9. “The Word Goes Forth” (Acts 2)

Acts 2

Science is about facts. Religion is about faith. Have you heard people say something like this before? It’s a common take. And yet I find it unhelpful. Not only does it misunderstand science—there’s always a trust element in science, but more to the point, I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to put my faith in things that are not real, things that don’t have any evidence for them. If religion doesn’t have that, then really, it’s nothing more than a wish and a 501c3 to support it.

More importantly, it’s not just that I think this take is unhelpful—it’s a position decidedly not held by the Bible. Yes, Christianity calls for trust: how could it not when it’s speaking of human beings in relating to a God who so far surpasses our understanding? And yet again and again we see in the Bible factual claims based on evidence meant to anchor our confidence and give us reason for trust. And that certainly comes through in this morning’s passage.

At the heart of our passage is a message—a word that is powerful. And it’s powerful, because it’s talking about something real, something true.

As you might remember from last week, our passage begins in the midst of something extraordinary. A loud, tornado like sound has descended from heaven to earth; tongues of divine fire have settled on Jesus’ disciples, and they have gone out into the street speaking God’s praises—and people from all over the world are hearing them speak in their own native tongue.

And Peter says, “Guys, please listen to my words,” which seems maybe a bit silly, because  everyone in the whole town square is hanging on his every word. But I think Peter means more here than just, “Quiet down and pay attention.” Notice that in verse 22 he says it again, “Men of Israel, hear these words.” And then, he says it slightly differently in 36, “Let all the house of Israel know.” He wants the people around him to really hear; he wants them to understand, to take in this message, this word. And verse 41 gives us a sense as to why: “Those who received his word were baptized.” 

There is something about this word that he is saying that is different from what they might normally here in a synagogue or city square. There is something about this word that is transformative, that is powerful.  

To continue the verse we just mentioned, “Those who received the word were baptized—there were added that day about 3,000 souls.” 3000 people in response to one message claimed a new identity, a new name, a new center to their life in being baptized in the name of Jesus. 

And it doesn’t stop there. In the following chapters we see how this “word” keeps changing things.The apostles keep “proclaiming the word” as Acts speaks of it day after day, week after week, and by chapter 4 we’re told that “Many who heard the word believed and the number of men alone grew to 5000,” meaning we’re likely talking around 10,000 new followers. And we keep getting updates throughout Acts: again and again we’re told that the word increases and grows.

And wherever it increases and grows, dramatic things happen. There’s intense resistance: riots break out when it’s preached; the preachers themselves are imprisoned, and even killed for speaking it. Yet even so, wherever the word is heard, something remarkable is found: joy—deep, abiding, life-changing joy. When the people who believe gather together one of the words used for them is gladness: they are glad! When the word is brought to the city of Samaria, we’re told “there was much joy in that city.” A man on a chariot riding back to Ethiopia hears the word from Philip and believes and we’re told he went on his way rejoicing.

There is a power to this word. And that power has to do with the fact that what he is saying is true.

It’s important to notice how the “job description” of the apostles. They are not given the title “doctor”–they’re not scholars or academic experts. Neither are they identified as great orators, capable of captivating an audience. No, the role the apostles are given is simpler, less exalted. They are simply witnesses. That’s what Jesus told them to do: “You shall be my witnesses.” And clearly the apostles were listening, because Peter says in verse 32 “of that we are all witnesses” and then again in 40, “with many other words he bore witness.” Their job was to bear witness.

Which tells us that this “word” they proclaim is about something that has happened. That’s what witnesses are for, right? Witnesses don’t provide op eds in newspapers or have their own YouTube channel. Their job is just to help you know what has taken place. Witnesses are especially valued in a court of law, where establishing facts is important. If a jury needs to determine, say, if someone committed murder, circumstantial evidence helps, but having an eyewitness who can say, “I saw this happen,” well, that’s much more significant. Better yet, two or three people independently testifying makes the case a slam dunk. If it’s 12, and their testimony agrees? What court wouldn’t determine based on that that this happened?

That’s the job given to the apostles: they are 12 witnesses meant to establish the facts of what happened. Their primary role is to say, “This is what we have seen with our eyes, touched with our hands. These are the facts!”

And now in addition to the fact that it is true, what this word so extraordinary is it is testimony have having seen GOD act. They are bearing witness here and for the rest of Acts to God visibly and unmistakably having acted in the context of our human history; and those actions are so significant that they reveal who this God is and what he is doing in this world. This is the word they proclaim: “We have seen it! We have seen God act in very specific ways that are extraordinarily important.”   

Which of course is why this “word” spoken by 12 relatively uneducated men could have such a powerful effect. If the message Peter was proclaiming had just been an interesting story or his own theory, people could dismiss it, “That’s nice.” Or “That’s just your opinion.” But when this is eyewitness testimony, with multiple people claiming facts, saying, “I saw this with my own eyes,” and what they’re talking about is things the God of the universe has done, well there’s only two rational responses. Either you treat it as a conspiracy that must be resisted OR what’s being said is the most important thing you could possibly hear. Because if this is really God, that’s everything.

Now there’s a lot we could explore about this message as we see it described in chapter 2. In the future weeks we’ll spend more time on individual themes of the apostolic testimony. But on this first occasion it’s important for us to see how the parts fit together. There are three very specific claims that Peter and the apostles are testifying to.

First: What Time It is

First, their testimony is that God’s actions indicate that we are in a specific time in human history. We’re in the time right before the end.

Peter begins by explaining all the remarkable things that have drawn this crowd. “What you’re seeing here,” he says, “is prophecy being fulfilled. This is what was uttered through the prophet Joel.” And the thing to notice here about Joel’s prophecy is that it’s talking about a specific time. “In the last days,” it begins. When is that? When are the last days? Verse 20 fills it out for us: it’s the period of time “before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.” 

Different cultures have had different ways of understanding human history. Some see history as being a cycle where the same things repeat over and over again. Some think there’s really no order to history at all, that it’s all just random. The Bible, on the other hand teaches that history has a destination, that it’s all going somewhere. There is a conclusion, spoken of by the Old Testament prophets as “The day of the Lord.” At the end, God will visibly enter human history and set all things right. Every evil that has been propagated and gotten away with, the prophets declare, will be judged. All that is hurtful and cruel and wrong with the world, all that is against God will be destroyed, and in the end, this world and all that is in it will be beautiful. That’s where this is all going.

This day was a source of great longing for writers of the Bible. Isaiah is speaking about this day when he cries out, “O that you would break open the heavens and come down to make your name known to your enemies.” This moment also understandably brought fear: Joel’s calling it “that great and magnificent day” could also be translated as that “great and frightening” day. Because God setting all things right involves God judging all people. The Bible says that all, each one of us, on that final day, will appear before the judgment seat of God. And at that point, what you think of God will matter very little. All that will matter in that moment is what God thinks of you—his determination of what to do with you and with me. What will God decide to do with us when we stand before his throne on the last day?

Joel says that a sign that would indicate we are in the last days right before the end would be God pouring his powerful Spirit upon human beings enabling them to prophesy—to speak God’s own words.

And Peter is saying, “Look, that’s happening right now. We’re not just guessing about what time it is: we are eyewitnesses, because this indicator of the last days—it’s happened to us.” And of course, the crowd could see with their own eyes how the Spirit had come upon these men. The implication God intends for people to understand is clear: we are in the days right before the end, when God will set all things to right.

We, today, are in the last days. That might seem strange to say, because many centuries have passed since Acts. But we need to understand the Bible is speaking about a length of time—this could last another 1000 years. “Last days” is about what stage of God’s plan we’re in. This is the time right before the end, when God is preparing the world for his judgment. And this is not just a theory: it is based on eyewitness testimony. God has shown us what time it is.

Second: Who Jesus Is

Second, what Peter and the apostles are especially intent on testifying to is that they have seen God identify and establish Jesus to be his authoritative representative.

I want to return to something Nick said a couple of weeks ago—how it’s common in our day to try to keep a kind of open mind about Jesus. On one hand, pretty much everyone agrees that Jesus’ example and teachings are inspiring. But people recognizing that there are different opinions about Jesus in this world will also say, “I just don’t think it applies to everyone. I don’t think everyone needs Jesus. Other people might find spiritual meaning or wisdom in other ways.”  

If you think about it, different opinions about Jesus existed from the moment he began his ministry. That, in fact, is part of Peter’s point in his testimony. On two different occasions he mentions the verdict that people rendered about Jesus: verse 23, “you crucified and killed him” and again, verse 36, “whom you crucified.” I know that you as a community drew the conclusion that Jesus was a criminal worthy of death. That was your opinion.” 

But Peter doesn’t say, “You have your opinion. Let me tell you mine.” No, again, here he bears witness to what God has done to show his verdict on Jesus. Did you notice that? It’s throughout the sermon. 

• Verse 22, “Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with might works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst.” You and I both saw it, Peter says: blind were given sight; thousands ate from only a few loaves of bread. A dead man was raised. How do you think Jesus did this? It was the power of God—God was showing us that Jesus came from him.  We testify that the God of the universe has shown beyond the shadow of a doubt that he has a very different opinion. 
• And then again, verse 32: “This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.” Look, Peter is saying, ask any of us. For 40 days after the resurrection we met with Jesus; we ate with Jesus; we learned from Jesus. We tell you with absolute certainty. You decided Jesus should be put to death, but God has raised Jesus and decided Jesus is worthy of eternal life!  
• And then again in 33, “Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. Look, God has now lifted Jesus to a place of universal rule, placing Jesus at God’s right hand, and the fact that he has given the Spirit to us—which you yourselves are seeing—is irrefutable evidence that this has taken place.  

Yes, Peter is saying, there might be many opinions about Jesus. But there’s only one that matters: God’s opinion of Jesus. And God has made his opinion very clear with signs, wonders, resurrection and ascension. And so, verse 36, “Let all the house of Israel know for certain—it’s factually certain—that God has made him both Lord and Christ.” “Lord and Christ.” In everything that has happened, God is making it completely clear that the historical person, Jesus, is his appointed, authoritative representative. That Jesus, a man who walked on this earth, has been given the place of ruling on God’s behalf, judging on God’s behalf. In fact, we are to call Jesus, “Lord,” an indication that Jesus is not only a human being, but somehow he is also one with God. To submit to Jesus and know Jesus is to submit to and know God. 

We see why there’s such a strong reaction to this word, don’t we? Once you understand what the apostles are testifying to, you realize this doesn’t really leave room for “Jesus is great, but that doesn’t apply to everyone.” Their witness is that God has authoritatively proclaimed that Jesus is the Lord of all, the judge of all. Your only choices available to you are ones that will determine your life: you can reject this claim and decide God didn’t do these things, and hope you’re right and that you won’t be judged for rejecting Jesus, or you can accept it and therefore accept Jesus’ claim upon your life. But what you really can’t do is say, “Well, I’ve heard it both ways.”

Third: Why Jesus Came

Now perhaps you yourself are feeling a bit of a disconnect from something I’ve said before: so far this is a sobering, even a terrifying word. How is it that wherever this word is received, there is great joy?

That brings us to the third claim, which we see most clearly at the end of our passage.

Peter, as we have already said, concludes with the words, “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ this Jesus whom you crucified,” and the response is immediate. “When they heard this, they were cut to the heart.” They were in agony; they were terrified. Which makes sense—they’ve just learned that they are in the time right before the end when God will judge, and they have just crucified the man God appointed to be his representative. Could anything feel more hopeless than this? 

And so they ask, helplessly, “What do we do? What do we do?”

And before looking at Peter’s response, I want us to back up around 50 days to a much darker moment in Peter’s life. 

Perhaps you know the story, of how Peter, on the night Jesus was arrested, utterly and devastatingly failed. In this time of darkness when Jesus was being brought through a mockery of a trial, Peter was given three different opportunities to identify with Jesus—to say, “Yes, he is my king. I follow him.” And on each of those three occasions he said, “I don’t know the guy.” He distanced himself from Jesus; by his words he sided with Jesus’ enemies. And can you imagine right after, when Peter was alone with his thoughts while Jesus was on the cross and he reflected on his cowardice, how utterly ashamed, revolted at himself, he must have been? 

And then imagine what it must have been like for him when he began to realize that Jesus had risen from the dead. Even amidst the sense of wonder, there had to have been fear. “I just denied three times the risen King of the world. What will happen to me? How can I ever look him in the eyes again?” But the gospels tell us about how Jesus, after his resurrection, proactively pursued Peter. He spoke with Peter until Peter finally could understand that despite his great failure, he was welcomed back. Until Peter was able to understand at a personal level a great mystery: that the very reason Jesus came and died and rose again was to save sinners like Peter. Peter experienced at a very deep level the unimaginable, glorious reality of divine forgiveness.  

And so now Peter recognizes what these people are feeling as they have just realized what a terrible mistake they have made in crucifying their king. He knows their shame. And with joyful tears in his eyes, he bears witness to something very real that he himself has experienced. Peter says, “No, you don’t need to be hopeless. I know you’re going to have a hard time believing this, but I have a tremendous truth to declare to you. The person you killed, Jesus, desires to receive you and welcome you into his kingdom. 

Peter says, “Repent,” that is, turn back—and be baptized in the name of Jesus—that is, accept Jesus as your Lord.” Despite how you might feel, if you turn to Jesus is not going to scorn or reject you or say, “Why would I accept the one who killed me?” No, I am telling you the truth: he will forgive your sins. He will welcome you and give you his Spirit. Because here’s the glorious reality: Jesus, God’s appointed representative, came to save people like you and me. What Joel said is true: “Everyone—everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Do you know that? Everyone who calls on Jesus for help and entrusts themselves to him will be forgiven, will be cleansed in God’s sight, will be secure on the day of judgment, will be loved and welcome into the very arms of God.

This, Peter is saying, isn’t just a wish or a hope. It’s reality. I have seen it, and I declare it to you.

Is it any wonder why that word spread and brought joy wherever it went? There is so much freedom in knowing—in knowing you are forgiven by God and welcomed by him.

I obviously don’t know where each of you are this morning—what you think about Jesus, what shame you shame might carry about your own failures. What I can tell you is that we’re not just talking about a religious belief here. We’re talking about very specific truth claims that mean everything and are based on trustworthy eyewitness testimony. These are things we can be certain of. We are drawing near to an end when all will be judged and all set right. The resurrection happened, and that means that Jesus is the king, the judge who will act definitively on God’s behalf. And if these things are both true, then what is perhaps the most difficult of these claims to believe is also true: Jesus has come to save me—and to save you, to welcome home all who let this word in, and who in response call on him.