In the previous post we began to consider the centrality of the Holy Spirit in the early church and His role in planting and leading the church from the time of Jesus' ascension. To remind us of the significance of this moment in history, consider this: God's promise to Abraham all the way back in Genesis 12 is fulfilled in the coming of the Holy Spirit. "He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come...so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit"(Gal 3:14). So the promise given to the father of the faithful thousands of years earlier - "All peoples on earth will be blessed through you" - came to fruition at that first Pentecost after Jesus' resurrection. All people now have access to God's Spirit (talk about blessed!!).
After explaining this outpouring of the Spirit as a fulfillment of Joel's prophecy, Peter goes on to explain that Jesus - since he earlier received the Spirit from the Father (remember the dove?) - is the one who just did the pouring: "Exalted to the right hand of God, he (Jesus) has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear." (v.33) That would have all been great news, except for the other detail that Peter shared in his sermon. "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.23)
So when the people realized that they could share in this gift of the Holy Spirit, but that they were responsible for assisting in the murder of the giver of said gift, "they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, 'brothers, what shall we do?' I believe there are really 2 questions here. First is what can I do about the guilt of having killed the gift-giver, and the second is how do I get access to this gift. The beauty of the gospel, as opposed to the law that was currently these people's master, is it's simplicity! To this urgent and most significant question, Peter replied with this simple response, “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. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
How simple is that? One answer for both questions! And notice that the answer doesn't include a long list of things that had to change in their lives before receiving the gift. Peter didn't say, quit smoking, stop living with your girlfriend, tell your parents they're lost, quit your job, Tote dat barge, Lif' dat bale! He simply said repent - meaning to change your mind - and get dunked in water. As soon as you do that, you'll be forgiven and you'll receive this amazing gift of the Holy Spirit dwelling in you! No wonder 3,000 responded that same day.
(Stay tuned - more to come. And please comment so we can learn together.)
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