Written by: Carol Walker

Acts 2 v 5-13
There were some religious Jews staying in Jerusalem who were from every country in the world. When they heard this noise, a crowd came together. They were all surprised, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were completely amazed at this. They said, “Look! Aren’t all these people that we hear speaking from Galilee? Then how is it possible that we each hear them in our own languages? We are from different places: Parthia, Media, Elam, Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the areas of Libya near Cyrene, Rome (both Jews and those who had become Jews), Crete, and Arabia. But we hear them telling in our own languages about the great things God has done!” They were all amazed and confused, asking each other, “What does this mean?”
But others were making fun of them, saying, “They have had too much wine.”

Notes 
Where is home for you? Have you moved around much? If so you probably know what it is like to miss the punch line of an “in joke” shared by a close-knit group of people. Worse, if the dialect is different, or people are speaking a foreign language, it can feel like they are laughing at you. That is isolating and bewildering.

Even before the disciples began to speak in other tongues, a gathering of people from the places listed, incorporating all the lands between Iran, Turkey, Libya and Yemen today, would have produced a confusing mix of sounds. Being religious Jews scattered by exile, and staying for trade or family betterment, some might speak Aramaic, like the disciples, but you can be sure, the equivalents of the Texans and the Geordies amongst them were still mishearing each other.

Despite being religious, some of the group made fun of the disciples when they heard them speaking in different languages. But this filling of the Holy Spirit had not really isolated the disciples. It helped them cross boundaries usually there because of fear, awkwardness, and inability. They were not reduced to embarrassing drunken babbling. Amazingly, they were empowered to bring people together in a shared understanding of the great things God has done!

Now what does that mean, as we ask God to fill us with His Spirit daily? Having enjoyed working and worshipping with people from most countries in the world it reminds me that the great things God has done brings people from different backgrounds together, and that with the Holy Spirit’s help we can reach out to everyone. It also gives hope to anyone who is feeling isolated; God’s message comes in your language. It is personal to you.

Acts 2 v 14-18
But Peter stood up with the eleven apostles, and in a loud voice he spoke to the crowd: “My fellow Jews, and all of you who are in Jerusalem, listen to me. Pay attention to what I have to say. These people are not drunk, as you think; it is only nine o’clock in the morning! But Joel the prophet wrote about what is happening here today:
‘God says: In the last days
I will pour out my Spirit on all kinds of people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.
At that time I will pour out my Spirit also on my male slaves and female slaves, and they will prophesy.

Notes 
What’s going on?

In the past Peter had often been slow to understand what was happening. He used to blurt out inappropriate thoughts. Occasionally he had good ideas, but at other times felt so confused he chickened out and even lied. But on this day, filled with the Holy Spirit for the first time, Peter is clear about what is happening, and how it fits with predictions in the Bible. He even has the confidence to tell crowds of people. Indeed, he demands that they listen!

800 years before Peter’s speech Joel prophesied to Jews going into exile about a time to come. The new, suddenly confident Peter is sure that time has arrived, with the beginning of the out pouring of God’s Spirit on all kinds of people, young and old, male and female. People who had been living in the lands of exile now become amongst the first to hear. 

When God the Holy Spirit comes, people see things and say things they never thought they would be able to. Sometimes people who have found the Bible dry and complicated suddenly find that it all starts to make sense, and in that way come to be sure that they have been filled with God’s Spirit. Some who are fearful now find they can speak out for Jesus.

What’s going on? A new age has started. It is one in which the Holy Spirit changes and enlightens people of all backgrounds, as the things foretold by God in the Old Testament come to completion. Does that make sense? Don’t forget; it is the Holy Spirit who will give understanding. Ask Him. 

Acts 2 v 19-22
I will show miracles in the sky and on the earth: blood, fire, and thick smoke.
The sun will become dark, the moon red as blood, before the overwhelming and glorious day of the Lord will come.
Then anyone who calls on the Lord will be saved.’ 
“People of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus from Nazareth was a very special man. God clearly showed this to you by the miracles, wonders, and signs he did through Jesus. You all know this, because it happened right here among you.

Notes 
Some years ago I was in Cairo, sitting on an out door balcony praying with friends, when the annual “Khamseen” sandstorm struck. In the early afternoon everything suddenly went horribly yellowy-black and the air started to taste gritty. One friend admitted glancing up to see if we were still there, or whether the Lord had come and she had been left behind!! The next day our home help, a Muslim woman, giggled as she told me she had thought it was the end of the world. Local Christians told of neighbours coming round to find out what to do if this was the time of God’s judgement; those living near the Pyramids were especially frightened, as the sun over the desert had been darkened and the sky had turned blood red from the swirling sand, before all had gone black. Rather insensitively, when a Dutch nun had told me how frightened she had been, I laughingly said how wonderful it would have been if it truly had been the return of Jesus!

Portents (that’s an “omen” or “sign”) cause some to fear and others to hope. When genuine miracles happen some people are elated and others scared silly. Both reactions are appropriate.

Inhabitants of Jerusalem had already seen Jesus’ miracles. Now they see extra-ordinary things happening to Jesus’ close followers. They do well to be alarmed, and Peter does right to repeat Joel’s message that “anyone who calls on the Lord will be saved”. But Peter knows that at the heart of the matter is Jesus. The strange events, and the work of the Spirit, are there to make Jesus known.

Jesus from Nazareth was a very special man. Would you have been able to tell my Cairo neighbours why?

Acts 2 v 23-28
Jesus was given to you, and with the help of those who don’t know the law, you put him to death by nailing him to a cross. But this was God’s plan which he had made long ago; he knew all this would happen. God raised Jesus from the dead and set him free from the pain of death, because death could not hold him. For David said this about him:
‘I keep the Lord before me always.
Because he is close by my side,
I will not be hurt.
So I am glad, and I rejoice.
Even my body has hope, because you will not leave me in the grave.
You will not let your Holy One rot.
You will teach me how to live a holy life.
Being with you will fill me with joy.’ 

Notes
Death is an unpleasant subject. When it involves someone we care about it is very painful. Even when it doesn’t it is disturbing if you stop to think about it. People who are feeling disturbed by death often also feel unhappy with God.

Jesus’ death was unpleasant. Men nailed him to a cross. For those who cared about him the pain of separation which it brought was intensified because they could not believe that he would have to face such a terrible experience. They felt confused by God’s role in it all.

Where was God when men were doing their worst? Remarkably God was working out His good plan without taking away any of the responsibility of those who crucified Jesus; man’s worst cannot out do God’s best. In fact, God did things that way because the whole plan was to defeat death, and to let us see that it is defeated, so that we can be sure that the promise of scripture (this time Psalm 16, rather than Joel) holds true. 

We can’t avoid the reality of death: the one undisputable statistic is that one out of one dies. We can, however, be sure that even in the worst of scenarios God is working for good. There is hope of joy beyond death. 

Hebrews 12 v 2 & 3 describes Jesus as `the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross…’, telling us to `consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.’ If things are tough at the moment remember Jesus has been there, and come through, he can get you through too.

Acts 2 v 29-33
“Brothers and sisters, I can tell you truly that David, our ancestor, died and was buried. His grave is still here with us today. He was a prophet and knew God had promised him that he would make a person from David’s family a king just as he was. Knowing this before it happened, David talked about the Christ rising from the dead. He said:
‘He was not left in the grave.
His body did not rot.’
So Jesus is the One whom God raised from the dead. And we are all witnesses to this. Jesus was lifted up to heaven and is now at God’s right side. The Father has given the Holy Spirit to Jesus as he promised. So Jesus has poured out that Spirit, and this is what you now see and hear.

Notes 
Kings aren’t too common these days, even in the United Kingdom. They tend to be a tourist curiosity rather than a consuming interest. We don’t get our sense of security or significance from the Royal Family, nor do we see them as having much influential power. Sports heroes rate more highly. However, for the Jewish people, at the time of Peter’s speech and now, King David remains special. That is because, as God’s appointed leader, at his best, he had united them as a nation and defeated their enemies. But he was special for other reasons too. Check today’s passage again; how else is David described besides as king? What foreknowledge did he have?

Peter had to correct the expectation that the promised Messiah (Christ – both words mean “anointed one”) would re-establish David’s old kingdom, in David’s way, by reminding them of the prediction David made. What was it that showed Jesus to be the king they were looking for?

The mix of event and prediction show that “…Jesus is the One whom God raised from the dead.” He is the death-defying Messiah who gives eternal security and significance; a worthy hero. 

And with the coming of the Holy Spirit Peter draws another conclusion, about the way the Trinity (God the Father, Jesus the Christ, and the Holy Spirit) relate, and so about the influential power of Jesus. Have you noticed? A new kind of kingdom is being established, not by the sword, but by the Spirit. Are you a citizen, caught up in its life, or just a tourist looking on?

Acts 2 v 34-37
David was not the one who was lifted up to heaven, but he said:
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit by me at my right side, until I put your enemies under your control.” ’ 
“So, all the people of Israel should know this truly: God has made Jesus—the man you nailed to the cross—both Lord and Christ.”
When the people heard this, they felt guilty and asked Peter and the other apostles, “What shall we do?”

Notes 
You must have heard about the guy who could not discriminate between a bull and a cow until he got tossed trying to milk the wrong one! Under pressure to be “politically correct” we may tune out of being alert to differences in things, but it can be very important to recognise what makes someone or something distinct. You can probably think of an experience when you mistook someone’s identity, and then felt hugely embarrassed, like the pupil in a school where I taught who mistook the headmaster for the caretaker!

The people Peter was speaking to had an experience something like that. They had not been alert to what was particular and significant about Jesus when he was amongst them. As Peter pulls the evidence together they get that sinking feeling in the pit of their stomachs. This was much worse than reversing Dad’s car into a lamp post. In all seriousness they had participated in killing God. They had not realised what they were doing, because they had not tuned in to the issues in the right way. Now they see only too clearly what they have done. 

Ultimately, those who had started by making fun of the disciples were made to feel guilty. Was that fair? Should we ever do that to others?

It remains difficult for many people to accept that Jesus is uniquely both Lord and Christ, for it is a message that makes us discriminate between different faiths. However, to mistake as a prophet, or simply a good man, the one who is truly Lord, would one day turn out to be more than embarrassing! Now is the time to get that one straight.

Acts 2 v 38-42
Peter said to them, “Change your hearts and lives and be baptized, each 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. This promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away. It is for everyone the Lord our God calls to himself.”
Peter warned them with many other words. He begged them, “Save yourselves from the evil of today’s people!” Then those people who accepted what Peter said were baptized. About three thousand people were added to the number of believers that day. They spent their time learning the apostles’ teaching, sharing, breaking bread, and praying together.

Notes 
Talk over, the bottom line in Peter’s sermon is a call to action.

“Change”, is what Peter advises, when his guilty listeners asked what to do. “Change inwardly and outwardly. Signal your intentions.” The advice still stands.

Peter gives assurance alongside the advice. God promised King David He would raise the Christ from the dead, and He had. God promised that He would give the Holy Spirit to Jesus, and He had. So also the promise that anyone hearing and responding to God’s message would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit stands.

With the advice and the assurance Peter admonishes. People can hear, feel guilty and yet choose not to respond to the astonishing news that Jesus rose from the dead, will forgive our past wrongs, and give a new start by the power of the Holy Spirit. There are those who are impressed, but think that it can wait until tomorrow, and that life as it has been is really OK. It is not; the warning still stands.

And act is what people did. 3000 accepted what Peter said.

But what is your response to Peter’s message? Are your inward and outward concerns those of `today’s people’, or demonstrated in the desire to attend to the things that make for a healthy spiritual life – study of scripture, meeting with and encouraging other Christians, and praying together? Check out Peter’s advice, assurance and admonition in the text again if you’re still not sure what to do, then act.

Talk to your minister or youth workers about anything in this reading that you still have questions about. If you don’t have either then you can email the team here at word-on-the-web via the website.


word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes