Pentecost: Peter's Sermon (Part 3a) Series

Pentecost: Peter’s Sermon – Part 3a

Peter’s Call To Repentance & Invitation To Salvation

Acts 2:37-40

We are currently examining the first and perhaps greatest Christian sermon ever preached. On the Day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit descended and the followers of Christ, they began to “speak in other tongues” praising the Lord for His greatness. Upon hearing the sounds of a “mighty rushing wind” a multitude of Jews came running to see what was happening. They were astonished when they arrived and heard these Galileans speaking in their own native languages. Many of those Jews came to the conclusion that the Believers were drunk. In response, Peter stood up and addressed this multitude and refuted the idea that the followers of Christ had been drinking. He explained to them that what they were experiencing was the pouring out of God’s Spirit that Joel had written about many years earlier.

- As we have examined this sermon we have seen:

i. Peter’s Reference Concerning Joel’s Prophecy

ii. Peter’s Reference Concerning David’s Psalms

iii. Peter’s Declaration That Jesus Christ Is The Messiah

Now we come to the conclusion of this great sermon and in the following verses we will hear Peter’s call to repentance and invitation to salvation. Every good sermon must have a conclusion and it is important to point people to the reality that salvation is available through Jesus Christ. We preachers often refer to the conclusion of a sermon as “landing the plane”. In verses 37-40, Peter “lands the plane” and calls on those in attendance to "Be saved from this perverse generation." I would like nothing more than to see someone respond this way today!

- Let’s look to our selected text and consider “Peter’s Call To Repentance And Invitation To Salvation”

After quoting Joel’s Prophecy and referencing David’s Psalms, Peter boldly declared that Jesus Christ, the One whom the Jews had crucified was “both Lord and Christ”. Notice:

v36 "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

Often we preachers will spend 30 minutes expounding a passage and then at the very end summarize the entire message in a short simple statement. I am not sure how long Peter’s sermon lasted on the day of Pentecost, but that is essentially what he did. In verse 36 he drives the main point of his sermon home by declaring that David’s prophetic words in Psalm 16 & 110 pointed to the life, death, resurrection and exaltation of Jesus Christ. The One they had crucified was “both Lord & Christ”.

It is also important for us to notice that verses 33-35 clearly indicate that there would be a certain span of time between the ascension and glorification of Christ and His Second Coming and the establishment of His Kingdom. King David said 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool." Jesus is currently seated at the right hand of the Father. One day He will return, judge the world, punish His enemies, establish His Kingdom and rule and reign over all the earth.

The Jews needed to know this truth and the people in the world today need to hear it as well. Peter’s sermon was certainly a powerful one and it had its desired effect. Every minister of God has an intense desire to see people respond to the Gospel message. Every time that I enter a pulpit and preach the Word of God it is my desire to see: lost people saved, backslidden people restored and faithful Christians grow stronger in their relationship with the Lord. There have been certain occasions where I have been amazed at the number of people who responded to the message from God’s Word and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. I am sure that Peter was elated by what happened at the conclusion of this sermon.

v37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"

Without a doubt there were far more than 3,000 people in attendance on the day of Pentecost. I am certain that there were some who heard this message and scoffed at it. Some of those Jews were cynical when they arrived and even more so when they left. Some came running to see what was happening and they assumed the Disciples were drunk, when they departed they still believed this to be the case.

There were other Jews who came there that day who were confused by the sights and the sounds, but after hearing the message from the Apostle Peter and experiencing true Holy Spirit conviction they were convinced that what he was saying was true. They believed the message and accepted the testimony of the Apostles that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, He had risen from the dead and He was responsible for the amazing things that had taken place earlier in the day. In response they humbly asked Peter “what shall we do?” They asked this because “they were cut to the heart”.