23
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
January, 1939
I NT E RNA T I ONA L L E S SON Commentary Outline and Exposition Blackboard Lesson Childrens Division Golden Text Illustration Object Lesson B y B. B. S utcliffe B y G retchen S ibley B y H elen G ailey B y A lan S. P earce B y E lmer L. W ilder Points and Problems B y A lva J. M c C lain
the sun turned to darkness and the moon to blood. Peter was implying that when these events take place—as they certainly will— the One who was present at Pentecost will be the One who will make them possible. Peter was preaching to Jews, and he naturally referred his hearers to the Old Testament, their own Scriptures. The prophets have no word concerning the church, but they were inspired to tell Israel what would come to pass "in the latter days.” Those days had not arrived when Peter preached, but the divine power which will be manifested in that future time was present at Pentecost, and this power Peter identified. III. T he R esults (36-41) After his address concerning the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ, Peter gave the conclusion of the matter in the words, "therefore let all the house of Israel know” that God had raised up from the dead the One whom they had rejected and crucified. And not only so, but God had made Him "both Lord and Christ.” This declaration must have come with a tremen dous shock to the Jewish people—to be told they had rejected and slain their own Messiah! The effect was that they were convicted or "pricked in their heart.” The Holy Spirit had wrought conviction. To the guilty hearers, the situation appeared to be hope less for them. They could only cry out, “What shall we do?” Immediately Peter offered the only way out of their dilemma. They must repent, accept God’s appraisal of the Lord Jesus Christ, rather than their own thought of Him, and acknowledge Him as their Mes siah, and he baptized. Peter pressed upon his listeners the promise which God had given to all the nation of Israel; hence they could, if they would, take the step he urged upon them. But alas! the nation, as such, treated this offer with silence. They stub bornly refused to heed Peter’s exhortation to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. However, there were certain individuals who heard and accepted the offer, even though the nation as a whole refused the truth. These individuals,' like the ones who had accepted Jesus Christ when He was upon earth, publicly declared their faith in the crucified and risen Lord. That same day there were about three thousand souls added to the company of the disciples. There were at Jerusalem during those feast days about two million people; the three thousand would be but a small proportion of that great multitude. Later on, however, the comparatively small group "turned the world upside down” (Acts 17: 6). It was by the Word of God that these
FEBRUARY 5, 1939 PETER PREACHES AT PENTECOST A cts 2:5- 18, 36-41
Acts 2:12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? 13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. 14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: 15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: ana your sons and your daughters^ shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, ana your old men shall dream dreams: 18 And on my servants and on my hand- maidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: 36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. 37 Now when they heard this , they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall re* ceive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. ( 40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this un toward generation. 41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. Lesson Text: Acts 2:12-18, 36-41. Golden Text: "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zech. 4:6). • Devotional Reading: Acts 13:26-33 Outline and Exposition I. T he O ccasion (Acts 2:12, 13) M ANY Jews from various nations and speaking different languages were gathered at Jerusalem for the great feast. When the Holy Spirit fell upon the waiting disciples, He used them to speak of the wonderful works of God in the languages of these Jews. Some of the people, at a loss to explain the occurrence, declared the disciples were intoxicated. Peter at once laid hold of the opportunity to deny the accusation of drunkeness, and to enlighten the multitude as to what had taken place. II. T he E xplanation (14-18) It is to be noticed particularly that Peter addressed the "men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem.” He spoke to [These lessons are developed from out lines prepared by the Committee on Im proved Uniform Lessons of the Interna tional Council. The outlines are copy righted by the International Council of Religious Education and used by permis sion. The Scripture portions quoted are from the King James Version unless other wise stated.]
THE EFFECT OF PETER’S SERMON
No wonder that “they were pricked in their heart” ! . . . The scene they had witnessed, and the fiery words of explanation, taken to gether, produced incipient convic tion, and the conviction produced alarm. How surely does the first glimpse of Jesus as Christ and Lord set conscience to work! The ques tion, “What shall we do?” is the beginning of conversion. The ac knowledgment of Jesus which does not lead to it is shallow and worth less. The most orthodox accepter, so far as intellect goes, of the gos pel, who has not been driven by it to ask his own duty in regard to it, and what he is to do to receive its benefits, and to escape from his sins, has not accepted it at all. {Taken from Alexander Maclar- en’s Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts. Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub lishing Co., Grand Rapids, Mich. Cloth. Price $15.00 per set.} He said that what the people heard and saw was the manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit, revealed in the speaking with tongues. Peter did not say that what was then taking place was the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy; he was not identifying the event, but the power manifested in the event. At Pentecost, though Peter's refer ence to Joel’s prophecy was apt and true, still the minute fulfillment of the prophet’s utterance was not seen at that time, for the Holy Spirit was not poured out upon all flesh, nor did the young men have visions and the old men dreams, nor were wonders seen in the heavens, nor blood, fire, and vapor of smoke seen upon earth, nor was BLACKBOARD LESSON both visitors and citizens—but all Jews (cf. v. 22, "Ye men of Israel” ).
Made with FlippingBook Online document