When the tectonic plates realign – the impact of the first Pentecost on new believers.

By mmayer

Acts 2:36-47

Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah,^[a] this Jesus whom you crucified.’

³⁷Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, ‘Brothers,^[b] what should we do?’ ³⁸Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.’ ⁴⁰And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’ ⁴¹So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. ⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

⁴³Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. ⁴⁴All who believed were together and had all things in common; ⁴⁵they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

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The tectonic plates, shaken up by the Easter earthquake, resettle into a new, Holy Spirit place.

Acts 2: 41 Many believed the message and were baptized, and about 3,000 people were added to their group that day.

The listeners to Peter’s Pentecost sermon in Acts 2 were utterly shocked to discover that they had been complicit in crucifying God’s anointed one, Jesus the Christ. They received God’s word in their hearts, they repented and they were baptised. (I wonder where they baptized 3,000 people in crowded Jerusalem, and were there a lot of wet people wandering around?). They received both forgiveness of their sins (including the sin of crucifying God’s Messiah) and they received the Holy Spirit, who now lived inside them. That dual gift meant a whole new way of living, and new life priorities.

These brand-new Christians listened daily to the teachings of the apostles. Just as the earth’s plates had moved at Easter, so the inside understandings of the new believers had to move. They had to understand that the sacrifices for sin had been offered now, once and for all, by Christ. They had to learn that the suffering servant songs in Isaiah applied directly to Jesus. The one despised and rejected was actually carrying our sins, not his own (Isaiah 53:3-5). The apostles would also have taught all that Jesus said and did, so that people knew how to respond the Jesus way to people who might now hate them. The same healings that Jesus did were now happening also within the brand-new church, and that was catching people’s attention, and drawing them into belief in Christ. The first believers also shared their money and possessions so that the needy were helped, they worshipped daily, and they celebrated the Lord’s Supper regularly.

Capacity to support new Christians?

It’s been a while since brand new believers joined our worship. It’s more likely to happen with us going out to others. Making the offer to do some Bible reading, one to one, is worth making. You will have friends or neighbours for whom meeting together for a few weeks to look at a gospel could be a offer they are ready to accept.