In a well-known sermon by Peter the Apostle in the second chapter of Acts (see Acts 2:14-40), he includes the following statement.
The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
Acts 2:39 NIV
Based on other parts of the Bible, I believe that the disciples expected that Jesus was coming back “soon” (and He is), but they were thinking about “soon” in terms of individual human experiences. God’s timing is a little different from our own (see 2 Peter 3:8-9), and thinking about something as happening “imminently” probably looks different from His perspective: not only seeing all of time at once, but also seeing beyond time.
However, empowered by the Holy Spirit, Peter could see that the good news about Jesus Christ was not limited to the people listening on that specific Pentecost. Despite the number of people accepting Jesus as their Lord that day, there was more to the body of Christ than just that group.
I’m not sure if Peter thought that people like me and others in the congregation where I serve – i.e., halfway around the world and nearly 2000 years later – would also be followers of Jesus, but his words here (again, with the help of the Holy Spirit) seem to apply to followers of Jesus today, as those who “are far off” [NIV] (or “are far away” [NASB]) and who God called. (Wondering how God calls people? That can become a complicated topic, but I like the simplicity of how a commentator [Reese, p.80] points out that God calls people through the gospel, citing 2 Thessalonians 2:14.)
Now, if I were to ask you about people who are far off today, you might think of those in foreign countries, where missionaries strive to reach groups, villages, and tribes who haven’t heard the good news. Similarly, I suspect that Peter probably envisioned others who were geographically distant from Jerusalem, where he was telling people about Jesus that day.
And, while I would agree that those people should hear about Jesus, weren’t all of us far away from God – due to our sins – until we accepted Jesus as our Savior? Aren’t all of our neighbors, friends, and even family members who haven’t accepted Jesus far away from God, no matter how close to a church building or other followers of Jesus they are?
So, if followers of Jesus like myself were rescued from the penalty of our sins, separated from this sermon at a first-century Pentecost in Jerusalem by thousands of miles and thousands of years, let’s be willing to reach out and bring that same news to those who are spiritually far away from God today. They deserve at least the same opportunity that I received.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for September 24, 2023
References:
- The Lookout, October 1, 2023, © 2023 Christian Standard Media.
- 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.
- Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation.
- New Testament History: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Acts, by Gareth L. Reese. © 1976, College Press Publishing Company.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Acts, by Dennis Gaertner. © 1993 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 