the religion of a world, as suitable to the simple as to the learned.

2. And as the gospel rests upon fact, so also it prompts to action. No sooner is the persecutor of the Church struck to the earth by the bright light of the Divine presence than we hear him asking, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? And no sooner does the jailer at Philippi recognise in his prisoners the servants of the Most High God, than he asks the practical question, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And no sooner does the astonished multitude hear from Peters lips the explanation of the marvellous sign which has gathered them to listen, than they exclaim, Men and brethren, what shall we do? What they heard was a narrative of facts: what they understood by it was a summons to action. God grant to us also a spirit of faith in gospel fact, a spirit of readiness for gospel action!

3. St. Peter sets us the example of repeating a text for his sermon. The Bible then was the Old Testament. Out of it Christian teachers were able to plead for God and to prove the gospel. In our thankfulness for the New Testament we must never learn to despise the Old. St. Peters text was taken from Joel. That Book was probably composed 850 years before Christ. The prophets of the Old Testament were not instructed to reveal the long interval which should elapse between the two advents. The delay of the second coming was not even a revelation of the gospel. Each age was to expect it. The taunt, Where is the promise of His coming? was to have scope to operate, because no generation was to be made aware that the advent might not take place within its duration. And thus it is that Joel here speaks of the outpouring of the Spirit as a sign of the last days. The gospel age, however long it has continued or may continue, is the dispensation of the last times: after it comes none other, and itself is to be viewed as one whole, from the redemption which contained in itself not the promise only but the germ of all, until the coming of the very kingdom of heaven in power and great glory. In the last days, saith God, etc.

4. After this quotation the discourse addresses itself pointedly to the audience. Ye men of Israel, hear these words. A Man, as you deemed Him, and as He was, has within these few weeks been put to death by you; the blood of that Man is at this moment upon your hands! But was, then, that murder effectual? No; God raised Him up because it was not possible that He should be holden of death. Not possible, by reason of His Divine nature. Not possible, because the voice of inspired prophecy had declared the contrary (Psa 16:1-11.). Could words like these have found their full accomplishment in their human author? The words which David thus spake, he spake as Gods prophet. For himself the words could only express that assurance of a life beyond death, the hope of the saints. But in relation to Christ the words have a fuller meaning. His soul was recalled from its brief sojourn in Hades, before it bad taken up its abode there as a recognised inmate. Of this revival from death we His apostles are the witnesses. Now, therefore, the events of this day become intelligible and natural. The risen Saviour hath fulfilled His promise. He promised to send–He hath sent–His Holy Spirit upon His disciples. And hereunto agree those other words of the Psalmist, The Lord said unto my Lord, etc. That prophecy, like the former, points, not to David, but to Davids Son; even to Him who is as truly the Lord of David in right of His Godhead, as He is the Son of David by reason of His manhood. Therefore let every family of Israel know, etc.

5. Such was the discourse, to which blessing was vouchsafed such as has been granted to no other. God works where and as and by whom He will; choosing oftentimes the weak things of the world to confound the mighty. We may read St. Peters words unmoved. But not so did they to whom he addressed himself. Compunction was the first fruit of his preaching. Conscience now awoke. The sign before them was a sign of power: how could this be, save by the hand of God? But beyond this, it was a sign foretold by Jesus. All things had come to pass, even as He had said to them. Yes, all is now clear and consistent, though the inference is one of shame and condemnation for themselves. When they heard, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter, etc. We will not answer the question now, rather let it press upon us as a question of deep moment for ourselves. Hearing of Christ caused–

I. Compunction. What they heard was extremely simple. It was nothing more than what we have all heard ten thousand times. The words of Zechariah were fulfilled, They shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn. They had pierced Him, and now the arrow of conviction pierced them.

1. I know not that any words of man could bring to our minds the same conviction of sin without the grace of God by His Holy Spirit. And yet we do read of such a crime as that of crucifying the Son of God afresh, and putting Him to an open shame. The Epistle to the Hebrews even says of such persons that it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance. God grant, therefore, that, in its worst form, that of actual apostasy, none of us may yet have committed it! But there are approaches to that crime. There are those who make very light of the purposes for which Christ died, who contradict and go against the very object of that death; that He might put away sin; that He might redeem us from all iniquity. Is there no one here who ever helped to undo Christs dying work in another persons soul? who ever tempted another person to commit sin; either by ridiculing his scruples, or by making the way to sin known to him, or by suggesting to his mind sinful images, or raising in his mind sinful desires? That man, whoever he is, has done worse things than even the Jews who gave Jesus to be crucified. Nothing, however cruel, done to the body, can be so heinous as the least injury done to the soul. Alas! there are those now amongst us who have more cause to be pricked in their heart than ever had those men on the day of Pentecost.

2. And if not in this gravest sense, yet which of you has not cause to be sorrowful when he thinks of his Lord and his God? What is a day to you but one succession of slights done to your Saviour? How did it begin? Was not your morning prayer a poor, cold, reluctant service? And so the day went full of anything and everything rather than the thought and the love of Christ; full of the world, of vanity, of self. Then have not you, have not we all, cause to feel compunction, and to cry, God be merciful to me a sinner?

II. This compunction may well work in us anxiety; the conviction of sin the desire for direction. What shall we do? It is the want of this desire which make our meetings for worship too often cold and lifeless. What would preaching be, if it were in deed and in truth addressed to a number of human hearts, every one of which was inwardly asking, What must I do? Preaching is a finger-post marking the travellers way, and saying to wayfaring men, This is the way; walk ye in it! Let us come together, Sunday by Sunday, in this spirit; crying, What shall I do? and doubt not but your cry will be heard: if man should fail you, God Himself will be your preacher; your inward ear shall hear the voice of His Spirit, warning, counselling, comforting, according to your need. (Dean Vaughan.)

A new style of religious ministry

Peters sermon is something strikingly fresh in the history of preaching. Moses, Joshua, the prophets, the Baptist, Christ had preached, but this preaching was in many respects a new thing in the earth.

1. The occasion was new–the spiritual excitement of the disciples, produced by Divine influence and leading to strange thoughts.

2. The substance was new. It was not a prophetic or a present, but an historic Christ who had risen from the grave to the throne of the universe. No one had ever preached Christ in this form before.

3. The impression of the sermon was new. In analysing the discourse we find–

I. A statement for refuting the charge of the scoffer.

1. The negative part includes three distinguishable points.

(1) A categorical denial: These men are not drunken. It is a libel.

(2) An intimation of the groundless-ness of the charge: As ye suppose. It was a mere empty assumption.

(3) A suggestion of high improbability: Seeing it is but the third hour.

2. The positive part asserts that the phenomenon was the effect of Divine inspiration: It shall come to pass, etc. The days of the Messiah are the last days; no other dispensation of mercy will succeed them. The passage teaches that these last days–

(1) Would be connected with an extraordinary effusion of the Spirit, not limited–

(a) To any class.

(b) To any sex.

(c) To any age.

(2) Would be connected with prodigious revolutions. The words I will show wonders, etc., may probably be regarded as a highly poetic representation of what would follow, in government and churches, the working out of Divine ideas and spiritual influences (Isa 13:10; Isa 34:4).

(3) Would be succeeded by a notable day–probably the destruction of Jerusalem as a type of the Judgment.

(4) Would be connected with a possibility of salvation to all who seek it.

II. An argument for convicting the hearts of the hardened–an argument resolving itself into four facts.

1. That Jesus had wrought miracles among them while living.

2. That His crucifixion was only the working out of the Divine plan. So great is God that He can make His greatest enemies serve Him.

3. That His resurrection, which they could not deny, was a fact which accorded with their Scriptures. In this quotation from the Psalms Peter–

(1) Assumes that the document which he quotes will be admitted by them as of Divine authority.

(2) Takes for granted that the document refers to the resurrection of some one of distinguished excellence.

(3) Reasons that the resurrection of the distinguished one predicted could not be David.

(4) Concludes that the resurrection predicted must have referred to Christ.

III. An exhortation to the awakened. Peter directs them–

1. To the only blessings that could meet their case: Divine pardon and Divine influence.

2. To the course of conduct essential to the attainment of those blessings.

3. To the precious promise of heaven to encourage them in the course of conduct required. (D. Thomas, D. D.)

Elements of power in Peters sermon

I. Adaptation to circumstances. There was a startling event; the sermon applied its lessons. It was spontaneous: Peter had no time to prepare a history or even notes.

II. A scriptural basis. The main points were proved by the Bible. Nature and experience are important, but do not carry conviction like the living Word.

III. Unsparing rebuke of sin. Their guilt was so pressed home that they were pricked in their hearts.

IV. Christ at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end.

V. The presence of the Holy Ghost. (Homiletic Monthly.)

Peters impulsiveness useful because wisely directed

Turn water into a proper receptacle, and its power is well-nigh overwhelming. Turn fire into its proper channel, and it proves an unparalleled power. And these elements thus controlled and brought into their legitimate course, will prove a blessing to man, but left uncurbed, though still a power, it is destructive in its character. Even so it is with impulsiveness, if sanctified by Gods grace, and thus turned within the divinely appointed channel of redemption, it will prove a great blessing to an individual and those with whom he associates; but left uncurbed, it becomes a destructive power to happiness, peace, usefulness, and real success. (W. H. Blake.)

The power of the human voice

The true preacher has nothing to fear from any rival, for the human voice has no adequate substitute. Even a gospel written is not equal to a gospel spoken. The heart will not disdain any instrument of expression, but the instrument which it loves with all its love is the human voice–all instruments in one, and all inspired. (J. Parker.)

A sermon to prick the conscience

If a man is able to produce beautiful roses and delight his congregation with them Sunday after Sunday, by all means let him produce them: only let him take care to make his roses as God makes His–never a rose without a thorn, to prick the conscience of the hearer, and to spur him onward in his Divine life. Let the sermon please if possible; but, like Peters sermon on the day of Pentecost, it ought to prick the consciences of men. (J. C. Jones.)

Plain preaching

In some churches the creed and commandments are painted so grand, in such fantastic characters, and with such perplexing convolutions, that a plain man cannot possibly make them out; and the truth is sometimes treated in the pulpit by the preacher as the painter has painted it–the language is so grand, and the rhetoric so gorgeous, that the people fail to realise the truth it may be supposed to embody.

Different styles of preaching

We are often told with great earnestness what is the best style for preaching; but the fact is, that what would be the very best style for one man would perhaps be the worst possible for another. In the most fervid declamation, the deepest principles may be stated and pressed home; in the calmest and most logical reasoning, powerful motives may be forced close upon the feelings; in discussing some general principle, precious portions of the text of Scripture may be elucidated; and in simple exposition, general principles may be effectively set forth. Let but the powers given to any man play with their full force, aided by all the stores of Divine knowledge which continuous acquisition from its fountain and its purest channels can obtain for him, and, the fire being present–the fire of the Spirits power and influence–spiritual effects will result. The discussion about style amounts very much to a discussion whether the rifle, the carbine, the pistol, or the cannon, is the best weapon. Each is best in its place. The great point is, that every one shall use the weapon best suited to him, that he charge it well, and see that it is in a condition to strike fire. The criticisms which we often hear amount to this: We admit that such-an-one is a good exhortational preacher, or a good doctrinal preacher, or a good practical preacher, or a good expository preacher; but because he has not the qualities of another–qualities, perhaps, the very opposite of his own–we think lightly of him. That is, we admit that the carbine is a good carbine; but because it is not a rifle, we condemn it; and because the rifle is not a cannon, we condemn it. (W. Arthur, M. A.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 14. Peter, standing up with the eleven] They probably spoke by turns, not altogether; but Peter began the discourse.

All ye that dwell at Jerusalem] would be better translated by the word sojourn, because these were not inhabitants of Judea, but the strangers mentioned in Ac 2:9-11, who had come up to the feast.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Peter standing up; it speaks his extraordinary courage; after his stumbling and fall, he runs the faster, being recovered; and begins to verify his name which our Lord had given him, showing himself as firm and stedfast as a rock.

With the eleven; the other apostles, probably, spake too in divers languages; but by reason of the shortness of St. Lukes intended narrative, and it being to the same purpose, their sermons are omitted.

Men of Judea; such as came from other parts of the country.

Ye that dwell at Jerusalem; such as were constant inhabitants in that city.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

14-21. Peter, standing up with theelevenin advance, perhaps, of the rest.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

But Peter standing up with the eleven,…. Apostles; their number being now complete, Matthias being chosen in the room of Judas. These all at once rose up, as abhorring the fact they were charged with, and to show the falsehood of it, and to vindicate themselves; when Peter, as their mouth, stood “in the midst” of them, as the Ethiopic version reads, with great courage, boldness, and intrepidity of mind: and “lift up his voice”; that he might be heard by the whole multitude, that was gathered together, as well as to show his zeal and fervour of spirit, and fortitude of mind; for being endued with the Spirit from on high, he was fearless of men, who but a little while ago was frightened by a servant maid.

And said unto them, ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem; which shows that they were the natives and citizens of Jerusalem that mocked and scoffed; for to these the apostle addresses himself.

Be this known unto you, and hearken to my words; as follows.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Peter’s Sermon at Jerusalem.

14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Juda, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: 15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17 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: 18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: 19 And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: 21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. 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: 23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: 24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. 25 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: 26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: 27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. 29 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. 30 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; 31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. 32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 33 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. 34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, 35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool. 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.

We have here the first-fruits of the Spirit in the sermon which Peter preached immediately, directed, not to those of other nations in a strange language (we are not told what answer he gave to those that were amazed, and said, What meaneth this?) but to the Jews in the vulgar language, even to those that mocked; for he begins with the notice of that (v. 15), and addresses his discourse (v. 14) to the men of Judea and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; but we have reason enough to think that the other disciples continued to speak to those who understood them (and therefore flocked about them), in the languages of their respective countries, the wonderful works of God. And it was not by Peter’s preaching only, but that of all, or most, of the rest of the hundred and twenty, that three thousand souls were that day converted, and added to the church; but Peter’s sermon only is recorded, to be an evidence for him that he was thoroughly recovered from his fall, and thoroughly restored to the divine favour. He that had sneakingly denied Christ now as courageously confesses him. Observe,

I. His introduction or preface, wherein he craves the attention of the auditory, or demands it rather: Peter stood up (v. 14), to show that he was not drunk, with the eleven, who concurred with him in what he said, and probably in their turns spoke likewise to the same purport; those that were of greatest authority stood up to speak to the scoffing Jews, and to confront those who contradicted and blasphemed, but left the seventy disciples to speak to the willing proselytes from other nations, who were not so prejudiced, in their own language. Thus among Christ’s ministers, some of greater gifts are called out to instruct those that oppose themselves, to take hold of sword and spear; others of meaner abilities are employed in instructing those that resign themselves, and to be vine-dressers and husband-men. Peter lifted up his voice, as one that was both well assured of and much affected with what he said, and was neither afraid nor ashamed to own it. He applied himself to the men of Judea, andres Ioudaioi—the men that were Jews; so it should be read; “and you especially that dwell at Jerusalem, who were accessory to the death of Jesus, be this known unto you, which you did not know before, and which you are concerned to know now, and hearken to my words, who would draw you to Christ, and not to the words of the scribes and Pharisees, that would draw you from him. My Master is gone, whose words you have often heard in vain, and shall hear no more as you have done, but he speaks to you by us; hearken now to our words.”

II. His answer to their blasphemous calumny (v. 15): “These men are not drunken, as you suppose. These disciples of Christ, that now speak with other tongues, speak good sense, and know what they say, and so do those they speak to, who are led by their discourses into the knowledge of the wonderful works of God. You cannot think they are drunk, for it is but the third hour of the day,” nine of the clock in the morning; and before this time, on the sabbaths and solemn feasts, the Jews did not eat nor drink: nay, ordinarily, those that are drunk are drunk in the night, and not in the morning; those are besotted drunkards indeed who, when they awake, immediately seek it yet again, Prov. xxiii. 35.

III. His account of the miraculous effusion of the Spirit, which is designed to awaken them all to embrace the faith of Christ, and to join themselves to his church. Two things he resolves it into:–that it was the fulfilling of the scripture, and the fruit of Christ’s resurrection and ascension, and consequently the proof of both.

1. That it was the accomplishment of the prophecies of the Old Testament which related to the kingdom of the Messiah, and therefore an evidence that this kingdom is come, and the other predictions of it are fulfilled. He specifies one, that of the prophet Joel, ch. ii. 28. It is observable that though Peter was filled with the Holy Ghost, and spoke with tongues as the Spirit gave him utterance, yet he did not set aside the scriptures, nor think himself above them; nay, much of his discourse is quotation out of the Old Testament, to which he appeals, and with which he proves what he says. Christ’s scholars never learn above their Bible; and the Spirit is given not to supersede the scriptures, but to enable us to understand and improve the scriptures. Observe,

(1.) The text itself that Peter quotes, v. 17-21. It refers to the last days, the times of the gospel, which are called the last days because the dispensation of God’s kingdom among men, which the gospel sets up, is the last dispensation of divine grace, and we are to look for no other than the continuation of this to the end of time. Or, in the last days, that is, a great while after the ceasing of prophecy in the Old-Testament church. Or, in the days immediately preceding the destruction of the Jewish nation, in the last days of that people, just before that great and notable day of the Lord spoken of, v. 20. “It was prophesied of and promised, and therefore you ought to expect it, and not to be surprised at it; to desire it, and bid it welcome, and not to dispute it, as not worth taking notice of.” The apostle quotes the whole paragraph, for it is good to take scripture entire; now it was foretold,

[1.] That there should be a more plentiful and extensive effusion of the Spirit of grace from on high than had ever yet been. The prophets of the Old Testament had been filled with the Holy Ghost, and it was said of the people of Israel that God gave them his good Spirit to instruct them, Neh. ix. 20. But now the Spirit shall be poured out, not only upon the Jews, but upon all flesh, Gentiles as well as Jews, though yet Peter himself did not understand it so, as appears, ch. xi. 17. Or, upon all flesh, that is, upon some of all ranks and conditions of men. The Jewish doctors taught that the Spirit came only upon wise and rich men, and such as were of the seed of Israel; but God will not tie himself to their rules.

[2.] That the Spirit should be in them a Spirit of prophecy; by the Spirit they should be enabled to foretel things to come, and to preach the gospel to every creature. This power shall be given without distinction of sex–now only your sons, but your daughters shall prophesy; without distinction of age–both your young men and your old men shall see visions, and dream dreams, and in them receive divine revelations, to be communicated to the church; and without distinction of outward condition–even the servants and handmaids shall receive of the Spirit, and shall prophesy (v. 18); or, in general, men and women, whom God calls his servants and his handmaids. In the beginning of the age of prophecy in the Old Testament there were schools of the prophets, and, before that, the Spirit of prophecy came upon the elders of Israel that were appointed to the government; but now the Spirit shall be poured out upon persons of inferior rank, and such as were not brought up in the schools of the prophets, for the kingdom of the Messiah is to be purely spiritual. The mention of the daughters (v. 17) and the handmaidens (v. 18) would make one think that the women who were taken notice of (ch. i. 14) received the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost, as well as the men. Philip, the evangelist, had four daughters who did prophesy (ch. xxi. 9), and St. Paul, finding abundance of the gifts both of tongues and prophecy in the church of Corinth, saw it needful to prohibit women’s use of those gifts in public, 1Co 14:26; 1Co 14:34.

[3.] That one great thing which they should prophesy of should be the judgment that was coming upon the Jewish nation, for this was the chief thing that Christ himself had foretold (Matt. xxiv.) at his entrance into Jerusalem (Luke xix. 41); and when he was going to die (Luke xxiii. 29); and these judgments were to be brought upon them to punish for their contempt of the gospel, and their opposition to it, though it came to them thus proved. Those that would not submit to the power of God’s grace, in this wonderful effusion of his Spirit, should fall and lie under the pourings out of the vials of his wrath. Those shall break that will not bend. First, The destruction of Jerusalem, which was about forty years after Christ’s death, is here called that great and notable day of the Lord, because it put a final period to the Mosaic economy; the Levitical priesthood and the ceremonial law were thereby for ever abolished and done away. The desolation itself was such as was never brought upon any place or nation, either before or since. It was the day of the Lord, for it was the day of his vengeance upon that people for crucifying Christ, and persecuting his ministers; it was the year of recompences for that controversy; yea, and for all the blood of the saints and martyrs, from the blood of righteous Abel, Matt. xxiii. 35. It was a little day of judgment; it was a notable day: in Joel it is called a terrible day, for so it was to men on earth; but here epiphane (after the Septuagint), a glorious, illustrious day, for so it was to Christ in heaven; it was the epiphany, his appearing, so he himself spoke of it, Matt. xxiv. 30. The destruction of the Jews was the deliverance of the Christians, who were hated and persecuted by them; and therefore that day was often spoken of by the prophets of that time, for the encouragement of suffering Christians, that the Lord was at hand, the coming of the Lord drew nigh, the Judge stood before the door,Jas 5:8; Jas 5:9. Secondly, The terrible presages of that destruction are here foretold: There shall be wonders in heaven above, the sun turned into darkness and the moon into blood; and signs too in the earth beneath, blood and fire. Josephus, in his preface to his history of the wars of the Jews, speaks of the signs and prodigies that preceded them, terrible thunders, lightnings, and earthquakes; there was a fiery comet that hung over the city for a year, and a flaming sword was seen pointing down upon it; a light shone upon the temple and the altar at midnight, as if it had been noon-day. Dr. Lightfoot gives another sense of these presages: The blood of the Son of God, the fire of the Holy Ghost now appearing, the vapour of the smoke in which Christ ascended, the sun darkened, and the moon made blood, at the time of Christ’s passion, were all loud warnings given to that unbelieving people to prepare for the judgments coming upon them. Or, it may be applied, and very fitly, to the previous judgments themselves by which that desolation was brought on. The blood points at the wars of the Jews with the neighbouring nations, with the Samaritans, Syrians, and Greeks, in which abundance of blood was shed, as there was also in their civil wars, and the struggles of the seditious (as they called them), which were very bloody; there was no peace to him that went out nor to him that came in. The fire and vapour of smoke, here foretold, literally came to pass in the burning of their cities, and towns, and synagogues, and temple at last. And this turning of the sun into darkness, and the moon into blood, bespeaks the dissolution of their government, civil and sacred, and the extinguishing of all their lights. Thirdly, The signal preservation of the Lord’s people is here promised (v. 21): Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord Jesus (which is the description of a true Christian, 1 Cor. i. 2) shall be saved, shall escape that judgment which shall be a type and earnest of everlasting salvation. In the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, there was a remnant sealed to be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger; and in the destruction by the Romans not one Christian perished. Those that distinguish themselves by singular piety shall be distinguished by special preservation. And observe, the saved remnant are described by this, that they are a praying people: they call on the name of the Lord, which intimates that they are not saved by any merit or righteousness of their own, but purely by the favour of God, which must be sued out by prayer. It is the name of the Lord which they call upon that is their strong tower.

(2.) The application of this prophecy to the present event (v. 16): This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; it is the accomplishment of that, it is the full accomplishment of it. This is that effusion of the Spirit upon all flesh which should come, and we are to look for no other, no more than we are to look for another Messiah; for as our Messiah ever lives in heaven, reigning and interceding for his church on earth, so this Spirit of grace, the Advocate, or Comforter, that was given now, according to the promise, will, according to the same promise, continue with the church on earth to the end, and will work all its works in it and for it, and every member of it, ordinary and extraordinary, by means of the scriptures and the ministry.

2. That it was the gift of Christ, and the product and proof of his resurrection and ascension. From this gift of the Holy Ghost, he takes occasion to preach unto them Jesus; and this part of his sermon he introduces with another solemn preface (v. 22): “You men of Israel, hear these words. It is a mercy that you are within hearing of them, and it is your duty to give heed to them.” Words concerning Christ should be acceptable words to the men of Israel. Here is,

(1.) An abstract of the history of the life of Christ, v. 22. He calls him Jesus of Nazareth, because by that name he was generally known, but (which was sufficient to roll away that reproach) he was a man approved of God among you, censured and condemned by men, but approved of God: God testified his approbation of his doctrine by the power he gave him to work miracles: a man marked out by God, so Dr. Hammond reads it; “signalized and made remarkable among you that now hear me. He was sent to you, set up, a glorious light in your land; you yourselves are witnesses how he became famous by miracles, wonders, and signs, works above the power of nature, out of its ordinary course, and contrary to it, which God did by him; that is, which he did by that divine power with which he was clothed, and in which God plainly went along with him; for no man could do such works unless God were with him.” See what a stress Peter lays upon Christ’s miracles. [1.] The matter of fact was not to be denied: “They were done in the midst of you, in the midst of your country, your city, your solemn assemblies, as you yourselves also know. You have been eyewitnesses of his miracles; I appeal to yourselves whether you have any thing to object against them or can offer any thing to disprove them.” [2.] The inference from them cannot be disputed; the reasoning is as strong as the evidence; if he did those miracles, certainly God approved him, declared him to be, what he declared himself to be, the Son of God and the Saviour of the world; for the God of truth would never set his seal to a lie.

(2.) An account of his death and sufferings which they were witness of also but a few weeks ago; and this was the greatest miracle of all, that a man approved of God should thus seem to be abandoned of him; and a man thus approved among the people, and in the midst of them, should be thus abandoned by them too. But both these mysteries are here explained (v. 23), and his death considered, [1.] As God’s act; and in him it was an act of wonderful grace and wisdom. He delivered him to death; not only permitted him to be put to death, but gave him up, devoted him: this is explained Rom. viii. 32, He delivered him up for us all. And yet he was approved of God, and there was nothing in this that signified the disapproving of him; for it was done by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, in infinite wisdom, and for holy ends, which Christ himself concurred in, and in the means leading to them. Thus divine justice must be satisfied, sinners saved, God and man brought together again, and Christ himself glorified. It was not only according to the will of God, but according to the counsel of his will, that he suffered and died; according to an eternal counsel, which could not be altered. This reconciled him to the cross: Father, thy will be done; and Father, glorify thy name; let thy purpose take effect, and let the great end of it be attained. [2.] As the people’s act; and in them it was an act of prodigious sin and folly; it was fighting against God to persecute one whom he approved as the darling of heaven; and fighting against their own mercies to persecute one that was the greatest blessing of this earth. Neither God’s designing it from eternity, nor his bringing good out of it to eternity, would in the least excuse their sin; for it was their voluntary act and deed, from a principle morally evil, and therefore “they were wicked hands with which you have crucified and slain him.” It is probable that some of those were here present who had cried, Crucify him, crucify him, or had been otherwise aiding and abetting in the murder; and Peter knew it. However, it was justly looked upon as a national act, because done both by the vote of the great council and by the voice of the great crowd. It is a rule, Refertur ad universos quod publice fit per majorem paretm–That which is done publicly by the greater part we attribute to all. He charges it particularly on them as parts of the nation on which it would be visited, the more effectually to bring them to faith and repentance, because that was the only way to distinguish themselves from the guilty and discharge themselves from the guilt.

(3.) An attestation of his resurrection, which effectually wiped away the reproach of his death (v. 24): Whom God raised up; the same that delivered him to death delivers him from death, and thereby gave a higher approbation of him than he had done by any other of the signs and wonders wrought by him, or by all put together. This therefore he insists most largely upon.

[1.] He describes his resurrection: God loosed the pains of death, because it was impossible that he should be holden of it; odinas—the sorrows of death; the word is used for travailing pains, and some think it signifies the trouble and agony of his soul, in which it was exceedingly sorrowful, even to the death; from these pains and sorrows of soul, this travail of soul, the Father loosed him when at his death he said, It is finished. Thus Dr. Godwin understands it: “Those terrors which made Heman’s soul lie like the slain (Psa 88:5; Psa 88:15) had hold of Christ; but he was too strong for them, and broke through them; this was the resurrection of his soul (and it is a great thing to bring a soul out of the depths of spiritual agonies); this was not leaving his soul in hell; as that which follows, that he should not see corruption, speaks of the resurrection of his body; and both together make up the great resurrection.” Dr. Lightfoot gives another sense of this: “Having dissolved the pains of death, in reference to all that believe in him, God raised up Christ, and by his resurrection broke all the power of death, and destroyed its pangs upon his own people. He has abolished death, has altered the property of it, and, because it was not possible that he should be long holden of it, it is not possible that they should be for ever holden.” But most refer this to the resurrection of Christ’s body. And death (says Mr. Baxter) is by privation a penal state, though not dolorous by positive evil. But Dr. Hammond shows that the Septuagint, and from them the apostle here, uses the word for cords and bands (as Ps. xviii. 4), to which the metaphor of loosing and being held best agrees. Christ was imprisoned for our debt, was thrown into the bands of death; but, divine justice being satisfied, it was not possible he should be detained there, either by right or by force; for he had life in himself, and in his own power, and had conquered the prince of death.

[2.] He attests the truth of his resurrection (v. 32): God hath raised him up, whereof we all are witnesses–we apostles, and others our companions, that were intimately acquainted with him before his death, were intimately conversant with him after his resurrection, did eat and drink with him. They received power, by the descent of the Holy Ghost upon them, on purpose that they might be skilful, faithful, and courageous witnesses of this thing, notwithstanding their being charged by his enemies as having stolen him away.

[3.] He showed it to be the fulfilling of the scripture, and, because the scripture had said that he must rise again before he saw corruption, therefore it was impossible that he should be holden by death and the grave; for David speaks of his being raised, so it comes in, v. 25. The scripture he refers to is that of David (Ps. xvi. 8-11), which, though in part applicable to David as a saint, yet refers chiefly to Jesus Christ, of whom David was a type. Here is,

First, The text quoted at large (v. 25-28), for it was all fulfilled in him, and shows us, 1. The constant regard that our Lord Jesus had to his Father in his whole undertaking: I foresaw the Lord before me continually. He set before him his Father’s glory as his end in all–for he saw that his sufferings would redound abundantly to the honour of God, and would issue in his own joy; these were set before him, and these he had an eye to, in all he did and suffered; and with the prospect of these he was borne up and carried on, Joh 13:31; Joh 13:32; Joh 17:4; Joh 17:5. 2. The assurance he had of his Father’s presence and power going along with him: “He is on my right hand, the hand of action, strengthening, guiding, and upholding that, that I should not be moved, nor driven off from my undertaking, notwithstanding the hardships I must undergo.” This was an article of the covenant of redemption (Ps. lxxxix. 21), With him my hand shall be established, my arm also shall strengthen him; and therefore he is confident the work shall not miscarry in his hand. If God be at our right hand we shall not be moved. 3. The cheerfulness with which our Lord Jesus went on in his work, notwithstanding the sorrows he was to pass through: “Being satisfied that I shall not be moved, but the good pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in my hand, therefore doth my heart rejoice, and my tongue is glad, and the thought of my sorrow is as nothing to me.” Note, It was a constant pleasure to our Lord Jesus to look to the end of his work, and to be sure that the issue would be glorious; so well pleased is he with his undertaking that it does his heart good to think how the issue would answer the design. He rejoiced in spirit, Luke x. 21. My tongue was glad. In the psalm it is, My glory rejoiceth; which intimates that our tongue is our glory, the faculty of speaking is an honour to us, and never more so than when it is employed in praising God. Christ’s tongue was glad, for when he was just entering upon his sufferings, in the close of his last supper, he sang a hymn. 4. The pleasing prospect he had of the happy issue of his death and sufferings; it was this that carried him, not only with courage, but with cheerfulness, through them; he was putting off the body, but my flesh shall rest; the grave shall be to the body, while it lies there, a bed of repose, and hope shall give it a sweet repose; it shall rest in hope, hoti, that thou wilt no leave my soul in hell; what follows is the matter of his hope, or assurance rather, (1.) That the soul shall not continue in a state of separation from the body; for, besides that this is some uneasiness to a human soul made for its body, it would be the continuance of death’s triumph over him who was in truth a conqueror over death: “Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell” (in hades, in the invisible state, so hades properly signifies); “but, though thou suffer it for a time to remove thither, and to remain there, yet thou wilt remand it; thou wilt not leave it there, as thou dost the souls of other men.” (2.) That the body shall lie but a little while in the grave: Thou wilt not suffer thy Holy One to see corruption; the body shall not continue dead so long as to begin to putrefy or become noisome; and therefore it must return to life on or before the third day after its death. Christ was God’s Holy One, sanctified and set apart to his service in the work of redemption; he must die, for he must be consecrated by his own blood; but he must not see corruption, for his death was to be unto God of a sweet smelling savour. This was typified by the law concerning the sacrifice, that no part of the flesh of the sacrifice which was to be eaten should be kept till the third day, for fear it should see corruption and begin to putrefy, Lev. vii. 15-18. (3.) That his death and sufferings should be, not to him only, but to all his, an inlet to a blessed immortality: “Thou has made known to me the ways of life, and by me made them known to the world, and laid them open.” When the Father gave to the Son to have life in himself, a power to lay down his life and to take it again, then he showed him the way of life, both to and fro; the gates of death were open to him and the doors of the shadow of death (Job xxxviii. 17), to pass and repass through them, as his occasion led him, for man’s redemption. (4.) That all his sorrows and sufferings should end in perfect and perpetual felicity: Thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. The reward set before him was joy, a fulness of joy, and that in God’s countenance, in the countenance he gave to his undertaking, and to all those, for his sake, that should believe in him. The smiles with which the Father received him, when, at his ascension, he was brought to the Ancient of days, filled him with joy unspeakable, and that is the joy of our Lord, into which all his shall enter, and in which they shall be for ever happy.

Secondly, The comment upon this text, especially so much of it as relates to the resurrection of Christ. He addresses himself to them with a title of respect, Men and brethren, v. 29. “You are men, and therefore should be ruled by reason; you are brethren, and therefore should take kindly what is said to you by one who, being nearly related to you, is heartily concerned for you, and wishes you well. Now, give me leave freely to speak to you concerning the patriarch David, and let it be no offence to you if I tell you that David cannot be understood here as speaking of himself, but of the Christ to come.” David is here called a patriarch, because he was the father of the royal family, and a man of great note and eminency in his generation, and whose name and memory were justly very precious. Now when we read that psalm of his, we must consider, 1. That he could not say that of himself, for he died, and was buried, and his sepulchre remained in Jerusalem till now, when Peter spoke this, and his bones and ashes in it. Nobody ever pretended that he had risen, and therefore he could never say of himself that he should not see corruption; for it was plain he did see corruption. St. Paul urges this, ch. xiii. 35-37. Though he was a man after God’s own heart, yet he went the way of all the earth, as he saith himself (1 Kings ii. 2), both in death and burial. 2. Therefore certainly he spoke it as a prophet, with an eye to the Messiah, whose sufferings the prophets testified beforehand, and with them the glory that should follow; so did David in that psalm, as Peter here plainly shows. (1.) David knew that the Messiah should descend from his loins (v. 30), that God had sworn to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne. He promised him a Son, the throne of whose kingdom should be established for ever, 2 Sam. vii. 12. And it is said (Ps. cxxxii. 11), God swore it in truth unto David. When our Lord Jesus was born, it was promised that the Lord God would give him the throne of his father David, Luke i. 32. And all Israel knew that the Messiah was to be the Son of David, that is, that, according to the flesh, he should be so by his human nature; for otherwise, according to the spirit, and by his divine nature, he was to be David’s Lord, not his son. God having sworn to David that the Messiah, promised to his fathers, should be his son and successor, the fruit of his loins, and heir to his throne, he kept this in view, in penning his psalms. (2.) Christ being the fruit of his loins, and consequently in his loins when he penned that psalm (as Levi is said to be in Abraham’s loins when he paid tithes to Melchizedek), if what he says, as in his own person, be not applicable to himself (as it is plain that it is not), we must conclude it points to that son of his that was then in his loins, in whom his family and kingdom were to have their perfection and perpetuity; and therefore, when he says that his soul should not be left in its separate state, nor his flesh see corruption, without doubt he must be understood to speak of the resurrection of Christ, v. 31. And as Christ died, so he rose again, according to the scriptures; and that he did so we are witnesses. (3.) Here is a glance at his ascension too. As David did not rise from the dead, so neither did he ascend into the heavens, bodily, as Christ did, v. 34. And further, to prove that when he spoke of the resurrection he meant it of Christ, he observes that when in another psalm he speaks of the next step of his exaltation he plainly shows that he spoke of another person, and such another as was his Lord (Ps. cx. 1): “The Lord said unto my Lord, when he had raised him from the dead, Sit thou at my right hand, in the highest dignity and dominion there; be thou entrusted with the administration of the kingdom both of providence and grace; sit there as king, until I make thy foes either thy friends or thy footstool,” v. 35. Christ rose from the grave to rise higher, and therefore it must be of his resurrection that David spoke, and not his own, in the 16th Psalm; for there was no occasion for him to rise out of his grave who was not to ascend to heaven.

(4.) The application of this discourse concerning the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ.

[1.] This explains the meaning of the present wonderful effusion of the Spirit in those extraordinary gifts. Some of the people had asked (v. 12), What meaneth this? I will tell you the meaning of it, says Peter. This Jesus being exalted to the right hand of God, so some read it, to sit there; exalted by the right hand of God, so we read it, by his power and authority–it comes all to one; and having received of the Father, to whom he has ascended, the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath given what he received (Ps. lxviii. 18), and hath shed forth this which you now see and hear; for the Holy Ghost was to be given when Jesus was glorified, and not before, John vii. 39. You see and hear us speak with tongues that we never learned; probably there was an observable change in the air of their countenances, which they saw, as well as heard the change of their voice and language; now this is from the Holy Ghost, whose coming is an evidence that Jesus is exalted, and he has received this gift from the Father, to confer it upon the church, which plainly bespeaks him to be the Mediator, or middle person between God and the church. The gift of the Holy Ghost was, First, A performance of divine promises already made; here it is called the promise of the Holy Ghost; many exceedingly great and precious promises the divine power has given us, but this is the promise, by way of eminency, as that of the Messiah had been, and this is the promise that includes all the rest; hence God’s giving the Holy Spirit to those that ask him (Luke xi. 13) is his giving them all good things, Matt. vii. 11. Christ received the promise of the Holy Ghost, that is, the promised gift of the Holy Ghost, and has given it to us; for all the promises are yea and amen in him. Secondly, It was a pledge of all divine favours further intended; what you now see and hear is but an earnest of greater things.

[2.] This proves what you are all bound to believe, that Christ Jesus is the true Messiah and Saviour of the world; this he closes his sermon with, as the conclusion of the whole matter, the quod erat demonstrandum–the truth to be demonstrated (v. 36): Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that this truth has now received its full confirmation, and we our full commission to publish it, That God has made that same Jesus whom you have crucified both Lord and Christ. They were charged to tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ till after his resurrection (Mat 16:20; Mat 17:9); but now it must be proclaimed on the housetops, to all the house of Israel; he that hath ears to hear, let him hear it. It is not proposed as probable, but deposed as certain: Let them know it assuredly, and know that it is their duty to receive it as a faithful saying, First, That God has glorified him whom they have crucified. This aggravates their wickedness, that they crucified one whom God designed to glorify, and put him to death as a deceiver who had given such pregnant proofs of his divine mission; and it magnifies the wisdom and power of God that though they crucified him, and thought thereby to have put him under an indelible mark of infamy, yet God had glorified him, and the indignities they had done him served as a foil to his lustre. Secondly, That he has glorified him to such a degree as to make him both Lord and Christ: these signify the same; he is Lord of all, and he is not a usurper, but is Christ, anointed to be so. He is one Lord to the Gentiles, who had had lords many; and to the Jews he is Messiah, which includes all his offices. He is the king Messiah, as the Chaldee paraphrast calls him; or, as the angel to Daniel, Messiah the prince, Dan. ix. 25. This is the great truth of the gospel which we are to believe, that that same Jesus, the very same that was crucified at Jerusalem, is he to whom we owe allegiance, and from whom we are to expect protection, as Lord and Christ.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

Standing up with the eleven ( ). Took his stand with the eleven including Matthias, who also rose up with them, and spoke as their spokesman, a formal and impressive beginning. The Codex Bezae has “ten apostles.” Luke is fond of this pictorial use of (first aorist passive participle of ) as seen nowhere else in the N.T. (Luke 18:11; Luke 18:40; Luke 19:8; Acts 5:20; Acts 17:22; Acts 27:21).

Lifted up his voice ( ). This phrase only in Luke in the N.T. (Luke 11:29; Acts 2:14; Acts 14:11; Acts 22:22), but is common in the old writers. First aorist active indicative of . The large crowd and the confusion of tongues demanded loud speaking. “This most solemn, earnest, yet sober speech” (Bengel). Codex Bezae adds “first” after “voice.” Peter did it to win and hold attention.

Give ear unto my words ( ). Late verb in LXX and only here in the N.T. First aorist middle from (, , ear) to give ear to, receive into the ear. People’s ears differ greatly, but in public speech they have to be reached through the ear. That puts an obligation on the speaker and also on the auditors who should sit where they can hear with the ears which they have, an obligation often overlooked.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

Standing up [] . See on Luk 18:11; Luk 19:9.

Said [] . See on ver. 4 Better, rev., spake forth. “This most solemn, earnest, yet sober speech” (Bengel).

Hearken [] . Only here in New Testament. From ejn, in; and ouv, the ear. Rev., give ear.

Words [] . See on Luk 1:37.

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

Introduction to Peter’s Address Fulfillment of Joel’s Prophecy Declared, V. 14-21.

1) “But Peter standing up with the eleven,” (statheis de he petros sun tois endeka) “But Peter standing up in close affinity (in colleague with) the eleven other apostles,” and proceeding to defend the testimony that the 120 had given of the mighty works of Jesus in many other languages or other native tongues for the benefit of those who had already heard that day, Act 2:1-13.
2) “Lifted up his voice and said unto them,” (eperen ten phonen autou kai apephthegksato autois) “Raised his voice (spoke loudly and distinctly) and spoke out or responded to them,” in response to their derision and mocking, Act 2:13.
3) “Ye men of Judea,” (andres loudaioi) “Men of Judea,” Jewish men, or all you Jewish men, of the Jewish race, whether from the Asian, African, or European continents or from among the more than fifteen native countries named, Act 2:8-11.
4) “And all ye that dwell at Jerusalem,” (kai hoi katoikountes lerousalem) “Even or including all those Jewish inhabitants of Jerusalem,” those who had long been settled in the Jerusalem area, near the temple, devout students of the Law of Moses, Act 2:5.
5) “Be this known unto you,” (touto humingnosten esto) “Let this be known to you all,” or let all of you know this, hold this in your mind, comprehend this that I have to tell you. Only a few days before he had cursed, denied the Lord, but he had since returned to God, 2Pe 3:9; Joh 1:8-9.
6) “And hearken unto my words:” (kai enotisasthe ta harmata mou) “And you all (all the multitude that had come together) give ear to (an honest hearing to) my address, testimony, or explanation of this event and its meaning to you all,” The words of God and God’s witnesses are to be considered with earnest response, obedience, Heb 2:1-3.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

14. And Peter, standing By this word standing he did signify, that there was a grave sermon made in the assembly; for they did rise when they spoke unto the people, to the end they might be the better heard. The sum of this sermon is this, he gathereth that Christ is already revealed and given by the gift of the Holy Ghost, which they saw. Yet, first, he refuteth that false opinion, in that they thought that the disciples were drunk. This refutation consisteth upon a probable argument; because men use not to be drunk betimes in the morning. For, as Paul saith,
“
Those which are drunk are drunk in the night,” (1Th 5:7.)
For they flee the light for shame. And surely so great is the filthiness of this vice, that for good causes it hateth the light. And yet this argument were not always good; for Esaias doth inveigh in his time against those which did rise early to follow drunkenness. And at this day there be many who, like hogs, so soon as they awake, run to quaffing. But because this is (89) a common custom amongst men, Peter saith, that it is no likely thing. Those which have but even small skill in antiquity do know that the civil day, from the rising of the sun until the going down thereof, was divided into twelve hours; so that the hours were longer in summer, and shorter in winter. Therefore, that which should now be the ninth before noon in winter, and in summer the eighth, was the third hour amongst the old people. (90) Therefore, whereas Peter doth only lightly remove the opinion of drunkenness, he doth it for this cause, because it had been superfluous to have stood about any long excuse. (91) Therefore, as in a matter which was certain and out of doubt, he doth rather pacify those which mocked, than labor to teach them. And he doth not so much refute them by the circumstance of time, as by the testimony of Joel. For when he saith that that is now come to pass which was foretold, he toucheth briefly their unthankfulness, because they do not acknowledge such an excellent benefit promised unto them in times past which they now see with their eyes. And whereas he upbraideth the fault of a few unto all, (92) he doth it not to this end, that he may make them all guilty of the same fault; but because a fit occasion was offered by their mocking to teach them altogether, he doth not foreslow the same. (93)
(89) “ Abhorret,” differs from.
(90) “ Veteribus,” the ancients.
(91) “ Anxia excusatio,” anxious excuse.
(92) “ Quod autem omnibus exprobrat paucorum vitium,” as to his upbraiding all with the fault of a few.
(93) “ Eam non negligit,” he does not neglect it.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

CRITICAL REMARKS
Act. 2:14. Men of Juda.Natives of Jerusalem. Ye that dwell at Jerusalem.Foreign Jews, sojourners in the city from other parts.
Act. 2:15. These.Not the eleven with Peter merely, but all who had been heard speaking (Act. 2:7). The third hour.Nine a.m. in our time; the hour of morning prayer (Schrer considers this doubtful), before which no respectable Jew allowed himself to become intoxicated (Isa. 5:11).
Act. 2:16. Through the prophet.Joe. 2:28-32. since he was not the author but the medium of the message.
Act. 2:17. The last days.The LXX. read , after these things. The Hebrew afterwards, expounded by Peter as referring to Messianic times. Saith God indicates the source of the prophecy. Young men old men.The order of the clauses in Joel is transposed.
Act. 2:20. That great and notable day of the Lord.Notable = clear, far shining. (Compare Luk. 17:21.) The Hebrew prophets used the day of the Lord to signify any remarkable interposition of Jehovah for the punishment of His enemies (Isa. 2:12; Jer. 46:10; Zep. 1:7). Joel used it to describe the Messianic coming, both first and second.
HOMILETICAL ANALYSIS.Act. 2:14-21
Peters Sermon.
1. The First Christian Apology; or, the Pentecostal Mystery explained
I. The attention of the people summoned.
1. By a courageous attitude. Peters standing up with the eleven signified that they did not intend to shirk investigation, be overborne by clamour, or hurried away with excitement. A reasonable amount of fortitude is requisite for all who would bespeak the attention of their fellows on any subject, but especially on religion. This fortitude ought never to be wanting when the interests of Christs kingdom are at stake, or anything about the behaviour of Christs ambassadors requires to be investigated.
2. By an earnest utterance. As Peters manner was unshrinking, so were his words fervent. Like the multitude around, he, too, was under strong excitement, only different from theirs. Besides, he perceived a crisis had arisen in the history of His Masters causethe time had passed for keeping silence, and the hour struck for speech (Ecc. 3:7).
3. By a frank appeal. Intending to hide nothing from his auditors, he invited the attention of all who could understand him, the men of Juda, and of those who could only reach his meaning through translation, the foreign dwellers at Jerusalem.
II. The charge of drunkenness repelled.
1. As mistaken. Founded on a hasty generalisation, and grounded on appearance, which is seldom reliable as a basis for judgment (Joh. 7:24), it was an altogether unwarranted inference.
2. As impossible. Not because wine was not obtainable before 9 a.m., the third hour of the Jewish day, but because during festal seasons it was unlawful to take food, and much more to drink wine earlier than the hour of morning prayer, and because the characters of the accused rendered the charge absurd. These men, said the Apostle, whom ye all see and know, and who like yourselves have come up to worship at the feast, are not likely to be drunk at 9 a.m.
3. As ridiculous. Drunken men, he might have added, have commonly a difficulty in speaking their own tongues, let alone making use of foreign languages.
III. The mystery of the tongues explained.As a fulfilment of prophecy.
1. Of the effusion of the Holy Spirit.
(1) By God, whose the Spirit was, and who had engaged to pour it forth in the last times, or in the closing dispensation of the world.
(2) Upon all flesh, without distinction of sexUpon your sons and your daughters; or ageupon young men and old; or conditionupon bondmen and bondmaidens, as well as upon free persons.
(3) With inward illumination, so that they who received it should prophesy or utter divine communications of religious truth, as the apostles and other Christians who had the gift of prophecy did (see 1Co. 14:3), should see visions, or possess insight into spiritual and unseen realities, as Stephen did in the judgment hall (Act. 7:55), Peter on the housetop (Act. 10:10), and Paul on the Damascus road (Act. 9:3), and in the Temple (Act. 22:17), and should dream dreams, as perhaps John did in Patmos on the Lords day (Rev. 1:10).
2. Of the Second Coming of Christ. Characterised as a great and notable day.
(1) In comparison with His first advent, which was lowly and obscure, whereas this was to be conspicuous and glorious (Mat. 25:31).
(2) Because of the portents which should attend it, the wonders in heaven above and signs on the earth beneath, etc.language descriptive of the woes and horrors that should overtake such as refused to acknowledge Christwhich received its first and partial fulfilment in the Destruction of Jerusalem, and will attain its complete realisation at the Last Day, when those who decline to believe and obey Christ will be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of God, and from the glory of His power (2Th. 1:9).
3. Of the free publication of the Gospel. This also, according to the prophet, should distinguish Messianic times. Under the dispensation of the Spirit, whosoever should call upon the name of the Lord, not merely evoking but accepting Him and trusting in Him for all that His name should imply, should be saved. (Compare Rom. 10:13.)
Learn.
1. It is no disparagement to a Christian to be found fault with by the world.
2. It is better to be drunk with the Spirit than to be intoxicated with wine:
3. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
4. The gospel has two outlooksone of mercy for the believer, another of wrath for the unbeliever.
HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Act. 2:15. Drunkenness and Spiritual Influence.
I. Compared.
1. Both accompanied by bodily manifestations.
2. Both frequently attended by mental excitement.
3. Both, as a rule, followed by corresponding prostration.
II. Contrasted.
1. The one is a carnal excitement; the other is a spiritual ravishment.
2. The one, a degrading sin; the other, an elevating grace.
2. The one leads to moral and spiritual ruin, the other terminates in salvation and eternal life.
Act. 2:17-18. The Dispensation of the Spirit.
I. The age to which it belongs.The last daysi.e., all the days of the New Testament era.
II. The author from whom it proceeds.Jehovah, the God of the ancient Church and the founder of the new, the God and Father of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
III. The persons on whom it descends.All flesh, without distinction of sex or age, provided they be servants and handmaidens of the Lord.
IV. The measure in which it is given.Not in drops but in streams. I will pour out.
V. The effects by which it is followed.The highest forms of spiritual illuminationprophesying, seeing visions, and having dreams.
Act. 2:17. Visions for Young Men.
I. The vision of the Saviour Christ.Such as Saul of Tarsus received in the hour of his conversion (Act. 22:14)a vision of Christ as the Righteous One, as the greatest, the wisest, the dearest, and the bestall ones salvation and all ones desire.
II. The vision of a better self.Such as every young man obtains when he gets his vision of Christ. In this vision of a better self are included two spiritual experiences:
1. An immediate and an intense self-depreciation, as if the first outcome of the vision of the divine ideal of goodness were to send down into the dust and break all to pieces; as with Simon Peter (Luk. 5:8) and the Publican (Luk. 18:13).
2. The springing up of an intense aspiration. There is a gradual emptying of self, and a gradual abandonment to the ideal in Christ, so much so that the motto of Paul becomes that of every Christian, To me to live is Christ.
III. The vision of a better society.A common vision with the saints of God is to see the kingdom of God established on the earth. A modern preacher of righteousnessthe Rev. Hugh Price Hughesspecifies no less than a round dozen of devils which must be cast out of modern societydrunkenness, lust, slavery, ignorance, gambling, pauperism, disease, crime, war, the opium trade, the torture of dumb animals the sale of spirits and gunpowder to savages.
IV. The vision of a better Church.Of a Church free, united, and energetici.e., free to recognise the Lord Jesus Christ alone as its head, and neither pope nor prelate, Queen nor State; united, in the sense that all unnecessary separations shall have ceased; and energetic in doing its God-appointed work amongst men.
V. The vision of a heavenly inheritance.On the wall of the house in Hamburgh, where the poet Klopstock lived and died, was a board with this inscriptionImmortality is a great thought; but the thought of Eternal Life in an eternal Home is greater still. A vision of this will defy all the negations of science, and lift the soul higher than all the guesses of philosophers and all the dreams of poets. Hopeful saw the gates of the city, and that was enough. He looked, and from that happy peace (the Delectable Mountains) Gods glory smote him on the face. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.P. Wilson, M.A.
Act. 2:20. The Day of the Lord.Great and notable.
I. As regards the splendour of Christs manifestation.On that day the Son of man will appear in the glory of His Father and with His holy angels.
II. As regards the blessedness of Christs people.Then this will reach its highest point. They will appear with Him in glory.
III. As regards the destruction of Christs foes.This will then be sudden, complete, and final.
Act. 2:21. The Messianic Salvation.
I. Its import.Deliverance from the guilt and power of sinvictory over death and the graveResurrection and Eternal Life.
II. Its foundation.The Name of the Lord. The merciful and gracious character of God in Christ, the only plea of a sinners justification.
III. Its condition.Calling on that Name, which implies faith and earnestness on the part of the caller, as well as an acknowledgment of his need of salvation and utter helplessness to procure it for himself.
IV. Its universality.It is offered to every one who chooses to comply with the aforesaid condition. Whosoever shall call shall be saved.
V. Its certainty.It shall be, of a verity, without any peradventure. The believers salvation is guaranteed by the oath and promise of God, both of which are Yea and Amen in Christ.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

c.
The sermon of Peter. Act. 2:14-36.
Act. 2:14
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spake forth unto them, saying, Ye men

THE TOMB OF DAVID
The whole group of buildings is called Neby Daud, which signifies the Sanctuary of the Sepulchre of the Prophet David.
Peter could say in his day: his tomb is with us unto this day. Persons could go to view the place where David was buried. And so today we are shown in the city of Jerusalem these buildings as the tomb of David. Whether or not this tomb does indeed contain the dust of the king of Israel we know that he both died and was buried, but of the one he spoke He is alive forevermore. Only kings and prophets were buried in cities. (1Ki. 2:10; 1Ki. 16:6; 1Sa. 25:1; 1Sa. 25:28.)
of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and give ear unto my words:
Act. 2:15
For these are not drunken, as ye suppose; seeing it is but the third hour of the day;
Act. 2:16
but this is that which hath been spoken through the prophet Joel:
Act. 2:17
And it shall be in the last days, saith God,
I will pour forth 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:
Act. 2:18
Yea and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days
Will I pour forth of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.
Act. 2:19
And I will show wonders in the heaven above,
And signs on the earth beneath;
Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke:
Act. 2:20
The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the day of the Lord come,
That great and notable day:
Act. 2:21
And it shall be, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Act. 2:22
Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God unto you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, even as ye yourselves know;
Act. 2:23
him, being delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye by the hand of lawless men did crucify and slay:
Act. 2:24
whom God raised up, having loosed the pangs of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
Act. 2:25
For David saith concerning him,
I beheld the Lord always before my face;
For he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
Act. 2:26
Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
Moreover my flesh also shall dwell in hope:
Act. 2:27
Because thou wilt not leave my soul unto Hades,
Neither wilt thou give thy Holy One to see corruption.
Act. 2:28
Thou madest known unto me the ways of life;
Thou shalt make me full of gladness with thy countenance.
Act. 2:29
Brethren, I may say unto you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us unto this day.
Act. 2:30
Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins he would set one upon his throne;
Act. 2:31
he foreseeing this spake of the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he left unto Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.
Act. 2:32
This Jesus did God raise up, whereof we all are witnesses.
Act. 2:33
Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath poured forth this, which ye see and hear.
Act. 2:34
For David ascended not into the heavens: but he saith himself,
The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
Act. 2:35
Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet.
Act. 2:36
Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified.
Act. 2:14-16 Evidently the jeering of the mockers was loud and distinct enough to be heard by the apostles, for we now find Peter standing forth among the twelve and giving answer to their charge. His first words are a bold denial of the accusation and then follows his two-fold reply; These are not drunken, as ye suppose because:
1.
It is only nine oclock in the morning; whoever heard of men drunk at this hour on a sacred feast day? The drunken charge could not have been true for it was a strict violation of Jewish law to drink intoxicants on a feast day.
2.
This which ye behold is a fulfillment of prophecy. This is that which hath been spoken through the prophet Joel. Then he quotes the words of the prophet. We shall notice their import and meaning according to the verses:
Act. 2:17-18 The last days spoken of in these verses must be associated with the context for their meaning. The words of Joel, like those of a number of other prophets have to do with Judah and Jerusalem, hence we can say that the last days have reference to the last days of Judah as a tribe (the term Judah has reference also, at times, to the whole nation of Israel) and to the last days of Jerusalem as a city. The exact fulfillment of these words becomes apparent when we realize that it was only thirty-five or forty years from the day Peter spoke to the utter destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of the nation of Israel.
52.
How do the words of Peter concerning the time of day answer the charge of the mockers?
53.
To what period of time do the words, the last days, refer, as used in Act. 2:17?
The pouring forth of the Holy Spirit upon all flesh was potentially accomplished upon the day of Pentecost. It is impossible to claim more than this. The reference to all flesh doubtless contemplated the reception of the Holy Spirit by both Jew and Gentile. To say that all flesh upon this day received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is an absurdity in view of the fact that all present were Jews. How then can it be said that these words of the prophet can here find fulfillment? It seems best to say that because the apostles were baptized in the Holy Spirit, they were enabled to carry the gospel to the Gentiles as well as the Jews, and through obedience to the gospel both Jew and Gentile received, as a gift from God, the Holy Spirit (Act. 2:38-39). Thus could it be said that all flesh received the Holy Spirit through what occurred on Pentecost.
We next find the promise of prophesying and visions. How can these be connected with the day of Pentecost and the events of that day? The answer is found in realizing that through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, the apostles were given the power that upon whomsoever they laid their hands they could impart to those persons certain spiritual powers called spiritual gifts (1Co. 12:1-11). These gifts included prophecy, wisdom, knowledge, etc. The statement in Act. 2:17-18 relative to the prophesying and visions can then be understood as the spiritual gifts imparted by the apostles to the persons named.
This all came about as a result of the Holy Spirit baptism.
54.
How can it be said that upon the day of Pentecost the words of Joel were fulfilled, i.e. the fulfillment of his words: I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh?
55.
When were these last days consummated?
56.
How were the prophesyings and visions connected with the day of Pentecost.
Act. 2:19-21 Many and various are the remarks upon these verses. We will not enter the arena of controversy, but will content ourselves by stating that it seems altogether probable that the words of these verses could very well be applied to the day of the Pentecostal feast. Note the expressions and how their fulfillment can be found in the celebration:
1.
I will show wonders in the heavens above, and signs on the earth beneath . . . then follows the description of the wonders and signs . . . Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the day of the Lord come, that great and notable day: And it shall be that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
One explanation of Act. 2:19-21 is: The blood and fire, and vapor of smoke, were surely found upon the day of this feast. The blood must have flowed from the altars like rivers, as the thousands of animals were sacrificed. The fire and vapor of smoke ascended from the altars as the same sacrifices were burned. As the great billows of smoke filled the air in Jerusalem the sun was quite literally turned into darkness, being hidden because of the smoke-encumbered atmosphere. The moon viewed through the smoke appeared as the color of blood. All this took place before the preaching of the first gospel sermon; the preaching of this message of redemption made this day of Pentecost the day of the Lord. And then it could be said that Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How this calling upon the name of the Lord took place may best be understood by reading the rest of the chapter.
Peters answer to the accusation of the drunkenness formed a springboard for the rest of his message. Having shown that the events happening were in fulfillment of the prophets words, he now continues his message, and immediately brings forward the burden of his inspired utterance. Those who stood before him must have now understood that he and the eleven were indeed inspired, and the message they proclaimed was one from God. There must have been but one question in the mind of every thoughtful Jew: We must indeed confess that these men are speaking under divine leadership, but what is the purpose? What is the reason behind all this? Surely there must be more to this occasion than a mere declaration unto various nations in their various languages the mighty works of God. This question is now answered by the apostle Peter. We might say in our own words that the intent of this divine splendor was to prepare the way for the declaration of Jesus as Christ and Lord.
Act. 2:22-24 These verses contain the theme and proposition of the message. Act. 2:25-36 are but a development and enlargement of the facts stated in Act. 2:22-24. Consider the facts in these verses: Ye men of Israel, hear these words. A preparatory remark which called attention to the importance of what was to follow: This Jesus of Nazareth was a man approved of God by mighty works and wonders and signs, which were performed through the power of God, in their very midst. They who stood before Peter, especially those dwellers in Judea, had witnessed many of the miracles wrought by Jesus, and therefore well knew the words of Peter were the truth. The real purpose of these works, wonders and signs had evidently escaped the perception of those who beheld them, for Peter now gives to those acts of power their full meaning. These things were done that they might believe and know that Gods approval was upon this man; that God had singled Him out above others, upon whom to place His sanction and seal. This to the mind of the Jew could be nothing else than a description of the Messiah, or Christ.
57.
Where were the wonders and signs, spoken of in prophecy, fulfilled?
58.
From your open Bible read the 19th and 20th verses and then from memory show how these things were fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, with special note concerning the day of the Lord.
59.
Following the answer of the charge of drunkenness, what natural question would be in the mind of every thinking Jew?
60.
What was the real purpose behind all of this divine splendor?
61.
In which verses do we have the theme and proposition for the message of Peter? What would you say the theme is? The proposition?
Next come the words that struck conviction and intense personal guilt to the hearts of all who heard. That this Nazarene was One who was mighty in word and deed could hardly be denied; but what had happened to Him? Yes, that was the question; and all those on that day knew what had happened. It must have been a much talked of fact, that this Jesus of Nazareth had been crucified outside the city of Zion a few short weeks ago. But none had thought of its terrible import until these words spoken by Gods direction fell upon their understanding. Peter now says that God Himself had directed the death of this one, and yet they (the Jews) were personally responsible for the despicable deed. More than this God raised Him from the dead. Such a one could not be held by the bonds of death; through the power of God, He tore away the bonds of death and came forth the triumphant victor over death and the grave. What shocking news, they had crucified the Messiah! And yet God had foreordained it to be so. Still more astounding, He is now raised from the dead.
There were four facts stated by Peter in the opening words of his message: (1) Jesus was approved of God by mighty works, wonders and signs. (2) He was crucified by the Jews, using the lawless hands of the Romans. (3) God had predetermined this. (4) God raised this Holy One from the dead. Of these four facts, the first two needed no proof for they could not be gainsayed; the last two needed further evidence for verification.
Act. 2:25-32 Act. 2:25-32 contain scriptural proof for facts three and four. The easiest way to convince any Jew God had predetermined an event was to refer to the Old Testament scriptures and there show a prophetic word that would apply to the point under dispute.
62.
Why would the words of Peter as found in Act. 2:22-24 strike conviction to the hearts of those that heard?
63.
State from memory in your own words, the four facts that Peter gave in the opening words of his message.
64.
What purpose can be assigned to Act. 2:25-32?
65.
What is the procedure used by Peter in convincing the Jews of points 3 and 4?
This procedure is here used by Peter, The Psalmist David is called in to witness that God had previously determined that a certain person would be raised from the dead. Act. 2:25-27 contain the words of David written prophetically some five hundred to seven hundred years before Christ, In this quotation from this Psalm of David we note in Act. 2:25-26 introductory remarks to the real point of the prophecy contained in Act. 2:27. The first person is here used by David in referring to the Christ, Note his words:
I beheld the Lord always before my face; for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh also shall dwell in hope.
Since the person spoken of is the Christ, we can say that the words of these verses have to do with His pre-existence. While in this state, He beheld the Lord always before His face, for Jehovah was very near to Him, and was His strength. This nearness, and harmony caused His heart to be glad and also resulted in words of rejoicing. Then looking forward to His earthly advent He could say, because of His previous perfect harmony with the Father, that when He became flesh that He could live or dwell in hope. This leads us to the theme of the prophecy; That although the spirit of the Christ would depart from the body, yet it would not remain in the place of the departed spirits, i.e. in Hades; neither would the flesh or body of the Holy One of God see corruption. This is speaking of a resurrection, of a return of the spirit to the body ere the body could decay. Thus were the two facts of the pre-determination of God and the resurrection of the Christ established in one concerted effort.
Peter has yet to make the direct application of this proof to Jesus of Nazareth.
Act. 2:28 refers to the fact that the ways of the life of the Christ while on earth were directed by Jehovah . . . because He thus allowed Himself to be directed, He could look forward to the gladness of beholding His Fathers face in glory.
The thought that in this prophecy David was describing a resurrection from the dead was undeniable. The only question remaining in the mind of the Jewish multitude was Of whom speaketh the prophet, of himself, or of some other? Since the Psalmist had used the first person, it was necessary to first show that this prophecy did not refer to David. Of this Peter now speaks: It was a well known fact that David both died and was buried, and his tomb could be witnessed by any interested. So it could never be said the resurrection prophecy found its fulfillment in the prophet. The solution is found in the prophetic office David held; he being a prophet could speak accurately of future events. David knew that God had made a promise to him, and in this promise God had said that from his loins there would come One who would occupy the eternal throne in heaven. He knowing these facts, then spoke as he did in Psalm Sixteen. In this Psalm David spoke of the resurrection of the Christ; that neither was He left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. To what purpose was the resurrection here spoken of? The answer is very evident; because only such a resurrected, glorified being could occupy this promised throne.
66.
Explain in your own words the application of Act. 2:25-26 to the Christ.
67.
Show how the two points, three and four, are established in one concerted effort.
68.
Explain Act. 2:28.
It now begins to be more and more manifest to those listening that it was predicted of the Christ:
(1) He would die. (2) Yet His spirit would not remain in Hades. (3) Nor would His body decay. (4) Furthermore, He was to be raised to sit on the heavenly throne at the right hand of God.
Act. 2:33 The ultimate conclusion has been reached and Peter now enforces the thought that must have been in the mind of every thinking Jew. Jesus had fulfilled every other qualification of the Christ, there only remains the exaltation at the right hand of the Father. This, Peter says of Jesus in no uncertain terms, note:
Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and then in connection with His exalted position and in direct relation to the present circumstances of the day of Pentecost, Peter states that upon being thus enthroned Jesus received the promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit. The demonstration of the Holy Spirits action on the day of Pentecost was a result of the sending forth of this promised Comforter by none other than Jesus of Nazareth, who is the Christ.
The following have a fulfillment in only one person, Jesus of Nazareth, for:
(1) He was crucified. (2) His body did not decay in the tomb. (3) His spirit did not remain in Hades. (4) He is spoken of as raised by God from the dead.
Then indeed this one must be the Christ of God. He now is at the right hand of the Father. This conclusion Peter drives home in these words filled with meaning:
This Jesus did God raise up, whereof we all are witnesses.
Peter had said previously that God had raised Jesus from the dead (Act. 2:24) but in the intervening verses He tells us why He was raised from the dead. He here gives to us the proof of His resurrection, We know God raised Him from the dead, says Peter, for we all (we apostles) are witnesses of His resurrection.
69.
What relation does Act. 2:29 have to the prophecy of David?
70.
What connection is there between the promise God made to David and the resurrection of the Christ?
71.
Show how what was predicted of the Christ found its fulfillment in Jesus.
Act. 2:34-35 The final word of prophetic proof is found in verses thirty-four and thirty-five. Peter here shows that what he had said of the Christ could never have been said of David, for he never made an ascent into heaven. Further than that, David denied any thought of himself ascending into heaven when he said (in Psa. 110:1) that Jehovah was speaking to Davids Lord (which could be none other than the Christ), when He invited Him to sit at His right hand till His enemies were subdued, This word from the Psalmist of the exaltation of the Christ and the evident application of it to the experience of Jesus gives a mighty background and foundation of power, for the words of Peters climactic conclusion. Hear him:
Act. 2:36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified.
The impact of these words can hardly be imagined by you and me. The one for whom all the Jews of ages past had longed and prayed had now arrived, only to be crucified by the very ones for whom He came.
Now, shall we rethink Peters sermon in outline form? Notice:
Introduction of the sermon. Act. 2:14-21. Peters answer to the drunken charge:
1.
A call to attention as to the import of what is to be said. Act. 2:14.
2.
Peters first answer based upon the time of the day. Act. 2:15.
3.
Peters second answer, based upon the fact that the events of the day were happening in fulfillment of Joels prophecy. Act. 2:16-21.
Theme of the sermon: . . . A demonstration of Jesus as the Christ. Development of the sermon. Act. 2:22-35.
1.
The mighty works, wonders, and signs of Jesus demonstrate Gods approval. Act. 2:22.
2.
His death was predetermined by Jehovah and carried out through the lawless hands of the Romans, prompted by the hate of the Jews. Act. 2:23.
3.
God raised Him from the dead. Act. 2:24.
4.
David spoke in great detail of the resurrection and exaltation of the Christ, which finds its fulfillment not in David, but only in Jesus. Act. 2:25-31.
5.
Jesus was raised from the dead. This fact was attested by eyewitnesses. Act. 2:32.
6.
Jesus was exalted for the express purpose of receiving the Holy Spirit. Jesus in this exalted position now gives the Holy Spirit to the apostles in this special manifestation. Act. 2:33.
7.
David spoke of this exaltation in another Psalm (Psa. 110:1) when he himself had not ascended into heaven but referred to his Lord as being asked by the Lord to sit at His right hand till all his enemies were subdued. Act. 2:34.
72.
What connection does the manifestation of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost have with the exaltation of the Christ?
73.
Explain Act. 2:34-35.
74.
Show how Act. 2:34-35 form a background for the thought of Act. 2:36.
Conclusion of the sermon. Act. 2:36. Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, i.e. because:
1.
Jesus was approved of God. Act. 2:22
2.
The prediction of the death of the Christ finds an exact fulfillment in Him. Act. 2:23.
3.
God has raised Him from the dead, even as David said of the Christ. Act. 2:24-28.
4.
More than this, Jesus is now exalted even as David spoke of the Christ. Act. 2:29-31.
5.
We apostles are eye-witnesses of the resurrected Jesus. Act. 2:32.
6.
The out-pouring of the Holy Spirit here on the day of Pentecost, comes from this Jesus because of His exaltation. Act. 2:33.
7.
Finally, David spoke not of himself when he described the Lord (Jehovah), speaking to my Lord (the Christ) asking Him to sit at His right hand till all His enemies were subdued, but rather of the Christ which finds its fulfillment in Jesus of Nazareth. Act. 2:34.
We say then, in view of all this, that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified.
75.
Why did the words of Act. 2:36 cause such an impact on those who heard?
76.
From memory give the outline of Peters message.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(14) But Peter, standing up with the eleven, . . .We are struck at once with the marvellous change that has come over the character of the Apostle. Timidity has become boldness; for the few hasty words recorded in the Gospels we have elaborate discourses. There is a method and insight in the way he deals with the prophecies of the Christ altogether unlike anything that we have seen in him before. If we were reading a fictitious history, we should rightly criticise the author for the want of consistency in his portraiture of the same character in the first and second volumes of his work. As it is, the inconsistency becomes almost an evidence of the truth of the narratives that contain it. The writer of a made-up-history, bent only upon reconciling the followers of Peter and of Paul, would have made the former more prominent in the Gospels or less prominent in the Acts. And the facts which St. Luke narrates are an adequate explanation of the phenomena. In the interval that had passed, Peters mind had been opened by his Lords teaching to understand the Scriptures (Luk. 24:45), and then he had been endued, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, with power from on high. That which he now speaks is the first utterance of the new gift of prophecy, and followed rightly on I the portent of the tongues to bring about the work of conversion which they had no power to accomplish. The speech which follows was spoken either in the Aramaic of Palestine, or, more probably, in the Greek, which was common in Galilee, and which would be intelligible to all, or nearly all, of the pilgrims from distant countries.
And said unto them.The verb is not the word commonly so rendered, but that which is translated utterance, or to utter, in Act. 2:4. The unusual word was probably repeated here to indicate that what follows was just as much an utterance of the Holy Spirit, working on and through the spiritual powers of man, as the marvel of the tongues had been.
Hearken to my words.Literally, give ear to. The verb is an unusual one, and is found here only in the New Testament. It is used not unfrequently in the LXX., as, e.g., in Gen. 4:22; Job 23:18.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

2. Second Speech of Peter that at Pentecost. Act 2:14-40 .

14. Men dwell Of course, during the Pentecost the men of Judea were gathered to the capital. We have, indeed, present several classes of persons more or less mingling Palestinian Jews, foreign Jews, devout residents and mockers.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke forth to them, saying, “You men of Judaea, and all you who dwell at Jerusalem, be this known to you, and give ear to my words.” ’
Peter stood up with the eleven. He did not sit as did the Rabbis, and put forth blessed thoughts, he stood and proclaimed. He did not wait for them to come and sit around, he lifted up his voice so that all the great crowds within the Temple courtyard could hear. For what he had to say was for all who were present.
He addresses the Judaeans present and all who dwelt at Jerusalem. The Jerusalem dwellers always saw themselves as distinctive from the Judaeans who did not live in Jerusalem (compare Mar 1:5; Isa 1:1; Isa 2:1; Isa 3:1; Isa 5:3; Jer 4:3 etc.). His address draws attention to how many Judaeans were present, and explains why Judaeans were mentioned in Act 2:9. He calls on them to listen to his words, stressing with twofold emphasis the importance of listening carefully.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Peter’s Reply (2:14-36).

In his reply Peter reveals a combination of what he has learned through the ministry of Jesus, and what Jesus had made clear to His disciples over His resurrection appearances of which we have only been given a small amount of information. The sensible explanation for that lack is that Luke saw no need for giving further information because he knew that it was also to be included in Peter’s preaching. But we do know that in those appearances Jesus had drawn their attention to the many Scriptures which had pointed forward to Himself (Luk 24:26-27; Luk 24:44-45), and had related them to His death and resurrection. Now, newly inspired by the Spirit, Peter enunciated to his listeners what he had learned from Jesus, carefully following the pattern of preaching he had been taught by Jesus (see introduction on the Speeches in Acts).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The Prophecy of Joel In Act 2:14-21 Peter begins his sermon with a text from Joe 2:28-32. We must keep in mind that there were no books of the New Testament written for almost twenty years, so the early believers preached Christ Jesus from the Old Testament Scriptures. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit was a sign that gave Peter this opportunity to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Act 2:15 Comments – The third hour of the day would be 9:00 a.m. in the morning, since the ancient Jews began their day at 6:00 a.m. [118]
[118] Alfred Edersheim says, “It is noteworthy that in Genesis 1 we always read, ‘And the evening and the morning were the first day,’ or second, or third day, etc. Hence the Jews calculate the day from evening to evening, that is, from the first appearance of the stars in the evening to the first appearance of stars next evening, and not, as we do, from midnight to midnight.” See Alfred Edersheim, The Bible History Old Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eedmann Publishing Company, c1876-1887, 1984) 19.
Act 2:16-21 Old Testament Quotes in the New Testament – Act 2:16-21 is a quote from Joe 2:28-32.
Joe 2:28-32, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.”
Comments – Note the word “afterward” in Joe 2:28. What event is Joel referring to that will take place before the out of the Holy Spirit? God will pour out His Spirit after we blow the trumpet to warn God’s people (Joe 2:1) and after God’s people turn their hearts in repentance (Joe 2:12-13), and fast (Joe 2:15) and pray (Joe 2:17). If God’s people will meet His conditions, they will receive the outpouring of His Spirit. If fact, these are the conditions that the one hundred and twenty disciples in the upper room had met in order to qualify for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.
Act 2:16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
Act 2:17 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:
Act 2:17 “and your young men shall see visions” – Comments – Through visions God gives man direction. We see visions throughout the book of Acts.
1. God directs Ananias go to Paul:
Act 9:10-11, “And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,”
2. God directs Paul to wait for Ananias:
Act 9:12, “And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.”
3. God directs Cornelius to send for Simon Peter:
Act 10:3, “He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.”
4. God directs Peter to go preach to Cornelius:
Act 10:17, “Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon’s house, and stood before the gate,”
5. God directs Paul to go to Macedonia:
Act 16:9, “And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.”
6. Paul will come to many visions and revelations:
2Co 12:1, “It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.”
All of them were seekers of God. So, God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Heb 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
Act 2:20 Comments – Act 2:20 is a quote from Joe 2:31, “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.”
The Scriptures give two reasons that God created the heavenly bodies. Gen 1:14-18 says that they are to give light upon the earth, and they are to be for signs.
Gen 1:14, “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:”
Act 2:20 describes the sun and the moon as being signs for the coming day of the Lord. The description given here in Acts of the sun and moon being darkened can be created by a solar and lunar eclipse. When the moon passes between the sun and the earth, a full solar eclipse can be created causing the day becoming dark, because the sun is overshadowed by the moon. Thus, “the sun shall be turned into darkness.” A lunar eclipse is created when the earth passes between the sun and the moon. In a normal lunar eclipse, the moon has the dark shadow of the earth passing across it, just as in a solar eclipse. On January 9, 2001, a lunar eclipse offered spectacular show, turning the moon to a blood red. This happened because a decade before in 1991, Mount Pinatubo erupted in a volcanic explosion in the Philippines. Ten years later, the debris thrown up by this volcanic eruption was still in the atmosphere. It reduced the amount of light that was being transmitted from the sun to the moon, and passing by the earth. This light diffusion caused the moon to turn an orange color as the light from the sun was bent and filtered by the earth’s atmosphere. Thus, “the moon shall be turned into blood.” [119]
[119] “Space Lunar Eclipse Offers Spectacular Show,” 9 January 2001, The Associated Press and Reuters [on-line]; accessed 17 May 2009; available from http://www.cnn.com/2001/ASIANOW/east/01/10/china.space.ap/index.html; Internet.
The amount of debris in the atmosphere will determine the amount of light diffusion, thus determining the color of the moon. This will be a time on earth when earthquakes and volcanic eruptions will be frequent and enormous (Mat 24:7). Therefore, a darkened sun and a blood red moon are not hard to imagine under these circumstances.
Mat 24:7, “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.”
Other Scriptures referring to this event prophesied by Joel are:
Mat 24:29, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light , and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:”
Luk 21:11, “And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven .”
Rev 6:12, “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood ;”
Act 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Peter’s Sermon on the Day of Pentecost – In the Sermon at Pentecost, Peter preached Jesus (Act 2:22-36), just as Philip preached Jesus in Act 8:5. In this sermon, Peter emphasized the fact of the resurrection as proof that Jesus Christ was indeed the Messiah. This made the hearers a candidate for salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. However, it was Paul who received the revelation of our identity with Christ’s resurrection (note Rom 6:6-12, 2Co 5:14-17, Gal 2:20, Col 3:3). This is because the Lord gave to Paul the work of putting the doctrine of the New Testament Church into writing. Faith in the fact of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the milk of the Word of God, but faith in our identification with Christ’s resurrection is the meat of God’s Word.
Act 8:5, “Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.”
Gal 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
Col 3:3, “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”
We ask the question of how Peter quoted from the Old Testament Scriptures so extensively during his sermon on Pentecost. He certainly had no bible as we do today. These early disciples may have obtained a copy of some Old Testament books in the form of scrolls, and read them in the upper room. Most likely, Peter was quoting these passages without reading them under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Outline – Here is a proposed outline of the Sermon of Pentecost:
1. The Prophecy of Joel Act 2:14-21
2. The Death of Jesus Christ Act 2:22-23
3. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ Act 2:24-32
4. The Ascension and Exaltation of Jesus Christ Act 2:33-36
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

The Sermon of Peter and Its Effect.
The introduction of the sermon:
v. 14. But Peter, standing up with the Eleven, lifted up his voice and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words;
v. 15. for these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
v. 16. But this is that which was spoken by the Prophet Joel,
v. 17. 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
v. 18, and on My servants and on My handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit; and they shall prophesy;
v. 19. And I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
v. 20. the sun shall be turned In to darkness, and the moon In to blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come;
v. 21. And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
While the gift of tongues was being transmitted to the apostles, it was not that they were in a state of ecstasy, making them detached from the affairs going on about them. They were perfectly sane and rational. And Peter heard the remark of the scoffers. Up to this time the apostles had been sitting down; but now Peter arose, and the Eleven with him, to enter an emphatic protest against this blasphemous insinuation, which, incidentally, was very foolish. As spokesman of the Twelve, Peter purposely raised his voice in order to make himself understood by the entire audience, and then spoke solemnly and impressively, In the name of God. He addresses the assembled multitude very respectfully as “men of Judea and dwellers in Jerusalem,” thus distinguishing between the inhabitants and the sojourners for the period of the festival. He wanted to make something known to them, he wanted to bring a fact to their attention, and therefore he asks them all to give ear, to listen closely to his words, his sayings, his informal talk. He brings out, first of all, the meaning of the Pentecost miracle. First of all, he refutes the charge that these men might be intoxicated. It was now only the third hour of the day, nine o’clock in the morning, and therefore the time itself made it highly improbable that these men should be drunken. But the real refutation of the insinuation came with the explanation of the miracle. The manifestation which they had witnessed was one due to the Spirit of God, in fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel, chap. 2:28-32. God Himself had promised through this prophet that in the latter days of the world He would pour out of His Spirit upon all flesh, that as the result of this miracle both the sons and the daughters of the people would prophesy, would be able to unfold the future, that the young men would see visions and the old men would receive revelations in dreams. And still more was included in this miraculous occurrence. For even the bonded servants, the slaves, both male and female, would receive the same gift of the Holy Ghost, so that they, too, would be enabled to prophesy. Persons of all nationalities and of every rank and station in life would thus become partakers of the Spirit and His wonderful gifts. And this phenomenon would not be confined to a single occasion, but would continue until the day when God would show and give miracles in the heaven or sky above and signs of His majesty on the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and smoky vapor. The sun would be changed entirely, losing his brightness and turning into darkness, and the moon likewise would be changed into a bloody mass. Bloodshed and devastation of war would precede that last great day of the Lord, whose purpose will clearly be visible as soon as it dawns over the demoralized world. See 1Th 5:2; 1Co 1:8; 2Co 1:14; 2Th 2:8. The awful aspects of the end of the world are here held up to the startled gaze of the multitude, as a warning cry to repentance. But, in the meantime, there is also a glorious promise held out to all that turn to the Lord in repentance and faith, and fervently call upon His name as that of the only Savior. Note: We Christians live in the time of the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy, in the time of the New Testament Pentecost. The preaching of Christ, which was begun by the lowly fishermen of Galilee, has gone out into all the world. And through this Gospel the exalted Christ, God Himself, is sending, pouring out His Spirit. The crucified Christ, now exalted to the right hand of God, is the almighty God. He is gathering unto Himself His Church out of all nations of the world. Sons and daughters, old and young, servants and maids, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. And though the working of the Spirit is not manifested in the same way as in the early days of the Church, in visions, in dreams, in prophecy, yet the Spirit lives in the hearts of the believers, gives them the knowledge of Jesus Christ, their Savior, and urges them to speak of that which they believe so firmly, and to call upon the name of the Lord. The pouring out of the Spirit is the last of the great miracles of God until the great day of His returning to Judgment, In the meantime, we have the comfort that our salvation is secure in Him. “What does it mean ‘to save’? It means to deliver from sin and death. For he that wants to be saved must not be under the Law, but under grace. But if he should not be under the Law, but under grace, then he must not be under sin. If he is under, in the power of, sin, then he is under the Law, that is, under the wrath of God, under eternal death and damnation, and under the power of the devil. But if he is to be saved, then all these enemies, sin, death, devil, must be removed. Therefore to save means nothing else than to deliver and make free from sin and death, from the wrath of God and the power of the devil, from the Law and from a bad conscience. Now Peter says, from the Prophet Joel: The Lord that pours out His Holy Spirit upon all flesh will save all that call upon His name, that is, by faith in Him He will deliver from sin and death.”
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Act 2:14. Dwell Sojourn.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Act 2:14-15 . ] as in Act 5:20 , Act 17:22 , Act 27:21 ; Luk 19:8 ; Luk 18:11 . The introduction of the address ( he stood up , etc.) is solemn .
] thus Matthias is already included, and justly; Act 2:32 , comp. with Act 1:22 . We may add that Grotius aptly remarks (although contradicted by Calovius): “Hic incipit (Petrus) nominis sui a rupe dicti meritum implere.”
.] as in Act 2:4 : but not as if now Peter also had begun to speak . (van Hengel). That speaking is past when Peter and the eleven made their appearance; and then follows the simple instruction regarding it, intelligible to ordinary persons, uttered aloud and with emphasis.
] quite as in Act 2:5 . The nominative with the article, in order to express the imperative address. See Bernhardy, p. 67.
] namely, what I shall now explain to you.
Concerning (from ), auribus percipere , which is foreign to the old classical Greek, but in current use in the LXX. and the Apocrypha, see Sturz, Dial. Al. p. 166. In the N. T. only here. Comp. Test. XII. Patr. p. 520.
] justifies the preceding summons. The , these there , does not indicate that the apostles themselves were not among those who spoke in a miraculous manner, as if the gift of tongues had been a lower kind of inspired speech (1Co 14:18-19 ; so de Wette, at variance with Act 2:4 ); but Peter, standing up with the eleven, places himself in the position of a third person, pointing to the whole multitude, whom he would defend, as their advocate; and as he did so, the reference of this apology to himself also and his fellow-apostles became self-evident in the application. This also applies against van Hengel, p. 64 f.
] about nine in the morning ; so early in the day, and at this first of the three hours of prayer (see on Act 3:1 ), contemporaneously with the morning sacrifice in the temple, people are not drunk! Observe the sober, self-collected way in which Peter speaks.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

C. The testimony of peter
Act 2:14-36
Contents:Peter arises and asks for attention, Act 2:14; he says: (1). These scenes are the fulfilment of Joels prophecy, Act 2:15-21; (2) Jesus of Nazareth, whom ye slew, has been raised up. in accordance with the prophecies of David, Act 2:22-32; (3) This exalted Jesus, the Lord and Messiah, has now poured out the Spirit, Act 2:33-36.
I.Peter stands forth, and addresses the multitude. He explains that this astonishing course of action on the part of the disciples, is not the effect of drunkenness, but is occasioned by the fulfilment of Joels prophecy, namely, the outpouring of the Spirit of God in the last days
Act 2:14-21
14But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judea [Jewish men], and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this knownunto you, and hearken to my words: 15For these are not drunken, as ye suppose,seeing [for] it is but the third hour of the day. 16But this is that which was spokenby the prophet Joel; 17And 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 [will] prophesy, and your young men shall [will] see visions, and your old men shall dream [will have] dreams:9 18And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out inthose days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: 19And I will shew [do] wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke;20The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great.and notable10 day of the Lord come: 21And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Act 2:14-15. (a) But Peter, standing up, etc.The apostles were authorized, and, indeed, impelled by a sense of duty, in view alike of the amazement and inquiries of the devout, and of the scoffs of the others, to address the assembled multitude, and deliver their testimony. Hitherto all the disciples of Jesus had pursued the same course, but at this point, the Apostles, mindful of the will and words of Jesus: Ye shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, (Act 1:8), presented themselves to the multitude. Their public appearance is described in solemn language: Peter stood up with the eleven, as the leader of the latter, the mouth of the apostles and their corypheus (Chrys.), quick in his movements and resolute, bold in his faith and eloquent. The position which he took in the sight of the multitude (), was not, however, isolated, as his eleven fellow-apostles surrounded him, and also addressed the people, at least, subsequently, Act 2:37-40. Peter lifted up his voice, so that the thousands who stood before him might hear distinctly; his good conscience and joy of soul gave him confidence and strength. He spoke in a solemn, distinct and intelligible manner, and praised God, not in an ecstatic state, but with self-possession; his whole demeanor, his voice, and his words, revealed entire sobriety.
b. Ye men of Judea.The manner in which Peter begins his address indicates that truths of high importance are to be communicated. He speaks to the assembled Jews with simple dignity, and modestly but emphatically entreats them to listen, and lay his words to heart. He spoke undoubtedly in the Araman, the language of the country, which all the hearers could understand.
c. These are not drunken.He replies at once to the mocking language of some of the Spectators, and repels their degrading charge by referring to the early hour of the day. The third hour of the day, extending from eight to nine oclock in the morning, according to the modern computation, was the first of the three stated hours of daily prayer [see below, Act 3:1 c. and Act 10:3-6.Tr.] which coincided with the morning sacrifice [Exo 29:38-42; Num 28:3-8]; the Israelites were not allowed by devout usage to partake of food and drink until this hour had expired, particularly, when the festivals occurred. The calmness with which Peter replies to the mockers, is well worthy of attention; he is as dignified as he is prudent in his language, when he assumes that such is the sincere, although unfounded, opinion of these people, and refrains from accusing them of uttering malicious and slanderous remarks in opposition to their own secret convictions. When he here speaks of the disciples in the third person [], he by no means intends to exclude himself and the other apostles from the number of those who spake with tongues, as de Wette supposes, [overlooking in Act 2:4, and] assuming that the speaking with tongues proceeded from an inferior grade of inspiration, of which the apostles would have been ashamed. Peter adopts that phraseology simply because he is himself at the moment speaking in the ordinary style, and temporarily associates himself with the spectators, so that he might the more effectually establish the truth respecting the real nature of the occurrence: he unquestionably includes himself in his defence of the Whole number of the disciples.
Act 2:16-21. But this is, etc.A simple denial is never regarded as a sufficient defence against a charge, and is not adapted to make a favorable impression. We cannot convince others, unless we not only deny, but also affirm, that is, prove the truth. This course Peter pursues. He declares that the event which had just occurred, and had so greatly amazed his hearers, was nothing less than a fulfilment of the divine promise given through the prophet Joel (Act 2:28-32). The prophet announces, in the name of God, that after his people had endured heavy judgments, a season of grace should arrive, distinguished by a general and abundant outpouring of the Spirit of God. He announces, further, that previously to the last judgment, the enemies of God shall be visited with a succession of terrible judgments, while all the true people of God shall find protection and deliverance. God promises, in a special manner, to pour out of his Spirit upon all flesh, that is, not upon certain individuals only, but upon the whole human race, without distinction of sex, age, or station, even as a rain that is graciously sent to water the whole land. To prophesy, to see visions, and to dream dreams, are each specified as operations of the Spirit of God, and as evidences of an overflowing outpouring of the Spirit. The bodily senses are more impressible in the case of the young, while the inner sense is more acute in the old; hence, visions are promised to the former, and dreams to the latter, although these gifts are not confined to each class respectively. In the prophecy of Joel, the promise of the gracious gift of the Spirit is combined with intimations of the judgments that shall overtake the enemies of God, and of the signs that shall precede that awful final judgment. These signs will appear partly on earth, namely, the shedding of blood and vast conflagrations, partly in the heavens above, namely, eclipses of the sun and moon, together with other fearful phenomena. All these things shall precede that great day of the Lord, on which his irrevocable decisions and final judgments shall be manifested. But while these awful punishments bring destruction upon the enemies of God, deliverance and salvation are prepared for those who call on the name of the Lord; that is, for those who believe in God, even as he is revealed to them, who humbly obey, offer devout prayer, and consecrate their hearts and lives to him.When the prophet mentions the great day of the Lord, he doubtless refers to the times of the Messiah, although he does not introduce that name. He speaks of the end of the world, which he is called to describe chiefly in its awful aspects, as a time in which terrible judgments will come upon the wicked. Still, he also addresses consolatory words and soothing promises to those who devoutly worship and obey God. Periods of time of great length, and widely separated, are obviously grouped together in this prophecy; it is, however, a peculiarity of the language of prophecy, that it presents one comprehensive view of future events, which, when they actually occur, are found to be separated by wide intervals of time.How did Peter understand and apply this prophecy? With respect to the language, it will be perceived that he does not give a strictly literal version of the Hebrew, but quotes with a certain degree of freedom, while he adopts to some extent the rendering of the Septuagint. At the commencement of the passage, he deviates from the original, to which the Alexandrian version adheres. For the word afterward he substitutes the phrase, in the last days, [for which see below, Doctr., etc., No. 1.Tr.], in order to specify, with greater precision, the period to which the prophecy alludes, in conformity to other prophetic passages [e. g. Isa 2:2; Mic 4:1]. Further, he deviates from the Hebrew, but agrees with the Septuagint in the phrase: I will pour out of my Spirit [], while Joel says:Still, we should assign undue importance to the partitive expression [of the Greek], if, with Starke, we understand it to be designed as an antithesis to the entire fulness of the Spirit which is in Christ; comp. Col 1:19. We can as little accord with Olshausen, who here finds an indirect allusion to a future outpouring of the entire fulness of the Spirit in the Church, when it will have attained to its perfected state [when all nations shall have been received into it (Olsh.).Tr.]. The phrase in question is very probably intended only to distinguish the whole fulness of the Spirit of God in itself, or as a whole, from the outpouring of the Spirit on individuals.Lastly, Joel speaks, in the Hebrew, of servants and handmaids, that is, slaves in the proper sense of the word. When Peter, in accordance with the Septuagint, terms them , it is not his intention that the difference in station should be made to disappear entirely from the view (Meyer) [and that the fact should be set forth more prominently, that persons of both sexes belonged to the Christian people of God]; he, rather, intends to give a prominent position to the fact that the male and female slaves upon whom the Spirit is poured out, must have previously been devout persons, or servants of God.
When Peter says (Act 2:16): This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel, he undoubtedly maintains that the prophecy is fulfilled on the present occasion; still, he does not assert that it was now fulfilled in every point, and on this occasion alone, or that such fulfilment was confined to the present moment. He has, besides, a special object in view, when, in place of pausing at Act 2:18, he continues in Act 2:19-21 to quote from the prophet; namely, he assigns a conspicuous position to the prophetic revelations of the divine judgments, and even of the final judgment, in order that he might make known to his hearers the end which awaits the enemies of God (comp. Act 2:35). and thus the more emphatically direct inquiring souls to Jesus Christ, as the Saviour and deliverer from such a mournful lot.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. How are we to understand the words: the last days?Peter regards the outpouring of the Spirit as the fulfilment of that prophecy concerning the last times; nevertheless, many centuries, and, indeed, well-nigh two thousand years, have passed away, since he pronounced these words. How shall this apparent discrepancy be explained? It is, in the first place, certain that the term: the last days denotes, not a single point of time, but an entire period, including a succession of times, and, consequently, also a process of development. It must be remembered, in the second place, that all the prophecies of the Old Testament reach their ultimate limit, or are fulfilled in the Messianic age, of which the advent of the Anointed One constitutes the central point. The New Testament, accordingly, represents the appearance of Jesus Christ, in connection with the attendant circumstances, as the beginning of the last time; comp. Heb 1:2. It is quite possible that the disciples did not imagine that so many centuries would intervene between the beginning of the end, and the extreme end itself. Nevertheless, the view which Peter indicates, when he uses the phrase in question, involves the following great and incontestable truths:Christ is the culmination of the worlds history; his appearance on earth was the end of the old world, the fulfilment of the hopes and longings of the world, the goal which struggling mankind sought to reach, the realization of Gods plan of grace; and, now that he has appeared, subsequent events can only be the gradual revelation and execution of his atoning work, until it is consummated, or until He comes a second time, who has already once appeared on earth. And the more diligently and humbly our faith ponders the twofold truth, that Christs Person stands alone [no other like it, by any possibility, being in existence], and, that the fulness of his work [which supplies every want] admits of no repetition, the more clearly will we perceive the truth of such a view of the times.
2. While Peter recognizes the fulfilment of the prophecy of Joel in the outpouring of the Spirit, particularly in the indiscriminate communication of the gifts of the Spirit to persons of different ages and conditions, and of both sexes, he bears witness to the adjustment and equalization through Christ of those opposite states or conditions which prevail in the world. These presented the most striking contrast, or the most fully developed contrariety among pagans, that is, fallen men who were out of the pale of covenantal revelation. We mention, as instances, the differences between the condition of man and that of woman, and the oppression to which the female sex was subjected; the contrasts between masters and slaves, and the failure to recognize the dignity and the rights of man in the latter; and, to a certain extent, the contempt and ill treatment to which old age is exposed in some nations. The law of God, even within the pale of the old covenant, directed attention to the adjustment and the reconciling of these different opposite states, in its provisions, for instance, respecting the relations between masters and servants: the female sex, however, did not fully rise to its proper level, under the Mosaic law. The sign of the covenant was given to the male sex alone, and the promises and predictions respecting more extended privileges refer only to the future, the Messianic age. The complete adjustment of these relations was not accomplished until the Gospel concerning Christ was given; for in him, first, as the Person of the God-Man, human nature was manifested in its perfect state. And it is precisely the gift of the Spirit, proceeding from the Father and the Son, which adjusts and produces harmony in the different states and conditions of those who belong to the human race. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. Gal 3:28.
3. Divine grace and divine judgments are the subjects which both the prediction of Joel and the discourse of Peter discuss. The glance which both direct us to cast at the great and terrible day of the Lord, teaches us to value, and to be grateful for, that grace of God which renews and ultimately saves man, and to call on the name of the Lord with faith. The atoning and redeeming work of Christ, which is, pre-eminently the subject to which Peter here refers, cannot be clearly seen, nor can its inestimable value be understood, until we have surveyed the abyss of misery and damnation from which we are delivered by Christ alone. Mercy rejoiceth against judgment. Jam 2:13.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Act 2:14. But Peter, standing up, etc.Peter was sitting, when he received the gift of the Spirit; he and the other apostles were, if we may employ the image, gloriously entertained at the table of God; he now appears on the field of battle, in which he is expected to apply the powers that grace had bestowed upon him. But when the holy apostle begins to speak, it is obviously not his main purpose to protect his own reputation and that of his fellow-apostles from the aspersions of others, but to maintain the honor of his crucified Saviour, and to secure the salvation of his hearers, even of those, too, who mocked him. If he had been the Peter of old, who, when the Saviour was seized, smote with the sword, his address would have exhibited a very different spirit. But the rashness and ardor of his nature were now subdued by heavenly influences, and his tongue, once too prompt to speak, had received the unction of the Holy Spirit; hence, he now combines gentleness with boldness, and wisdom with zeal, (Apost. Past.).Behold the wonderful power of the Holy Ghost; fugitives are converted into resolute men; those who once denied Christ, boldly confess him; timid men are now heroes, who, armed with the sword of the Spirit, intrepidly face vast hosts; unlettered fishermen speak like accomplished orators, and act as reformers of the whole world. (Starke).When the honor of God is assailed, or his name is blasphemed, we are not permitted to remain silent.Our calmness in repelling slanders must correspond in degree to the malignity of our enemies; let us, as our duty requires, simply state the facts, and never revile or mock in return, (id.).The Holy Ghost not only converts lambs into lions, but also lions into lambs.Peter, standing up with the eleven.All speak at first with tongues; then, they cease, and Peter alone comes forward and preaches the word; so, too, at our public worship, all sing together at first, and in a common hymn proclaim the wonderful works of God; then, one alone speaks, and preaches the word. On this account, even as the Holy Ghost, on the day of Pentecost, directed the disciples to observe silence, in order that the words of Peter, as a preacher of the Gospel, might be heard, so, too, he withdrew all those extraordinary gifts from the Church, after the lapse of some years, and permitted the office or ministry of reconciliation [2Co 5:18] alone to remain: and the gifts which he bestowed, were intended to be a testimony that his presence in the Church would always be found in connection with this office. (Muenkel: Epistelpredigten).Ye men of Judea.Peter does not attempt to overwhelm the mockers with the language of stern rebuke; he, rather, desires to free them from all self-delusion, and win them for the cause of the truth by a calm and even kind address.
Act 2:15. These are not drunken, as ye suppose.Peter refutes the slanderous charge with great mildness, and in very brief terms, not being disposed to expend his own time and that of his hearers in considering a subject that was so unworthy and frivolous. We might think that the language would not have been too harsh, if he had told the mockers that their tongues were set on fire of hell [Jam 3:6], and that their hearts were possessed by the devil, as the father of lies. But he merely says: As ye suppose,i.e. as ye erroneously think. Now he accomplished far more by adopting this course than if he had employed the most severe words that his tongue could utter, and had thus increased the irritation of his hearers. The best vindication, in the case of the children of God, consists in their good and holy walk, when, with well doing, they put to silence the ignorance of foolish men [1Pe 2:15]. (Apost. Past.).The order of the words in the original (Not as ye suppose, are these drunken), suggests another thought of great depth;Unquestionably we are drunken, but drunken after sitting at the well-furnished table of the house, and drinking the sweet wine of gladness presented at the beginning of the marriage of the Lamb. The outpouring of the Holy Ghost was truly a sweet and divine wine, which the Lord poured out, that they might drink it with him in his kingdom. (Leonh. and Sp.)
Act 2:16. This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel.These words of Peter are designed to awaken the interest of the devout Jews, who waited for the promise of the prophet. He desired that they should hear and learn that the third hour of that day had brought with it an answer to all the prayers which their fathers had offered since that remote day on which the third hour of Israel was consecrated to the morning sacrifice. (Besser).That teacher alone is competent to explain the word of the Lord correctly, who has himself been made a partaker of the Holy Ghost. Very rich and expressive explanations will flow from his lips, when he himself possesses the gift concerning which the prophets so abundantly bear witness in their writings. Davidica non intelligit qui non Davidica habet. (Apost. Past.).The word of God, a sure light upon our path. Even the illumination of the Spirit can never render the written word superfluous. The apostle, when filled with the Spirit, seeks a firm foundation in the word of prophecy [2Pe 1:19], not in his own internal illumination.The word and the Spiritin what relation do they stand to each other? I. The word is inspired by the Spirit, 1Pe 1:11; II. The Spirit teaches us to understand, explain, and apply the word. (Lechler).
Act 2:17-18. In the last days, etc.All the days of the new covenant are the last days; and these are already far advanced. (Bengel).I will pour outnot in drops, as under the old covenant, but in streams; which he shed on us abundantly. Tit 3:6.Upon all flesh.The word was made flesh [Joh 1:14], so that the Holy Ghost might be poured out upon all flesh, and convert us, who are carnal, into spiritual persons. (Starke).This is the glorious promise of God, from which all believers under the new covenant may derive rich consolation. For this promise was not fulfilled on that holy day of Pentecost alone, but is also daily fulfilled through the Word and the Sacraments, so that, among believers, every day is a spiritual Pentecostal festival; and that fulfilment will never cease in the Christian Church, as long as the Word and the Sacraments endure. (John Arndt).Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.As the words of the prophet were fulfilled before the people both visibly and audibly, when the gift of foreign tongues was imparted, so, too, the other words of the prophet were fulfilled: Your sonsyour daughtersyour young menyour old men, etc., namely, in the persons of all the disciples, who were united by a common faith in Jesus Christ, and on whom, without distinction of sex, age, or station, the Spirit was poured out. (Besser).Prophecy, visions, and dreams, the three principal forms assumed by the influences of the Spirit under the old covenant, are exalted in character and united as a whole, when, under the new covenant, the Holy Spirit enters into the heart, and dwells in it. For what are all other gifts, however numerous they may be, in comparison with this gift, when the Spirit of God himself, the eternal God, descends into our hearts, yea, into our bodies, and dwells in us, governs, guides, and leads us. Thus, with respect to this declaration of the prophet, prophecy, visions, and dreams, are, in truth, one precious gift, namely, the knowledge of God through Christ, which the Holy Ghost enkindles through the word of the Gospel, and converts into a flame of fire. (Luther).God does not promise and impart every gift to every individual, but a special gift to each onethat of prophecy to the sons and daughters, visions to the young, etc. (Starke).The oneness of the gifts of the Spirit, and their difference: I. Oneness, in their (a) origin, (b) value, (c) purpose; II. Difference, (a) in form, (b) grade, (c) effects. The Holy Spirit is the only true equalizing power among men. (Lechler).
Act 2:19-20. And I will shew wonders, etc.The fire either serves as a baptism, or it consumes. God promises to baptize all flesh with his Spirit. He who rejects this baptism, is condemned already; to him the Pentecostal baptism comes as the burning of judgment, and the Pentecostal fire, as a fire of judgment (Isa 10:17); and to him, too, the antitype of the Pentecostal day of grace will come as that great and notable day of the Lord (Rev 16:14). This day will be ushered in by wonders in heaven above, which will compel men to listen, and by signs in the earth beneath, which will be intelligible to believers, and afford them consolation. These wonders of wrath were foreshadowed when Israel nailed his King to the cross, for the sun was then turned into darkness. These wonders were repeated with still more power at the destruction of Jerusalem; blood, fire, and vapor of smoke filled the city. The light of the moon became red as blood, when it fell upon the pools of blood in the streets, and the sun has, since that day, withheld its healthful light from that desolated country.At a later period the half-moon [Crescent] of Mohammed arose in blood over regions on which the bright light of the sun of salvation had once been shed, and the earth, sorely dishonored by the service of mammon, is ripe for the judgment pronounced in the words: The strong shall be as tow, and his work [marg. version, and German] as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them. Isa 1:31. (Besser).God does not separate punishments from the gifts of his grace; when the latter are despised, his wrath will follow.Before God sends his judgments, he warns men, and calls them to repentance by the wonderful works which he performs. (Starke).Amid all the judgments which overtake the world, the word of the Lord abides in his Church; hence, amid all the storms which threaten to destroy the Church, the believing children of God have abundant reason to be of good cheer, and to lift up their heads; comp. Psalms 46. (Ap. Past.).God lavishes all his treasures on man; he sends his Son, and pours out his Spirit. What could have been done more, that he has not done? [Isa 5:4]. How terrible will that day of the Lord be, on which men will be called to give an account unto God for the blood of his Son, and the gracious gifts of his Spirit! (Quesnel).The grace and the Judgments of God: I. The solemnity of his judgments imparts new glory to his grace; II. The solemnity of his grace imparts additional weight to his judgments. (Lechler).
Act 2:21. Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.In wrath God remembers mercy. Hab 3:2; Mal 3:17.The entire Church consists of those who are scarcely saved [1Pe 4:18], or, of the rebellious, who have surrendered unconditionally.How great is the goodness of God! He has made the way of salvation easy: it consists in calling on the name of the Lord. Comp. Act 16:31; Rom 10:13-15. (Starke).Although contrition of heart, and godly sorrow on account of our sins, are indispensable, nevertheless, strictly speaking, it is faith, or the calling on the name of the Lord, by and through which we are justified and saved. [Rom 5:1; Eph 2:8]; faith is, preminently, the condition which is prescribed, as well when we are converted, as when we finish our course. (Apost. Past.).To save mensuch is the first vigorous act of the Church; for this great work she exists. When the divine judgments overwhelmed Jerusalem like a flood, the waves lifted up and carried the vessel of the Church of Christ even to the shores of the heathen world. Here she cast anchor, and threw out the rope of salvation to all men: It shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord, shall be saved. Whosoever! Listen, all ye, who have ears to hear: Whosoever! Now let him who has heard, throw out the rope of salvation to other perishing soulsin his own housein the huts and by-ways of misery; let him assist in throwing it out among the nations that still languish in the dark night of heathenism.Shall we complain of the word of the Lord, because we do not see all the signs of which Joel speaks? O let us, rather, praise the patience of the Lord! The cheerful light of the sun which he made, retained all its brightness, until the call was extended even to our fathers! And that sun will continue to shine until the lingering mariners of Christendom shall have guided the vessel to the last, unvisited shore, and shall have there, too, proclaimed: It shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. This loud cry of the Church, proclaiming salvation, shall be repeated till the last hour arrives, and then be renewed with augmented power. And when in the final agony of a perishing world, the surging waves rise up like mountains, once more will the offer of tender, infinite mercy, be proclaimed: He who calls, shall be saved! Such is the action of the Church from the beginning to the end. (Zezschwitz: Sermons).The act of calling on the Lord: it is, I. A result of faith; II. A source of salvation. (Lechler).
ON THE WHOLE SECTION.
The outpouring of the Holy Ghost: I. It bears witness to the truth of the Scriptures, Act 2:16; II. It admonishes us to consider the solemn character of these last days, Act 2:17; III. It affords consolation amid the trials and sorrows of the present times, Act 2:17, (Leonh. and Sp.).
The Christian, in his conflict with unbelieving scoffers: I. He confesses the truth of God with power and joyfulness, Act 2:14; II. He does not suffer himself to be provoked to anger, but manifests the gentle spirit of that love which hopes to reclaim wanderers, Act 2:14; III. He does not employ the carnal weapons of temporal power or human wisdom, but wields the two-edged sword of the truth of God. (ib.).
What are the essential requisites, without which we cannot bear witness with a joyful spirit and with the divine blessing? I. A divine call; II. The unction of the Spirit; III. A good conscience; IV. The firm foundation of the Scriptures. (Lechler).
What course shall the Christian adopt when he is falsely accused? Let his statements and his actions be characterized by, I. Candor and fearlessness; II. Thoroughness and truth; III. Gentleness, and that charity which is not easily provoked, (ib.).
What course of conduct should we adopt, as disciples of Christ, when the Holy Spirit is blasphemed? I. Let us lift up our voices against impiety, whenever an opportunity is found; II. Let us oppose blasphemies directed against Gods word and promise, in an humble and charitable spirit; III. Let us diligently pray that the Lord may pour out of his Spirit upon all flesh. (Langbein).
The wonderful power of the Pentecostal Spirit, revealed in glory when the first Christian congregation was built up: we perceive here, I. A firm bond of union, not weakened by the varied characteristic features of the individuals; II. A well-sustained soberness, combined with the highest degree of inspiration; III. An humble, child-like simplicity in strong men, who are crowned with victory; IV. A faithful love to their own nation, united with a deep interest in the welfare of all mankind. (W. Hofacker).
The Holy Pentecostal Spirit, the almighty author of a new creation of mankind: I. The new creative breath which proceeds from him; II. The new spiritual language which he reveals; III. The new direction of life to which he gives an impulse. (id.)
The coming of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost: I. The circumstances which prepared the way for the Spirit; II. His solemn manifestation; III. His power in the believers; IV. His influences, designed for the whole world. (W. Hoffmann, in the Wilhelmsdorf Book of Sermons).
The language of the Holy Ghost: I. The mode in which it is uttered; II. The various modes in which men listen to it; (a) some are confused; (b) some Commit sin; (c) some are conducted to salvation (Staudt).
These are not drunken, as ye suppose a vindication of the witnesses of the truth, and an answer to those who mock holy things: for, I. Drunkenness, (whether it be the gross vice of the inebriate, or the internal vice of the fanatic) darkens the mind; but in these men, the mind is clear, and their glance penetrates the mysteries of the divine word and the divine ways, Act 2:16 ff. II. Drunkenness unchains the passions; but these men continue to be gentle and self-possessed, Act 2:14 ff. III. Drunkenness passes away; but in these men the fire of faith, charity, and hope continues to burn, insomuch that no storms of trial or temptation can extinguish it (demonstrated by references to the life and the death of the apostles).
The Holy Spirit, the only true common spirit of mankind: for he alone breaks down every wall of partition that divides, I. Different ages and sexes; II. Different ranks and degrees of culture; III. Different nations and ages; Act 2:16-18.
Hidden things revealed in the light of the Pentecostal festival: I. The counsels of the heart; (a) of the mockers; (b) of Peter and the disciples. II. The mysteries of the Scriptures; (a) the promises, Act 2:16-18; (b) the the threatenings, Act 2:19-20. III. The ways of God; (a) in past ages; (b) in the future.
(See also the Hom. and Pract. remarks below, on Act 2:22-36, and Act 2:37-41).
Footnotes:
[9][Act 2:17. of the text. rec. with E., has been exchanged by Stier and later editors generally for , in accordance with A. B. C. D. (corrected) Cod. Sin. For examples in the N. T. of the accus. of conjugate nouns, see Winer, Gram. N. T. 32. 2, and for the dat. ib. 54. 3.Tr.]
[10][Act 2:20., text. rec. and Sept.; ; Luther and Lechler, in obsolescent German, offenbarlich. The Hebrew signifies terrible, if from as usually explained, but glorious, if traced to as is done by the Sept. (de Wette).The words of Act 2:20, and the whole of Act 2:21, are omitted in the original text of Cod. Sin., but a later hand added the words found in Act 2:21.Tr.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: (15) For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. (16) But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; (17) 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: (18) And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: (19) And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: (20) The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: (21) And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (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: (23) Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: (24) Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. (25) 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: (26) Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: (27) Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (28) Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. (29) 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. (30) 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; (31) He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. (32) This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. (33) 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. (34) For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, (35) Until I make thy foes thy footstool. (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.
There must have been somewhat very striking, when Peter and the eleven all arose at once, as if (and which indeed was the case,) all animated by a supernatural power, to refute the foul calumny of drunkenness. And I beg the Reader to remark with me, how mildly the Apostle expostulated with their accusers, appealing to their own principles of religion, in proof of the falseness of what they had said, seeing it was now but the third hour of the day, namely, nine of the clock in the morning, the well-known hour of the morning sacrifice; before which, and especially on the Sabbath, which this was, it became unlawful for any of the seed of Abraham to indulge in bodily refreshment. Compare Num 28:1-10 with Exo 12:16 . Reader! so will every preacher, yea, every child of God, mildly reason with opposers, when under the blessed influences of God the Holy Ghost, 2Ti 2:24-25 .
I am constrained by the limits I must observe, from entering very largely into a Commentary upon this sweet Sermon of the Apostles. For the text which Peter took from the prophecy of Joel, I refer to some few observations I have already offered in my Poor Man’s Commentary on the place. And in addition to what is there proposed, I would here remark, that by the all flesh the Prophet speaks of, and the Apostle comments upon, cannot be supposed to mean all mankind; but as other Scriptures explain the phrase, all God’s people in all places; and not confined, as the early Prophets had supposed to be the case, to the people of Judaea. Thus Haggai, when speaking of Christ, calls him the desire of all nations, Hag 2:7 , meaning the desire of his people in all nations. So Christ, when speaking of the world, God so loved the world, that all that believe in him, etc. meaning believers throughout the world, Joh 3:16 . That the phrase must be understood in this sense, is evident, from what is said in other parts of scripture concerning the world, which cannot receive the Spirit of truth, and for whom Christ doth not pray. See Joh 14:17 and Joh 17:9-10 .
Let me particularly request the Reader to observe how Peter speaks of his divine Lord. A man he calleth him approved of God, among them by miracles and wonders as they knew. But while a man, truly and properly so, (for otherwise he could not have been the seed of the woman promised, Gen 3:15 .) yet, as truly and properly God, whom the pains of death could not hold, because (saith Peter,) it was not possible that he should be holden of it. Reader! what higher demonstrations can be wished in proof of Godhead. Surely common sense must say, that had he not been God, the pains of death and the power of the grave must have held him, as they would hold any man, and make every man a prisoner. But, in the person of the God-man Christ Jesus, it was not possible, that he who was both God and man should be holden of either. And, as another Apostle saith, and under the same authority, Jesus was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead, Rom 1:4 . How very blessed and precious are both testimonies to the union of the nature of God and man, in the person of our Lord !
I request the Reader’s attention to another beautiful part in Peter’s sermon. He saith, that Christ was delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, when crucified and slain by wicked hands. Oh! what a very blessed relation is here, to the truth as it is in Jesus? For what can be more blessed to every child of God, while rejoicing in hope of the glory of God, through the blood and righteousness of Christ as a Savior; than to see the hand of Jehovah in the appointment? In this united point of view, God our Redeemer’s full equivalent sacrifice for sin, (yea, more than equivalent, as a ransom for the sins of all his people,) we find a blessed plea before the mercy-seat in all our approaches there; in that we find all the strength necessary to make it blessed, because it is also from the appointment and ordination of Jehovah. Hence, we not only plead on the footing of Christ’s blood and righteousness; but we plead, when we plead rightly, the Lord’s appointment of it, and his approbation and pleasure in the Almighty work. Is it not sweet then, yea, very sweet, to bear back to the throne, what comes first from the throne, and to tell our God and Father, what our God and Father hath first told us; that it was Jehovah which bruised our glorious Head, and put him to grief, when he made his soul an offering for sin; that it was Jehovah which laid on Him the iniquities of us all, when by the determinate counsel of God, by wicked hands he was taken, and crucified, and slain? And, that the hand of the Lord was first in the great work, when Jesus was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification? Reader! what correspondence is there from the teachings of God the Holy Ghost, in your heart with these things? Oh! the blessedness of being able to join the voice of Old Testament saints, now we have seen the accomplishment of the whole to New Testament believers, and say as they did, Behold, 0 God! our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed? Happy the man, who amidst all the remains of indwelling corruption within, and the ungodly world without, the demands of law and justice, and all the accusations of Satan, can, and doth, go daily to the pardon office of Jesus Christ, pleading his blood and righteousness, and Jehovah’s covenant promises, the joint security of everlasting salvation. See Isa 53:5-6 ; Rom 4:25 ; Psa 84:9 .
Let me beg the Reader not to overlook the mercy and love of God the Holy Ghost, in another sweet part of Peter’s sermon, namely, the explanation of the sixteenth Psalm, in direct reference to the Lord Jesus Christ. There can be no doubt from the manner in which Peter spake upon it, in begging permission to speak freely of the Patriarch David, but that the Jews of those days, considered that Psalm as written by David, in allusion to himself. What a blessed scripture, therefore, it is, to have it thus explained with an eye to Christ, and from such authority. And may we not observe that from the illustration of this Psalm, we derive information upon many other occasions of a similar nature, to make application to Christ? Reader! do not forget to notice Peter’s appeal from the whole, to the hearts and minds of his hearers. How affectionate, yet how faithful the Apostle is. Let them know, (saith he,) even the whole house of Israel, what the result of this wonderful event is. To Jesus shall every knee bow. He whom ye crucified, is now the Almighty and everlasting Lord of heaven and of earth! Reader! behold the bold, the undaunted Apostle! Oh! what did grace accomplish in him! And why not in you, or me? Lord! the Spirit! do thou in thy rich mercy make thy servants faithful! Speak, Lord, in them and by them, and let all whom thou hast sent, do the work of Evangelists, and make full proof of their ministry!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

14 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:

Ver. 14. But Peter standing up ] ( , consistens. ) Buckling close to them, and not suffering them to carry it away so; Constantem et praesentem Petri animum declarat. Beza.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

14 36 .] THE SPEECH OR PETER. “Luke gives us here the first sample of the preaching of the Gospel by the Apostles, with which the foundation of Christian preaching, as well as of the Church itself, appears to be closely connected. We discover already, in this first sermon, all the peculiarities of apostolic preaching. It contains no reflections nor deductions concerning the doctrine of Christ, no proposition of new and unknown doctrines, but simply and entirely consists of the proclamation of historical facts . The Apostles appear here as the witnesses of that which they had seen: the Resurrection of Jesus forming the central point of their testimony. It is true, that in the after-development of the Church it was impossible to confine preaching to this historical announcement only: it gradually became invested with the additional office of building up believers in knowledge. But nevertheless, the simple testimony to the great works of God, as Peter here delivers it, should never be wanting in preaching to those whose hearts are not yet penetrated by the Word of Truth.” Olshausen, in loc.
The discourse divides itself into two parts: 1. ( Act 2:14-21 ) ‘ This which you hear is not the effect of drunkenness, but is the promised outpouring of the Spirit on all flesh ,’ 2. ( Act 2:22-36 ) ‘ which Spirit has been shed forth by Jesus, whom you crucified, but whom God hath exalted to be Lord and Christ .’
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

14. ] Peter and the eleven come forward from the great body of believers. And he distinguishes (by the in Act 2:15 ) not himself from the eleven , but himself and the eleven from the rest. De Wette concludes from this, that the Apostles had not themselves spoken with tongues , as being an inferior gift (1Co 14:18 ff.); perhaps too rashly, for this view hardly accords with , which is the subject of the whole of Act 2:4 .
.] the Jews, properly so called: native dwellers in Jerus.
. . . , the sojourners ( Act 2:5 ) from other parts. is a word unknown to good Greek, and belonging apparently to the Alexandrine dialect. Stier quotes ‘inaurire’ from Lactantius (R. der Ap. p. 32, not.).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Act 2:14 . : St. Chrysostom rightly remarks on the change which had passed over St. Peter. In the place where a few weeks before he had denied with an oath that he knew “the man,” he now stands forth to proclaim him as the Christ and the Saviour. It is quite characteristic of St. Luke thus to introduce participles indicating the position or gesture of the speaker ( cf. Friedrich, Zckler, Overbeck); cf. St. Luk 18:11 ; Luk 18:40 ; Luk 19:8 , Act 5:40 ; Act 11:13 ; Act 17:2 ; Act 25:18 ; Act 27:21 . , and so with Matthias; cf. Act 5:32 , and Act 1:22 . : this phrase is only found in St. Luke’s Gospel (Act 11:29 ) and the Acts (Act 14:11 , Act 22:22 ), but it is quite classical, so in Demosthenes, and in LXX it occurs several times. : “spake forth,” R.V., cf. Act 26:25 , expressive of the solemnity of the utterance, see above in Act 2:4 , and showing that St. Peter’s words were inspired no less than the speaking with tongues (Weiss). : no word of reproach, but an address of respect; the words may be taken quite generally to indicate not only those previously present, but also those who were attracted by the noise. There is no need to suppose that St. Peter addressed the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the Jews as if they had been the only scoffers as distinct from the pilgrims from other lands. It is no doubt possible that the first part of the speech was addressed to the native home-bred residents, and that in Act 2:22 St. Peter in the word includes all the Jews whether resident in Jerusalem or not. : only here in N.T., but frequent in LXX, especially in the Psalms. It usually translates Hebrew from Hebrew = ear; cf. inaurire; Kennedy, Sources of N. T. Greek , p. 130. “Give ear unto my words,” R.V. Auribus percipite , Vulg.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Act 2:14-21
14But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. 15″For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; 16but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: 17’And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘, ‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams; 18Even on My bondslaves, both men and women will in those days pour forth of My Spirit And they shall prophesy. 19’And I will grant wonders in the sky above And signs on the earth below, Blood, and 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 shall come. 21’And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Act 2:14 “Peter” Just think, of all the disciples, Peter was the one to preach the first Christian sermon! The one who denied knowing Jesus three times (cf. Luke 23)! Peter’s change from cowardice and denial to boldness and spiritual insight is another evidence that the age of the Spirit had dawned with life-changing power. This is his first recorded sermon in Acts. It shows us the content and emphasis of the preaching of the Apostles. These apostolic sermons form an important part of Acts.
SPECIAL TOPIC: THE KERYGMA OF THE EARLY CHURCH
“with the eleven” This shows two things: (1) Peter is the spokesman, but still part of the Apostolic group. He does not speak alone or on his own authority. The Spirit speaks uniquely through this whole group of called, eyewitnesses and (2) Matthias, though we know nothing about his ministry, has officially become part of the Apostolic group.
“Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem” The people addressed here seem to be different from the pilgrims delineated by nationality in Act 2:7-11.
“Let this be known to you and give heed” These are both imperatives. The first is a present active and the second an aorist middle (deponent). Peter wants their undivided attention.
This phrase is apparently a Semitic idiom. It is used twice to introduce Peter’s sermons (cf. Act 2:14; Act 4:10) and twice with Paul (cf. Act 13:38; Act 28:28). Luke was a Gentile convert as an adult. This vestige of Semitic idioms shows that Luke does not create the sermons in Acts for his own theological purposes, but faithfully summarizes his sources.
Act 2:15 “these men are not drunk” Peter, responding to the charge in Act 2:13, says it was too early for Orthodox Jews to drink wine. This follows the rabbinical interpretation of Exo 16:8 (cf. E. M. Blaiklock, Tyndale NT Commentary Series, Acts, p. 58).
“third hour” This would have been 9:00 a.m. It was the time of the daily morning sacrifice in the Temple. It had become a special prayer time for Jews. The “third hour” is a Jewish time indicator. New Testament authors (esp. John) use both Jewish and Roman time indicators.
Act 2:16 “this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel” This is a quote from Joe 2:28-32 from the Septuagint. Jesus Himself may have been the source of identifying this prophetic passage as being fulfilled (cf. Luk 24:27; Luk 24:45).
Act 2:17 “in the last days” This phrase is Luke’s alteration of the Septuagint’s text and should not be in capital letters. In the OT this phrase referred to the end of time and the coming of the Messianic Age. In the NT the “last days” referred to the overlapping of the two Jewish ages. The New Age began at Jesus’ incarnation in Bethlehem and will last until His Second Coming. We live in the tension between “the already” and “the not yet” of the Kingdom of God. See Special Topic following.
SPECIAL TOPIC: THIS AGE AND THE AGE TO COME
“God says” Codex Bezae, MS D, has kurios (Lord). Does Kurios refer to OT YHWH or to Jesus, the Messiah? It is surely possible that Theos (God) was a scribal attempt to clarify the speaker.
“I will pour forth My Spirit on all mankind” Note the universal element (cf. Act 2:39). All the old traditional barriers are down in Christ (cf. 1Co 12:13; Gal 3:28; Eph 3:6; Col 3:11). Although no Jew-Gentile distinction is mentioned in Joel 2, notice Act 2:38, which implies no distinctions. YHWH is sharing His Spirit with all humans made in His image (literally, “all flesh”), which is asserted in Gen 1:26-27.
“sons and your daughters shall prophesy. . .both men and women, I will pour forth My Spirit” This may be a specific fulfillment of Num 11:29. Note that there is no gender distinction.
SPECIAL TOPIC: WOMEN IN THE BIBLE
“prophecy” There are at least two ways to understand this term: (1) in the Corinthian letters this term refers to sharing or proclaiming the gospel (cf. Act 14:1; Act 2:17) (2) the book of Acts mentions prophets (cf. Acts 12:27; Act 13:1; Act 15:32; Act 22:10, even prophetesses, Act 21:9), who predict the future (see Special Topic at Act 11:27).
The problem with this term is, how does the NT gift of prophecy relate to OT prophets? In the OT prophets are the writers of Scripture. In the NT this task is given to the original twelve Apostles and their helpers. As the term “apostle” is retained as an ongoing gift (cf. Eph 4:11) but with a changed tasks after the death of the Twelve, so too, the office of prophet. Inspiration has ceased, there is no further inspired Scripture (cf. Jud 1:3; Jud 1:20). New Testament prophets’ primary task is the proclamation of the gospel, but also a different task, possibly how to apply NT truths to current situations and needs.
“young men. . .old men” Note that there is no age distinction.
Act 2:18 “even on my bondslaves” Notice that there is no socioeconomic discrimination. Peter has added the term “prophesy” to Joel’s prophecy. It is not in the Masoretic Hebrew text or the Greek Septuagint, but it is implied from Act 2:17.
As Luke 24 (Luk 24:3; Luk 24:6; Luk 24:12; Luk 24:17; Luk 24:32; Luk 24:36; Luk 24:40; Luk 24:51) has several textual variants, so too, Acts (i.e., Act 2:11; Act 2:18; Act 2:37; Act 2:44). These variants are often related to a shorter text found in MS D (Bezae from the 5th century) and in a few Old Latin versions (itd from the 5th century). Usually this western family of Greek manuscripts adds phrases, but in Luke/Acts it has the shorter readings. Most English translations include all the Alexandrian family of manuscripts’ longer version.
See Introduction to Acts, “Opening Statements,” E.
Act 2:19-20 This is apocalyptic language, which is obvious because Peter asserts that this was fulfilled, yet none of these specific natural phenomena occurred, except possibly the darkness while Jesus was on the cross. It speaks in figurative language of the coming of the Creator and Judge. In the OT His comings may be for blessing or judgment. All creation convulses at His approach (cf. Isa 13:6 ff and Amo 5:18-20). In the OT prophecy there is no obvious distinction between the Incarnation (first coming) and the Parousia (second coming). The Jews were expecting only one coming and that of a powerful Judge/Deliverer. A very helpful book on apocalyptic language is D. Brent Sandy, Plowshares and Pruning Hooks: Rethinking Prophetic and Apocalyptic Language.
SPECIAL TOPIC: APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE
Act 2:20 “the Great and Glorious Day of the Lord” The term “glorious” is from the same root as epiphaneia, which is often used of Jesus’ Second Coming (cf. 1Ti 6:14; 2Ti 4:1; Tit 2:13). See Special Topic following.
SPECIAL TOPIC: THE SECOND COMING
Act 2:21 “everyone” Here is the universal element again (cf. Act 2:17; Act 2:39). Jesus died for the sin/sins of the entire world (cf. Joh 1:12; Joh 3:16; Joh 4:42; 1Ti 2:4; Tit 2:11; 2Pe 3:9; 1Jn 2:1; 1Jn 4:14). Notice the Spirit is poured on all mankind (cf. Act 2:17).
“who calls” This is an aorist middle subjunctive. Human response is part of God’s plan for salvation (cf. Joe 2:32; Joh 1:12; Joh 3:16; and Rom 10:9-13). Individual human beings are called (cf. Act 2:39) on to repent (cf. Act 2:38) and believe the gospel, and to enter into a personal relationship with God through Christ (cf. Act 3:16; Act 3:19; Act 20:21; Mar 1:15). Jesus died for the whole world; the mystery is why some respond to the Spirit’s wooing (cf. Joh 6:44; Joh 6:65) and some do not (cf. 2Co 4:4).
“on the name of the Lord” This refers to the character of Jesus or teachings about Him. It has both the personal and doctrinal element.
SPECIAL TOPIC: THE NAME OF THE LORD
“will be saved” In this context, this refers to spiritual salvation, while in Joel it probably meant physical deliverance from God’s wrath (cf. Act 2:40). The term “saved” is used in the OT of physical deliverance (cf. Mat 9:22; Mar 6:56; Jas 5:14; Jas 5:20). However, in the NT it was used metaphorically of spiritual salvation or deliverance from God’s wrath (ex. Jas 1:21; Jas 2:14; Jas 4:12). God’s heart beats for the salvation of all men and women made in His image (cf. Gen 1:26-27); made for fellowship!
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

voice. Greek. phone. See Act 2:6.
said = spoke out. Greek. apophthengomai, as in Act 2:4. This was an utterance in the power of the Holy Spirit.
unto = to.
Ye men, &c. Literally men, Jews, and dwellers at Jerusalem. See note on Act 1:11. The ministry of Peter was to the Circumcision. Compare Mat 15:24.
known. See note on Act 1:19.
hearken = attend closely. Greek. enotizomai. Only here. Literally take into the ears.
words = sayings. Greek. rhema. Mar 9:32.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

14-36.] THE SPEECH OR PETER. Luke gives us here the first sample of the preaching of the Gospel by the Apostles, with which the foundation of Christian preaching, as well as of the Church itself, appears to be closely connected. We discover already, in this first sermon, all the peculiarities of apostolic preaching. It contains no reflections nor deductions concerning the doctrine of Christ,-no proposition of new and unknown doctrines, but simply and entirely consists of the proclamation of historical facts. The Apostles appear here as the witnesses of that which they had seen: the Resurrection of Jesus forming the central point of their testimony. It is true, that in the after-development of the Church it was impossible to confine preaching to this historical announcement only: it gradually became invested with the additional office of building up believers in knowledge. But nevertheless, the simple testimony to the great works of God, as Peter here delivers it, should never be wanting in preaching to those whose hearts are not yet penetrated by the Word of Truth. Olshausen, in loc.
The discourse divides itself into two parts: 1. (Act 2:14-21) This which you hear is not the effect of drunkenness, but is the promised outpouring of the Spirit on all flesh,-2. (Act 2:22-36) which Spirit has been shed forth by Jesus, whom you crucified, but whom God hath exalted to be Lord and Christ.
Fuente: The Greek Testament

Act 2:14. 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:
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!
Act 2:15. For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
At nine oclock in the morning, it was not to be supposed that they had become drunken.
Act 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.
Act 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, a darkened sun, a blood-red moon, 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 Gods 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.
Act 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.
Act 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.
Act 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.
Act 2:25. For David
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.
Act 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,
Act 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.
Act 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.
Act 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.
Act 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.
Act 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!
Act 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.
Act 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!
Act 2:38. Then Peter said unto them, Repent,
Change your mind entirely, be sorry for what you have done, repudiate what you have done by a holy repentance of it: Repent,
Act 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 Gods appointed way.
Act 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.
Act 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.
Act 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.
Act 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.
Act 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.
Act 2:43. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible

Act 2:14. , standing up) All the gestures, all the words of Peter indicate the utmost soberness.-, but) availing himself of the occasion. The apostles always found an opportunity, and never lost one. [They were not tied down to a particular place, or a fixed time, etc. They used the freest, and therefore so much the more effective, mode of setting forth the truth.-V. g.]-, lifted up) with boldness of speech.-) [spake forth]. This verb is judiciously employed here, instead of , said [This point is lost in the Engl. Vers.]: inasmuch as this speech is most solemn and ardent, and yet at the same time sober. Comp. Act 26:25, I speak forth () the words of truth and soberness.-, Ye men) In these ancient simple modes of address there is much more of inherent gravity (weight), than in ours of the present day, wherein so many epithets of Nobility and Dignity, etc., are accumulated in titles. Moreover, this speech has three parts, each of which begins with this appellation, at Act 2:22, and also 29: but as the familiarity of his language to them increases, in Act 2:29, he adds, Brethren, the beginning of their conversion having been already in the meantime made.-, Jews) born in Judea.-, all) Peter was speaking in the Hebrew language, which was the only one that all understood.-, this) A drunken man would not use such an exordium. Peter appropriately warns and beseeches them.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Act 2:14-36
THE CHURCH AT JERUSALEM
Act 2:14 to Act 6:7
PETERS ADDRESS
Act 2:14-36
14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven,-Each step in the progress of the history is important; Peter had been selected to be the spokesman, for to him had been committed the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Mat 16:19); he had waited in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit had come; he, with the others, was now ready to testify for Jesus. Through the miraculous manifestations the multitude had assembled and were anxious to know the cause of these momentous manifestations. They have given Peter an opportunity, or an invitation to speak, and he stood up with the eleven and made his address. Peter and the eleven make the twelve apostles now. Peter becomes the spokesman for the twelve. The large crowd and the confusion of tongues demanded loud speaking; hence, he lifted up his voice. By this means he demanded the attention in order that he might say to them what the Holy Spirit prompted him to speak. He first addressed the men of Judaea, or literally, men, Judeans, and dwellers at Jerusalem; he addressed them in a respectful way and received a respectful hearing.
15-16 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose—-Peter first clears the situation; he removes the accusation that some had brought against them; this must be done before he can proceed with the more important things which the Spirit was to speak through him. The apostles had spent the time of vigilant waiting in prayer, as all devout Jews were accustomed to doing before the worship at Pentecost; hence, the charge that they were drunken was a serious one at this time, more serious than at other seasons; for, in the eyes of the Jews, it was a greater sin to be drunken at this time than at others. The impetuous Peter is now calm and courageous; he flatly denies the charge that he and his comrades are drunken. The charge had been made without proof; hence, circumstances were strongly against the assumption of his accusers. It was in the morning hour of prayer, only the third hour of the day; no Jew, certainly no devout Jew, would eat or drink before this hour was past. Men that got drunk did so at night, and this was only nine oclock in the morning. The accusation was so absurd that Peter passes it by with the emphatic denial and the observation that all could make. He now points them to the real cause of all that they had heard and seen. He directed the attention of these pious Jews to one of their own prophets, Joel.
17-21 And it shall be in the last days, saith God,-This quotation from Joel is one of the scriptures that the Jews relied upon to prove the coming of the Messiah; they were correct in their understanding that it referred to the Messiahs kingdom, but they were in error with respect to Jesus as being that Messiah. He claimed to be, but they rejected his claim; he proved that he was the Messiah, but they refused to accept the proof; they did not believe the evidence. The last days had come, and God had poured forth of my Spirit, and a literal fulfillment was at that time taking place in their very midst. The wonders in the heaven above, and signs on the earth beneath, were taking place at that time. The sun shall be turned into darkness; this had been done at the crucifixion of Jesus. (Luk 23:45.) Before the day of the Lord come, that great and notable day, has received various interpretations. The darkening of the sun with all the physical phenomena that go with it may have a primary fulfillment in the destruction of Jerusalem; this expression usually designates some time of fearful judgments. Whatever the prophecy of Joel may mean, Peter said that what was occurring at that time were the things which Joel said would come to pass in the last days, and hence the last days were now upon them. At this time whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. In the midst of these alarming events and wonders and terrible phenomena that foretold awful judgments, opportunity would be given to all who would call on the name of the Lord to be saved. That time was now, and they should begin calling upon the name of the Lord. The promise of deliverance, the door of hope, had now come to them, and the blessings were conditioned on their calling on the name of the Lord.
22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words:-Peters sermon may be divided into three divisions: (1) an explanation of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit with the fulfillment of the promise as made by Joel; (2) a description of the Lord upon whom they should call; and (3) a pointed appeal to acknowledge the Messiahship of Jesus who had been crucified, buried, raised from the dead, and ascended back to the Father. The first part of Peters address begins with verse 14 and closes with verse 21; the second part begins with verse 22 and closes with verse 28; the third part begins with verse 29 and closes with verse 36.
Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God-In the audience there are those who knew Jesus as the Nazarene, so he uses the title so that they could not misunderstand him. When Jesus asked the Jews and Romans in the Garden of Gethsemane whom they sought, they answered: Jesus of Nazareth. (Joh 18:5 Joh 18:7.) Jesus was not only a man approved of God, but he was proved to be from God. Approved, as used here, means to show to be true, or to prove to be true. All the miracles of Jesus are here included in mighty works and wonders and signs; three words to cover all that God did through Jesus. They could not deny the miracles wrought by Jesus.
23 him, being delivered up by the determinate counsel-This shows that Jesus was delivered by the Jews to the Roman authorities according to a definite plan that had been outlined by the prophets. Jesus willingly, when his hour came, gave himself into the hands of his enemy, and let them do what they would with him. God had willed the death of Jesus (Joh 3:16) and the death of Judas (Act 1:16), but that fact did not clear Judas of the responsibility and guilt (Luk 22:22). Judas acted as a free moral agent; hence, Peter could say that ye by the hand of lawless men did crucify and slay. This places guilt upon those who took part in the crucifixion of Jesus. The Jews cried, Crucify, crucify him (Luk 23:21), and Pilate attempted to constrain them, but finally gave sentence against Jesus. Peter here made a bold charge against his hearers. They charged Peter and the other apostles with being drunk, but he charged them with the crucifixion of their Messiah.
24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pangs of death:-They had, with the hands of lawless men, crucified the Son of God, but God had raised him from the dead; what they did to Jesus is put in contrast with what God did for him. The works of man are frequently put in contrast with the works of God. This strong antithesis is emphasized frequently in the preaching of the apostles. When the time came, or when his hour arrived, God delivered Jesus into the hands of the wicked Jews; when they crucified him, God raised him from the dead, because it was not possible for the powers of death to keep him in the grave. It was as much the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God to raise Jesus from the dead as it was to deliver him into the hands of lawless men to be crucified. There had been rumors of the resurrection in Jerusalem of Jesus, but Peter now stands without equivocation and declares the fact of his resurrection.
25-28 For David saith concerning him,-Peter here quotes Psa 16:8-11; he attributes his prophecy to David. It is noticed that quotations in the New Testament from the Old Testament are not word for word and punctuation exact; often the Holy Spirit gives the meaning and not the exact words. David often spoke concerning himself, but the Holy Spirit who spoke through David also spoke of Christ; hence, a prophecy would have a primary fulfillment and an ultimate fulfillment. The sepulcher of David was in the city of Jerusalem. (1Ki 2:10; Neh 3:16.) The site of Davids tomb was then known to every Jew. David as a prophet took upon himself the task to speak of the Messiah as he was guided by the Holy Spirit; hence, he was not speaking altogether of himself when he referred to his flesh seeing corruption. Hades means the unseen world. David died and was buried and his tomb was in their midst; his body had decayed; hence, David could not have spoken of himself, but of the Messiah. Peter now argued that this prophecy of David that his body should not see corruption could not have referred to David himself, but to the Messiah.
29-31 Brethren, I may say unto you freely-Here begins the third part of Peters address. He shows them that David died and was buried within the city of Jerusalem, and that his tomb was with them and that his body had decayed; hence, David as a prophet did not apply the language to himself, but being a prophet he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins he would set one upon his throne. Peter here refers to Psa 132:11. Furthermore, Peter argues that God has fulfilled that oath and promise to David and that Christ was raised from the dead to sit on Davids throne. Peter here declares that David knew that in Psa 16:10 he was describing the resurrection of the Messiah. David as king occupied the throne of the nation of Israel, the national people of God. The Messiah, who was to descend from him, was in like manner to be King of Gods people, his spiritual people; hence, the Messiah was to sit on Davids throne ruling the people of God. The royal government among the Lords national people was, properly speaking, a theocracy; that is, a government of which God was considered the Supreme Ruler, while the earthly king was Gods agent. Christ or the Messiah was to sit on Davids throne, or to be his successor, by becoming the King of Gods spiritual people.
32 This Jesus did God raise up,-Again, the Jews crucified Jesus, but God raised him up and has made the apostles witnesses of that resurrection. Peter now had proved that the prophecy was not fulfilled in David, and could not refer to him, or to an earthly king or person long after him; but it did refer to the Messiah. Then he affirmed that God did raise up Jesus from the dead, and proceeded to prove that this Jesus is the Christ. The we who are witnesses of the resurrection includes the twelve apostles, and may include other disciples who had seen Jesus after his resurrection. (1Co 15:6.)
33 Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted,-God had raised Jesus from the dead that he might sit on Davids throne, which is here called the right hand of God exalted. Jesus was not only raised from the dead, like Lazarus or the daughter of Jairus to die again, but he was raised from the dead to be exalted to the right hand of God. Again we see the contrast between what the Jews had done for Christ and what God had done. There is a similar phrase in Psa 98:1 : His right hand, and his holy arm, hath wrought salvation for him. He had promised that if he returned to the Father he would send the Holy Spirit; since he had returned to the Father he has now sent the Holy Spirit. The physical manifestations which so confused and astonished the multitude were evidences that the Holy Spirit had come and they saw and heard these things.
34-35 For David ascended not into the heavens:-Peter further argues and proves that the prophecy here did not apply to David. He quotes Psa 110:1. David had not ascended into the heavens, but Jesus had. It is clear that David understood this to refer to some other than himself; David with the Holy Spirit saw the Messiah come to the earth, suffer and die, be buried, raised from the dead, and ascend back to the Father, and seated at his right hand. This prophecy of David as to the Lord had been fulfilled. Some in that audience could recall that a few weeks before this time the Pharisees had been confused by a question about the meaning of this same passage, and they could not answer Jesus; if they had answered him truly they would have conceded his claim. (Mat 22:42-45.)
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know-Let all the house of Israel is equivalent to saying let every house of Israel; this appeal could be made only to Israel, for they only had known the prophecies, and they only had received the promises. Know assuredly is equivalent to believing the evidence that Peter had given to establish the fact that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah and therefore the Son of God. This was another way of telling them to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The fact that they were to believe was that God had made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified. Jesus who had been crucified, God had raised from the dead, exalted him to heaven, and set him on his own right hand; in this way God had shown that Jesus was the Messiah. He has been made Lord or ruler; he has all authority in heaven and on earth; he also had been made Christ, which means the Anointed One. This concluded Peters address; it closed with an appeal to believe the evidence that had been presented.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

the Outpoured Spirit
Act 2:14-24
The exulting joy of these Spirit-anointed people was accounted for by some through charging them with drunkenness. Peter dismissed the charge as absurd, seeing that the day was yet young. With a readiness that the Spirit had inspired, he declared it to be a partial fulfillment of Joels prophecy. This is that, Act 2:16. Alas, we cannot say as much! This might be that; this shall be that-these are all that we can affirm. Shall we ever be able to say, This is that?
In the pre-Christian times the Spirit was given to mountain-top saints, but from Pentecost onward, sons and daughters, old and young, servants and hand-maidens, were to participate in His gracious influences. It is for the democracy of the Church, for the whosoevers who call on the name of the Lord, for the valleys as well as the hills.
Notice that Gods determinate counsel and pre-arrangement did not take away the guilt that lay upon the murderers of the Christ. The hands that slew Him were wicked ones, Act 2:23. But God vindicated Jesus by the Resurrection, which reversed the judgment of men and proved Him the Son of God with power, Rom 1:4.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

5. PENTECOST – THE REVELATION OF THE SOVEREIGN CHRIST
Act 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.
First, PETER EXPLAINED THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WHAT HAPPENED ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST (Act 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 (1Co 2:14) by saying that those men who spoke by the Spirit of God were drunk (Act 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” (Joe 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!”
1. “The last days” began with the coming of the Messiah (1Jn 2:18). “The last days” encompass the whole space of time from the first advent to the second advent of Christ.
2. The Spirit of God has been poured out upon all flesh, Jews and Gentiles, men and women, rich and poor (Act 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 (1Pe 1:11; Neh 9:20), this great outpouring of the Spirit was reserved as a 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 (Joh 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.
NOTE: As noted in the previous lesson, 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 (1Co 14:26; 1Co 14:34).
3. The judgment of God has fallen upon the nation of Israel for their rejection and crucifixion of Christ (Act 2:19-20; Mat 22:7). Joel described God’s judgment 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 (Luk 19:41-44; Luk 23:28-29; Rom 11:7-11; Rom 11:25). Blinded Israel stands as a beacon to warn all who trifle with the things of God (Rom 1:21; Pro 1:23-33).
4. The gospel of the grace of God is now proclaimed to all the nations of the world (Act 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 (Psa 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).
Secondly, PETER PROCLAIMED THE PERSON AND WORK OF CHRIST (Act 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 (Act 2:22). His claims to divinity (Joh 8:56; Joh 14:9; Rom 9:5; 1Ti 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? (Read Act 2:23). The death of Christ was an act of God (Rom 5:8; Rom 8:32; 2Co 5:21; Isa 53:10). He was foreordained and predestinated to be our substitutionary sacrifice (1Pe 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 freewill. If nothing else convinces men of the abhorrence of freewill doctrine, this should – Freewill crucified the Lord of Glory!
By his resurrection from the dead our Savior abolished death (Act 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 to Rom 5:1).
Thirdly, PETER GIVES PROOF FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES THAT THE MESSIAH MUST BOTH SUFFER DEATH AND BE RESURRECTED BY THE POWER OF GOD (Act 2:25-31). Quoting Psa 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” (Joh 12:28-32; Joh 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 Savior 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 (Act 2:26-28; Php 2:5-11; Heb 12:1-3). In all theses things, the person spoken of was not David, but David’s Lord, Jesus Christ (Act 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.
Fourthly, PETER DECLARES THAT JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD, HAS BEEN GIVEN DOMINION AS LORD OVER ALL GOD’S CREATION (Act 2:32-36). In our next lesson we will study these verses more fully, but here are two facts that all men must face.
1. That Christ whom we have crucified is now the exalted King of heaven and earth (Act 2:32-33; Act 2:36).
2. Sooner or later we must all bow to and acknowledge the rightful dominion and Lordship of Jesus Christ (Act 2:34-35).
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible

said unto them
The theme of Peter’s sermon at Pentecost is stated in Act 2:36. It is, that Jesus is the Messiah. No message could have been more unwelcome to the Jews who had rejected His Messianic claims, and crucified Him. Peter, therefore, does not announce his theme until he has covered every possible Jewish objection. The point of difficulty with the Jews was the apparent failure of the clear and repeated prophetic promise of a regathered Israel established in their own land under their covenanted King (e.g).; Isa 11:10-12; Jer 23:5-8; Eze 37:21-28. Instead of explaining, as Rome first taught, followed by some Protestant commentators, that the covenant and promises were to be fulfilled in the church in a so-called “spiritual” sense, Peter shows Act 2:25-32 from Psalms 16. that David himself understood that the dead and risen Christ would fulfil the covenant and sit on his throne Luk 1:32; Luk 1:33. In precisely the same way James Act 15:14-17 met the same difficulty. See “Kingdom (O.T.),” Zec 12:8 (N.T.),; Luk 1:33; 1Co 15:24.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes

with: Act 1:26
lifted: Isa 40:9, Isa 52:8, Isa 58:1, Hos 8:1
Ye men: Act 2:22, Act 5:35, Act 13:16, Act 21:28
hearken: Act 7:2, Deu 27:9, Pro 8:32, Isa 51:1, Isa 51:4, Isa 51:7, Isa 55:2, Jam 2:5
Reciprocal: Mat 16:19 – give Mar 4:3 – Hearken Luk 1:15 – filled Joh 7:3 – brethren Act 1:13 – Peter Act 12:3 – he proceeded Act 13:38 – it Act 15:13 – Men Act 28:28 – it known Gal 2:8 – he
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

4
Peter, standing up with the eleven. The apostles all stood up as a token that what Peter was about to say would be the word of all the apostles. They did not all speak at this time, for that would have been disorderly. Besides, the miraculous demonstrations had all been done as far as was necessary for the purpose of evidence. There will not be any further miracle performed except that of inspiration, to enable Peter to preach the Gospel with unerring accuracy and authority. We are not told Just what language he used, but we know it was one that the entire multitude could understand. Verse 7 tells us the multitude (assembled from 15 or 17 countries), said one to another, etc. This shows they knew some kind of tongue that was common to all of them, else they could not have conversed with each other. Whatever that tongue was, it doubtless was the one the apostle used. Having stood up for a more effective way of addressing that vast throng, Peter urged them to give serious attention to his words.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

First Division of the Discourse, 14-21.
What they heard was no effect of drunkenness, but the long prophesied outpouring of the Spirit.
Act 2:14. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice. St. Augustine well calls attention to the marked change in St. Peter now that the Holy Ghost had been poured into his heart in so copious a stream of grace. More eagerly than the rest, he rushes forth to bear witness of Christ, and to confound his adversaries with the doctrine of the resurrection. . . . The same Peter, for whom we had wept when denying Christ, is seen and admired preaching Him. . . . That tongue, which at the sound of one was driven to denial, now inspires many thousand enemies to confess Christ. This was the work of the Holy Spirit (St. Augustine in Psalms 92).
With the eleven. It is probable that the eleven spoke also to several companies of persons in various languages, and that St. Peters speech was recorded as a specimen of what was spoken by the apostles(Wordsworth).
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Observe here, The holy courage of St. Peter, in defending the innocency of the apostles, and confuting the calumny of drunkenness, which was now cast upon himself and them: These men are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
Where note, 1. How he argues negatively from the time of the day: it was but the third hour of the day, that is nine o’clock in the morning, which was the hour for the morning sacrifice and prayer; and the worshippers of God (at the great feast especially) were never wont to eat or drink before those holy services were performed. In those times they went to their public devotions fasting; they served God before they served their bellies. The first fruits of the day were offered in the temple then; in the tavern now: ten in the morning and evening visits are made by some to the latter for one to the former.
Note farther, How he argues positively: he assures them, that the apostles were full of the Holy Ghost, and not full of wine; filled with the Spirit of God; and what was now done, was the completion of a prophecy uttered by Joel: That in the last days, that is, in the days of the Messias, there should be a most plentiful effusion of the Holy Spirit upon all flesh: that is, upon Jews and Gentiles, and upon all sorts of persons with out distinction, old and young, sons and daughters, bond and free.
Learn thence, That the Spirit of God is a free spirit, not confined to any party, to any order or degrees of men, but plentifully and abundantly poured forth under the gospel dispensation upon all believers. It is one of the great cheats which the pope has imposed upon the world, to persuade them to believe the Spirit of God is tied to the pommel of his chair; that he, and his cardinals, have monopolized the Holy Ghost. But, blessed be God, he has promised to pour out his Spirit upon all flesh, even upon servants and handmaids, to show, that he doth not despise persons of the lowest rank and condition in this world, but that the promise of the Spirit is made unto them also.
Observe lastly, What is here foretold that should come to pass after this great effusion of the Holy Spirit, namely, Wonder in the heaven, and signs in the earth, the sun turned into darkness, and the moon into blood. Which expressions signify the great miseries and troubles , the calamities and desolation, which should befall the Jews before the destruction of Jerusalem, for their crucifying the Lord of life and glory; unto which is subjoined the only way to escape and avoid them, namely, calling upon the Lord in fervent prayer and supplication: Whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Intimating that prayer makes us shot-free, and is a sure defence in all storms, that no evil shall fatally touch our person, or come near our dwellings, whilst we take hold of God by faith, and approach unto him by prayer.
Lord! how happy is it when the strong afflictions from thee, raise strong affections in us towards thee!
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Spoken By Joel
Peter immediately set out to end the wild speculations as to the cause of the apostles being able to speak in languages they had never studied. First, he observed that it was just 9 a.m. Coffman wrote, “On a festival like Pentecost, no Jew ever ate or drank anything till after 9 A.M.” Certainly, then, they could not be drunk. Second, he told the assembled crowd that the things they had seen and heard were the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joe 2:28-32 . The Jews understood Joel’s prophecy, coupled with those of Isaiah (2:2-4) and Micah (4:1-5), regarding the last days to be a specific reference to the coming of the Messiah. John described the time of his writing as “the last hour,” the writer of Hebrews knew he and his readers were in “these last days” and Peter said the redemptive blood of Jesus “was manifest in these last times for you” ( 1Jn 2:18 ; Heb 1:2 ; 1Pe 1:20 ).
Peter plainly says the pouring out of the Spirit upon the apostles was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel. Peter thereby notified his hearers that they were living in the last days. While not all of Joel’s prophecy was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, such is not disturbing because the writing was concerning a period of days rather than a single day. Later, the Spirit would be poured out on the Gentiles, thereby including all flesh, and some daughters would prophesy ( Act 10:44-47 ; Act 21:9 ). Additionally, it can even now truthfully be said that, “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” ( Act 2:14-21 ; Rom 10:9-17 ). Calling on the name of the Lord entails one asking the Lord by his authority to set one free from his sins, an act which can only be accomplished by yielding to his will as it was expressed in his commandments ( Mat 7:21 ; Mar 16:16 ; Act 22:16 ; 1Pe 3:21 ).
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books

Act 2:14-15. But Peter, standing up with the eleven Who were then in company with him, and who, doubtless, also all, or at least most of them, addressed the people on this occasion, some in one language, and others in another, speaking by turns, or even altogether, in different parts of the assembly, to those who understood the languages in which they spoke, and therefore flocked about them. Peter, however, it appears, spoke first, and addressing himself to the native Jews, undoubtedly spoke in the language of the country, the Chaldaio-Syriac, which they all understood. It is probable that the others, who discoursed in other languages, uttered truths similar to those declared by Peter; and certainly it was not by Peters preaching only, but that of all, or most of the rest of the hundred and twenty, that the three thousand souls were that day converted and added to the church. But Peters sermon is recorded, to be an evidence for him, that he was thoroughly recovered from his fall, and thoroughly restored to the divine favour. He that had in a timid, cowardly manner, denied Christ, now as courageously confesses him. Peter, by standing up, showed that he was not drunk; and by the regular, consistent, and conclusive manner in which he reasoned, he manifested the utmost sobriety, and most perfect recollection. He lifted up his voice As one that was both well assured of, and much affected with, what he said; and was neither afraid nor ashamed to avow it; and in order that those who had been reproaching them might hear him; and said, Ye men of Judea , ye men that are Jews; and you especially that dwell at Jerusalem Who were accessary to the death of Jesus; be this known unto you Which ye did not know before, and which it infinitely concerns you to know now; and hearken to my words With an attention becoming the importance of the subject on which I address you. My Master is gone, whose words you often heard in vain, and shall hear no more as you have done; but he speaks to you by us: hearken now to our words. For these are not drunken, as ye suppose These disciples of Christ, that now speak with other tongues, speak good sense, and know what they say, as do those to whom they speak; who are led by their discourses into the knowledge of the wonderful works of God; and, indeed, it is very unreasonable and uncharitable for you to imagine that they are men intoxicated; seeing it is but the third hour of the day That is, nine in the morning. The hour of morning sacrifice, before which, you know, none, who have any regard for their character, will allow themselves so much as to taste wine, and much less to drink any large quantity of it, whereby they would be rendered incapable of attending the service of the temple, and especially would not do it on such a solemn festival as this. Josephus tells us, that on feast-days the Jews seldom ate or drank any thing till noon; a circumstance which, if true, as there is reason to suppose it was, rendered this calumny still the more incredible. Peters discourse has three parts, each of which (see Act 2:14; Act 2:22; Act 2:29) begins with the same appellation, men: only to the last part he also prefixes, with more familiarity, the additional word brethren.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

14, 15. “Then Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and said to them, Men of Judea, and all you who dwell in Jerusalem, be this known to you, and hearken to my words: (15) for these men are not drunk as you suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.” After all that has been said of this defense against the charge of drunkenness, it must be admitted that it is not conclusive; for men might be drunk, as they often were and are, at any hour of either day or night. Still, the fact that men are not often found drunk so early in the day, rendered the defense sufficiently plausible to ward off the present effect of a charge which had been preferred in mere levity, while Peter relies upon the speech he is about to make for a perfect refutation of the charge, and for an impression upon the multitude, of which they little dreamed. He proceeds to speak in such a way as only a sober man could speak, and this is the best way to refute a charge of drunkenness.
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)

Act 2:14-36. Peter Explains the Occurrence.Peter is, as before, the mouthpiece of the community. His speech is not addressed to foreigners but to the people of Jerusalem, and shows us, as his other speeches do, the style of argument used by Christians in their first great controversy, that with their Jewish neighbours. This address falls into three parts: (a) Act 2:14-21, the phenomena are not due to intoxication but show that prophecy of the Last Things is being fulfilled, and that further fulfilment is at hand; (b) Act 2:22-32, the Resurrection of Jesus proves His Messiahship; (c) Act 2:33-36, appeal to the Jews to recognise Him accordingly.
Act 2:14-21. Intoxication is not an affair of the early morning; it is not yet the time for morning prayer, and the Jew did not eat nor drink before that hour. The lively utterances of the believers are due to the direct inspiration of God according to His promise in Joel (Joe 2:28-32; LXX with slight differences). The passage predicts what is to precede the final deliverance, and Peter suggests that as the earlier part is being realised in the inspiration of the Christian community both in its older and younger members, the later parts, the heavenly portents and the day of judgment, may be expected forthwith. To escape therefrom they must call on the name of the Lord (Joe 2:32); and by the Lord the writer understands Peter to point to Jesus as Kurios; in Act 2:36 he expressly so names Him.
Act 2:22-32. That Jesus is Lord and is to be called upon is proved by the fact of His resurrection. The doctrine of Christ set forth in Act 2:22-24 is very simple. His human life is appealed to: Jesus the Nazorean, as He is called, is spoken of as a man, but a man whom God approves to the Jews by the wonderful works He did through Him, powers and wonders and signs; powers, as showing the energy which dwelt in Him; wonders, from their arresting character; and signs from what they proved about Him (2Co 12:12). In spite of all this it was Gods deliberate counselfor nothing happened to Jesus that God did not know beforehand and arrange forthat He should be delivered to His enemies and done to death by the Jews. They were the real authors of the crime, though in the act of His execution wicked hands, the hands of men outside the Law, were employed. The speaker passes lightly on from the death of Jesus to His Resurrection; he has no doctrine of the virtue of Christs death, but hurries on to the act by which that fearful crime was redressed and turned to its opposite. God raised Him up, having loosed the pangs (so LXX, Psa 18:5, Psa 116:3; Heb. bonds) of death. He could not be held of it; it was inconsistent rather with the Divine plan than with the inherent nature of Jesus, just described as a man.
Psalms 16, from which a quotation follows, is originally an utterance of the Jewish community, expressing its faith in God and in touching phrases its confidence that He will not suffer death or destruction to approach it. In the Gospels and Ac. all the Pss. are regarded as the work of David and as speaking of his fortunes. Psalms 16 records his view of his own death, and expresses the conviction that he will arise out of it and not be left in the place to which all souls went at death. But this was clearly not fulfilled in the person of David. Peter appeals to the Jews, whom he now addresses as brethren, in a bond of faith and hope with him, to allow that David died and that they know his tomb (mentioned Neh 3:16 and several times in Josephus); what then do his words mean? He was a prophet, and the words must have a fulfilment. David knew of the descendant, in whom his throne was to be established for ever (2Sa 7:12 f., Psa 132:11), and it was of Him he spoke in Psalms 16. It was actually true of Christ that God raised Him up; that is the fact of which all the apostles are witnesses (Act 1:3; Act 1:8; Act 1:22) and of which David spoke.
Act 2:22. Jesus the Nazorean: the origin of this expression is obscure; Burkitt in RTP, ix. 714, discussing the term Nazorean, which occurs seven times in Ac., and Nasarean found in Mk. and Lk., does not profess to have solved the difficulty. He warns us against basing the explanation on the name of Nazara, where the Lord was brought up. The name Nosri was applied to Christ, as Mat 2:23 informs us, and may mean watchman, tower-dweller, pagan, according to 2Ki 17:9. As a term of reproach His followers would be called Nazoraioi after Him. The sect of Nazoreans was more ancient; Epiphanius speaks of them, and the name may mean rebels.
Act 2:33-36. Conclusion.The inference is that Jesus is the cause of the ecstatic speech, Jesus raised by Gods right hand, Jesus exalted. It is He who has obtained from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, and has poured out what is seen and heard in His followers. There is no reference to the gift as one of languages, nor to the fact that Jesus already was full of the Holy Spirit in His lifetime. Another Ps. quotation follows (Act 2:34), of frequent occurrence in NT (Mat 22:44, 1Co 15:25, Heb 11:3) but not elsewhere used just as it is here. In Mt., Psalms 110 proves that the Jews were mistaken in their view of the Messiah; He was a greater than David, not less; in 1 Cor. it proves a point as to the future development of Christs power; here, that the exaltation is true of Jesus alone, who is therefore to be regarded as Lord and Messiah. David was buried and lies in his tomb (Act 2:29), he never rose to heaven; but Jesus has sent down the Spirit from heaven to His followers (Act 2:33). In Him, then, the prophecy is fulfilled; God, as the whole house of Israel is to recognise, has made Jesus both Lord and Messiah.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, {h} 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:
(h) The holiness of Peter is to be marked, in which the grace of the Holy Spirit is to be seen, even from the very beginning.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

Peter’s Pentecost sermon 2:14-41
"The miraculous is not self-authenticating, nor does it inevitably and uniformly convince. There must also be the preparation of the heart and the proclamation of the message if miracles are to accomplish their full purpose. This was true even for the miracle of the Spirit’s coming at Pentecost. . . . All this prepares the reader for Peter’s sermon, which is the initial proclamation of the gospel message to a prepared people." [Note: Longenecker, p. 273.]
Barclay pointed out four different kinds of preaching that the early Christians practiced. [Note: Barclay, pp. 16-17.] I would add two more. The first is kerugma, which means proclamation of the clear facts of the Christian message. The second is didache or teaching. This was explanation and interpretation of the facts-the "so what?" Third, there was paraklesis, exhortation to apply the message. Fourth, there was homilia, the treatment of a subject or area of life in view of the Christian message. Fifth, there was prophesia, the sharing of a word from God be it new revelation or old. Sixth, there was apologia, a defense of the Christian message in the face of hostile adversaries. Often the speaker combined two or more of these kinds of address into one message as Peter did in the sermon that follows. Here we find defense (Act 2:14-21), proclamation (Act 2:22-36), and exhortation (Act 2:37-41). This speech is an excellent example of forensic rhetoric, the rhetoric of defense and attack. [Note: Witherington, p. 138.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

Peter’s defense 2:14-21
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

Peter, again representing the apostles (cf. Act 1:15), addressed the assembled crowd. He probably gave this speech in the Temple outer courtyard (the court of the Gentiles). He probably spoke in the vernacular, in Aramaic or possibly in Koine (common) Greek, rather than in tongues. Peter had previously denied that he knew Jesus, but now he was publicly representing Him. The apostle distinguished two types of Jews in his audience: native Jews living within the province of Judea, and all who were living in Jerusalem. The Diaspora contingent was probably the group most curious about the tongues phenomenon. Peter began by refuting the charge of drunkenness. It was too early in the day for that since it was only 9:00 a.m. The Jews began each day at sundown. There were about 12 hours of darkness, and then there were 12 hours of daylight. So the third hour of the day would have been about 9:00 a.m.
"Unfortunately, this argument was more telling in antiquity than today." [Note: Longenecker, p. 275.]
"Scrupulous Jews drank wine only with flesh, and, on the authority of Exo 16:8, ate bread in the morning and flesh only in the evening. Hence wine could be drunk only in the evening. This is the point of Peter’s remark." [Note: Blaiklock, p. 58]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

Chapter 6
ST. PETERS FIRST SERMON.
Act 2:14
THIS verse contains the opening words of St. Peters address to the multitude who were roused to wonder arid inquiry by the miraculous manifestations of Pentecost: That address is full of interest when viewed aright, freed from all the haze which the long familiarity of ages has brought with it. In this second chapter we have the report of a sermon preached within a few days of Christs ascension, addressed to men many of whom knew Jesus Christ, all of whom had heard of His work, His life, and His death, and setting forth the apostolic estimate of Christ, His miracles, His teaching, His ascended condition and glory. We cannot realise, unless by an intellectual effort, the special worth of these apostolic reports contained in the Acts. Men are sometimes sceptical about them, asking, how did we get them at all? how were they handed down? This is, however, an easier question to answer than some think. If we take, for instance, this Pentecostal address alone, we know that St. Luke had many opportunities of personal communication with St. Peter. He may have learned from St. Peters own mouth what he said on this occasion, and he could compare this verbal report with the impressions and remembrances of hundreds who then were present. But there is another solution of the difficulty less known to the ordinary student of Holy Scripture. The ancients made a great use of shorthand, and were quite well accustomed to take down spoken discourses, transmitting them thus to future ages. Shorthand was, in fact, much more commonly used among the ancients than among ourselves. The younger Pliny, for instance, who was a contemporary of the Apostles, never travelled without a shorthand writer, whose business it was to transcribe passages which struck his master in the books he was perpetually studying. The sermons of Chrysostom were all extemporaneous effusions. In fact, the golden-mouthed patriarch of Constantinople was such an indefatigable pulpit-orator, preaching almost daily, that it would have been impossible to have made any copious preparation. The extensive reports of his sermons which have come down to us, the volumes of his expositions on the books of Scripture which we possess, prove that shorthand must have been constantly used by his hearers. Now what would we give for a few shorthand reports of sermons by Clement of Rome, by St. Luke, by Timothy, by Apollos, preached in Rome, Alexandria, or Antioch? Suppose they were discovered, like the numerous Egyptian manuscripts which have of late years come to light, deposited in the desert sands, and were found to set forth the miracles, the ministry, and the person of Christ exactly as now we preach them, what a marvellous confirmation of the faith we should esteem them! And yet what should we then possess more than we already have in the sermons and discourses of St. Peter and St. Paul, reported by an eye- and ear-witness who wrote the Acts of the Apostles?
I. The congregation assembled to listen to this first Gospel discourse preached by a human agent was a notable and representative one. There were Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia and in Judaea, – or, as an ancient expositor (Tertullian) puts it, in Armenia and Cappadocia, – in Pontus and Asia, in Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians. The enumeration of the various nationalities listening to St. Peter begins from the extremest east; it proceeds then to the north, from thence to the south, terminating with Rome, which represents the west. They were all Jews or Jewish proselytes, showing how extremely wide, at the epoch of the Incarnation, was the dispersion of Gods ancient people. St. Paul, in one profound passage of the Epistle to the Galatians, notes that “God sent forth His Son in the fulness of time,” that is, at the exact moment when the world was prepared for the advent of the truth. This “fulness of time” may be noted in many directions. Roman roads, Roman law, commerce, and civilisation opened channels of communication which bore the tidings of the gospel into every land. A sweet ginger of our own time, the late Sir Samuel Ferguson, has depicted in his “Lays of the Western Gael” this diffusion of the gospel through the military organisation of Rome. He represents a Celt from Ireland as present at the crucifixion. This may seem at first somewhat improbable, as Ireland was never included within the bounds of the Roman Empire; and yet the poets song can be justified from history. Though never included formally within the Empire, Irishmen and Scotch Highlanders must often have served in the ranks of the Roman army, just as at the present day, and especially in India, men of foreign nationalities are often found serving in the ranks of the British army. In later times Irishmen most certainly formed a Roman legion all to themselves. St. Jerome tells us that he had seen them acting in that capacity at Treves, in Germany. They were noted for their bravery, which, as Jerome believes, they sustained by consuming human flesh Three hundred years earlier Irishmen may often have enlisted in the service of those British legions which the Romans withdrew from Britain and located in the East; and thus Sir Samuel Ferguson does not pass the bounds of historic credibility when he represents a certain centurion, who had been present at the crucifixion, as returning to his native land, and there proclaiming the tidings of our Lords atoning sacrifice:-
“And they say, Centurion Altus, when he to Emania came And to Rome s subjection called us, urging Caesars tribute claim, Told that half the world barbarian thrills already with the faith, Taught them by the God-like Syrian Caesar lately put to death.”
The dispersion of the Jews throughout not only the Roman Empire, but far beyond its limits, served the same end, and hastened the fulness of time needed for the Messiahs appearance. We must remember, however, that the long list of varied nationalities present at this Pentecostal feast were not Gentiles, they were Jews of the dispersion scattered broadcast among the nations as far as Central Asia towards the east, as far as southern Arabia and Aden on the south, and Spain and Britain on the west. The course of modern investigation and discovery amply confirms the statement of this passage, as well as the similar statement of the eighth chapter, which represents a Jewish statesman of Abyssinia or Ethiopia as coming up to Jerusalem for the purposes of devotion. Jewish inscriptions have been found in Aden dating back long before the Christian era. A Jewish colony existed ages before Christ in the region of Southern Arabia, and continued to flourish there down to the Middle Ages. At Rome, Alexandria, and Greece the Jews at this period constituted an important factor in the total population. The dispersion of the Jews had now done its work, and brought with it the fulness of time required by the Divine purposes. The way of the Messiah had been effectually prepared by it. The Divine seed fell upon no un-ploughed and unbroken soil. Pure and noble ideas of worship and morality had been scattered broadcast throughout the world. Some years ago the Judgment of Solomon was found depicted on the ceiling of a Pompeian house, witnessing to the spread of scriptural knowledge through Jewish artists in the time of Tiberius and of Nero. A race of missionaries, too, equipped for their work, was developed through the discipline of exile. The thousands who hung upon Peters lips needed nothing but instruction in the faith of Jesus Christ, together with the baptism of the Spirit, and the finest, the most enthusiastic, and the most cosmopolitan of agencies lay ready to the Churchs hand. While, again, the organisation of synagogues, which the exigencies of the dispersion had called into existence, was just the one suited to the various purposes of charity, worship, and teaching, which the Christian Church required. Whether, indeed, we consider the persons whom St. Peter addressed, or the machinery they had elaborated, or the diffusion of pure religious ideas they had occasioned, we see in this passage a splendid illustration of the care and working of Divine Providence bringing good out of evil and real victory out of apparent defeat. Prophet and psalmist had lamented over Zions ruin and Israels exile into foreign lands, but they saw not how that God was thereby working out His own purposes of wider blessing to mankind at large, fitting Jews and Gentiles alike for that fulness of time when the Eternal Son should be manifested.
II. The brave, outspoken tone of this sermon evidences the power and influence of the Holy Spirit upon St. Peters mind. St. Chrysostom, in his famous lectures on the Acts of the Apostles, notes the courageous tone of this address as a clear evidence of the truth of the resurrection. This argument has been ever since a commonplace with apologists and expositors, and yet it is only by an effort that we can realise how very strong it is. Here were St. Peter and his fellow Apostles standing up proclaiming a glorified and ascended Messiah. Just seven weeks before, they had fled from the messengers of the High Priest sent to arrest their Master, leaving Him to His fate. They had seen Him crucified, knew of His burial, and then, feeling utterly defeated, had as much as possible withdrawn themselves from public notice. Seven weeks after, the same band, led by St. Peter, himself a short time before afraid to confess Christ to a maidservant, boldly stand up, charge upon the multitude, who knew all the circumstances of Christs execution, the crime of having thus killed the Prince of Life, and appeal to the supernatural evidence of the gift of tongues, to which they had just listened, as the best proof of the truth of their message, St. Peters courage on this occasion is one of the clearest proofs of the truth of his testimony. St. Peter was not naturally a courageous man. He was very impulsive and very sympathetic. He was the creature of his surroundings. If he found himself in the midst of Christs friends, he was the most forward to uphold Christs cause, but he had not much moral stamina. He was sadly deficient in staying power. His mind was very Celtic in its tone, to draw an illustration from national characteristics. The Celtic mind is very sympathetic, ardent, enthusiastic. It is swept along in moments of excitement, either of victory or of defeat, by the dominating power of numbers. How often has this quality been manifested by the French people, for instance? They are resistless when victorious; they collapse utterly and at once when defeated. St. Peter was just the same. He was sympathetic, ardent, enthusiastic, and fell, in later as well as in earlier age, into the perils which attend such temperaments. He denied his Master when surrounded by the menials of the high priest. He was ready to die for that Master a few hours before, when sitting surrounded by Christs disciples in the secrecy of the upper room. Divine grace and the baptism of the Spirit did not at all change his natural character in this respect. Divine grace, whether granted in ancient or in modern times, does not destroy natural character, which is Gods gift to man. It merely refines, purifies, elevates it. We find, indeed, a striking illustration of this law of the Divine life in St. Peters case.
One of the most convincing proofs of the truth of the New Testament is the identity of character we behold in the representations given of St. Peter by writers who produced their books quite independently of each other. St. Paul wrote his Epistle to the Galatians long prior to any of the Gospel narratives. Yet St. Pauls picture of St. Peter in the Epistle to the Galatians is exactly the same as that drawn by the four Evangelists alike. St. Paul depicts him as the same intensely sympathetic, and therefore the same unstable person whom the Evangelists describe. The brave scene in the upper chamber, and the scene of cowardice and disgrace in the high priests palace, were in principle re-enacted twenty years after, about the year A.D. 53, at Antioch. St. Peter was very bold in maintaining the right of Gentile freedom, and hesitated not to live like the Gentile Christians at Antioch, so long as none of the strict Jewish Christians of Jerusalem knew about it. St. Peter wished, in fact, to stand well with both parties, and therefore strove to conciliate both. He was, for the time, a type of that famous character Mr. Facing-two-ways. He lived, therefore, as a Gentile, until some of the Jerusalem brethren arrived at Antioch, when he at once quailed before them and retreated, betraying the cause of Christian freedom, and sacrificing, just as men do still, Christian principle and honesty upon the altar of self-seeking popularity. St. Peter, we therefore maintain, always remained at heart the same character. He was bold and forward for Christ so long as all went well, because he was intensely sympathetic; but he had very little of that power of standing alone which marked St. Paul, and nerved him, even though a solitary witness, when the cause of truth was involved. This somewhat lengthened argument is absolutely necessary to show the strength of our conclusion: that it must have been an overpowering sense of the awful reality of Christs resurrection and ascension which alone could have overcome this natural weakness of St. Peter, and made him on the day of Pentecost as brave in proclaiming Jesus Christ to his red-handed murderers as he was bold to propose a new Apostle in place of the hapless traitor to the assembled disciples in the upper chamber. St. Peter evidently believed, and believed with an intense, overwhelming, resistless conviction, in the truth of Christs resurrection and ascension, which thus became to him the source of personal courage and of individual power.
III. Again, the tone of St. Peters sermon was remarkable because of its enlarged and enlightened spirituality. It proved the Spirits power in illuminating the human consciousness. St. Peter was rapidly gaining a true conception of the nature of the kingdom of God. He enunciates that conception in this sermon. He proclaims Christianity, in its catholic and universal aspect, when he quotes the prophet Joel as predicting the time when the Lord would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. St. Peter does not indeed seem to have realised all at once the full significance of his own teaching. He did not see that his words applied to the Gentiles equally with the Jews, sounding the death-knell of all national exclusiveness in religion. Had he seen the full meaning of his own words, he would not have hesitated so much about the baptism of Cornelius and the admission of the Gentiles. It has been found true, not only of St. Peter, but of teachers, reformers, politicians, statesmen, that they have not at once recognised all the vast issues and undeveloped principles which lay wrapped up m their original message. The stress and trial of life alone draw them out, at times compelling their authors to regret their earlier actions, at other times leading them to follow out with intensified vigour the principles and movements which they had themselves set in operation. Luther, when he protested against indulgences; Erasmus, when he ridiculed the ignorance of the monks and advocated the study of the Greek New Testament; John Hampden, when he refused to pay ship money; or Bishop Ken, when he declined obedience to the orders of King James II; -none of them saw whereunto their principles would necessarily grow till time had thoroughly threshed their teaching and their actions, separating the husk of external circumstances, which are so variable, from the kernel of principle, which is eternally the same, stern, severe, inexorable, in its operations. So it was with St. Peter, and still earlier with the prophets. They sang of and preached a universal religion, as in this passage, but yet none of them realised the full scope and meaning of the words they had used, till a special revelation upon the housetop at Joppa compelled St. Peter to grasp and understand and apply the principles he had been already proclaiming.
In this respect, indeed, we recognise the greatness, the divinity of the Master Himself towering above the noblest of His followers; above even Peter himself, upon whom He pronounced such an eulogium, and bestowed such privileges. Our Lord Jesus Christ taught this universality of Christianity, and expressly recognised it. St. Peter indeed taught it in this sermon, but he did not recognise the force of his own words. Jesus Christ not only taught it, but realised the meaning of His teaching. It was indeed no part of Christs earthly ministry to preach to the Gentiles. He came to the house of Israel alone. Yet how clearly He witnesses, how distinctly He prophesies of the future universality of His kingdom. He heals a centurions servant, proclaiming at the same time that many shall come from the east and west, and sit down in the kingdom, while the children of the kingdom shall be cast out. He risks His life among the inhabitants of the city where He had been brought up, in order that He may deliver this truth. He repeats it to the woman of Samaria, in order that He may chase away her national superstition. He embodies it in His great eucharistic prayer for His Apostles and for His Church at large. The more carefully and the more devoutly we study Christs words, the more lofty will be our conception of His personality and character, who from the very beginning recognised the full force of His message, the true extent of that Divine society He was about to establish. The avowed catholicity of Christs teaching is one of the surest proofs of Christs divinity. He had not to wait as Peter waited, till events explained the meaning of His words; from the beginning He knew all things which should happen.
Still the tone of St. Peters sermon proved that the Spirit had supernaturally enlightened him. He had already risen to spiritual heights undreamt-of hitherto, even by himself. A comparison of a few passages proves this. In the sixteenth chapter of St. Matthew we have narrated for us the scene where our Lord extracts from St. Peter his celebrated confession, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,” and then soon after bestows upon him the equally celebrated rebuke, “Get thee behind Me, Satan! thou art a stumbling-block unto Me: for thou mindest not the things of God, but the things of men.” St. Peter, with his horror-struck opposition to the very idea of Christs death and suffering, evidently cherished the same notions of the kingdom of God, which Christ had come to establish, as James and John did when they petitioned for the highest place in the Masters kingdom. This carnal conception of a temporal kingdom and earthly forces and human weapons St. Peter retained when he armed himself with a sword and prepared to defend his Master in the Garden of Gethsemane; and even later still when, after the resurrection, the Apostles, acting doubtless through Peter as their spokesman, demanded, “Dost Thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” But the Spirit was vouchsafed, and new power, of which the Master had spoken, was granted, and that power raised Peter above all such low Jewish ideas, and the kingdom announced to the Jews is no longer a kingdom of earth, with its carnal weapons and its dignities. He now understood what the Master had taught when He witnessed before Pontius Pilate His good confession, “My kingdom is not of this world: if My kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now is My kingdom not from hence.” The carnal conception passes away under the influence of the heavenly solvent, and St. Peter proclaimed a kingdom which was a purely spiritual dominion, dealing with remission of sins and a purified interior life, through the operation and indwelling of the Holy Ghost. The power of the Holy Ghost was shown in St. Peters case by the vast and complete change which passed at once over his spiritual ideas and outlook. The thoughts and expectations of the pious Jews of Galilee-the very class from whom St. Peter sprang-were just then shaped and formed by the popular apocalyptic literature of the period, as we have already pointed out in the second chapter. The Second Epistle of St. Peter and the Epistle of Jude prove that the Galileans of that time were careful students of works like the Assumption of Moses, the Book of Enoch, and the Ascension of Isaiah, which agree in representing the kingdom of God and the reign of the Messiah as equivalent to the triumph of the Jewish nation over all foreign dominion and bondage. St. Peter and the other eleven Apostles shared these natural ideas and expectations till the Spirit was poured out, when they learned in a profounder spiritual comprehension to estimate aright the scope and meaning of our blessed Lords teaching. St. Peter dwells, therefore, in his sermon on Christs person, His sufferings, His resurrection, His ascension, no longer indeed for the purpose of exalting the Jewish nation, or predicting its triumph, but to point a purely spiritual lesson. “Repent ye, and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive”-not honour, riches, temporal freedom, but “ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” The subject-matter of St. Peters sermon, the change in his tone of teaching, is another great proof of a supernatural force and power imparted on the Day of Pentecost.
IV. Let us look somewhat farther into the matter of this earliest Christian sermon, that we may learn the apostolic view of the Christian scheme. Some persons have asserted that the earliest Christians were Ebionites, and taught a system of doctrine akin to modern Unitarianism. This theory can best be tested by an appeal to the Acts of the Apostles. What, for instance, was the conception of Christs life, work, and ascended state, which St. Peter presented to the astonished multitude? We must not expect, indeed, to find in this sermon a formulated and scientific system of Christian doctrine. St. Peter was as yet far too near the great events he declared, far too close to the superhuman personality of Christ, to co-ordinate his ideas and arrange his views. It is a matter of every-day experience that when a new discovery is suddenly made, when a new revelation takes place in the region of nature, men do not grasp at once all the new relations thereby involved, all the novel applications whereof it is capable. The human mind is so limited in its power that it is not till we get some distance away from a great object that we are enabled to survey it in the fulness of its outline. Inspiration assisted St. Peter, elevated his mind, raised his tone of thought to a higher level, but it did not reverse this fundamental law under which the human mind works. Yet St. Peters discourse contains all the great principles of Catholic Christianity as opposed to that low view which would represent the earliest Christians as preaching the purely humanitarian scheme of modern Unitarianism. St. Peter taught boldly the miraculous element of Christs life, describing Him as “a man approved of God by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by Him.” Yet he did not dwell as much as we might have expected upon the miraculous side of Christs ministry. In fact, the earliest heralds of the Cross did not make as much use of the argument from miracles as we might have expected them to have done. And that for a very simple reason. The inhabitants of the East were so accustomed to the practices of magic that they simply classed the Christian missionaries with magicians. The Jewish explanation of the miracles of our Lord is of this description. The Talmudists do not deny that He worked miracles, but assert that He achieved them by a special use of the Tetragammaton, or the sacred name of Jehovah, which was known only to Himself. The sacred writers and preachers refer, therefore, again and again to the miracles of our Saviour, as St. Peter does in the second chapter, as well-known and admitted facts, whatever explanation may be offered of them, and then turn to other aspects of the question. The Apostles had, however, a more powerful argument in reserve. They preached a spiritual religion, a present peace with God, a present forgiveness of sins; they point forward to a future life of which even here below believers possess the earnest and the pledge. We, with our minds steeped in ages of Christian thought and teaching, can have no idea of the convincing self-evidencing force of teaching like that, to a Jew reared up in a system of barren formalism, and still more to a Gentile, with spiritual instincts longing for satisfaction, and which he was expected to satisfy with the bloodstained shows of the amphitheatre or with the immoralities and impure banquetings of the pagan temples. To persons in that condition, an argument derived from a mere wonderful work brought little conviction, for they were well accustomed to behold very marvellous and apparently miraculous actions, such as to this day the wandering jugglers of India exhibit. But when they beheld lives transfused by the love of God, and heard pure spiritual teaching such as responded to the profoundest depths of their own hearts, then deep answered unto deep. The preaching of the Cross became indeed the power of God unto salvation, because the human soul instinctively felt that the Cross was the medicine fittest for its spiritual maladies.
V. Again, this sermon shows the method of interpreting the Psalms and Prophets popular among the pious Jews of St. Peters time. St. Peters method of interpretation is identical with that of our Lord, of St. Paul, and of the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. He beholds in the Psalms hints and types of the profoundest doctrines of the Creed. We can see this in both the quotations which he makes. St. Peter finds in the sixteenth Psalm a prophecy of the intermediate state of souls and of the resurrection of our Lord. “Thou wilt not leave my soul in Hades” is a text which has furnished the basis of the article in the Apostles Creed which teaches that Christ descended into hell. It is a pity indeed that the translation which the last revisers have adopted, “Hades” instead of “Hell,” was not used in the English translation of the Apostles Creed; for the ordinary reading has misled many a thoughtful and serious soul, as if the Creed taught that the pure and sinless spirit of the Saviour had been made partaker of the horrors of eternal misery. Whereas, in truth, the doctrine of Scripture and of the Creed alike merely asserts that our Lords spirit, when separated from the body, entered and thereby sanctified and prepared the place or state where Christian souls, while separated from their bodies, await the general resurrection of the just and the completion of their happiness. The doctrine of the intermediate state, as taught by Bishop Pearson and other great divines, is primarily based on two texts, the passage before us and the words of our Saviour to the penitent thief, “To-day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise”. {Luk 23:43} This doctrine accurately corresponds with the catholic doctrine of our Lords Person. The Arian heresy denied the true deity of our Lord. The second great heresy was the Apollinarian, which denied His true and perfect humanity. The orthodox doctrine taught the tripartite nature of man, that is, that there was in man, first, a body, secondly, the animal soul which man possesses in common with the beasts, and which perishes at death, and, lastly, the human spirit which is immortal and by which he maintains communion with God. Now the Apollinarian heresy asserted that Jesus Christ possessed a body and a soul, but denied His possession of a spirit. Its theory was that the Divine nature took the place of a true human spirit in Christ, so that Christ was unlike His brethren in this respect, that when the body died, and the animal soul perished, He had no human spirit by which He might enter into Hades, or dwell in Paradise. The Divine nature was the only portion of the Incarnate Lord which then survived. Against this view the words of St. Peter testified beforehand, teaching, by his adaptation of Davids prophecy, that our Lord possessed the fulness of humanity in its threefold division, whereby He was enabled to share the experience and lot of His brethren, not only in this life, but also in the intermediate state of Hades, wherein the spirits of the blessed dead await re-union with their bodies, and expect in hope the second advent of their Lord.
St. Peters interpretation again of the Psalms recognised in Davids words a prophecy of the resurrection: “Neither wilt Thou give Thy Holy One to see corruption,”-a rendering of the New Testament revisers which, however literal, is not nearly as vigorous or suggestive as the old translation, “Neither wilt Thou suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption.” St. Peter then proceeds to point out how impossible it was that this prediction could have been fulfilled in David. Davids flesh undoubtedly did see corruption, because every one knew where his tomb was. St. Peters speech here touches upon a point where we can confirm his accuracy out of ancient historians. David was buried, according to ancient writers, in the city of David. {2Ki 2:10} The Rabbis went even further, they determined the time of his death. According to a writer quoted by that great seventeenth-century teacher, Dr. John Lightfoot, “David died at Pentecost, and all Israel bewailed him, and offered their sacrifices the day following.” After the return from Babylon the site of the sepulchre was known, as Neh 3:16 reports, telling us that Nehemiah the son Of Azbuk repaired the wall over against the sepulchre of David; while still later Josephus tells us that Hyrcanus, the high priest, and Herod the Great opened Davids tomb, and removed vast treasures from it. St. Peters words on this occasion possess an important evidential aspect, and suggest one of the gravest difficulties which the assailants of the resurrection have to face. St. Peter appealed to the evidence of Davids tomb as demonstrating the fact that he was dead, and that death still held him in its power. Why did not his opponents appeal to the testimony of Christs tomb? It is evident from St. Peters argument that Christs tomb was empty, and was known to be empty. The first witnesses to the resurrection insisted, within a few weeks of our Lords crucifixion, upon this fact, proclaimed it everywhere, and the Jews made no attempt to dispute their assertions. Our opponents may indeed say, we acknowledge the fact of the emptiness of the tomb, but the body of Christ was removed by St. Peter and his associates. How then, we reply, do you account for St. Peters action? Did conscious guilt and hypocrisy make him brave and enthusiastic? If they say, indeed, Peter did not remove the body, but that his associates did, then how are we to account for the conversations St. Peter thought he had held with his risen Master, the appearances vouchsafed to him, the close converse, “eating and drinking with him after He was risen from the dead”? St. Peter, by his appeal to Davids tomb, and its bearing on the sixteenth Psalm, proves that he believed in no ideal resurrection, no phantasm, -no ghost story, to put it plainly; but that he taught the doctrine of the resurrection as the Church now accepts it.
Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary

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