Acts: Chapter 2 – Survey

Introduction

Another great day to study God’s word together with great men! Today our focus was on Acts Chapter 2. This chapter has 47 verses and it’s primary focus is on how that time period was the fulfillment of many Old Testament prophecies. It is also focused on the Holy Spirit infiltrating people’s lives and changing them from the inside out. Their whole being changed and they started to interact as a true community of believers now. Once again, it’s easy to get caught up in the details of chapter 2 but I believe a high level view of this chapter is important to grasp because it is pivotal to how we understand the Old to New Testament transition. Let’s get started!

Context

The context of chapter 2 takes place in Jerusalem during Pentecost. V5 states this, ^“Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.”

Observe

Chapter 2 is full of content which provides many observational talking points. The book is categorized into three main parts; The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost, Peter Addresses the Crowd, and The Fellowship of Believers. In the first section we discussed how all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit. It doesn’t say some, rather all were speaking in tongues as the Spirit led them. This is a reference to all Christians, Jew and Gentile. We also observed that the Old Testament scriptures were being fulfilled, specifically Joel 2:28-32, The Promise of the Spirit ²⁸ “^[a]It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all ^[b]mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. ²⁹ “Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. The Day of the Lord ³⁰ “I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire and columns of smoke. ³¹ “The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. ³² “And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As the Lord has said, Even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.

Meaning

The focal point of this chapter clearly depicts Jesus of Nazareth as the culmination of the Old Testament prophecies. All scripture hinges on Christ as the long awaited for messiah and the head of the church. The difference between the great patriarch, King David, and Jesus is that they still had David’s body in a tomb, whereas Jesus had risen and all could witness this and testify to this great miracle. V29 “[ab]Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is [ac]with us to this day. 30 And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one [ad]of his descendants on his throne, 31 he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of [ae]the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh [af]suffer decay. 32 This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses…”

The logical conclusion for the people was to repent, be baptized, and receive the Holy Spirit. It is recorded that about three thousand souls were added that day. Their sense of community and fellowship was a direct result of a spirit infused heart. Their minds were sharpened by “continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and [ao]to prayer.” according to verse 42.

Application

The Christian should respond to this chapter with great assurance that Jesus has fulfilled all of the messianic prophecies and that only God could perform that act. Where man fell short, far short, the God-man stepped into history and accomplished a perfect, sinless, spotless life to be sacrificed on the cross for our sins. The good news is that he is not still in his tomb, he has risen from the dead! A Christian should be overcome with gladness, adoration, thanksgiving, and joy! The unbeliever should be shaken to their core at this message. It lays out specific evidences that Christ was a real man who walked this earth, there were real eye witnesses who testified to his resurrection, and no-one could ever accomplish all of the Old-testament prophesies that Christ fulfilled. To the unbeliever I say, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Now go and study the scriptures to see for yourself.