The Lord was adding day by day

Acts 2 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. ² And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. ⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

⁵ Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. ⁶ And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. ⁷ They were amazed and astonished, saying, “Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? ⁹ Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, ¹¹ Cretans and Arabs—we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.” ¹² And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³ But others were mocking and saying, “They are full of sweet wine.”

¹⁴ But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. ¹⁵ For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; ¹⁶ but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷ ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams; ¹⁸ Even on My bondslaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit And they shall prophesy. ¹⁹ ‘And I will grant wonders in the sky above And signs on the earth below,
Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. ²⁰ ‘The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood, Before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. ²¹ ‘And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

²² “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— ²³ this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. ²⁴ But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power…

³² This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. ³³ Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. ³⁴ For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says:  ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand,
³⁵ Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”’   ³⁶ Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”

³⁷ Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” ³⁸ Peter said to them, “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. ³⁹ For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” ⁴⁰ And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” ⁴¹ So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. ⁴² They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³ Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. ⁴⁴ And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; ⁴⁵ and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. ⁴⁶ Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Today’s text marks the beginning of the fulfillment of yesterday’s text. Before ascending to heaven Jesus said:   “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”   Today’s text is the fulfillment of those words. Today we read the evidence and the outcome of the Holy Spirit empowering the disciples. The reaction to the move and the power of God that day was not that different than what we would expect when there is a move of the power of God today. There were those who were amazed:  They were amazed and astonished, saying, “Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans?  And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born?   Not surprisingly there were the doubters and the scoffers, the text says:  But others were mocking and saying, “They are full of sweet wine.”

These on whom the Spirit had fallen, these disciples of Christ, were not perfect, they had their flaws, their imperfections. They each had a past, but they each were redeemed, they believed that Jesus Christ had died for their sins and now according to His word they received the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus had said they would be His witnesses and that’s exactly what we see and hear from Peter, emboldened and empowered by the Holy Spirit, he testifies about Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 2:2, Paul says:  For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.     That’s Peter’s strategy as an evangelist here as well, or should I say the strategy of the Holy Spirit through Peter, to preach Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. Peter says: … “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.  But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power… This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.”  Peter was not, nor was the Holy Spirit, concerned with the feelings of those who would hear this message. He was not concerned that some might be offended. Peter was called to be a witness of Jesus Christ. He was empowered by the Holy Spirit and he preached Christ, and Him crucified. What was the result?  First we see the result of the testimony of Christ on many of the people:     Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”   Hebrews 4:12 says: the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.     That’s the response of those who heard the testimony of Jesus, their hearts were pierced.

In John 8:31-32 Jesus says: “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,  and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  That’s the response of Peter, he continues telling them the truth, the truth which will set them free:  Peter said to them, “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.  For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”  And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!”     In the end what is the result of Peter’s faithful witness and testimony, of Peter’s commitment to preach Jesus Christ, and Him crucified? The text says:   So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.    Not a bad result to the faithful witness and testimony of Jesus Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Then the Holy Spirit said we need a new plan. We need to have programs to entertain and occupy those who believe. We need to be seeker sensitive to those in the world. We need to evangelize through friendship, acceptance and tolerance, rather than by being a witness of Jesus Christ, the cross and the resurrection. That must be in some Bible’s somewhere. But it’s not what today’s text says in my Bible. Rather it says:  They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. They didn’t close down the church and stop meeting together.     Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.  And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common;  and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.  Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,  praising God and having favor with all the people.    Through the continued teaching, through the continued fellowship, through continuing together, with one mind, unified and guided by the Holy Spirit, as witnesses of Jesus Christ, the result is according to the word and the will of God:    the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.    Hhhhmmm?

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit, I am thankful for the finished work of the cross and for the resurrection life you have given and called me to. I pray that You would, Holy Spirit, fill me and empower me, guide me and lead me that I might be a faithful witness of Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I ask that I would not waver to my own agenda or to the agenda,  plans or programs of others, but rather would yield to You in all I say and do. I pray, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.   Amen