What Should We Do?

Acts 2:32-42

³² This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. ³³ Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear. ³⁴ For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,

“The Lord said to my Lord,

‘Sit at my right hand,

³⁵ until I make your enemies your footstool.’ ”

³⁶ Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.’

The First Converts

³⁷ Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what should we do?’ ³⁸ Peter 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. ³⁹ For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.’ ⁴⁰ And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’ ⁴¹ So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. ⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Prologue

Verse 37 writes that when the people heard the sermon of Peter, the testimony of Peter that Jesus was the Messiah, “they were cut to the heart”. When was the last time that we were “cut to the heart” by a sermon? Can we remember? Is it long long time ago? Or, unfortunately, the words of God has never cut our hearts? 

Exegesis

“Cut to the heart”, what does it mean? In Greek, instead of “cut”, it is more accurate to translate the verb as “stab” or “pierce”. In other words, after hearing the sermon of Peter and realized that they had crucified their Messiah, these people experienced a sudden, sharp pain in mind and in spirit, just like being pierced or stabbed in heart. They felt deeply remorseful. So, here comes the question again: When was the last occasion when we experienced such a sharp, piercing pain in heart when we listened to the words of God? 

For these people who were listening to Apostle Peter, why the sermon, the testimony of Peter made them felt “cut to the heart”? What did Peter say? As we just read, verse 36 writes, Peter said, “this Jesus whom you crucified”, “God has made him both Lord and Messiah”. The message is clear, “you”, the audience in front of Peter, crucified Jesus - the Messiah that they had longed for, the hope of Israel that they had awaited for long, and the Lord that they ought to show their submission – Peter pointed out that this huge congregation of audience were involved in the crucifixion of their Messiah. That’s why they were “cut to the heart”.

As the so-called “objective bystanders”, with the eyes of the 21^st century, we may question: How could it be? That is, how could this congregation of Jews - 3000 people who came from different localities, speaking different languages, most likely arrived Jerusalem at different times – killed Jesus together? It’s almost impossible for them to have communicated or met each other before this occasion. How could they get involved in the crucifixion of Jesus? In my view, I even think that when Jesus was arrested, tried before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, and eventually crucified, some of them might not be in Jerusalem. Verse 5 states that “Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem.” Hence, they came for the purpose of celebrating the Pentecost. We can therefore reasonably infer that before the Pentecost, they were not in Jerusalem. If it were a court of law, they could have made a reply to Peter, “We have the evidence of alibi. We were not in Jerusalem when Jesus died. We did not participate in the killing of Jesus.” Right? But clearly, they understood what Peter meant, and their reaction was – in my interpretation – instead of defending for themselves, they pleaded guilty. 

But why they were willing to accept that they were related to the death of Jesus? As Peter continued, it is clear that they all had to repent as they had sins that needed to be forgiven. They were devout Jews. They knew their religious traditions. They knew the scripture. But Peter still asked them to repent and to be baptized in the name of Jesus. Hence, before this occasion, they did not really know that Jesus was the Messiah. They did not accept that Jesus was their Lord. O.K., they might not have been present at the scene when Jesus was arrested, tried and crucified. However, in Peter’s words, the people before him (collectively) were “You that are Israelites” (v.22). They still had sins that had not been forgiven, and their sins contributed to the necessity of redemption by Jesus. In simple terms, Jesus died for them also – just like HE died for you and me.

Just a moment before, when the apostles spoke in tongues, some of these people sneered and criticized that the apostles were “filled with new wine” (v.13). They thought that the apostles were drunk (v.15), mumbled, blah blah blah. Obviously, they did not notice that it was the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit made the apostles to speak in other languages. As verse 4 writes, the Holy Spirit gave the apostles ability. It is not just a matter of language ability. It is the ability that the apostles, the local people living in the areas of Judah, could communicate with the pious Jews who spoke other languages. At that moment, the people who came from different nations, speaking different languages, did not even notice that the Holy Spirit was working. And I guess, neither the apostles notice it as it was a completely new thing, that is, the Holy Spirit was guiding them to be united as one people, a huge group of people, a congregation that worshiped God and prayed in the name of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit was building the Church. 

Yes, when people from different places, originally speaking different languages, come together, worship the same God together, communicate with each other, we can see the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is building a Church. 

In Peter’s sermon, he cited the book of Joel and declared that the prophecy was actualized. And he cited Psalms to argue that Jesus was the Christ who had resurrected from death (vv.31-32). Then, if I may ask you a question: After speaking in tongues, after the sermon of Peter, what was the response of the people (the audience)? 

Did they say, “We also want to speak in tongues. Please, make us also speak in tongues”? No. 

Did they say, “We want to see visions. We want to have dreams and prophesies, as written in the book of Joel. Please, grant us this gift”? No.

Also, they did not ask for signs or wonders. Even though at the beginning, the people were attracted by the apostles for their “supernatural” language abilities, they knew that it was not the most important thing. The gifts from God cannot replace God Himself. The people ask a very to-the-point question – a question about their relationship with God – “Brothers, what should we do?” 

“What should we do?” They knew that faith was not just a matter of knowledge. It’s not just a matter of conceptual agreement with the doctrines. Peter just told them that the Israelites had crucified their Messiah. Hence, “what should we do?” is a practical question – How to reconcile with God, to restore the relationship with Him again? And the answer of Peter is also practical and straightforward, verse 38: Repent, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and verse 40: “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation”, that is, watch out one’s behaviour, live out the life of being a Christian. Peter did not say that they must speak in tongues, or that one can only know what to do through dreams or visions. No, No, No, Peter did not say so. Peter says that after knowing that Jesus is the Christ, repent, be baptized (and therefore becomes a member of the Church), and live as a Christian.

I guess that before these people came to Jerusalem, they did not know that Jesus died for them. Before this journey, they had never imagined that they would encounter all these matters. It must be a life-changing event to them. To these people, Jerusalem became different – it was the place where different people congregated and worshipped God together. Even though they were still very different from each other, they became one people.

Application

So ~ today, we are happy to see that we (originally from different localities, speaking different languages) congregate here in the name of Jesus Christ. Yes, we may still have lots of differences. We came from very different cultural backgrounds. We have very different childhoods, different primary and secondary school lives, and different working environments. We might have enjoyed very different television programs. Our mother tongues are different. Without the “all of a sudden” language abilities granted by the Holy Spirit, it may still be a little bit difficult for us to communicate with each other fluently. But we are one church, one people, as we have one God our Lord. We are praying in the name of Jesus Christ. We are reading the same Bible and thank God, our Bible have been translated into many different languages so that it can be read by all nations. And in terms of faith, we are asking the same question, “What should we do” in order to advance our relationship with God?

We may say, Okay, then practically speaking, what should we do today? Perhaps verse 42 of today’s scripture can help, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” If you ask: How can a group of Christians living out the lives of Christians? What is the expressions of faith after receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit? 

First, learning and practising the apostles’ teaching. It certainly includes reading and studying the Bible. I specifically emphasize the word “studying”. Reading and memorizing the words of Bible are good but, in my view, that is not enough. Studying the Bible so as to understand correctly is of no less importance. We remember that in chapter 8 of the Acts, Philip was led by the Holy Spirit to approach the Ethiopian eunuch. Philip asked this official of the queen of the Ethiopians, “Do you understand what you are reading?’ The eunuch replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” It is clear that this eunuch was an highly educated person as he was a top-ranked government official. Yet he needed guidance so as to understand the Bible correctly, in a way that was within the scope of understanding and tradition of the faith community. In today’s language, he needs to study the Bible within the scope of Christian theology, not simply personal feeling, individualistic interpretation without any regard of the theological tradition and reasons. Studying the Bible is the first thing that we can practise. 

Second, “fellowship”, that means to congregate together, to share with others, and to grow up in faith together. Unlike groups like charitable societies, wine tasting groups or football clubs, etc., the crux of fellowship is not just sharing foods, happiness and enjoyment, not only for the sake of the persons IN the group. Instead, the crux is the relationship BETWEEN members of the fellowship AND the God our Lord. Hence, even though we enjoy the atmosphere, the care and communications within the fellowship, we should not forget to remind each other that we should also concern the spiritual situations of each of us. 

That goes to the third aspect, “to the breaking of bread and the prayers”. A true life of fellowship in Christ would not neglect the Holy Communion and prayers. In addition to studying the Bible and fellowship, through the Holy Communion and prayers, again and again, we deepen our faith in God. As we all know, the Holy Communion is for remembrance of Jesus Christ. As humankind does not have good memory, we need to have Holy Communion regularly so as to remind us, to reaffirm our faith, and to stay connected with Jesus as He grants us His body and blood. Everyday we pray in the name of Jesus. We need to communicate with Him. The church history tells us that since the very beginning of the Church, the Holy Communion, worshipping Jesus, and praying in the name of Jesus were the most characteristic features of Christian congregations. And I believe that up to today, we should still keep this tradition, as taught by Apostle Peter in today’s scripture.

Epilogue（結語）

“What should we do?” The message of today tells us that we should not stop at the stage of “cut to the heart”. There are some steps that we can take to restore and advance our faith in God our Lord. Thank God as He blessed us through the scripture. May glory be to God our Lord. Amen.