Friday, July 22, 2022
“People of Israel,
listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the
Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as
you well know. But God knew what would happen, and his
prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of
lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him. But
God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for
death could not keep him in its grip. King David said
this about him: ‘I see that the Lord is
always with me. I will not be shaken,
for he is right beside me. No
wonder my heart is glad, and my tongue shouts his praises! My body rests in hope. For you will not leave my soul among the
dead or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave. You have shown me the way of life, and
you will fill me with the joy of your presence.’ “Dear brothers, think about this! You can be sure that the patriarch David
wasn’t referring to himself, for he died and was buried, and his tomb is still
here among us. But he was a prophet, and he knew God had
promised with an oath that one of David’s own descendants would sit on his
throne. David was looking into the future and speaking of
the Messiah’s resurrection. He was
saying that God would not leave him among the dead or allow his body to rot in
the grave. “God raised Jesus
from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this. Now he
is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And
the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us,
just as you see and hear today. For David himself never
ascended into heaven, yet he said, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit in
the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies, making
them a footstool under your feet.”’ “So let everyone in Israel know for
certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and
Messiah!” Peter’s words
pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles,
“Brothers, what should we do?” Peter
replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized
in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit. This promise is to you, to your children, and to
those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God.” Then
Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners,
“Save yourselves from this crooked generation!” Those who believed what Peter said were
baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all. Acts 2:22-41
This second chapter of Acts always seems to grab the
attention of the spectacular; it is the issue of the tongues of fire, speaking
in unknown languages. It centers on the
apostles gathered in the upper room. But
that was just the locker room where the team was getting ready for the big
game, which takes place in the real arena…the lives and futures of all persons,
both in first-century Jerusalem, and all who have ever been born
everywhere. Peter would stand and preach
a simple sermon…the Gospel message of Christ’s Lordship, crucifixion, death,
and resurrection. And Dr. Luke records
in this text a very strange reaction: humility!
They didn’t get mad at the sermon. They didn’t yawn and fall asleep. They didn’t scowl, fold their arms, and shake
their heads in disbelief at Peter’s impertinence. What they did was repent of their sins,
submit to the waters of baptism, and let the fire of God’s Holy Spirit warm
their insides, and outwardly spread the joy to everyone they would meet for the
rest of their lives. They became
disciples.
I call it a very strange reaction
because we’re seeing little of that humble response these days. The prevailing culture disdains humility,
repentance, and faith, as being antiquated and counter-productive. God is simply not in vogue.
For You Today
Read Peter’s sermon again…then consider what
your reaction might be.
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have
a blessed day!
Go to VIDEO (read by author)
There are about 2,000 devotional
posts in the Rocky Road Devotions library.
To
dig deeper into today’s topic or Scripture text: Three Conversions at Pentecost and Repent
and Be Baptized
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