Day 10 — Peter's Sermon: Joel's Prophecy Fulfilled (Acts 2:14-21) | May 5

And that's when Peter steps forward, the same Peter who weeks earlier was hiding and afraid, he stood up with the other eleven and raised his voice, and he opened his mouth to preach. his very first sermon. Let's look at Acts two, fourteen through twenty one. Says Peter stood up with the eleven, and he raised his voice, and he proclaimed to them, Follow uh sorry, fellow Jews and all you residents of Jerusalem, let this be known to you. Pay attention to my words.

For these people are not drunk as you suppose, since it's only nine in the morning. On the contrary, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel, and it will be in the last days, says God. That I will pour out my spirit on all people. And then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. I will even pour out my spirit on my servants, both men and women, in those days, and they and they will prophesy.

I will display wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and a cloud of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and glorious day of the Lord. And then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. So again, remember, weeks earlier Peter had had been hiding. A servant girl asked him if he knew Jesus. Peter had cursed and swore that he didn't. Three times before the sunrise he denied his closest friend.

He was so terrified of being associated with a condemned rabbi that he went back to fishing. probably convinced that his story with Jesus was over. And now here he is standing in front of thousands of people, raising his voice, preaching the first Christian sermon in history. And the difference between those two moments Has a name, the Holy Spirit. See, God doesn't need your credentials, He needs your availability.

And so Peter starts with the obvious, he starts right where people are. These people aren't drunk, it's nine AM. He's clearing the air with a bit of dry humor because the accusation was ridiculous. But he doesn't linger there because Now he reaches back 800 years into the Hebrew scriptures and he pulls out the prophet Joel and he says, this Is that

Peter says, what you're seeing right now is what God promised long ago. Scholars call this a the a pesher interpretation. This is that. It's an approach where a present event is identified as the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy. And so Peter's reading the room through the lens of scripture and he's declaring that history has now turned a corner.

And Joel's prophecy says God would pour out his spirit, notice on all people. That phrase would have jolted Peter's Jewish audience. See, under the old covenant. The spirit came on specific individuals for specific tasks, uh a judge raised up to deliver Israel, a prophet called to speak God's word, a king, anointed for a season. But the ordinary people, and especially the Gentile people, watched from the outside. The spirit was reserved for the chosen few.

Now Joel said that era was ending. Now sons and daughters, young and old. Servants, both men and women, the spirit would no longer belong to the religious upper class. God was now distributing his power to ordinary people regardless of age, gender, or social status. The spiritual playing field is is being leveled for good. This is a complete restructuring of how God relates to his people. In the Old Testament, you needed a prophet to hear from God. After Pentecost, every believer carries that.

You don't need a mediator to access God's presence anymore. So the spirit doesn't visit, he moves in. And that has huge implications for how you and I live today, because you and I carry the same spirit Peter was filled with. The question is whether you're living like it or not.

But Peter's making an even bigger claim. He's saying the last days have arrived. From Pentecost forward, we're essentially living in the last days. chapter of human history. The age of the Spirit is the final one. Joel's prophecy now has a double fulfillment. The first wave of the last days, the outpouring of the Spirit on all believers, began that morning. The second wave, the cosmic signs of sun, moon, and fire, uh point us toward Christ's return.

And we, you and I, live between those two waves. So the kingdom has been launched, but it hasn't been consummated. It's already here, but it's not yet complete. And this tension shapes the entire Christian life. So Joel's prophecy, um, man, it it it now uh opens the widest possible door. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Everyone.

So Peter isn't just explaining this phenomenon. He's issuing an invitation. The spirit's arrival isn't a private experience for the insiders. It's a public announcement that that salvation doesn't have a velvet rope, you know, to keep certain people out. A fisherman who denied Jesus is now standing up to tell thousands of people that rescue is available to anyone who is willing to call out for you.

Ordinary people empowered by the Spirit, declaring an open invitation from God. That's how the church began. And the spirit who empowered Peter that morning is the same spirit at work in you right now. So what might a step of ordinary obedience look like today? I want to give you a reflection. Peter went from cursing a servant girl to preaching to thousands. This is the same dude. Completely different posture.

And the variable was the Holy Spirit. And so I ask you, where in your life are you still operating out of your own strength or your own cleverness or your own willpower?