NLT Illustrated Study Bible - Book of Acts - Flipbook - Page 12
A cts 2 : 1 4
1968
Peter Preaches to the Crowd
14 Then Peter stepped forward with the
eleven other apostles and shouted to the
crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow
Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no
mistake about this. 15 These people are not
drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine
o’clock in the morning is much too early for
that. 16 No, what you see was predicted long
ago by the prophet Joel:
‘In the last days,’ God says,
‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all
people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.
18 In those days I will pour out my Spirit
even on my servants—men and
women alike—
and they will prophesy.
19 And I will cause wonders in the heavens
above
and signs on the earth below—
blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
20 The sun will become dark,
and the moon will turn blood red
before that great and glorious day
of the Lord arrives.
21 But everyone who calls on the name
of the Lord
will be e saved.’*
17
you nailed him to a cross and killed him.
24 But God released him from the horrors of
death and raised him back to life, for death
could not keep him in its grip. 25 King David
said this about him:
‘I g see that the Lord is always with me.
I will not be shaken, for he is right
beside me.
26 No wonder my heart is glad,
and my tongue shouts his praises!
My body rests in hope.
27 For you will not leave my soul among
the dead*
or allow your Holy One to rot in the
h grave.
28 You have shown me the way of life,
and you will fill me with the joy
of your presence.’*
29 “Dear brothers, think about this! You
can be sure that the patriarch David wasn’t
referring to himself, for he died and was
buried, and his tomb is still here among
us. 30 But he was a prophet, and he knew
God had promised with an oath that one of
David’s own descendants would sit on his
throne. 31 David was i looking into the future
and speaking of the j Messiah’s k resurrection.
He was saying that God would not leave him
among the dead or allow his body to rot in
the l grave.
32 “God raised Jesus from the dead, and we
22 “People of Israel, listen! God publicly
are all witnesses of this. 33 Now he is exalted
endorsed Jesus the Nazarene* by doing to the place of highest honor in heaven, at
powerful miracles, wonders, and signs God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had
through him, as you well know. 23 But God promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour
knew what would happen, and his f prear out upon us, just as you see and hear today.
ranged plan was carried out when Jesus was 34 For David himself never ascended into
betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, heaven, yet he said,
2:1721
*Joel 2:2832
2:18
Num 11:29
1 Cor 12:10
2:20
Matt 24:29
2:21
*Joel 2:32
Rom 10:13
e so-zo- (4982)
Acts
2:47
2:22
John 3:2
2:23
1 Pet 1:20
f progno-sis (4268)
Acts
2:25
2:24
Acts 3:15
2:2528
*Ps 16:811
Acts 13:3035
2:25
g proorao- (4308)
Acts
2:31
2:27
h hade-s (0086)
Acts
2:31
2:29
1 Kgs 2:10
Acts 13:36
2:30
2 Sam 7:1214
*Pss 89:4; 132:11
2:31
*Ps 16:10
i proorao- (4308)
Rom
8:29
j christos (5547)
Acts
5:42
k anastasis (0386)
Acts
17:32
l hade-s (0086)
Jas
3:6
2:33
John 14:26
Acts 1:4, 8
Eph 4:8
Phil 2:9
Heb 1:3
2:3435
*Ps 110:1
2 :1721 Joel 2:2832. 2:22 Or Jesus of Nazareth. 2:27 Greek in Hades; also in 2:31. 2:2528 Ps 16:811 (Greek version).
2:1436 This is the first of about thirty
speeches in Acts and one of the most
important, standing as it does at the
very inception of the church. It is a
typical example of the preaching of the
apostles, who proclaimed (1) that the OT
promises had been fulfilled in the life,
death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ,
who is the promised Messiah; (2) that
the apostles themselves were eye
witnesses of Jesus’ entire public ministry
and were his chosen representatives;
(3) that people are called to repent of
their sins and have faith in God through
Christ; and (4) that salvation and the
presence of the Holy Spirit are promised
to those who respond affirmatively to
this message of Good News. This basic
message is echoed in the sermons of
chs 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, and 13. The same
themes characterized Paul’s preaching
(see 1 Cor 15:39). This message was
repeatedly preached to both Jews and
Gentiles throughout the Mediterranean
world; all people are summoned to
repent of their sins and turn to God
through faith in Jesus Christ.
2:1721 This passage quotes Joel
2:2832. The prophet Joel predicted a
wider exercise of the gifts of prophecy,
including visions and dreams by both
young and old, both men and women in
the last days (Joel 2:2829). In Acts, on
the day of Pentecost, Peter declared that
Joel’s prophecy was being fulfilled, sig
naling that “the last days” had arrived.
See also “The Gift of Prophecy,” Acts
21:911.
2:2328 While cruel men had crucified
Jesus, this action had not defeated God’s
prearranged plan for salvation. In fact,
God raised him back to life, which David
had foretold (2:2528).
2:27 among the dead: See note on Matt
11:23.
2:3236 God raised Jesus from the
dead, and we are all witnesses of this:
The witness theme is often repeated in
Acts (e.g., 3:15; 4:33; 5:32; 10:3943).
The capstone of this message is that
God the Father, as he had promised,
was now pouring out his Holy Spirit
on the church through the risen Jesus.
All Israel was called upon to recognize
that God had acted decisively to make
the crucified Jesus both Lord and
Messiah!
2:3435 This passage quotes Ps 110:1,
which Jesus fulfilled when he ascended
into heaven (Acts 1:9).
