Title: Peter's Sermon (Acts 02:14-36)
Contents Peter boldly testified of the Lord Jesus to the crowds who had gathered from various places to keep the feast on the Day of Pentecost. In Peter's first sermon, the Holy Spirit worked strongly, and 3,000 people repented and reaped amazing fruits.
The content of the sermon was not a noble mathematical sermon, but a testimony that Jesus is the Christ. No, it is a testimony to the basic confession of faith in the Christian faith. He preached a Bible-centered sermon while validating the prophecies of the prophet Joel and David, rebuking the sin that killed Jesus and craving the victory of justice and the victory of truth, calling for repentance.
1. We testified of Jesus who performed great powers.
Verse 22 says, “Men of Israel, listen to this, for you know that God testified before you through Jesus of Nazareth, who performed great powers and wonders and signs among you.” “Power” refers to the supernatural act of Christ, the powerful attribute.
And 'Knight' refers to the attribute of power that occurs mainly in the natural world as an influence by power, and 'sign' is the same word as a sign, which mainly refers to miracles such as 'healing', which is a miracle caused to humans. indicates.
But the important thing is that Jesus never showed any powers, wonders, or signs for himself. Jesus did these things only for God and to do His will. In the end, Peter introduced Jesus in this way to correct the Jewish people's wrong view of Christ and at the same time to confirm Jesus as the sure Christ.
In this way, Peter testified of the mighty works of Jesus. This was evidenced from the heart to glorify only Jesus.
2. We testified of Jesus who died on the cross.
In verse 23, “He was delivered and prepared according to God’s predetermined will and foreknowledge, and you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” Jesus took away all the sins of mankind and died on the cross. It is not that his death on the cross was incompetent, so that the villains did not have the power or ability to defend against oppression. Only Peter testified that he sacrificed on the cross for the salvation of mankind.
(Acts 3:13) says, “You delivered him and denied before him that Pilate had decided to let him go.” This means that the innocent man was handed over to the lawless by false witness.
Pilate sinned because he flattered the people, even though he knew that Jesus was innocent, and Judas Iscariot committed the sin of selling an innocent teacher out of his own greed when his will was not done publicly. It is a sin that the people who followed Jesus decided to kill him out of envy and jealousy. The people were not able to grasp the truth immediately, and they were instigated by the tricks of the leaders, and committed the sin of ignorance.
Therefore, these sins cannot be held accountable by themselves. Another thing to remember is that the disciples of the early church emphasized that Christ's suffering and death on the cross would soon be fulfilled according to the prophecies of the Bible. Because the Jews did not believe in the idea of the Messiah on the cross. Their law (Psalm 21:23) said, "Cursed of God is he who hangs on the tree", so could the Messiah be hung on the tree like the cursed one?
But the disciples said that if you read the Bible right, you would know that the cross is the fulfillment of prophecy. In any case, we too must preach this cross. This is the Lord's request, and it is also a natural phenomenon of those who have received the Holy Spirit.
3. They testified of the resurrected Jesus.
The Jews delivered Jesus to the Romans to be crucified, but as Jesus was bound to death, He could not be a prisoner of death forever. Therefore, God resurrected him from the dead. This is the ultimate victory.
The death of Jesus Christ was not just physical death, nor was it just a momentary suffering. His death was the death of all mankind from sin, and his suffering was the suffering of the whole world. Therefore, his resurrection is the resurrection of the universe, and that life is the life of all mankind.
In verses 31-32, “Because of the foreshadowing, they speak of Christ and the resurrection, that he will not be abandoned in hell, nor will the flesh see corruption.” This Jesus was raised by God and we are all witnesses of these things. He boldly said that he was a witness to the resurrection.
I was able to speak boldly because I personally saw the resurrection of Jesus, so I could be a witness. The resurrection of Jesus is also a prophecy of the prophets, but the evidence of those who have seen it with their own eyes and touched it with their hands is the most powerful. So they testified of the resurrection until they were martyred.
This resurrection testified that Jesus became Lord and Christ. Christianity is a religion that exists because of this resurrection of Jesus. Without the resurrection of Jesus, it may have become a dead and literal religion like other religions, but it would not have become a living religion or a religion of life. The resurrection of Jesus made Jesus more fully the Lord and the Christ who fulfilled the command of atonement.
4. They testified of Jesus who gives the Holy Spirit.
Verse 33, “God exalted Jesus with his right hand, and he has received the promised Holy Spirit from the Father and has poured out what you have seen and heard.” Just before he ascended into heaven, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to us.
Now, as you have seen and heard, are we not preaching the gospel in this way by receiving the Holy Spirit as you have seen and heard as promised? This is all because Jesus is the Messiah Christ. has done.
Not only did the Holy Spirit come upon Peter in the Lord, but we can find each other in the lives of all the saints living in the Lord today. In other words, the saints who received grace and received the Holy Spirit live truly satisfied with the joy of life, confidence and self-confidence, and live without worries and anxiety.
On the other hand, if there is a believer who lives with worry and anxiety in his life, he will have to change his life by becoming a person who receives the full grace of the Holy Spirit that the Lord is trying to give.
5. We testified of the ascended Jesus.
In verses 33-34, “God exalted Jesus with his right hand, and he has received the promised Holy Spirit from the Father and has poured out what you see and hear. He sat down, but he did.”
God exalts the Lord, makes him sit at the right hand of God, and pours out the Holy Spirit on us. The ascension of Jesus is also a fulfillment of the prophecy of the Holy Spirit.
(Psalm 110:1) quotes David's prophecy. The disciples were able to boldly testify to the fact that Jesus was not only resurrected, but also ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God, because the disciples witnessed the ascension of Jesus on the Mount of Olives. This is the last hope of the believer. It testified that “Jesus, whom you killed on the cross, was resurrected and ascended to heaven.”
After the resurrection, Jesus was on the earth for 40 days and then ascended to heaven (Acts 1:9). And he was seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Mark 16:19, Ephesians 1:20, Colossians 3:1).
Peter, who was cowardly when Jesus was being dragged away by the villains, who denied and cursed and swore about Jesus experienced the scorching Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Or, when we preached to a crowd of 5,000 people, a movement of repentance took place. The saints who believe in the experience of the Holy Spirit that Peter received should experience it more than anyone else.
This means that I will surely live the life of faith, but this will be the way for me to live, my family, and my people to live.
Characteristics of the Early Church (Acts 2:37-47)