Sermon Tone Analysis

Acts – 4

Acts 2:14-36

Introduction

Have you ever seen a picture and thought, “What in the world is going on here?

There has got to be more to this story.

I need some context.”

For example:

- Picture 1 – cop with cheetah – are you allowed to give a ticket to a cheetah without it eating your face?

- Picture 2 – bouncy house in cemetery – that is really an odd place to host a birthday party.

- Picture 3 – polar bear on train – first, that better be Russia, and second, is he traveling into the city for a quick lunch with friends or to do some shopping?

Sometimes you need some more context.

You know there is more to the story.

That is certainly the case for the crowd in Acts 2. They have gathered together, thousands of them, because miraculous things are occurring among Jesus’ disciples.

There is the sound of a mighty rushing wind, tongues of fire are hovering over their heads, and these Galileans are speaking in languages they could not possibly know.

What is going on?

How is this possible?

The Holy Spirit has arrived.

Jesus had promised that these disciples would be empowered by God and then would be His witnesses to the ends of the Earth.

They are now endowed with this miraculous power to take the Gospel into the world and transcend all the barriers that could possibly stop its spread.

The crowd has gathered and have no idea what do to with this event.

Some are asking, “What does this mean?”

Others are mocking, claiming that the disciples are drunk (after all, they are all babbling).

The whole purpose of these miracles was to verify the truth of what they are claiming, and to get the attention of the crowd.

They have it.

Now it is time to be the witness Jesus called them to be.

Peter stands up and preaches to the crowd.

In so doing, he provides the much-needed context for what is happening.

He explains what is happening and leverages the opportunity to preach about the greatness and glory of Jesus Christ.

Acts 2:14-36 - 14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.

15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.

16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

17 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

and your young men shall see visions,

and your old men shall dream dreams;

18 even on my male servants and female servants

in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above

and signs on the earth below,

blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;

20 the sun shall be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood,

before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.

21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

25 For David says concerning him,

“‘I saw the Lord always before me,

for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;

26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;

my flesh also will dwell in hope.

27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,

or let your Holy One see corruption.

28 You have made known to me the paths of life;

you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne,31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.

32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all 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 yourselves are seeing and hearing.

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 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

This sermon is the sermon that launches the Church into existence.

This sermon is the first Gospel sermon in history.

This sermon sets the tone for the NT Church.

This sermon’s content forms the foundation and direction of all NT theology.

It is a model sermon.

It is utterly biblical as he quotes/anchors in two separate passages from the Psalms, and in a prophecy from the OT prophet Joel.

It is a Christ-exalting sermon.

Of course, any sermon that anchors itself in the Bible is going to be Christ-exalting, because as Peter shows us here, the whole Bible is ultimately about Jesus.

Peter makes 3 clear points in this sermon, with undeniable implications/applications:

1. JESUS SAVES…CALL ON HIM (V.

14-21)

The first move Peter has to make is to speak to the crowd’s reactions.

They want to know what is going on.

And before he can show them, he has to settle their accusation…they aren’t drunk.

They might seem to be babbling because they are speaking in other languages, but it’s not because they’ve been drinking.

And he gives a simple reason for that…it’s only 9am, the third hour of the day!

From this place of addressing their concerns/accusations, he immediately pivots to provide that larger context, to help explain to them what is happening.

And how he does it is brilliant.

The crowd are all Jews living in and around Israel.

They have all come into Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost.

And if they aren’t natural Jews, they are proselytes, converts from paganism to Judaism.

Meaning, these people know the OT Scriptures.

And to explain what is happening, Peter directs them to their OT, and quotes from the prophet Joel.

Acts 2:16-18 - 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

17 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

and your young men shall see visions,

and your old men shall dream dreams;

18 even on my male servants and female servants

in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

God has already promised that He will pour out His Spirit.

Joel was a prophet about 800 years before Jesus was born.

For 800 years, they have already known that when God pours out His Spirit on His people, it will be accompanied by miraculous events.

People will prophesy, meaning they will speak what God reveals to them.

There will be visions and dreams, meaning God is going to reveal Himself and His ways to the world through men and women by indwelling them with His Spirit.