Acts 2:36-41 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
This day of Pentecost was as no other, for we see a crowd excited about Galileans speaking a multitude of languages all at once. The crowd had gathered there in the midst of them with bewilderment because they had heard a sound like the blowing of a violent wind. Peter stands up before the people, taking the opportunity to minister to them about the crucified Jesus and his subsequent resurrection. He focuses on the prophesy of Joel who foresaw this day when the Holy Spirit of God would fall on people. He offers the people the opportunity to accept or to reject this phenomenon of ordinary people speaking in many tongues. Some already thought these people speaking in a variety of tongues were but drunk, but Peter tells them it is way too early for people to be drunk, for it is only 9:00 in the morning. This crowd is made up of people who are celebrating the giving of the Torah and the atonement of God. They were present on this day of Pentecost to serve God. Now they hear the cutting words of Peter, relating to them that a righteous man named Jesus, who did only good in his lifetime was put to death on a cross by the hated Romans at the behest of the leadership in the Jewish nation. Peter’s words cut them to the heart, for they know what he is saying is true. They have murdered a righteous man, a crime against the law of Moses. Therefore, they cry out to Peter and the apostles, Brothers, what shall we do? They needed to rectify somehow with God this unjustified act that has been committed against Jesus. They needed a cleansing of their consciences, spiritual restoration to a righteous God. Peter’s reply goes a step further than just cleansing them of their guilt before God: he expresses to them a chance to be permanently united to the eternal, righteous God. Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call. He tells them they have a choice to be made that day, either accept this work of God or turn away from it. If they will turn to God, He will cleanse their souls and give them his Spirit, about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Peter described this generation of theirs as being very corrupt. Jesus had described this generation as being wicked and adulterous. Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:38-40) The leadership of the Jewish society was filled with hypocrisy and corruption. Jesus was a threat to their way of life. They received much respect and deference from the Jewish community. They could not and would not join as followers of Jesus as the Messiah sent from God. The few priests who did believe Jesus was divine and that his works were from God hid their belief from the people because they would lose their position of favoritism with the people if they switched their allegiance to Jesus and away from the priesthood. They hid what was in their hearts, even though they knew Jesus was the Messiah. John the Baptist understood well the nature of the Israelites, that they were engrossed in a sinful and materialistic lifestyle. He knew their leadership kept the people in darkness for their own benefit. Consequently, when John saw them coming to watch people being baptized by this strange man from the wilderness, he castigated them as wicked and hypocrites. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 3:7-9) He understood their whole lifestyle and beliefs were deadly to the population of Israel. He called them vipers, for viper snakes lie by paths undetected and then strike viciously at people who pass by. The Pharisees' and Sadducees poison is undetected by the general population, but the priests poison all who who come into contact with them, preventing the people from knowing God’s mercy and grace. Peter knows this is an untoward generation, a godless generation, corrupt in the heart, unable or unwilling to please God in their lifestyle. Their hearts are hardened as Pharaoh’s because of their worldly nature. But 3,000 of those who heard God that day turned to God to receive eternal salvation, and the gift of the Spirit so evidently prominent in those who were speaking in tongues would be theirs if their hearts were truly repentant of their sinfulness. Jesus came to a wayward people, the same people that God brought out of Egypt, a people who carried their idols out of Egypt and through the wilderness, who carried them into the Promised Land. These same people put shrines at every crossroad in Canaan, the same people who had Asheroth poles in their yards to bring fertility to their family, the same people who had idols in their groves and on high places. Their ancestors on this day of Pentecost were given the promise of the Holy Spirit if they would turn wholeheartedly to God in repentance and seek him with all their heart and strength. This reveals so clearly what the prophets said about God: He is faithful and enduring, a God for all people, regardless of their waywardness. The Jews revealed so clearly that God's love is forever, everlasting in the heart of God for his creation that He made in his likeness out of dust.
The people of Israel were given the law to cleanse their houses, land and families. They were washed clean by the law if they would believe it and put it into effect in their daily lives. God tested them many times in the wilderness on whether they would believe in his faithfulness in their circumstances. They failed often, even threatening to kill Moses and Aaron, for to them, these two were responsible for taking them out of Egypt into an environment that could be lethal for them: starvation and thirst. The children of Israel failed often to please God, but God was faithful to them. He led them to Canaan, but they would not go in because they did not believe God’s words that He would be there for them and that he would provide them strength to conquer the six nations that inhabited Canaan. So God judged that generation and made them retract back into the wilderness until all of the older generation died out. But God remained faithful and brought them back to Canaan, the gift He had prepared for them. Now in Jesus’ time we see again God’s faithfulness to a corrupt people, a broken generation under the authority of a foreign nation: Rome. Jesus revealed his divinity in city after city in Israel. He was sent specifically to the wayward Jews, revealing God’s faithfulness to this people He delivered from Pharaoh, Satan’s hands. Jesus in his travels through Israel manifested light to the Jews. He did miracle after miracle in Judea. John said, Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. (John 21:25). Jesus saturated the land of Israel with so much of his presence that no man or woman could deny that he is a good man, sent from God. But the Jews did reject this man, Jesus. In fact the last thing Jesus probably heard from the Jewish lips were, CRUCIFY HIM, CRUCIFY THE MAN OF LIGHT. When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) As Peter ministered on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit stirred in the hearts of the men and women who were listening to him. They realized the darkness in their lives. They knew Peter’s words were true. They HAD crucified the light of the world. Now they wanted life, true life that only comes through the Son of God: Jesus Christ. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. (John 1:1-4) What must we do to be saved from our corrupt world was their response to Peter? Peter offered them a permanent solution to their condition, succinctly and clearly: be baptized in the name of Jesus, commit to him and turn from your old lifestyle. Jesus said, if people walk in his light, they will not stumble around in darkness. The world will become purposeful and clear. Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.” (John 11:9-10) Salvation is a work of God, not man, but man must accept this work of God that comes to us, born out of Mary’s womb. We have a choice, just as the people on Pentecost had a choice. They could have scoffed and said these Galileans are just drunk or they could say, No, God is visiting us this day through these people who are talking about the glory of God in our language. We are presently in the days of redemption, known as the last days as Peter proclaimed. We still have light offered to us freely through the works of Jesus Christ. By faith, grasp hold of this light. “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light. (John 12:35-36) Jesus offers us a choice: Believe in the light while you have the light. Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world; He came to bring salvation to ALL MEN, good or bad, right or wrong. Peter expresses well how to know God, how to be right with God: Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Let us do so dear friends around this breakfast table.
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