God's Grace Extends to Many Others
Scripture Passage: Acts 2:37-42 (NASB)
37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what are we to do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” 40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on urging them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” 41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. 42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
SUMMARY
Peter preaches a gospel message after the Holy Spirit comes to them in the upper room and they begin to speak in tongues. The crowd listens, is cut to the heart, and wonders what can be done. Peter urges them to repent and be baptized, and that day, about 3000 souls receive the gospel message and continue steadfastly in fellowship with the disciples.
MEDITATION & REFLECTION
What a profound gospel message spoken by Peter upon receiving the Holy Spirit!! Jesus was “taken by lawless hands, crucified, and put to death,” but “God raised him up, having loosened the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it.” He continues, saying, “Jesus has been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear,” ... “therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
The crowd is cut to the heart and asks what can be done??
This is the part that humbled me - Peter says, “repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus... and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit... for the promise is to you and your children, and to all who are afar, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
To the very people who called for his death on the cross, to those who condemned him and doubted and spat in his face, to those very people, Christ extends the invitation to draw near, and receive freely. The promise is not reserved for just the 12 disciples and the ones who had been faithful. The promise is for you, Peter tells the unbelieving crowd, and not just you, but for your children. The promise is for those who have been afar. The promise is abundantly generous and overflowing. The promise is for as many as our Lord will call.
I struggle to put into words how I feel reading this. Indeed, God so loved the world he sent his one and only son, and whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Christ went low and was separated from the Father, that we may live. And in his always-open invitation for all to come and receive, he bends down to us, yet again and again, to pursue and deliver a call so personal and full-of-love. It is truly not about us. It has always been and always will be about Jesus.
I can’t help but repent and draw near. It is a love unlike any other.
APPLICATION
Those who received the gospel message devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, of breaking of bread, to fellowship, and to prayer. There is more than just repenting and receiving; we must also live out a life full of the Holy Spirit. I want to live my life in this kind of devotion to Jesus, and go deep into what it means to be loved and to love, and to build my life in Him.
PRAYER
Lord, thank you for the cross. Thank you for your resurrection. Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Thank you for pouring yourself out on us that we may know you more. Thank you that whoever calls upon your name is saved. Lord, fill us with your Holy Spirit that we may declare boldly among men the gospel of Christ and live a life that is filled with prayer, and community, and devotion to you.
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