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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“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. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’
“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.
Acts 2:33-41
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
It didn’t take long to see the power of the Holy Spirit and what it could accomplish within the heart and mind of a Christ believer.
We know because immediately after the apostles received the Jesus-promised gift of the Holy Spirit, there was Peter powerfully sharing the Gospel with a large crowd who had gathered, most of which were trying to get a glimpse at the men who were speaking in different languages and dialects than their own, an event that some attributed to a state of drunkenness.
Peter went to work to assure them it was anything but that and through His words, He paved the way for approximately 3,000 people to place their belief and trust in Jesus, receiving the indwelling of the Holy Spirit themselves.
Peter started leading his listeners on the road to 3,000 by talking about the crucified Jesus and how everything that happened, to include being put to death by on the cross by wicked men, was done with God’s approval. Everything that took place was to fulfill God’s deliberate plan as His perfectly sinless Son was offered up as a sacrifice to atone for the sins of all mankind.
Equally a part of God’s deliberate plan was His desire to deliver His Son from the clutches of death and bring Him back to life. This resurrection was a foreshadowing of what God was willing to do for anyone who would place their belief and hope in His Son as Savior.
And that brings us to today’s final message in this series, as we see Peter first tell of the third and closing act in God’s deliberate plan for salvation and the impact his message had on his listeners.
What was that third and closing act of God’s plan?
Through Peter’s words, we see where it was Jesus’ ascension which had happened just before the imparting of the Holy Spirit so it would be fresh on the minds of Jesus’ faithful followers and no doubt others who may have heard about it. Look again at these words from Peter:
“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. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
Here we find Peter hitting at where Jesus had gone. He hadn’t simply risen into the clouds to disappear for all eternity. Rather, He elevated in altitude to the heavens and in authority, exalted to God’s right hand where He would sit (and continues to sit) in authority over all things in heaven and on earth. And in one of His first official acts in power from heaven, He poured out the promised Holy Spirit on His faithful followers, the very Holy Spirit that was alive and well in Peter as he preached.
So God promoted His Son to the place of highest power over all things. Pontius Pilate had placed a sign over Jesus on the cross that proclaimed Him the King of the Jews but Pilate was only partially correct. For Jesus was (and still is) the Lord of all lords and King of all kings. He was in authority over everything and indeed was the Messiah that had been predicted through all the Old Testament prophets.
This is the man that the Jewish religious leaders had crucified, the man that many of the listeners had condemned themselves. The scriptures tell us that Peter’s message, powered by the Holy Spirit, “cut them to the heart”, so much so that they asked Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Through their words, they realized their sins and held out hope that there would be some road to redemption. Peter offered the following directions to travel that very road as he 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.”
Then he added:
“Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”
In other words, Peter was saying, “Dare to be different. Realize your sins, ask for forgiveness of those sins, and find reconciliation through Jesus Christ, who will not only bring you peace with God but the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
How did the people respond?
Well, not everyone got onboard with Peter. That’s the sense we get from the scriptures but there were nearly three thousand people who made the choice to repent and place their belief in Jesus, making that commitment public through baptism. Not a bad first day’s work for the Holy Spirit working in and through Peter.
Through these events, we find the Great Commission operationalized.
First, disciples were made.
Second, disciples were baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Finally, these disciples were taught about Jesus and what He commanded regarding the matter of repentance and forgiveness of sins through Him.
How would these newly minted disciples begin their new lives as Christians?
We’ll find out tomorrow as we finish looking at Acts, chapter 2. I hope you’ll join me then.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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