Pentecost was literally the moment that separated the Old Testament (Law) and the New Testament (Grace)
1000s of sermons have been preached about this first sermon preached by Peter. This sermon will be a little different than most of them because I’m going to remind you of the old Peter, show you the new Peter, and how to share Jesus like Peter shared Jesus.
Acts 2:17-43 Peter (along with James and John) were part of Jesus’ inner circle. Everywhere Jesus went, Peter, James and John went as well. Mark 9 Transfiguration-Luke 8 Jairus’ daughter-Matthew 26-Praying in the Garden
In Matt. 14 when Jesus came walking on the water to the disciples’ boat it was Peter who was the only guy that had the courage to step out of the boat.
Matt.16 & Mark 8 When Jesus asked the disciples who they thought He was… it was Peter who said “You are the Christ the Son of the Living God.” And Jesus said “Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood have not revealed this to you but my Father who is in Heaven.
John 6, when the crowds abandoned Jesus because His teachings offended them, Jesus asked the 12 if they were going to leave Him too… it was Peter that said: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life”
Peter In Luke 22:33 “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” Jesus tells him before the rooster crows-deny me 3 times.
THEN Jesus was arrested. And Peter followed as Jesus was led into the city and put on trial. Peter had 3 opportunities to acknowledge he knew Jesus yet denied it each time. And after 3 times what happened? Rooster crowed, and Peter wept bitterly.
But then Jesus DIED on the cross. And after the resurrection, Mark 16:6-7a “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee.
Of course, there were many post-resurrection appearances to His disciples. One specific encounter (John 21) was on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.
Jesus prepared a breakfast of fish and bread for them and then commissioned Peter with the task of feeding His sheep and tending His lambs. (Restoration)
From that moment on, Jesus wasn’t just a teacher that Peter followed – Jesus became the Savior Peter clung to. Jesus became the risen Messiah who loved Peter and Who had died for his sins. Peter has now received the Holy Spirit And you could see it in his face and hear it in the intensity of his words as he preached the first sermon in the church age. He was a man who was on fire for Jesus.
There’s no doubt the people he spoke to were lost. Many of these people in this crowd had been there when Jesus was brought to Pilate. They were there when the Romans mocked Jesus and beat His defenseless body. These were the ones who cried out: “CRUCIFY HIM! CRUCIFY HIM!” They watched Jesus carry his cross, watched him nailed to the cross, and die on the cross. They had given their approval for Jesus to die.
And now… these same folks are here at Pentecost, and they’re hearing Peter tell them: Acts 2:22-23 “Fellow Israelites, 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 deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
Peter said, “God sent you your messiah – and YOU killed Him. YOU crucified Him. You’re guilty! It’s your fault! Now, what are you going to do about it?” And these folks were cut to their hearts and they cried out: “What shall we do?”
Now there’s one more thing before I get into applying all this to you and me. Peter quoted a few Scriptures while he was preaching. Joel 2:28-32, Psalm 16:8-11, Psalm 110:1.
We need to understand that – until Jesus rose from the dead – those verses Peter quoted didn’t mean anything to him. He didn’t understand the prophecies about Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. He (and the rest of the Apostles) were absolutely clueless.
In Matthew 17:22-23 we’re told that “Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. 23 They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” And the disciples were filled with grief.
Why were they grieved/exceedingly sorrowful? They were grieved because – that’s not supposed to happen. Jesus can’t die, He’s the man who came to be the King of Israel! They can’t put Him to death. And so it doesn’t compute. It doesn’t register in their minds, and they are grieved by it.
In Mark 9:31 Jesus said the same thing. Their reply: Mark 9:32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.
Matthew 16:21-22 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. 22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
Peter “rebuked” Jesus. Look at Jesus’ response: Matthew 16:23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
They didn’t understand. They couldn’t imagine this happening to Jesus. Peter and the other Apostles – none of them understood what the Old Testament prophecies said of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection… until Jesus rose from the dead.
And now it’s Pentecost. It’s 50 DAYS later and Peter knows exactly what those verses meant. And because those verses mean something to him now he shares them with his audience.
Now, I’ve said all that to say this: We can share our Jesus just like Peter did. But we’ve got to start by realizing, we’re not all that much different that Peter…
Now, the day was different. I mean, at Pentecost, you’ve got tongues of fire settling down on the Apostles, and there’s a sound that’s like that of a mighty rushing wind, and the apostles are praising God in languages they’ve never learned. People from dozens of nations were understanding what was said.
But… once Peter stood up and began to speak, he used a language everybody knew. The tongues of fire faded into the background, and the sound of the mighty rushing wind disappeared, Now, it’s just Peter.
You see, all the rest of that stuff was just fireworks, it was God’s way of getting the attention of the crowd. The people stopped, and they wondered at what they were seeing and hearing.
But once Peter stands up and started talking about Jesus, those other things didn’t matter. All those fireworks just faded into the background, because there was something about the intensity of Peter’s faith that you could see in his face and hear in his words. And that intensity “cut them to the heart” and made them ask “What shall we do to be saved?”
Peter focused on Jesus. Peter focused on HIS SAVIOR. And the intensity of his faith shook his audience. Why? Because it was evident that Peter was in love with Jesus. And he was desperate to please his Savior
We can do that! But only if there is an intensity to our faith. So, here’s my question: How intense IS your faith? When people are around you, can they tell that you’re in love with Jesus?
Can they tell that you’ve received the greatest of God’s riches…Can they see it in your life, hear it in your words and see it in your actions?
Is there something different about how YOU and I live for Jesus that would make people jealous? That would cut them to the heart. That would make them WANT what we have!
My point is this: We have to love Jesus so much that it bleeds out of us, and you want people to have what you have! But if Jesus is not the center of who we are and what we do, we’ve got nothing. (WE just blend in)
What happened to Peter? Jesus had become so important to him, he had fallen in love with his Savior, and he couldn’t keep it to himself. He just had to talk about Jesus.
Do we truly understand what Jesus has done for us? If we do, then it will show in every facet of our lives.
ILLUS: There was a pastor who was talking to a man in his congregation about sharing his faith. The man said: “I don’t wear my faith on my sleeve. My faith is personal, and I don’t want to talk about it.”
(His statement startled the pastor) and he asked the man “You are a Christian, aren’t you?” He said, “Well, yes, but I’m not a religious fanatic.”
The pastor thought about that for a few moments and then he finally asked the man: “Has it ever occurred to you that it cost Jesus His life so you could call yourself a Christian? It cost the Apostles their lives too, and millions of Christians throughout the centuries have suffered or died as martyrs in order to get the message of God’s love and forgiveness to you.
Now do you really believe that your faith in Christ is personal and private and that we shouldn’t talk about it?” And the man was cut to the heart… and he said, “No pastor, I was wrong.
It takes someone who is desperate to tell the truth, to someone who is in desperate need to hear it!!
Psalms 42:1-2 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
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