Acts 2
v.2
Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
v.3
They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.
v.4
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
v.10
Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt, and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome
v.12
Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
Research amazed and perplexed. Is this the same wonder the Twelve may have felt in Luke 8:25?
v.13
Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
v.21
And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.‘
v.23
This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
v.27
because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
v.31
Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay.
v.36
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
v.37
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
“Cut to the heart” due to the radical call from Peter for them to be baptized.
The nature of the word of God is that of a double-edged sword. It cuts the deepest parts and divides things inside us that we thought were so set - thought patters, logic, perspective.
Look at the authority the Apostle Peter had in his exposition of the Old Testament to his fellow Jews. He provoked his hearers, who feared God, to action and response for such a word. Revelation demands accountability.
v.38-39
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. 39The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off - for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
In Joel, to their sons and daughters, who would, nevertheless, be old enough to prophesy. Similar promises occur in Isaiah 44:3, “I will pour my Spirit on thy seed, and my blessing on thine offspring”; and in Isaiah 59:21, “My Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and forever.” In these and similar places their descendants or posterity are denoted. It does not refer merely to children as children, and should not be adduced as applicable exclusively to infants. It is a promise I to parents that the blessings of salvation shall not be confined to parents, but shall be extended also to their posterity. Under this promise parents may be encouraged to train up their children for God; they are authorized to devote them to him in the ordinance of Christian baptism, and they may trust in his gracious purpose thus to perpetuate the blessings of salvation from age to age.
To those in other lands. It is probable that Peter here referred to the Jews who were scattered in other nations; for he does not seem yet to have understood that the gospel was to be preached to the Gentiles. #AlbertBarnes
v.40
With many other words, he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”
Peter did not think twice that more warning would turn his hearers away. He feared God more than man; he did not consider the numbers that would be amassed. All Peter knew was Christ and Christ crucified. The Gospel message that sternly warns its hearers produce the truest converts. The early church could not afford shallow converts in following verses’ narration of their intimate fellowship with one another. Carnal methods draw carnal men. The fear of the Lord draws God-fearing men. Peter understood this and by it, became the rock upon which the early church stood upon.
v.42
They devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
In prayers - This was one effect of the influence of the Spirit, and an evidence of their change. A genuine revival will be always followed by a love of prayer.
v.43
Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.
The multitude had just before derided them Acts 2:13; but so striking and manifest was the power of God on this occasion, that it silenced all clamors, and produced a general veneration and awe. The effect of a great work of God’s grace is commonly to produce an unusual seriousness and solemnity in a community, even among those who are not converted. It restrains, subdues, and silences opposition.
Everyone was seeing a side of God they have never seen before. Their aweness preceded the observation of the many miiraculous signs and wonders done by the apostles. Over time, miracles keep us entertained and fleshly satisfied(find better phrase) while God’s character keeps us contemplating and hungering for THE MORE.
v.44
All the believers were together and had everything in common.
Of all the descriptions of the early church’s community, I wonder if this was an aspect that could lead future churches to stray if not followed with sacrificial giving “anyone as he had needed”. If not well-stewarded, this could also sound like the beginning of an overly “opti-mystic” Jewish cult. idk.
v.45
Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.
When the family of believers are all together and have everything in common, the temptation is to invest in themselves for sustainability, outreach, or any other good reasons. Rather, they were filled with radical generosity. The Lord provides for those who would trust in Him - even the early church.
v.46-47
Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Research: did they not have jobs? how did they meet EVERY DAY?! is breaking bread an idiom for eating together, or did they actually practice communion? at this time, was the early church positively accepted since they were “enjoying the favor all the people”?