Day 31: Acts 2
On the 50th day after the Sabbath of Passover week - also called Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks (see Leviticus 23:15-16) - all of the believers were together in Jerusalem. Jesus had instructed them to stay there until they received the gift of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 1:4-5), at which point they were to be “witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). So when the Holy Spirit came upon them in the form of tongues of fire, the first thing they were able to do was to speak in other languages, so that the message of Jesus could go to other nations.When this happened, the people were “amazed and perplexed” (v. 12), and some accused them of being drunk (v. 13). But Peter addressed the crowd and explained from the Scriptures all that was going on. He used several passages from the Old Testament to discuss the promised coming of the Holy Spirit as well as the death and resurrection of Jesus, and he concluded powerfully, “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (v. 36). He called his listeners to repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of their sins, and that day 3,000 people became new Christians (v. 41).
This was a remarkable and amazing day for the early church. But it was an equally remarkable and amazing day in the life of Peter. Not too long ago, Peter had looked into the face of Jesus after vehemently denying that he even knew him, and he went away and “wept bitterly” (Luke 22:62). Peter had always been a bit impetuous: jumping out of a boat, twice (Matthew 14:24-33; John 21:7-8); claiming to understand a glorious transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-5); and attacking those who came to arrest Jesus (John 18:10-11). But when he was the first of the disciples to confess Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God, Jesus said that he would build his church on Peter, whose name meant “rock” (Matthew 16:15-19). And even though Peter denied him, Jesus kept this promise. The resurrection of Jesus transformed Peter from a rash denier into a bold proclaimer of the gospel. He was still audacious and outspoken, but God now used these exact qualities in incredibly powerful ways in the life of the early church. Peter had seen the full glory of the resurrected Jesus, and it changed him deeply and irrevocably.
Questions for reflection and discussion: How did Pentecost start a new era in the life of the church? How and why was Peter’s life transformed? Have you seen your life or the lives of others changed in this way? How could you, like Peter, point someone to Jesus using the Old Testament?
