Acts 4:13-37 | When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.” Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old. On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “ ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one.’ Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.
IF YOU EVER WANT TO EMBARRASS A PREACHER, I’ll tell you a surefire way to do it. Just ask about his first sermon. The nerves of the moment seem to conspire with inexperience to produce some really funny and embarrassing stories that nobody will forget—as much as the preacher might wish they would! That could have been the case with Peter’s first sermon, which is recorded in Acts 2. But in reality, it still stands as one of the best sermons anyone has ever preached.
In fact, both the sermon and the events surrounding it were full of amazing moments. It all got started with a literal bang, some fireballs, and a group of people speaking languages they had never learned (Acts 2:1-6)! Some jokers heard the excitement and laughed it off, saying the believers must have been drunk (Acts 2:13). After a crowd had gathered, Peter corrected this notion (Acts 2:15) and went on to explain what had actually happened—why the crowd was hearing their many local languages from these backwater Galileans.
Peter explained that the events the people were witnessing had been spoken of by the prophet Joel (Acts 2:16). He was essentially saying, “You men and women, who are standing in the streets of Jerusalem hearing about the great works of God in your own languages, are witnessing the fulfillment of Scripture.” Peter then quoted Joel 2:28-32, apparently from memory—it is extremely unlikely that anyone would have had their own scroll of the Prophets to carry around with them in those days. This, by the way, is a demonstration of the power of the memorized Word. It is always there, right at the moment we need it. Peter declared that what the crowd had witnessed was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit from God, an event marking the last days. What a declaration! Peter asserted that Joel had written about that very moment centuries ago, and these people were seeing it—living it!—right there in Jerusalem.
What was the thing that was happening according to Peter (and Joel)? It was the pouring out of the Spirit of God (Acts 2:17-18). Because the Spirit was poured out, the believers could prophesy—that is, speak the message of God without error. They could speak it in languages they had never studied. They could see visions and dream dreams that were miraculously given to them by the Spirit, something that had never happened like that before.
In this era that has now begun, the Spirit of God has been poured forth. But Peter goes on quoting Joel in Acts 2:19-20: “And I will cause wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below—blood and fire and clouds of smoke. The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red.” Well, we’ve never seen that. It has not yet happened. That is because Peter and Joel show us both ends of a parenthesis, the description of the beginning and the end of an era. There has been a partial fulfillment of Joel’s words—the Spirit of God has come, and the young and old have begun to dream dreams and see visions and experience His fullness. But the “great and glorious day of the LORD” (Acts 2:20) has not yet come. That will mark the end of this era.