The Witness of Peter: Promise of the Spirit

Acts 2:14a, 36-41        But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say.

Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified."   37  Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, "Brothers, what should we do?"   Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.     For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him."   And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation."     So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.

Setting the Scene:      Peter’s sermon to the crowd is told over two Sundays.  Last week we heard Peter tell the crowds that Messiah had come to them and they (the people) didn’t treat him so well ... they crucified Jesus the Messiah, according to God’s plan.  It sounds like a brutal plan to many modern ears.  But the good news of last week is that death is not the end.  Jesus was resurrected, raised by God!  And because of the resurrection we all have the hope of a promise, which is the coming of the indwelling Holy Spirit.  As you begin your study on this week’s passage, take a moment and read last week’s portion of Peter’s sermon to get a sense of how he challenges the community to accept and experience Messiah.  

Making Connections:  How have you accepted and experienced Jesus the Messiah in the midst of your life?

Going Deeper:   When we drop in on the “church” of early Christianity and read closely, we find that Peter is not preaching to just any crowd.  He is preaching to the Judean community, people who know the Scripture and their own Jewish roots and traditions.   In these words of witness about Jesus Christ and the resurrection, many errant or fringe followers of God recognize that things have gotten a little rough around the edges of life.  People have fallen short of their heritage and history.  This grieves them and they cry out in anguish, “What should we do?”

When the people cry out, Peter gives them these instructions:  1) Repent 2) be baptized in the name of Jesus and 3) Receive the Holy Spirit.  Do you remember where you’ve heard this message before?   These are not new instructions to the Jewish people … Long before this moment with Peter, both John the Baptist and Jesus preached repentance, or metanoeo {met-an-o-eh'-o} which means “to change one's mind for the better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one's past sins.”  (ref: Bibleworks) 

The first response is repentance, which means to turn around and move in the opposite direction.   In the words of the famous hymn, Amazing Grace … I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see.  Repentance relies on recognition, which is the first step on the way to God.  One realizes that he/she is living in a way that is not good nor is it pleasing to God.  One often begins to feel lost and alone which fills the person with a desire for closeness with God that can only come with a changed life.  In this passage, the people were "cut to the heart" as they recognized themselves in Peter's words. 

As a next response in the early church, baptism was a sign of the desire for new life.  The waters of baptism cleansed the soul of the inner remnant of sin.  Baptism was an initiation into the early community of Christ followers.  As a result of the sermon that Peter preached and a sign of their repentance and turning toward God, three thousand people were added to the community!   Today, in Wesleyan tradition and United Methodist doctrine, we celebrate baptism as a sacrament, which is an outward sign of an inward grace.   Baptism is a representation of the new birth in Christ Jesus and is a part of the lifelong Christian journey. 

Finally, Peter talks about the “promise” of the Holy Spirit to those who would believe. Only time will tell.  Jesus had said to the believers more than once that the Holy Spirit would come to us and teach us, but it was a promise that transcended the individual person.   While Paul in his letters tells us that our bodies are a temple for the Spirit of God, Peter emphasizes the communal sense of the Spirit and even includes those of us who are followers throughout the ages in his sermon as he says the promise is for everyone whom the Lord our God calls.   That includes you and me!


Pondering:      Repent.  Be Baptized.  Receive the Spirit.  This is a very simply formula for accepting Christ and being empowered by God and the Church to live a Christian life.     And yet, I fear that is not enough!   How are you able to keep your faith strong as you seek to live an authentic life following Christ in today’s world?  How might that look different today than it was in the early church? 

Have you ever had the experience of repentance, metanoeo?     What was that like for you?   Were your desires changed or did you have to struggle with them?  What does that tell you about God?

The word translated "baptized" in this passage is the Greek word baptizo {bap-tid'-zo} which means to dip repeatedly, to immerse, to cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash, or to make clean with water.    Have you been baptized?   If yes, what has that meant to your life, if anything?  If you have not been baptized, why not consider baptism as an act of faith in your church community.

The word used by the Gospel writer for the Holy Spirit is pneuma {pnyoo'-mah} which means a movement of air (a gentle blast) of the wind, hence the wind itself, breath of nostrils or mouth, the spirit, i.e. the vital principal by which the body is animated.   Jesus called the Spirit by several names:  Advocate, Helper, Counselor … how do you experience the Holy Spirit?   How do you call upon the Name of the Spirit?

Praying:  Let this prayer of St. Augustine of Hippo (AD 354-430) become your daily Prayer of Eastertide:

Breathe in me O Holy Spirit that my thoughts may all be holy;
Act in me O Holy Spirit that my works, too, may be holy;
Draw my heart O Holy Spirit that I love but what is holy;
Strengthen me O Holy Spirit to defend that is holy;
Guard me then O Holy Spirit that I always may be holy.  Amen.