During the Jewish Feast of Pentecost, just weeks after Resurrection Sunday, the Holy Spirit descended upon the first followers of Jesus Christ. Empowered by the Spirit, believers began speaking in other tongues, declaring “the mighty works of God” (Acts 2:11). [1] Crowds quickly gathered as Jesus’ followers proclaimed God’s works in the various languages of the known world—the very dialects spoken by Jewish pilgrims who had traveled from distant regions to Jerusalem for Pentecost. Many were amazed, but others mocked them, presuming them to be drunk.
Simon Peter stood up with the eleven apostles and immediately dismissed the accusation of drunkenness: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day” (Acts 2:14–15). The idea of inebriation fell short of corresponding to reality; it was beyond unlikely for devout pilgrims to be intoxicated at nine o’clock in the morning. The apostle then offers a better explanation—the spectacular display of Christ’s followers speaking in tongues came on account of being filled with the Spirit.[2]
Peter indicates the outpouring of the Spirit was precipitated by Jesus Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, which Old Testament Scriptures predicted. Simon explains the way Joel 2:28–32 foretold the outpouring of the Spirit, Psalm 16:8–11 anticipated the resurrection of the Messiah, and Psalm 110:1 pronounced Messiah’s exaltation to the right hand of God.[3] The remainder of this post will offer further details on the use of the Old Testament in the Pentecost sermon.
The Promise of the Spirit. Joel prophesied “in the last days it shall be, God declares, | that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, | and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy” (Acts 2:17; cf. Joel 2:28). Peter recalls Joel foretelling of the last days when God would pour out His Spirit on “all flesh”—men and women, young and old, regardless of social rank, i.e., male and female servants. This universal outpouring signified the beginning of the “last days,” the time when God’s saving purposes would be fully revealed.[4]
Joel announced that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 2:21; cf. Joel 2:32). Peter declares that Jesus of Nazareth is that very “Lord”—Yahweh Himself.
The Promise of Resurrection. “Men of Israel,” said Peter, “Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men (Acts 2:22-23). Here divine sovereignty and human responsibility intertwine. According to God predetermined plan and purpose, Jesus was delivered up to the lawless; yet, upon their own accord, they crucified and killed Him.
But Peter makes it clear that “God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it” (Acts 2:24). He grounds this assertion upon Psalm 16:8-11. In this psalm, David expresses the hope of resurrection: “For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,| or let your Holy One see corruption” (Acts 2:27; cf. Psa. 16:10).[5] The very message about God raising Jesus from the dead thus “fulfilled David’s prophecy.”[6]
Peter then shrewdly points out that David died and was buried—his tomb was still in Jerusalem (Acts 2:29). Therefore, David must have been speaking prophetically about the Messiah. “Knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne,” Israel’s Shepherd King “foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption” (Acts 2:30-31). The very swearing of an oath served “not only to guarantee the truthfulness of a statement” but also “signifies that what is asserted can never be changed,” under penalty of “perjury;” and “thus when God promises with an oath that he will do something, he is bound to fulfill his promise.”[7]
Coincidently, Jesus’ cry of dereliction upon the cross, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachtani?”— My God, My God, why have you forsaken me” — is answered by the Word of the Lord to David: “for you will not abandon my soul to Hades | or let your Holy One see corruption” (Acts 2:27; cf. Psa. 16:10; 22:1; Matt. 27:45; Mk. 15:34). The weight of humanity’s sins came upon the Christ, but Christ defeated death through His own death, rising from the grave, He reversed the curse and brought forth everlasting life.
The Promise of Exaltation. The climax of Peter’s sermon is a quotation from Psalm 110:1, the most frequently cited Old Testament verse in the New Testament: “The Lord said to my Lord, | ‘Sit at my right hand, | until I make your enemies your footstool’” (cf. Acts 2:34–35).
Peter explains that David could not have been referring to himself, since he did not ascend into heaven. Instead, David’s words point to Jesus Christ, who after His resurrection ascended to heaven. Moreover, the apostle asserts, “Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing” (Acts 2:33).The signs and wonders at Pentecost—tongues of fire, rushing wind, and Spirit-empowered speech—were visible proof that Jesus now reigns in heaven and has sent His Spirit to continue His work on earth.
God promised with an oath to David that one of his descendants would sit upon his throne forever (cf. 2 Samuel 7:12–16). Jesus, the Son of David, crucified, buried, resurrected, and ascended into glory, is the one who reigns as Lord. This confirms God’s faithfulness to His covenant with David.
Peter then declares: “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36). It is wrongheaded to suppose the word “made” means the status of “Lord” and “Christ” (Messiah) came only to Jesus after the ascension. New Testament scholar I. Howard Marshall explains, “Certainly for Luke himself Jesus was already the Lord and Messiah before his crucifixion, and in the psalm the invitation to sit beside God is addressed to one who is already David’s lord” and “the force of the statement is more probably simply to contrast the attitude of those who crucified and rejected Jesus with God’s confirmation of his real status by raising him from death and exalting him to his right hand.”[8]
Interestingly, the relational distinctions within the Triune Godhead between the persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are clearly expressed throughout Peter’s Pentecost sermon. God the Father raises Jesus from the dead and does not allow His Holy One to see corruption. Jesus ascends to the Father’s right hand and declared both Lord and Christ—the Divine Messiah. Enthroned in heaven, Jesus receives from the Father the promised Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is then poured upon Jesus’ followers. Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord (i.e., Jesus Christ) shall be saved.
Peter’s Acts 2 sermon is both a case for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the first followers of Christ and a proclamation of the gospel. Drawing upon the tapestry of Old Testament messianic prophecy, Peter demonstrates that God’s promised messiah spoken of by the ancients has finally come to pass in Jesus of Nazareth: Joel 2:28–32 foretold the outpouring of the Spirit, Psalm 16:8–11 anticipated the resurrection of the Messiah, and Psalm 110:1 declared the exaltation of the Messiah to God’s right hand. Together these passages reveal the crucified Jesus has been raised, exalted, and now reigns as both Lord and Christ, pouring out His Spirit to empower His people to bear witness in all the earth.
The same Spirit who filled Peter and the apostles at Pentecost continues to work in believers today—convicting, empowering, and guiding the Church to proclaim the risen Lord until He returns. When the Spirit fills God’s people, the result is not confusion or pride, but clear proclamation of Christ. Pentecost reminds us that every believer is called and empowered to testify that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
— WGN
Notes:
[1] All Scripture cited from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), unless noted.
[2] Note that every Christian is born of—or baptized by—the Spirit (John 3:5–6), and the Spirit is received through faith in God’s promise (Galatians 3:5–7). All who believe are sealed with the Holy Spirit as the pledge of their inheritance (Ephesians 1:13–14). Scripture also calls believers to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). The triune God distributes a variety of spiritual gifts throughout the body of Christ, equipping each believer in a unique way. Not all speak in tongues, but every gifted member contributes to the life and health of the whole, functioning together as one body in Christ (Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 12:1–30; 14:1–32).
[3] It is likely that Peter’s interpretation of Joel 2:28–32, Psalm 16:8–11, and Psalm 110:1 emulates teachings Jesus had already passed on to him. On the road to Emmaus, two disciples encountered the risen Lord, who rebuked them, saying, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Jesus then, “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets… interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:25–27).
[4] Peter cites Joel 2:28-32; cf. Acts 2:17-21
[5] Note that Jesus also taught, “I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father” (John 10:17-18). Thus, both the Son and the Father had a hand in the miracle of the resurrection.
[6] Simon J. Kistemaker and William Hendriksen, Exposition of the Acts of the Apostles, vol. 17, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 95.
[7] Kistemaker, 99.
[8] I. Howard Marshall, Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007), 543.
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