The Risen Jesus and Pentecost (Acts 2)

There are many ways of looking at Acts 2. One of the most important is to see that it describes the activities of the risen Jesus and several of them are mentioned in this chapter. Those actions reveal the fact that he has been highly exalted on the throne of heaven, having ascended there ten days previously. No doubt, heaven was expectant, as well as the disciples on earth, of what the newly-crowned and exalted King would do on behalf of his kingdom.

The listeners

The first action of a king is usually symbolic. He may pardon some criminals or give some help to those in need. Here in Acts 2, we have the first public act of the Lord Jesus as far as earth is concerned, and what an amazing action it was. Because as Peter makes clear in verse 23 his listeners on this occasion had participated in putting Jesus to death fifty days earlier.

Who were his listeners? Luke tells us who they were – they were Jews from different parts of the world who had come to Jerusalem for their feasts. Since they had participated in the death of Jesus fifty days previously during the feast of the Passover, perhaps they had stayed on for the next feast, which was that of Pentecost.

As we think of those people being there, who arranged for that to happen to them of for them? What kind of person has the ability to arrange events so that those who opposed Jesus at the time of Passover should become believers in him fifty days later? The answer we know is God, and only he could bring it about.

God is in charge of providence, a sphere that covers everyone on earth. And the Father had said to Jesus that part of his exalted experience would be that sinners would become his footstool, that they would bow before him. So we could say that the Father and Jesus as risen and exalted are involved in the providences of sinners as the Holy Spirit works on earth.

What kind of sinners were those sinners? They were religious sinners who thought that Jesus was a fraud and deserved to die for his deceptions which was how they saw his claims. They had assumed that they were able to work their way to heaven because after all God had given them his law, and they would have assumed that God was very pleased with the way they had behaved at the Passover feast. They were, in fact, spiritually blind sinners, full of pride at their religious practices.

The message

Yet we can see that Jesus had a message for them. The message that he had for them was all about who he was and what they should do in light of what had happened to him since they had last seen him. The last time they had seen him he had been crucified. No doubt, they thought that was the end of him. But now they were told that he had been on an incredible journey after his crucifixion.

This journey had several stages. He had died and been buried. But Peter posed a question to them, which basically was, ‘What do you make of Psalm 16?’ He knew that would have read it many times. Maybe they had been to see the tomb of the author David during their visit to Jerusalem. Had they paid attention to what he had said in Psalm 16? Because although he used the first-person pronouns in the psalm he was not speaking about himself. Instead, he was speaking about the man they had arranged to be crucified.

When Jesus was placed in a borrowed tomb, nothing happened to his body. He had died convinced that the heavenly Father would ensure that the body of his Son would not undergo corruption. This was the first time that had happened. Instead of decaying, he experienced resurrection, which we can describe as stage 2 of his incredible journey. Peter informed the listening Jews that the risen Jesus had spent time with them and that they were now his witnesses, telling others what had happened to them.

But his journey was not over when he was raised from the dead. In addition, he continued to travel. Stage 1 was from life to death, Stage 2 was from death to life, and Stage 3 was from life to Lordship, from the environment of earth to the throne of God in heaven. At this stage in the message, Peter moved from explaining Psalm 16 to his audience to explaining Psalm 110 for them. In that psalm, David does use first-person pronouns that refer to himself when he says that the One who is going to be exalted is his Lord (‘The Lord said to my Lord’). Peter informed his listeners that this exaltation meant that Jesus is the Messiah who had been promised throughout the Old Testament.

What an extraordinary place to go on a journey! Imagine hearing that kind of explanation. The man you crucified is now crowned with universal power. No doubt they wondered what he might do to them. Would he take revenge?

The message also informed them that one of the decisions that Jesus had made from the throne was to send the Holy Spirit to them. That did not sound like revenge on them. They could see for themselves the effects of his coming. The message was clearly for them, and it was a message with demands and a message with great promises. What did it say to them? It said three things: a call to them to repent, the possibility of forgiveness for them, and the possession of the Holy Spirit in them.

The moment

The crunch time of the day had arrived for them. Peter called on them to respond to his message right away. He told them that they could and should provide a visible proof that they had accepted his message. The visible proof was their willingness to undergo an immediate public declaration that they now were subjects of the Man they had crucified. That public declaration was undergoing the rite of baptism, an enacted statement that they had been accepted into his kingdom by Jesus. Quite a challenge to be required to respond immediately. No opportunity to have a think about it for a few hours. Rather an immediate clarification of where they now stood as they observed the signs that the King was at work. Did they now want to be known as those who had crucified Jesus or as those who were new subjects of Jesus?

What did they have to do in order to be ready for this baptism? They had to repent, to change their minds about their previous way of life as religious sinners who instead of embracing their Messiah had rejected him and crucified him. Repentance does involve changing our minds about ourselves, but it also included changing our minds about Jesus as well. Of course, it is more than an intellectual experience. It must include heartfelt regret and sorrow over personal sins, personal sins of such a nature that only the sacrifice of the Son of God could bring about their forgiveness.

Their repentance was accompanied by faith or trust in Jesus. They believed that he would forgive them once they had repented of their sins. In their minds, they now knew that Jesus was the way, the truth and the life and they loved that he could be their way, their truth, and their life. So in their hearts they embraced the One that they had crucified and discovered that they would be forgiven by him of all their sins.

What is special about this forgiveness through Jesus? No doubt, many answers could be given to that question. It is special because it is forgiveness of sins that deserved eternal death for those who had committed them. It is special because it is forgiveness of all personal sins, past, present and future. It is special because it is forgiveness of sins that cannot be counted in total by the guilty, of numerous sins that the sinner is unaware of regarding himself. Anyone who is forgiven may have certain sins in mind, even as the people here listening to Peter would have called to mind what they did when they shouted to Pilate for Jesus to be crucified. Forgiveness is special for sinners because it is irreversible, not even by God.

When they repented and were forgiven, they received the Holy Spirit as a present from the One they had crucified. It is important to recognise that the Holy Spirit works in diverse ways. Prior to their receiving them, he had been the One who convicted them, but now he was in them as their comforter. Before he had confronted them with their sins, now he was going to help them deal with their sins and transform their characters.

God the Father gave a great gift when he gave his Son to be the redeemer who would pay the penalty our sins deserved. The exalted Son gave a great gift when he as Lord sent the Holy Spirit to indwell those who had crucified him. Even as the Son came on a mission to help sinners, so the Spirit has come on a mission to help them. What can we expect to happen as he indwells them?

Method of living

When people receive a gift, they usually want to express their gratitude. When people receive a double gift, they definitely want to express their appreciation. Those sinners had received the double gift of forgiveness and the Holy Spirit. How did they show their gratitude? Initially by being baptised, but that did not take long. They also showed their gratitude by living a baptised life. What does that look like?

Peter tells us in verses 42-47. Verse 42 summarises what it looked like: ‘they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.’ Four simple things, four spiritual things, four strengthening things. Luke says more about their expressions of fellowship – they shared, they cared, they met together frequently. Their new lifestyle, which was marked by gladness and generosity, had a powerful influence on the community, while they themselves were full of praise to God.

What was happening that brought all this about? Jesus was at work, building his church, as he had said he would do. There in the city where he had been crucified, where he had risen from the dead, he had commenced his work that he has continued to do until today, except that now he is not only working in one city but is adding to his church throughout the world, and no doubt has done so today. And nothing and no one can prevent him from doing so.

What difference does it make that Jesus is alive? We see in his actions in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost and following dramatic expressions of his power as he overcomes the prejudice and dislike sinners have of God; we see expressions of his love as he leads them by the Holy Spirit to confess their sins and trust in him for forgiveness; we see expressions of his kindness in giving to all of them the gift of the Holy Spirit to indwell them and to sanctify them; we see his plan of a new community, a new kingdom, beginning to develop, a community and kingdom that is not marked by geographical borders or historical eras; we see the King of glory governing for the good of souls and the fame of God.

And if we see all those features, we should have in our hearts the joy of the Lord because, after all, in our hearts is the Spirit of Jesus, the divine Indweller from heaven, who has been given to his people as the guarantee and the firstfruits of the glory to come.