Acts 2: What Did the Apostles Teach? At the first, on the Day of Pentecost

What lessons did the first apostles teach? Or, what can we glean from the conversations and speeches recorded? What was the doctrine, and what was the application of that doctrine, if any?

• The Scriptures had not been abandoned in favor of a cult of personality in Christ Jesus would not be a cult of personality. The root and branch of the Word could not be separated or be distinguished from the Person of Christ, i.e., the root and branch that was Christ. Rather, the Scriptures continued to, and would continue to, inform what everyone was witnessing. In other words, the Word of God remained light and life to the new believers and the means by which they understood what was happening to them and around them.. Peter’s declaration on the Day of Pentecost in Chapter 2 provides us with the first example of this. Peter relates the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the evidences of His Presence to Joel 2: “This is that which was spoken of in the Prophet Joel.”

• The Scriptures were just then imbued with new meaning, living color if you will, and they could only be properly understood and interpreted by knowing Jesus Christ and all he had accomplished. We first see this, as Peter’s speech continues in Acts 2, when he quotes Psalm 16, a psalm of David, as the evidence that Christ—having risen from the dead—was the promised Messiah, the promised Son of David.

• God had become flesh and dwelt among us as part of a redemptive plan of God formulated .long ago. Peter provides a very concise summary:

  Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 

• Jesus as a man was accredited by God by signs, miracles, and wonders—but now he had been confirmed as Lord and Messiah by both the resurrection and the coming of Holy Spirit. But in the middle of the signs, wonders, and miracles on the one end, and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, stood the crucifixion.

• And, similarly, so stood the Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—who heard the men of Galilee declaring the wonders of God in their own tongues. They found themselves at a crossroads—literally. They had been led to Christ their whole lives through the Word (and didn’t know it), and they had come to Jerusalem presumably for a feast, not realizing God had prepared a true table before them in the midst of their enemies, Rome. But here on the Day of Pentecost, they are confronted by Jesus as the chief cornerstone of a true edifice whose foundation had now been laid by God. They could fall upon it and be broken, or be crushed under the weight of it. Either way, they had no escape from Jesus—he is the center, bridging a life before he was man, and a life, new in power and expression, after he rose. God had raised Jesus to life, exalted Jesus to the right hand of God, and given him the promised Holy Spirit, that which they were now seeing and hearing. What to do?

•  We learn that Scripture and Christ Jesus conjoined cuts through the soul and spirit of a man. These Dispersed were cut to the heart, and therein highlighting another fundamental truth: repentance toward God is an absolute necessity.

• All of this must have been a lot to take in, beyond the piercing through. Much to consider in the midst of the wonder and amazement. From their point of view, their narrative as Jews had taken an unexpected turn. The Cloud and Pillar of Fire was moving onward in an unexpected direction. To follow in heart must bear fruit in action reflecting the Truth: be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

• We also learn that this narrative in Christ Jesus, and of Christ, and through him, would continue to roll on like a river through generations and time: The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.

• And with that final promise, a caution. This new life and new identification would require a separation (“Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”). And with this, a call to holiness and purity. They too must become witnesses to the Truth if aligned with and subservient to the good news in Christ Jesus.

This is a good start—a good beginning to understand the meaning of the Messiah and the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and the implications of both to those who believe. We will take up additional speeches and talks in future posts.