Acts 2:14-21
14 But Peter, taking his stand with the other eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, know this, and pay attention to my words.
15 For these people are not drunk, as you assume, since it is only the third hour of the day;
16 but this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel:
17 ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says,
‘That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;
And your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
And your young men will see visions,
And your old men will have dreams;
18 And even on My male and female servants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days,
And they will prophesy.
19 ‘And I will display wonders in the sky above
And signs on the earth below,
Blood, 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 comes.
21 ‘And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Peter’s Sermon (1)
The outline of Peter’s sermon
Here begins Peter’s message. What is happening here is that Peter is opening the gate of the kingdom of heaven for the Jews, fulfilling Jesus’ promise in Matthew 16:19: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” The outline of Peter’s message is as follows: (1) This event is the fulfillment of prophecy (v 15–21). (2) Jesus is the Messiah (v 22–32). (3) The ascended Messiah, Jesus, poured out the Holy Spirit (v 33–36). (4) Application (v 37–40). Let’s look at Peter’s sermon, following this flow.
Objection against the mockers
“But Peter, taking his stand with the other eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: ‘Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, know this, and pay attention to my words.’” (1) Here, the twelve apostles stood together, with Peter speaking as the spokesperson of the group. This means that Matthias is included in the twelve. (2) The audience is Jewish. “Men of Judea” refers to the people living in Judea. “All you who live in Jerusalem” refers to the pilgrims from the Diaspora regions. (3) “Pay attention to my words.” The people wanted an explanation about the speaking in tongues. For that, Peter was able to capture their attention with this call. “For these people are not drunk, as you assume, since it is only the third hour of the day.” (1) “These people” refers to the twelve apostles. There is no possibility of them being drunk. In the Jewish customs of that time, wine was consumed in the evening. The third hour of the day (9 a.m.) was the first of three daily prayer times and offering sacrifices. Additionally, during the festival, devout Jews refrained from eating or drinking until 10 a.m. (2) Peter then states, “But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel,” explaining the phenomenon of speaking in tongues from the perspective of Joel’s prophecy being fulfilled. Let us note it is not the cowardly Peter who denied Jesus three times, but a bold Peter who is delivering this message. Since the descent of the Holy Spirit, he seems like a different person. We too can receive wisdom and power through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Today's prayer
Heavenly Father, please fill me with the Holy Spirit, so that I may proclaim the gospel, just like Peter, with wisdom and power. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.