As we continue studying the inception of the church, the next few verses say different things to different people. Let’s read it simply, and see if there are some key points about the good news that the apostle Peter shared with a crowd of people in first century Jerusalem. Maybe some of these key points will apply to us, today (hint: yes, they do).
“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. 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. 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.
Acts 2:22-24 NIV
One point here is that the Gospel is about Jesus. He is identified here as “Jesus of Nazareth” (since He was considered to be from Nazareth, even though He was technically born in Bethlehem and journeyed to Egypt as an young child). Peter’s description of Jesus is accurate, but it’s not the whole story. Peter is starting from where the people were (since most – if not all – of them had probably heard of this rabbi from Nazareth named Jesus), but Peter is building up to teach them more about who Jesus is.
Another point here is that the people had done a bad thing in crucifying Jesus. In Jesus’ ministry, God (i.e., God the Father, as I understand things) had made it clear that Jesus was the “real deal” by working miracles through Jesus, confirming that Jesus’ words and His ministry were legitimate and sanctioned by God. Still, Jewish people – even if it wasn’t necessarily the same group as the audience on Pentecost – played a role in getting Jesus crucified.
I wish that I didn’t have to say so, but this does not give us any license to persecute Jewish people today for a specific crowd’s role in crucifying Jesus centuries ago. Peter makes it clear that this was part of God’s plan. Furthermore, we know from Romans 3:23 (see Romans 3:21-26 for more context) that we have each sinned, and that there are wrong things that each of us have done, even if we didn’t yell “Crucify him” to Pilate.
It might seem strange, while teaching a message about Jesus Christ, to include a reminder about the bad things that had been done in Jerusalem recently. However, the good news of Jesus Christ doesn’t seem like good news to those who don’t understand how bad off they are because of their sin.
As a side note: So-called “hellfire and brimstone” preachers may not be popular these days, but they do help listeners understand the dire situation that sinners like us are in without Jesus. I’m not suggesting that we preach like that, but we need to consider the whole gospel story, not just picking and choosing the parts that we like.
The wages of sin aren’t just “bad karma” or experiencing temporary punishment from God. Our sins earned us death – not just physical death that came when Adam and Eve sinned, but eternal separation from God (who is the source of all good things).
In order to appreciate the amazing blessings of salvation through Jesus – and really, in order to even understand why we need salvation in the first place – we need to understand that our sins separated us from God and why that’s a terrible place to be.
Looking ahead to verse 37, it appears that the people got the message. Can you put yourself into their shoes (or sandals)? If you just realized that you had allowed an innocent person to be publicly punished when He wasn’t guilty, and that same individual was now back and in charge, what would you say?
From Sunday School lesson prepared for September 3, 2023
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Acts, by Dennis Gaertner. © 1993 College Press Publishing Co.
- New Testament History: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Acts, by Gareth L. Reese. © 1976, College Press Publishing Company.
Those Who Sin Differently 