Acts 2:22-24 “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.”  
 
THE most fundamental truth of God’s salvation begins with the understanding God gave Jesus to us, so we can know the way to heaven. Here are two of many scriptures confirming this: John 3:16a “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.” Galatians 2:20b The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. God’s salvation begins with God and is fulfilled through God.
   This is the first thing Peter wanted the large crowd to know when he revealed the powerful truth of God’s work among them. He says first that Jesus was accredited by God. This means that Jesus lived and ministered under God’s approval. The Father had certified the Son’s activity as the work of God.
   The evidence of this approval was through the miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him. When we recall the gospels, we note how the people responded with amazed wonder at Jesus’ miracles. They came in large crowds to be healed. Jesus’ healings and resurrections testified to his unity with the Father as the pharisee Nicodemus confessed: John 3:2b “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”  
   Then Peter spoke a most amazing point when he reminded the crowd, “as you yourselves know.” How do they know Jesus’ miraculous signs? All the events of Jesus’ life were open for public knowledge. The reports of Jesus’ gracious, compelling words and supernatural works would have been a common topic among the Jews. The news of his death and resurrection was certainly flowing through Jerusalem, Judea and even into Samaria. And what would stop such news from going into other nations? Peter pointed out to the crowd that they knew Jesus of Nazareth was an extraordinary man under God’s favor.
   Jesus’ life should have been marked with peace and joy. All should have welcomed him. But God had not given his Son to the world to live in ease. Sin demands a blood payment. So God gave Jesus to suffer for your sin. Peter tells us God’s set purpose caused him to hand Jesus over to wicked men. They killed him on the cross. Then God’s set purpose raised Jesus to life because it is impossible for death to keep a hold on him.
   The people hearing Peter that day needed to know the same message we all must learn: We need a Savior. God is at work to save us through Jesus.
   Jesus is Savior because it  is impossible for death to keep its hold on him. Peter wants the Jews to know he is not preaching about a dead man. He is preaching about the Savior, who is alive. His next words confirm this foundation of our faith.
    

Peter Explains
 
Acts 2:14-21 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the LORD. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.’”
 
THE Spirit has come to anoint the apostles to teach the gospel. He has gathered the nations. Now it is time to explain the LORD’s work to his people. Peter stands to speak God’s Word as spoken to the prophet Joel. Peter used Scripture to give authority to his teaching. This has been the mark of true teaching in the church since that day.
   Joel is the second of the Minor Prophets. His words long before Jesus’ incarnation are another reference to the Holy Spirit. Joel revealed God would pour out my Spirit on all people. All people the Spirit touched would prophesy. They would learn and teach God’s Word. The Spirit will give visions and dreams to many to help people experience and understand God’s redemptive message. God’s servants will be both men and women who will speak God’s Word.
   Acts records some of these visions and dreams (Acts 10 for example) as God leads his apostles into the world. There are also many testimonies throughout the millennia and today of God’s visions and dreams coming to unbelievers to help them confess Jesus is Lord.
   The beginning of the church is the beginning of the last days. This is the time moving toward the fulfillment of God’s word at the end of time. Because God has not revealed the day of Jesus’ return, we live in anticipation as if Jesus’ return is today. Our lives are to be built upon an urgency to help the world prepare for his return.
   Joel’s words about the changes in the heavens are yet to be fulfilled. Other scriptures point to heavenly changes as Jesus’ return is imminent.
    The greatest promise from Joel that reaches into today is, “Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.” Peter and the others began that day to teach the world what it means to call on the Lord and be saved. This is the duty of the church and every believer. We thank God for his determined plan of salvation spoken and heard by many. Our joy now is we can continue to tell others how they can be saved.

Acts 2:5-13 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs – we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” 13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
 
ON that day in Jerusalem God began to remove his curse on Babel. Genesis 11:9 That is why it was called Babel – because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth. The people’s unity had caused them to disobey God’s command to populate the earth. They ridiculed his command and pursued their own desires. In response, God knew their evil would become worse if he allowed them to continue in one language.
   But through Jesus’ New Covenant of salvation through faith, God has reversed the curse to now bless the nations into the unity of eternal life. A diverse group of Jews and even some Gentiles had come together in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost. God began to form these nations into one body of believers as each heard the apostles speaking in his own language. Enthusiastically many responded, “We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”
   But not all received God’s truth. “They have had too much wine.” was the hard hearts’ ridicule of God’s Word that day.
   This is a snapshot of our world, isn’t it? We are a diverse group of people, speaking many tongues. God has sent the Spirit to bless his chosen people among all nations to hear the unifying Covenant of Faith in Jesus Christ. People have worked and are working to translate Bibles and Bible lessons into the tongues of unreached people groups. The Spirit is moving among the nations and tribes to help them hear the wonders of God in their own tongues.
   Then the people asked a very important question: “What does this mean?” Those wondering and asking are ready to hear the meaning of God’s glorious work among them. Good questions mean your ears are open to hear God’s good answer.   
   There will always be those who ridicule God’s work. The apostles did not focus on those. They began to speak to those who wanted to know, “What does this mean?”

Acts 2:1-4 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
 
PENTECOST was one of three annual festivals God commanded the Jews to observe. “Pentecost” referred to the 50th day after the Passover Feast. It is also called the Feast of Weeks because God commanded it to be celebrated seven weeks plus the one day after Passover.
   Pentecost was also called Feast of the Harvest because it was the time of the first harvest of the year. From that harvest, new bread were made and these first loaves were the first fruit of the harvest offered to God. Thus, the festival was also known as Frist Fruits. Four names for one festival seems too much, doesn’t it? But each name points to God’s plan to gather a lost world to  himself.
   This 50-day timetable also relates to the number of days from the Passover in Egypt to God’s revelation of the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai. The law was the first fruits of God’s nourishing presence to care for his people. As the LORD gathered them from Egypt, he began to help them understand his magnificent grace to make them his own.
   In a like manner, the Holy Spirit anointed the apostles with the ability to speak the gospel. God used them to begin the harvest of new believers that day to become the church’s first fruits. From that day to now obedient ministers of the gospel have been sowing seeds and gathering the harvest into Jesus’ church.
     The Spirit came as a wind in the same way the mighty wind separated the waters of the Red Sea (Exodus 14). He came also as a fire to cleanse and to gather: Matthew 3:11b He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” The wind and the fire gave the apostles the ability to speak many languages, so they could communicate to the Jews from other nations gathered for the festival.
   This Pentecost festival has become the church’s Day of Pentecost to remember the day God began the harvest to reap your soul into his kingdom.
   The Bible is an orderly account of God’s love for you. Read it as such.     

Acts 1:15-26 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16 and said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. 17 He was one of our number and shared in this ministry.” 18 (With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. 19 Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 “For,” said Peter, “it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,’ and, ‘May another take his place of leadership.’  21 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.” 23 So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” 26 Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
 
IT was a good crowd. One hundred twenty are gathered in to worship Jesus and to await the Holy Spirit. Peter leads them. The Lord has redeemed Peter’s denials of Jesus. Peter is the Lord’s choice to speak for this group who will begin building the church. Peter is now faithful to the Lord’s commands. He begins to live into his purpose.
   As they await the Holy Spirit, the disciples’ first work of the church is to replace Judas. Peter explains why. “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas.” The phrase had to be in Hebrew means divine necessity – it is  the Lord’s will. During Jesus’ post resurrection ministry, our Lord opened their minds, so they could understand the Scriptures. (Luke 24:45) Peter understood God had spoken long ago through David in Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8. The only response is to obey the divine necessity.
   To qualify to be chosen as the 12th apostle, one needed to have been with Jesus from the beginning. We may be surprised to learn there were men who followed Jesus alongside the Twelve. Justus and Matthias were eyewitnesses to Jesus’ ministry. Such men would witness to the world all Jesus had done from his baptism to ascension.
   The disciples used the lot method to determine God’s choice. Proverbs 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD. They would have written the two names on respective stones and placed them in a bottle. The name that fell from the shaken bottle was chosen. This is the last time in Scripture lots are used to determine God’s will. Prayer for the divine necessity must be the church’s method now. 

Acts 1:12-14 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
 
OVER the years some churches have separated men and women in the church sanctuary for worship and Bible study. Some have created a solemn, almost mournful approach to God in corporate worship. These groups must have forgotten or not known of this Scripture.
   You can say that this is the first worship celebrating the risen, ascended, returning Jesus. Men and women are together. In his gospel Luke confirms their joy: Luke 24:51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.  
   Together as one joyful church Jesus’ closest followers and his earthly family rejoice the Lord is king!
   They also prayed, didn’t they? We can overlook this because we often overlook prayer as central to worship. With his words and example, Jesus had taught his disciples to pray to the Father. They might have prayed, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” (from Matthew 6:9-13)  
   They certainly would have honored the Father, whose name is holy on their lips and in their hearts. Surely they prayed for his kingdom to come very soon because they had just learned Jesus is returning. After watching Jesus minister with a servant’s heart, even to the cross, the disciples knew that to pray your will be done on earth as it is in heaven is a total submission to God’s ordained purpose for our lives.
   To pray for daily bread is an understanding God provides all things. As Jesus had commissioned the 11 to minister the gospel into the world, the disciples prayed God would give them what they needed for life and for ministry.  
   They prayed to be forgiven. They prayed they would forgive others. Many people would persecute them. It was essential they had the faith to forgive all sin against them. We can only see the world through Jesus’ eyes when our hearts are free of accusation.
   The worshiping group likely prayed “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” The devil would attempt many times to turn Jesus’ faithful congregation from their appointed ministry. Unforgiving hearts will not effectively minister God’s grace.
   May God’s prayer be an effective tool for your prayers at home and in church.  
 

Acts 1:10-11 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
 
WHAT do you notice about the details of Jesus’ ascension? Jesus did not immediately disappear from the disciples’ view. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going. This was a very visible physical ascension witnessed by many more than the 11 disciples. We’ll see in Acts 1:14 & 15 there were about 120 eyewitnesses to Jesus’ resurrected body ascending to heaven.
   Then two angels prepared the world for the future. They promised Jesus will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven. His return will be as visible as his ascension. Other scriptures in the prophets, epistles and gospels confirm Jesus’ physical return. Just as the promises of Jesus’ first coming have become history, God’s promises of Jesus’ second coming should give us all hope for the glorious consummation of history.
   Why do you think the angels addressed the group as “Men of Galilee”? It seems a small thing, but this might help us understand our own response to Jesus.
   Perhaps God wanted to remind the men of their beginning relationship with Jesus. Most disciples were from Galilee. The gospels tell us there were times Jesus’ teachings and miracles threatened to overwhelm them. Then Jesus’ resurrection and his appearances to them over 40 days was truly a mind-altering experience! God’s promises to the patriarchs and prophets were becoming reality in these men of Galilee. It would be easy for them to step back and say, “This is too much!”
   At this climactic moment, God reminded them they had come from their fishing boats, tax collector’s booth, zealous politics, academics and the like to answer God’s call. Jesus had shown them heaven’s power. And he had given to them the power to heal disease and remove demons. They watched heaven’s glory raise the dead and calm the storms.
   God reminded them of where they had come from as he told them to prepare for their future. The men and women who stood on Mt. Olivet that day found themselves on the crest of God’s greatest movement to draw the nations unto himself.
   Does God have you on the verge of something new for his kingdom? Before we step into new opportunities, it is often good to remember where we were when he said, “Come, follow me.” Consider where he has taken you. Trust where he wants you to go.  
   It is a privilege to be among those God has chosen to help prepare the world for Jesus’ return.
 

Acts 1:6-8 So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
 
WITH one sentence Jesus completely changed the disciples’ view of their future. During Jesus’ ministry, the disciples had hoped he was the one who would sit on David’s throne in Jerusalem. His death had destroyed that hope. But now that hope is alive because Jesus is alive! Once more he taught them. Surely this is a sign God is fulfilling his promise spoken in Isaiah 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. What could be more zealous than Jesus’ resurrection? Who else could reign eternally? Truly this was the time God had determined for an eternal king to reign in Jerusalem.
   God’s zeal, though, extends into the entire world. It was time to begin to conquer the nations with the gospel. Jesus, the Commander, directs his 11 warriors to begin the conquest.
   It’s difficult to imagine the disciples’ response to, “Be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Did fear strike their hearts? These men had witnessed the Jerusalem rulers crucify Jesus. The disciples had been very afraid and had hidden to protect themselves. They could easily have viewed Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria as life-threatening territory for Jesus’ followers. John 20-21 tells us of the disciples’ doubts. Some returned to fishing, and others seemed to go their own way even after seeing the risen Jesus. Their minds were centered on self-survival, wondering what they would do next. How could they be Jesus’ witnesses amid such uncertainty and potential danger?
   Once more Jesus assures them the Holy Spirit will be their power and their guide. They need not be concerned with man’s reaction to their work because God is directing and empowering them to do what he wants done. “When the Holy Spirit comes on you” is Jesus’ final direct promise and assurance to the 11 he had chosen:
 
Acts 1:9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.  
 
Jesus had just commanded the disciples to conquer the world with the testimony of his good news of salvation. Then he left. In a moment he was gone. What remains is all he had taught them and all he had promised them. Jesus instructed them to wait for the Spirit. This is a good lesson for all disciples. Wait for God’s leading. 

​Acts 1:4-5 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
 
HERE are two more convincing proofs that Jesus is alive (See previous lesson.). He ate with his disciples and he commanded them to wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.
   The gift is the Holy Spirit. “You will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” is the fulfillment of a promise Jesus spoke in John 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. He tells the disciples again that this is more than John the Baptist’s baptism with water. Jesus wants his disciples to know this is an anointing of God’s power onto these mortal men. When it happens their lives will change.
    What will the Spirit do? First Jesus had told them, “The Holy Spirit will teach you all things.” The disciples at this point still did not understand Jesus’ ministry. They needed to know how Jesus’ teachings and lifestyle revealed the kingdom of God. The gospels record many times Jesus rebuked his disciples for their lack of understanding. But soon, wisdom and understanding will be their guide. The disciples will become more as Jesus, who is described in Isaiah 11:2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him - the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. The Holy Spirit brings wisdom, understanding, counsel and power to Jesus’ disciples.
   Jesus said the Holy Spirit’s second task is to “remind you of everything I have said to you.” The disciples must become true gospel messengers. As they teach and testify of Jesus, they cannot waiver into their own ideas and assumptions. Each word and action must be faithful to all Jeus said and did.
   These two promises are essential to the Christian faith. We must believe the Bible is without error. The church cannot be unified under Jesus if we edit the Bible to our own preferences. The Spirit gave God’s wisdom and understanding to many authors, so they could write a central account of God’s salvation for all mankind. The Spirit teaches us God’s very purposeful redemptive process. It begins with his response to the fall through the law and the prophets, then continues with Jesus and the apostles. It is a history written under God’s authority through the Spirit’s revelation baptizing each author with special wisdom to know God’s Word for humanity.
   Remember God’s revelation is his gift to you. When you call Jesus, “Lord and Savior.” be eternally grateful the Father has sent the Spirit to give you his wisdom and understanding, so you can fully know who Jesus is.   
     

 

Acts 1:3 After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
 
THE gospels speak very little of Jesus’ ministry after his resurrection. Matthew and Mark each give us five verses. Luke 24 and John 20 tell us more of Jesus’ many convincing proofs he is risen. We also have this form Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
   In their brevity, the scriptures confirm Jesus’ resurrection is a true resurrection of the body. Jesus pointed his disciples and later Thomas to his nail pierced hands and the wound in his side. (John 20) Jesus ate with people, fixed the disciples a breakfast and even taught the disciples where to cast their empty nets for a good catch. The Lord of Life, risen from the dead, was happy to share life with his creation. Would it be helpful to know more?  
   We always want to learn more of Jesus’ incarnation and resurrection. But we do have enough to know Jesus is alive. The most important truth of his resurrection is the power of his life-transforming salvation for our souls. This is first evident in the apostles’ lives. They would have all gone home to return to their former way of life if Jesus had remained dead. These fearful men changed completely to become faithful men who gave their lives completely to the gospel. Their faith formed a boldness no one could deny even as the ruling Jews attempted to discredit them. Acts 4:13 When the Pharisees saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished, and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
   From Jerusalem  the apostles began to enter the world. We’ll learn more as we continue in Acts. God began to do remarkable signs among the Jews and Gentiles. Churches began and grew because Jesus is alive.
   Then the gospel came to you. Because Jesus is risen the Holy Spirit has given you one powerful, eternal convincing proof: 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!  This new life means you will desire in view of God’s  mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)
   The faithful Christian life is transformed from the ways of sin to the ways of God. This is a sure sign Jesus is risen. May it be to your joy you can signal to the world, “I am new because Jesus is alive!”