Pentecost: Peter's Sermon (Part 1) Series

Pentecost: Peter’s Sermon

Part 1: Peter’s Reference To Joel’s Prophecy

Acts 2:14-20

There have been many great and powerful sermons preached throughout the history of Christ’s Church. Most of you have probably heard Johnathan Edwards’s sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. Maybe you have heard R.G Lee’s sermon “Payday Someday”. C.H Spurgeon preached many wonderful sermons at the Metropolitan Tabernacle that are referenced each week by pastors all over the world. Perhaps the greatest sermon in the Bible (other than those preached by the Lord Jesus) is the sermon that Peter preached on the day of Pentecost. As a result of this bold Gospel message, some three thousand souls came to faith in Jesus Christ. For the next couple of weeks I would like for us to examine this sermon and see the context and the content of this powerful sermon that was instrumental in the birth of Christ’s Church. Throughout this message we will see:

i. Peter’s Reference Concerning Joel’s Prophecy

ii. Peter’s Reference Concerning David’s Psalms

iii. Peter’s Declaration That Christ Is The Messiah

iv. Peter’s Call To Repentance & Invitation To Salvation

There was an amazing response to the sermon that Peter preached. Thousands of Jews came to faith in Christ; they repented, were baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit. Following their conversion, this multitude began to worship, pray, study and serve together. Their influence spread and eventually the Gospel covered the entire earth.

The message that Peter preached back then is a message that the world needs to hear today. We have been assigned the glorious task of sharing the content of that message with the world around us. Therefore, it is essential that we understand the fundamentals of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We can learn these fundamentals by studying this great sermon. So, I invite you to join me as we examine “Pentecost: Peter’s Sermon”. Let’s begin in:

v14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words.

“But Peter”, it is significant to note that the man whom God chose to preach this amazing sermon that led to thousands of conversions is the same man who had recently denied even knowing the Lord Jesus. This is proof of his full restoration and evidence of God’s call on his life. Peter is no longer the wavering follower of Jesus, whose foot was perennially in his mouth, now he is the leader of the Apostles and a man that Jesus would use to advance His Kingdom. What made the difference in this man? Certainly seeing the risen Christ had a tremendous impact on Peter’s life and now he is a man who is “filled with the Spirit”.

Before His death, Jesus promised to give Peter the “keys to the Kingdom”. (Matthew 16:18 I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.) At Pentecost, Peter used those keys to open the door of the Kingdom to the Jews; in Chapter 10 he will be used by God to open that same door for the Gentiles. This door was opened through a very powerful sermon that led to the establishment of the Church and resulted in over 3,000 conversions.

We are told that Peter “stood up with the eleven”. After Judas’ betrayal there were only 11 Apostles, at this point the number is back at 12 with the addition of Matthias (Acts 1:23-24). This amazing sermon began as a response to certain Jews who determined that the followers of Christ were drunk on “new wine”. Peter refutes that assumption in verse 15, he says: “For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.” Peter wanted these Jews to know that the amazing sights and sounds that occurred on Pentecost were not the result of too much wine. He points out that it was only 9 a.m. and it would be very uncommon for so many people to be drunk at such an early hour. Furthermore, the Jews who were involved in synagogue activity on an established feast day abstained from drinking until at least after 10 a.m. These people were not under the influence of alcohol, what was happening was actually the fulfilment of Bible prophecy.

Peter says in v16 “ this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel”. The entirety of Joel’s prophecy will not be fulfilled until the millennial kingdom. In fact, most of what God said through Joel in verses 17–20 did not occur on the day of Pentecost. But those things that did happen were a preview of what will happen in the Millennial Kingdom when “the Spirit is poured out on all flesh”. (v17)