Acts 2:14a, 36-41

“Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” (Acts 2:38)

The reading takes the conclusion of the Pentecost sermon together with the response to it, passing over the scriptural argument in between. Verse 36 is the thesis the whole speech has been building toward, that God made this crucified Jesus both Lord and Messiah, and the two titles are precisely the ones the psalm cited earlier in the sermon had supplied. The hearers’ reaction is physical, cut to the heart, and their question, what shall we do, is the question Luke’s Gospel put in the mouth of the crowds before John (Luke 3:10). The answer at verse 38 pairs repentance with baptism in the name of Jesus and promises the Spirit as gift, while verse 39 extends the promise to those far off, language drawn from Isaiah 57:19 and Joel 2:32. The three thousand of verse 41 answer the hundred and twenty of 1:15.

From Sermons.com: Join Today to access the most scholarly & well written preaching resources anywhere.