Daily Thoughts from Acts: The Church Is Born (Acts 2:22-41)

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him,

   “‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope.  For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,

 or let your Holy One see corruption.  You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

“Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.  Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,

   “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”’

Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “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.  For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.  (Acts 2:22-41 ESV)

Peter uses four forms of evidence to persuade the listeners that Jesus is the Messiah:

1) Their knowledge of the many miracles Jesus performed,

2) Old Testament prophecy that the Messiah would die and rise again, 

3) The apostles’ own eyewitness testimony that they saw Jesus alive, and

4) The current miracle they are witnessing of their speaking languages they could not know, as proof of the promised outpouring of the Spirit at Messiah’s coming.

Based on this evidence and being charged by Peter with having crucified the Messiah, the listeners, or at least 3,000 of them, are convinced of their sin and want to know how to respond to God.  Peter tells them to repent, which they are very primed to do, and then to be baptized in Jesus’ name as evidence that they acknowledge him as Messiah and Savior.  They are also told they will receive the Spirit.  3,000 new believers are “added” to the number of current believers and we may rightly see this as the birth of the Church. 

At this point then, the church is all Jewish.  But the fact that all these Jews are living in other parts of the world, merely visiting Jerusalem for Pentecost, lets us know that God is concerned to reach the whole world.  When they return home, they may not start talking to Gentiles about Jesus, but when missionaries come to their locale and begin by preaching in the synagogue they attend, they will hear that though the gospel is for the Jew first, it is also for the Greek or Gentile.  Acts will show us that this is exactly what happened.  The church Jesus spoke of (Matthew 16) is born.  The gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

This is my church. It is composed of people just like me. It will be friendly if I am. It will do a great work if I work. It will make generous gifts to many causes if I am generous. It will bring others into its fellowship if I bring them. Its seats will be filled if I fill them. It will be a church of loyalty and love, of faith and service if I who make it what it is, am filled with these.  Therefore, with God’s help, I dedicate myself to the task of being all these things I want my church to be. [Source: Unknown]