After His ascension to heaven, the first converts to the Lord’s church obeyed the gospel after hearing a sermon preached by Peter in Acts 2. The Bible describes the incredible scene, as a crowd of thousands of people start as disrespectful critics of Christianity but soon become faithful converts to the gospel.
Before Peter’s inspired sermon began, the apostles were speaking in tongues. This allowed men from every nation gathered in Jerusalem to hear and understand their native language. To explain this incredible and miraculous event, some accused the apostles of being drunk while others “continued in amazement and great perplexity” (Acts 2:12-13).
As Peter began to preach, he connected Old Testament prophecies to that moment (Acts 2:16-20). He explained to the crowd who Jesus was and how sinfully they had rejected and even murdered Him. Peter proclaimed that after His death, Jesus had been “raised up again” by God
and “made…both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:32-36).
At some point, the crowd reacts, no longer accusing the apostles of being drunk or boldly chanting for the death of an innocent man; instead, “they were pierced to the heart” (Matthew 27:25; Acts 2:37). The word of God, spoken by Peter, describing God’s perfect plan to save all of mankind from sin cut through all of their anger, jealousy, and pride.
In Acts 2, we see how sinful men can become, how powerful God’s word is, and how repentant we must be.
Matt Langfield