Daily Scripture Reading Acts 2:17-39

There are many Pastors who claim to preach the gospel and lead people to salvation, but in their messages they essentially ignore the resurrection and Lordship of Jesus. They probably talk about the resurrection at Easter time. Occasionally they may mention that Jesus is Lord. But when they supposedly share a salvation message, they simply ignore those two concepts.

Today’s passage will show us that from the beginning of the ministry of the Apostles, the resurrection and Lordship of Jesus were core components of their salvation message. If that was the case, then perhaps those concepts should be at the core of our salvation messages.

At the end of the passage we read yesterday, after the Holy Spirit had filled the disciples and they began speaking in many different languages, some skeptics in the crowd accused the disciples of being drunk. Peter reminded the skeptics that was not the case because it was only the third hour of the day. Peter said what they were really seeing was what was spoken through the prophet Joel, then he quoted several verses form that book.

Acts 2:17 ‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says,

‘THAT I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND;

AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY,

AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS,

AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS;

Acts 2:18 EVEN ON MY MALE SLAVES AND FEMALE SLAVES,

I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR OUT MY SPIRIT

And they shall prophesy.

Acts 2:19 AND I WILL PUT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE

AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW,

BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE.

Acts 2:20 THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS

AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD,

BEFORE THE GREAT AND AWESOME DAY OF THE LORD COMES.

Acts 2:21 AND IT WILL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’

Verses 17 through 21 are a quote from Joel 2:28-32. In the first chapter of Joel, the prophet wrote about the devastation of Israel in his day. He exhorted the Israelites to repent. Chapter two began with a warning regarding the coming day of Yahweh. He again exhorted the Israelites to repent. In the verses quoted by Peter, the prophet Joel wrote about what will happen after Yahweh restores Israel in the future. After Yahweh delivers Israel and makes them prosperous, then the actions quoted by Peter will happen.

When Peter quoted the passage, he was not saying it was the last days and that Joel’s prediction was coming true. Instead, he was saying that what the Jews were seeing that day was similar to what is going to happen in the future. Therefore, the Jews should not have accused the disciples of being drunk, they should have recognized they were seeing the work of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:22 ¶ “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God did through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know—

Acts 2:23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of lawless men and put Him to death.

Notice the pronoun “you” in verses 22 and 23. Peter made it clear the men he was speaking to had seen the miracles of God and were responsible for the death of Jesus.

Acts 2:24 But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.

Take note that Peter said Jesus rose from the dead. This will come up again in a few verses.

Acts 2:25 For David says of Him,

‘I SAW THE LORD CONTINUALLY BEFORE ME;

BECAUSE HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN.

Verses 25-28 are a quote from Psalm 16:8-11, which was written by David.

Note the phrase “of Him”. When David wrote Psalm 16, he was writing about the Christ. The Christ saw the Lord before Him. The Christ will not be shaken because Yahweh is beside Him.

Acts 2:26 THEREFORE MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE EXULTED;

MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL LIVE IN HOPE;

Acts 2:27 BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT FORSAKE MY SOUL TO HADES,

NOR GIVE YOUR HOLY ONE OVER TO SEE CORRUPTION.

The pronoun “my” refers to the Christ. The term “Holy One” refers to the Christ.

Acts 2:28 YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE;

YOU WILL MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH YOUR PRESENCE.’

Acts 2:29 ¶ “Men, brothers, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

Acts 2:30 And so, because he was a prophet and knew that GOD HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SET one OF THE FRUIT OF HIS BODY ON HIS THRONE,

Acts 2:31 he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that HE WAS NEITHER FORSAKEN TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SEE CORRUPTION.

We see the word “resurrection” in this verse.

Acts 2:32 This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.

Once again Peter stated that Jesus rose from the dead.

Acts 2:33 Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this which you both see and hear.

Remember, the disciples had received the Holy Spirit and started speaking in many different languages. Some in the crowd accused the disciples of being drunk. Peter stated they were seeing the pouring out of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says:

‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD,

“SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,

Acts 2:35 UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES AS A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.”’

In verse 34 the first occurrence of the word Lord refers to Yahweh, the Father. The second occurrence refers to Jesus the Son. The Father told Jesus to sit at His right hand.

Acts 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Several times in his speech, Peter declared that Jesus rose from the dead. In this verse Peter declared that Jesus is Lord. These are the same concepts we see in Romans 10:9-10 which tell us that anyone who confesses Jesus is Lord and believes Jesus rose from the dead will be saved.

Unfortunately, many churches and pastors do not grasp that these two concepts are crucial for salvation. Many pastors claim to be sharing the gospel and telling people how to be saved, but they essentially ignore these two critical components of salvation. In order to lead someone to true salvation, we need to make sure they understand they have to believe Jesus rose from the dead and make Jesus the Lord of their life.

Acts 2:37 ¶ Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men, brothers, what should we do?”

Notice the word “pierced”. The Jews grasped they had crucified the Christ and that He is Lord.

Acts 2:38 And Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Now that the crowd believed Jesus rose from the dead and is Lord, the next step for them was to repent. Repent means to change. Before this the crowd did not consider Jesus to be their Lord. They had to repent, stop their life of sin, and make Jesus their Lord.

After repentance, the next step was to get baptized as a way of publicly declaring their allegiance to Christ.

Acts 2:39 For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

This passage contains the first salvation message that was preached after Jesus arose and went back to heaven. Two key declarations made by Peter in that message were that Jesus rose from the dead and is Lord and Christ. There are multiple passages in the New Testament that emphasize the importance of these declarations.

How well does your church and Pastor communicate the importance of believing Jesus rose from the dead when they supposedly preach a salvation message?

How well do they communicate that making Jesus Lord is essential for being saved?

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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”