Acts 2:14-21 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Acts 2:14-21. As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
Acts 2:14-15 (NIV)
14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.
15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!
On verses 14-15: Before a crowd of thousands, Peter stands up and is about to tell them about Jesus. Peter, who used to be ashamed of his faith and denied Jesus in front of a few people, is now speaking to thousands about the difference Jesus has made in his life. That’s the power of the Holy Spirit working. The Holy Spirit gives us courage, strength and wisdom to do what we could not do in our own power.
By the way, I find Peter’s statement in verse 15 funny. “These men are not drunk…It’s only nine in the morning!” as if to say, “Just wait until 12pm. That’s when we’re more likely to get drunk.” Of course, I’m pretty sure that’s not what Peter meant. Instead Peter is wisely addressing the elephant in the room and debunking a misconception that many in the crowd may have had about what was going on.
Acts 2:16-20 (NIV)
16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
On verses 16-20: As a fisherman, Peter did not have any formal education, and yet in Acts we see Peter, by the power of the Holy Spirit, quoting and explaining the Scriptures like never before. Here Paul quotes the prophet Joel (specifically Joel 2:28-32), written several centuries before Jesus was born, to explain this outpouring of the Holy Spirit on people that the crowd is witnessing.
Previously God’s Spirit was given only to an exclusive few – mainly prophets, priests and kings. But in Acts, starting here in chapter 2, we will see again and again that God makes His Spirit available to all who call on His name. It is amazing to think that the Spirit of the God who created this universe and who raised Christ from the dead now lives in you if you believe in Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the most precious gift that the Father has given to every believer. In every area of our lives, let’s welcome the Holy Spirit, honour the Holy Spirit, be sensitive and obedient to the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:21 (NIV)
21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
On verse 21: The biggest message of Acts and the rest of the New Testament is that every one who calls on the name of Jesus will be saved. Saved from what? Saved from the penalty of our sins, which is death and total separation from God. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) All of the Bible from cover to cover points us to our need for a Saviour. His name is Jesus. Have you called on the name of Jesus to save you from the penalty of your sins, which is death and eternal separation from God? We can’t save ourselves. That’s why God sent Jesus to be our Saviour.
As Peter wisely points out in Acts 2, the Old Testament, and in particular the book of Joel, written centuries before Jesus walked on this earth, point us forward to this day in Acts when God would make both Jesus our Saviour and the Holy Spirit our empowerer available to all those who call on His name.
Father, thank You for Jesus, whom You sent to save me from my sins. And thank You for pouring out Your Holy Spirit on Your church. Holy Spirit, I welcome You and invite You to have Your way in my life. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
