The Baptism of the Holy Spirit John the Baptist foretold that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit. God told John the one who would administer that baptism was the one "Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him". No mere apostle could baptize someone with the Holy Spirit. It... [ Continue Reading ]
The Audience Reaction Moses instructed that all males be present for the feast of Pentecost, so it is no surprise that Luke would say, "Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven." Luke listed at least fifteen separate nations represented on the day of Pen... [ Continue Reading ]
Spoken By Joel Peter immediately set out to end the wild speculations as to the cause of the apostles being able to speak in languages they had never studied. First, he observed that it was just 9 a.m. Coffman wrote, "On a festival like Pentecost, no Jew ever ate or drank anything till after 9 A.M.... [ Continue Reading ]
They Crucified God's Approved Man No one could successfully deny that Jesus had worked miracles because they had been done in plain view. Those miracles should have inspired awe (wonder) in the hearts of those who saw them and been a clear sign that Jesus was God's spokesman and, in fact, His Son (J... [ Continue Reading ]
David's Prophecies Concerning Christ Peter quoted from Psalms 16:8-11, saying that in it David was speaking concerning the Christ. Jesus died and his body was lain in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, but his spirit, or soul, went to Paradise in Hades (Luke 23:43-56; Luke 16:19-31). However, our Lord... [ Continue Reading ]
Jesus Is Master and King The unmistakable conclusion of all the previous arguments is that Jesus of Nazareth was made Master and King by the Eternal Father (Acts 2:36). The very one they had crucified had now been placed by God in the position of authority. Anyone wishing to come to the Father woul... [ Continue Reading ]
"Cut to the Heart" It is hard to imagine just how stunned some in Peter's audience must have been. The man who they recognized as a Galilean and likely viewed as uneducated had just presented a compelling argument in which he indicted them as the murderers of the Son of God. His presentation was so... [ Continue Reading ]
The Keys to the Kingdom In Matthew 16:19, Jesus promised Peter, "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." On the cross, Jesus asked his Father to forgive those who crucif... [ Continue Reading ]
The Early Church At Work Those who were added together gave constant attention to the apostles' teaching because, as we have just seen, it was the teaching of Christ. Remember Jesus told his followers to teach those who had been baptized to "observe all things that I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:... [ Continue Reading ]
Daily Occurrences In the Early Church Those first converts were in the temple daily, likely for Bible study and worship. They also spent time together on a daily basis, as "breaking bread from house to house" would seem to indicate. Their daily partaking of food was done out of hearts filled with ... [ Continue Reading ]