The Testimony of Pentecost & Peter's Proclamation (Acts 2:22-41)

Introduction: Colossal Blunders

“Not to mince words, Mr. Epstein, but we don’t like your boys’ sound. Groups are out; four-piece groups with guitars particularly are finished.”

The Executives of Decca Records, rejecting a young band called ‘The Beatles’ in early 1962[1]

“Mr. Bell, after careful consideration of your invention, while it is a very interesting novelty, we have come to the conclusion that it has no commercial possibilities…"

Again, "The phone has too many flaws to be seriously considered as a means of communication."

That was Western Union Telegraph Company to Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the Telephone, in 1871

“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” This was said by Thomas Watson, Chairman of IBM, in 1943.

There is no reason why someone would want a computer in their home. This was the opinion given by Ken Olson, president and founder of Digital Equipment, in 1977.

Or this. ”Television won’t last because people will soon get tired of staring at it” Lee deForest, American radio pioneer and inventor of the vacuum tube, 1957.

Well, its nice to laugh at other people’s mistakes. And of course, we have the benefit of hindsight, which they didn’t have.

But there was a bigger mistake, and a more costly blunder. We can laugh about these errors But the error we have read about today was no laughing matter. For the people of Jerusalem have not just rejected a pop group, or a new gadget. They have just been told that they rejected and killed their long awaited Messiah, who has the authority of God himself.

Context: The Mission to the Ends of the Earth

Last week we saw Jesus sent the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit enabled all 120 disciples to testify to Christ, in a remarkable new way. They all spoke foreign languages. This undid the curse of Babel, and turned the scattering of God’s people into a blessing for the whole earth. The Christian message is for every people group and language. The news must reach to the ends of the earth.

But this begs the question. ‘What is the content of this news. What is this message that is so important? What gospel is so vital that it must be declared in every language under heaven?’

This is what Peter then explains in verses 22 to 41.

Peter’s sermon is founded on three Old Testament passages[2]. This is not surprising. We should expect Peter’s first sermon to be rich in Old Testament passages. Because the Risen Jesus himself has been teaching the Apostles. He says at the end of Luke’s first volume:

‘Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms’. (Luke 24:44).

Peter learnt to interpret the Old Testament this way from Jesus himself. And now full of the Holy Spirit, he is given great freedom of speech. For the Holy Spirit is testifying to the Risen Christ through Peter.

Peter’s Preaching: The Life, Death & Resurrection of Jesus (verses 22-24)

What does Holy Spirit filled preaching look like? What is the message the Holy Spirit wants known? It is the message about Jesus, his life, death and resurrection. That’s what verses 22 to 24 are about. Peter reminds his hearers about the recent history of Jesus.

Jesus’ life (verse 22)

Verse 22:

Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. (NIV)

First, Peter reminds his hearers of Jesus’ life. God had accredited Jesus by performing many signs. These signs point to something. Jesus is man, but more than a man. He is Lord over nature, over disease and death, over demons, over sin. The miracles point to Jesus’ identity as the long awaited Christ and Messiah.

He is God in the Flesh, the creator, ruling over what he has made with his powerful word. And He is perfect man, Adam as he should be, with all creation under his feet, obeying him as it should, and without the thorns and thistles and sweat of his brow.

But of course, this was not how he was treated. Jesus Christ was not given the honour of either God in the Flesh or Man in his perfection.

Jesus’ death (verse 23)

Verse 23:

This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. (NIV)

In this verse, God purposes and foreknows, and humans act.

Was Jesus death the fulfillment of a well-orchestrated divine plan? Yes. Was Jesus’ death or a colossal human blunder, betrayal and sin? Yes. It was both.

Here again, God uses human evil to bring about his purpose. God had predetermined, planned, and willed that his Christ should suffer. He was handed over by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge. As Isaiah 53:10 says:

It was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer (NIV)

Nothing in God’s planned has failed. Nothing has taken God by surprise. Everything that God said would happen, happened. God predestined that Jesus Christ should die at the hand of sinners.

Yet those who handed him over: Judas, the Religious leaders, Pontius Pilate – these are all fully responsible for their actions. They sinned in what they did. For it is always sin to condemn the innocent. And they were fully responsible, each of them, for what they did. As Joseph says to his brothers of his own suffering by being sold into slavery: You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good, to save many people’s lives (Genesis 50:20)

So the death of Jesus was at once a terrible, sinful blunder by wicked, self-serving men. But at the very same time, it was the marvelous saving purpose of God, planned and prepared before the creation of the world, so that those around the throne on the last day would praise the Lamb that was slain, Jesus Christ, in never ending praise.

Jesus’ resurrection (verse 24)

However, God will give his own judgment in history on the sham trial and judicial murder of Jesus Christ. Verse 24:

But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. (NIV)

The whole rushed trial of Jesus in the wee small hours of the morning was a massive miscarriage of justice. Jesus was clearly innocent, yet condemned to death because it suited the political interests of all the major players. They wanted him killed, but ‘made it legal’.

Well, God reversed the findings of the inferior courts. The Sanhedrin, Herod, Pontius Pilate, all condemned Christ to death. But the highest Court of all, God, reversed the sentence. On appeal, Christ was vindicated by his resurrection.

Verse 24, God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony [literally, the birth pains] of death , because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

God raised him, because God was vindicating Jesus. He was innocent. God freed him from the agony of death.

Literally, God freed him from the birth pains of death, Here death is regarded as in labour. Death is about to give birth to it’s first born. And just as no woman in labour can hold back the child to be born, so death could not hold back Jesus Christ.

The wages of sin is death. People die because they sinned. But Jesus never sinned. He died for others sin. So it is impossible for death to keep Jesus down. To hijack a phrase, ‘You can’t keep a good man down’. Death swallowed him up, only to spit him out as inedible. For he never sinned. It was impossible for death to keep it’s hold on him.

Old Testament Proof (verses 25-31)

Now, Peter is acting like a good barrister. That is not surprising, as the Holy Spirit is his Counsellor, giving him words that his enemies cannot contradict. He is testifying to the risen Christ.

But like a good barrister, he finds his precedents. He goes to his Old Testament, and shows that it is not just his opinion. That the Christ would rise indeed was taught by the great Old Testament prophet. And it was more than just his teaching, but it was God’s.

Peter quotes King David, the great Old Testament Christ or Messiah in Psalm 16. And just in case people think he wasn’t speaking about the Christ, Peter points out that David was indeed dead. Peter says, ‘Look, I can take you on a tour and show you King David’s grave’. He saw decay and corruption.

But, says Peter, Psalm 16 is about the resurrection of the Christ. The Jews considered that decay and corruption of the body set in 4 days after death (cf John 11:17, 39). But after three days Jesus rose again. He was not abandoned to the grave, and his body did not see decay.

So death swallowed Jesus whole, but couldn’t digest him. Decay could not begin. And all death could do was disgorge Jesus and vomit him up whole.

Decay and corruption came to David. But not to Jesus. So Psalm 16 is not primarily about David, but is about the resurrection of the Christ.

New Testament Proof (verse 32)

But Peter is not just a barrister, but a witness. He has come to testify to what he has seen and heard. So he says in verse 32:

God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.

The 12, who stand before the crowd with Peter as their spokesman, are the witnesses Christ has appointed. They stand ready to give legal testimony that Jesus’ rose. And they are ready to seal it with their blood, as most of them would. For at least 10, if not 11, died for the testimony that Jesus rose from the dead. Indeed, the 120 who are talking in foreign languages, have seen Jesus alive. Jesus’ brother and mothers are here. You can ask them.

Jesus’ exaltation and gift of the Spirit (verses 32-35)

But there is another proof that Jesus is the risen Christ. It was what happened on Pentecost itself. Verse 33:

Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

Remember, the occasion of Peter’s speech is the gift of foreign languages. Some have said they are drunk. Well, if that were the case, no one would need to go to ESL classes or language school. Instead of missionaries going to language school, we’d send them to the pub when it opens, and by 9 in the morning, they’d be able to speak whatever language they needed.

No, the gift of other languages is yet another proof of the Resurrection of the Christ. The Old Testament said that the Christ would ascend into glory. Psalm 110, a well known Messianic Psalm, one that Jesus quoted during his earthly ministry says:

The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." (Acts 2:34-35; Psalm 110:1 NIV)

And how do you prove that the Christ is now exalted You show something that he has done. You show the gift of languages. And that’s what Peter does.

Summing Up (verse 36)

So the case is overwhelming that Jesus is the Christ.

The signs and wonders he performed during his life on earth. His death by God’s set purpose. His resurrection overturning the human judges’ decisions. His ascension and exaltation. All of the above facts being prophesied by the Old Testament, particularly Psalms 16 and 110. The heretofor unheard of gift of foreign languages, miraculously given. And the 12 Galileans standing there testifying to it, together with the whole 120 prophesying, all enabled by the Holy Spirit.

So Peter confidently rests his case with these words. Verse 36:

"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." (NIV)

Or literally translated, 'Assuredly, therefore, let it by known by all the house of Israel, that God made him also Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you (pl) crucified'.

It’s hard for us to conceive of the terrible shock that this must have been for Peter’s audience. Peter twists the knife at the end with the ‘whom you crucified.’

This is not just failing to sign the Beatles, or failing to foresee that the invention in front of you is the way of the future.

You have lifted your hand against the creator and sustainer of the universe. You have declared as your enemy the one who will in the end destroy every enemy. For God will place every enemy under the feet of his Christ.

Notice that Peter has said that Jesus is not just Christ, but Lord. He is picking up the Joel 2 quote. In verse 21, Peter has quoted Joel 2. Joel 2:32 says:

And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (NIV)

The Lord there in the original Hebrew is God’s special covenant name. Everyone who calls on the name of YHWH will be saved. And in the Greek Old Testament, which Peter is quoting, it is translated as ‘Lord’. But now, Peter is using ‘Lord’ to talk about Christ. Calling on the saving name of Yahweh in the Old Testament is fulfilled by calling on the saving name of Jesus. Jesus is not just Christ, but Lord, with everything that ‘Lord’ means for Peter’s Jewish hearers.

In other words, Jesus is Yahweh.

When God became a Man, what did you do to him? You killed Him!

Conclusion: Dealing with the colossal blunder

Can you feel the weight of Peter’s words? Well, you should, because they are the Holy Spirit’s words. They are the words of the Risen Christ, through his ambassadors.

And the Jews of Jerusalem, both locals and pilgrims, felt the full import of what Peter was saying. Verse 37:

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" (NIV)

What have I done? I have lifted my hand against the Lord Almighty and his Christ! I have made God my enemy! Is there any hope for me?

Yes. Verses 38 to 40:

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. ³⁹ The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-- for all whom the Lord our God will call." ⁴⁰ With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." (NIV)

There is hope, even for those who killed the Christ. For at one level, we are all Christ killers.

'Twas my sin that held him there until it was accomplished. My sins and yours took him to the Cross, even though it was not our hands that drove in the nails.

What hope is there? Repent and be baptized.

Change your thinking. Say sorry to God. Ask for forgiveness. And be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ as a symbol of your repentance. Break with the old ways. Now live with Jesus Christ as your King. Swear allegiance to Jesus Christ in baptism.

And there were two wonderful promises. You will be forgiven. All your sins will be washed away, just as water washes dirt from the body. And you too will be given the gift of the Holy Spirit. The same gift that Peter and James and John received is now for all who repent and swear allegiance to Christ. The promise of forgiveness and the Spirit is for all who God calls, not just a select few, like the 12 or the 120. It is for all who God calls into relationship with himself.

It’s for you, too. It’s for all who are far off. It’s for their children. It’s for the Christ killers, and those far away from God, and for a people yet unborn. God promises to give his Spirit to all who ask. God promises to save all who call on the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ name is the saving name, remember that. Peter will say in chapter 4, there is only one name given under heaven to men, by which we must be saved.

So have you repented and sworn allegiance to Christ? Have you turned away from lifting your hand against Jesus and calling on his name?

If you are cut to the heart, know there is a balm. For Jesus loves his enemies, and died for them. Now is the time to come to him, repent, and call on his name. If you haven’t been baptized, I’ll do that for you too. But whatever you do, do what the 3000 did. Accept Peter’s message. Believe the gospel that Peter preached that first Pentecost.

Let’s pray.

[1] I found these quotes at the following two websites: http://www.neatorama.com/2008/04/15/the-stupidest-business-decisions-in-history/ and http://urbantitan.com/10-most-stupid-predictions-and-statemants-in-history/

[2] Joel 2:28-32, using Psalms 16:8-11 and 110:1