Pentecost: Peter’s Sermon
Part 2: Peter’s Reference To David’s Psalms
Acts 2:21-36
For the last several weeks we have been studying the subject of Pentecost. In that time we have examined the arrival of the Holy Spirit and how the Spirit of God transformed the Believers and how it confounded the Jews. The last time we were gathered we began to walk through the very first Christian sermon. Addressing the Jews who were present on the Day of Pentecost, Peter stood up and declared that the amazing sights and sounds that they were witnessing were not the effects of too much wine; rather it was the pouring out of God’s Spirit. In the first half of his sermon, Peter referenced a prophecy that had been declared by the prophet Joel. Following this, Peter transitions to the words of King David; Here he references two Psalms that would have been very familiar to his Jewish audience to point to the fact that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah. I would like to pick up where we left off and consider:
PETER’S REFERENCE TO DAVID’S PSALMS
In verse 21, while referencing Joel’s Prophecy, Peter says “it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.” It is his desire for these “men of Israel” to know that when he says “call upon the name of the Lord”, he is speaking specifically of the Lord Jesus Christ.
v22 "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know-- v23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; v24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.
These Jews have seen the amazing sights of Pentecost, and they have heard the sound of a “rushing mighty wind” and they have heard the disciples speaking in their own native languages. As a result some were curious and some were cynical. Peter takes this opportunity to explain the truth about Jesus Christ. He boldly declares that Jesus, (the man that they had recently crucified) was both Lord & Christ. He references the life of Christ and the many “miracles, wonders, and signs” that He had performed in their presence. These people may not have believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah, but they could not ignore the miracles that He had performed. Peter says that “God did these things through Him in their midst”. Even after all the miracles that Jesus performed, they took Him “by lawless hands, crucified Him, and put Him to death.”
It is important to remember that at this point it had only been a few weeks since Jesus was crucified. After His resurrection, the religious leaders and the soldiers who guarded the tomb spread the lie that the Disciple’s came in the night and stole the body of Jesus. Many of the Jews who were present certainly believed this false narrative. But Peter boldly declared that Jesus was alive! He says that God raised Him up, “having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.”
If these things were true (and they were) then the Jews in attendance must come to grips with the fact that the One that they had killed had been resurrected, ascended to Heaven and He is coming back to judge the earth someday. Peter boldly lays the death of Christ at the feet of these “men of Israel”. He indicted those Jews who rejected Christ and instigated His crucifixion. They were the ones who cried “crucify” when Pilate asked “what shall I do with Jesus called the Christ?” They were the ones who turned Him over to the Romans who in turn carried out His execution.
It cannot be overlooked that Christ’s death was part of God’s plan of redemption from the beginning; Peter says Jesus was “delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God”. However, even though this was part of God’s sovereign plan, it does not absolve the guilt of those who carried it out. Confronted with this information, these “men of Israel” had to decide how they would respond. They would either accept this information and respond accordingly or they would continue to reject the idea that Jesus is the Messiah.
We also cannot overlook the fact that we are also guilty concerning the death of Christ. Jesus came to die for our sins; our sinfulness is what made His death necessary. Though we were guilty and unworthy, God loved us enough to make a way for us to be redeemed. Paul says (God) made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Like those men of Israel, we must decide what we will do with Jesus, will we reject Him or will we repent and believe in Him for salvation? In Matthew 16:13 Jesus asked His Disciples "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" they responded, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." Following this, He asked a more pointed question, He said "But who do you say that I am?" Peter spoke up and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." This was one of Peter’s greatest moments, but on the night that Jesus was betrayed and arrested, Peter denied that He even knew Jesus. Peter did this because he was fearful of the Jews, in fact he and the others hid for fear until after they saw the resurrected Savior.
Now, Peter is a changed man and standing in front of a large crowd of Jews, Peter boldly declares the truth that Jesus is the Messiah. To further illustrate this fact, he quotes King David. Notice:
v25 For David says concerning Him: 'I foresaw the LORD always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. 27 For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.'
In this passage Peter is quoting from Psalm 16:8–11, there David described the Messiah as not decaying. (Psalm 16:8 I have set the LORD always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope. 10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. 11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.)
Peter goes on to use common sense to prove that David was not speaking about himself in this passage. v29 "Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. The Jews knew that David was “dead and buried”, and Peter points out the fact that “his tomb is with us to this day”. I Kings 2:10 & Nehemiah 3:16 record the fact that David’s tomb is located on the south side of Jerusalem, not far from where these people were gathered. It was obvious to these men of Israel that David had been dead and buried for hundreds of years and he had not come back to life; therefore he must have been speaking about someone else in this Psalm. In fact, David was prophetically speaking about the resurrection of someone else, his heir. The heir that David spoke of was none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the One who had died, rose from the dead, ascended and is seated at the right hand of God.
- Peter goes on to say:
v30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,
When David wrote Psalm 16, he was writing as a prophet. He recounted the promise that God had made to raise up one of his descendants to occupy his throne forever. God delivered this promise to David through the prophet Nathan and it is recorded in: 2 Samuel 7:16 your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever."
David knew that his heir would be the promised Messiah, and though the Messiah would die, He would not remain in Sheol (the grave) and His body would not decay. This prophecy (along with many others) was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. This reality is seen in the very next verse. v31 he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.
“He foreseeing this”, Peter points out the fact that David was not just a King, he was a prophet. One of the main purposes of the Old Testament prophets was to point to the life and redemptive work of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Those Jews needed to know that the one pointed to in the Law and spoken of by the prophets was none other than Jesus Christ. Though they had crucified Him, God had “raised Him up”.
Notice: v32 This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. The fact that Jesus rose from the grave signifies that God approved and accepted His sacrifice at Calvary. Peter and the rest of the Apostles who were also present at Pentecost were witnesses of the resurrected Christ. Jesus was seen by the Apostles, by the women who followed Him, by many others in Jerusalem. Paul states that Jesus “was seen of above five hundred brethren at once” (1 Corinthians 15:6). This information certainly contradicted the false narrative that had been propagated by the religious leaders and the roman soldiers that the Disciples had stolen the body of Christ in the middle of the night.
I’m sure that Peter’s assertion that Jesus was the Messiah, and the One whom David has spoken about, angered many of the Jews who were present at Pentecost. However, some were intrigued and in the end many of them believed the testimony of the Apostle Peter. We will see later in this chapter that some 3,000 of them repented and believed in Christ.
Peter didn’t stop with the death and resurrection of Jesus; he went on to declare that Jesus had ascended and was seated at the right hand of God; furthermore, He was responsible for pouring out the Spirit and causing the many signs and wonders that they had witnessed that very day. He said in v33 Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.
Following His resurrection, the Lord Jesus was exalted to the right hand of God, and now the Holy Spirit had been sent as promised by the Father. This was the explanation of what had happened in Jerusalem earlier in the day. Peter continues to prove that David was referring to his heir and in doing so he quotes from another Psalm, Psalm 110.
v34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, 35 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool." '
In Psalm 110:1 David said “The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool." David had not been resurrected nor ascended to Heaven, but Peter (and the rest of the Apostles) were witnesses of the ascension of Christ, the very ascension that David spoke of in this Psalm. The evidence made it clear, Jesus lived, died, rose from the grave and ascended to Heaven. “All the house of Israel” needed to know that “God had made Jesus, whom they had crucified, both Lord & Christ.” (v36)
It is important for each and every person here to know these same truths. Jesus is the Messiah, He is the Promised One from God, and He is your only hope of salvation. I pray that you have come to the same realization as many of the Jews who were in attendance on the Day of Pentecost. I also hope that you have responded by repenting and believing in the Lord Jesus Christ.If you have not, I implore you to “repent and believe in the Lord Jesus and be baptized for the remission of sins”.
