Act 2:40-41 | KingComments | STEP | The proofs were delivered from the Scriptures and then applied by Peter under the guidance of the Spirit, together with the other apostles, to the hearts and consciences of the hearers. In this way, what the Lord Jesus said with regard to the coming of the Holy Spirit has been fulfilled: “He takes of Mine and will disclose [it] to you” ( ). Now the Holy Spirit has come and through Peter He shows the things concerning the Lord Jesus. Often the hearers will have read, or have heard it read, these psalms themselves. They will always have understood that these psalms speak about the Messiah. Now they learn that these psalms have found their fulfillment in the past weeks. They come to recognize their crime. They have killed Him of Whom the book of Psalms testify that He is the Messiah. The Spirit is working in their hearts the consciousness of what a terrible position they are in, now that it appears that He did not remain in death, but that He was raised up again. That is why they call for a possibility to escape judgment. Their call is to Peter and the eleven other apostles and not to the chief priests and the scribes. They believe that Peter and his men can help them. All prejudice about these “Galileans” has disappeared. They ask their question to all the apostles, but it is answered by Peter as their spokesman. His answer begins with “repent”. First of all, they must come to a complete change in their thinking about the Lord Jesus. They must accept Him as God has accepted Him. This means that they must confess their act of rejection of the Son of God as completely unjustified and as an act through which they are guilty of murder before God. If this inner contrition about their past is there, they must then allow themselves to be baptized. Thereby, they also outwardly distance themselves from the people to which they belong as a people under the judgment of God because of the death of His Son. Baptism is the public testimony of, on the one hand, a break with the past and the old environment and, on the other hand, the taking of a new path, the path of a follower of the Lord Jesus. Baptism is the public condemnation of and break with the Jewish people and the joining of the new Christian testimony that has just emerged from the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Baptism must therefore take place in the Name of Jesus Christ, the Name that was previously so despised by them, but which they must now openly confess through baptism as the only means of forgiveness of their sins. If they meet these two conditions – repentance and baptism – they will receive the Holy Spirit. The order we see here is: 1. repentance; 2. baptism; 3. receiving the Holy Spirit. In Acts 8, where it is about the Samaritans, we have the same order, only there the Holy Spirit is given through the intervention of the apostles. In Acts 10, where it is about the Gentiles, the order is different. There the order is: 1. repentance; 2. receiving the Holy Spirit; 3. baptism. This order has been valid ever since, as long as the church is on earth. Peter emphasizes that the promise of the Holy Spirit is special for them and their children. He has already proven this in by quoting from Joel 2. He now also tells that this promise is even for those who are outside the Jewish people. They could also know something about this from their Scriptures ( ). God’s promise to give the Holy Spirit cannot be limited to Israel, because that promise is related to the accomplished work of Christ that has also been accomplished for or on behalf of the whole world. That is why God’s calling voice goes out to all nations and calls them everywhere to believe in His Son. Peter has said more than Luke has written down. He has preached the gospel in all possible terms and called them to repentance. He has called to be saved from “this perverse generation”. In doing so, he portrayed the people as a murderous people, as a people from whom one must be saved, because otherwise he will perish because of the judgment that will come on this people. He does his utmost to get the people to repent. He preaches his message with conviction. In the same way, we must persuade people to let themselves be saved by the work of Christ from a world under judgment ( ). We will only be credible if we ourselves are convinced of the truth and the seriousness of judgment and have also distanced ourselves from the world on which we preach the judgment. The preaching of Peter has an enormous result. Many receive his word. We know that Peter has spoken the Word of God. Yet it is said that “his” word is received. He is as it were one with God’s message. Those who receive his word, i.e. confess their guilt before God for their rejection of the Lord Jesus, are baptized. Through baptism they publicly distance themselves from the guilty Jewish people. The approximately three thousand souls who are baptized are proof of what the Lord Jesus said about the “greater” works that would be done by His apostles when He was back with the Father ( ).

‏ Acts 2:40-41

The Effect of the Preaching

The proofs were delivered from the Scriptures and then applied by Peter under the guidance of the Spirit, together with the other apostles, to the hearts and consciences of the hearers. In this way, what the Lord Jesus said with regard to the coming of the Holy Spirit has been fulfilled: “He takes of Mine and will disclose [it] to you” (Jn 16:15). Now the Holy Spirit has come and through Peter He shows the things concerning the Lord Jesus.

Often the hearers will have read, or have heard it read, these psalms themselves. They will always have understood that these psalms speak about the Messiah. Now they learn that these psalms have found their fulfillment in the past weeks. They come to recognize their crime. They have killed Him of Whom the book of Psalms testify that He is the Messiah. The Spirit is working in their hearts the consciousness of what a terrible position they are in, now that it appears that He did not remain in death, but that He was raised up again. That is why they call for a possibility to escape judgment.

Their call is to Peter and the eleven other apostles and not to the chief priests and the scribes. They believe that Peter and his men can help them. All prejudice about these “Galileans” has disappeared. They ask their question to all the apostles, but it is answered by Peter as their spokesman.

His answer begins with “repent”. First of all, they must come to a complete change in their thinking about the Lord Jesus. They must accept Him as God has accepted Him. This means that they must confess their act of rejection of the Son of God as completely unjustified and as an act through which they are guilty of murder before God.

If this inner contrition about their past is there, they must then allow themselves to be baptized. Thereby, they also outwardly distance themselves from the people to which they belong as a people under the judgment of God because of the death of His Son. Baptism is the public testimony of, on the one hand, a break with the past and the old environment and, on the other hand, the taking of a new path, the path of a follower of the Lord Jesus.

Baptism is the public condemnation of and break with the Jewish people and the joining of the new Christian testimony that has just emerged from the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Baptism must therefore take place in the Name of Jesus Christ, the Name that was previously so despised by them, but which they must now openly confess through baptism as the only means of forgiveness of their sins. If they meet these two conditions – repentance and baptism – they will receive the Holy Spirit.

The order we see here is:

1. repentance;

2. baptism;

3. receiving the Holy Spirit.

In Acts 8, where it is about the Samaritans, we have the same order, only there the Holy Spirit is given through the intervention of the apostles.

In Acts 10, where it is about the Gentiles, the order is different. There the order is:

1. repentance;

2. receiving the Holy Spirit;

3. baptism.

This order has been valid ever since, as long as the church is on earth.

Peter emphasizes that the promise of the Holy Spirit is special for them and their children. He has already proven this in Acts 2:16 by quoting from Joel 2. He now also tells that this promise is even for those who are outside the Jewish people. They could also know something about this from their Scriptures (Isa 57:19).

God’s promise to give the Holy Spirit cannot be limited to Israel, because that promise is related to the accomplished work of Christ that has also been accomplished for or on behalf of the whole world. That is why God’s calling voice goes out to all nations and calls them everywhere to believe in His Son.

Peter has said more than Luke has written down. He has preached the gospel in all possible terms and called them to repentance. He has called to be saved from “this perverse generation”. In doing so, he portrayed the people as a murderous people, as a people from whom one must be saved, because otherwise he will perish because of the judgment that will come on this people. He does his utmost to get the people to repent. He preaches his message with conviction.

In the same way, we must persuade people to let themselves be saved by the work of Christ from a world under judgment (2Cor 5:11). We will only be credible if we ourselves are convinced of the truth and the seriousness of judgment and have also distanced ourselves from the world on which we preach the judgment.

The preaching of Peter has an enormous result. Many receive his word. We know that Peter has spoken the Word of God. Yet it is said that “his” word is received. He is as it were one with God’s message. Those who receive his word, i.e. confess their guilt before God for their rejection of the Lord Jesus, are baptized. Through baptism they publicly distance themselves from the guilty Jewish people. The approximately three thousand souls who are baptized are proof of what the Lord Jesus said about the “greater” works that would be done by His apostles when He was back with the Father (Jn 14:12).