The Point of Pentecost - Acts 2:14-26
About a month ago, we celebrated our country’s 250th anniversary, and we all know how Americans celebrate the Fourth of July—with fireworks!
If you’re anything like me though, when you’re watching a firework display on the Fourth of July, you’re normally not thinking about how great our country is. Instead, you’re focused on which fireworks you like or whether the show was too short or too long.
At some point, it’s about the fireworks, and not the thing that the fireworks are supposed to be celebrating.
We do the same thing with birthday parties too. We’re less interested in the fact that your friend survived another year on this earth, and more interested in whether the cake is a flavor we’re going to like.
And the same thing can happen whenever we think about Acts 2 and Pentecost. We’re fascinated by the wind, the fire, the tongues, and sometimes we forget that all of those things actually served a purpose.
And that’s exactly what Peter does in his sermon at Pentecost. He reminds all of us that the wind, the fire, and the tongues all served a specific purpose and that purpose was to point everyone to Jesus Christ. Everything that happened, the wind, the tongues of fire, the speaking of tongues, all of those things were miraculous tools used by the Holy Spirit to proclaim Jesus Christ. And so we see three things from this passage: first, the Spirit reveals God’s invitation (vv. 14-21), second, the cross reveals God’s plan (vv. 22-24), and lastly, the resurrection reveals God’s king (vv. 25-36).
The Spirit Reveals God’s Invitation (vv. 14–21)
So you have to keep in mind what’s happened up to this point. The Holy Spirit has fallen upon the disciples and they shared the gospel with a crowd of people in their own native language. And so this great, confusing, miraculous event has taken place at Pentecost. Some have even mocked them and accused them of drunkenness. But Peter stands up and addresses the crowd and tells them, “What we have just witnessed is exactly what God has promised!”
And he points to the prophet Joel in order to prove it. Peter ends up quoting from Joel 2:28-32. But he actually slightly alters the quotation. Joel 2:28 says, “And it shall come to pass afterward…” and then the Lord says, “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, referring to a future day when God would pour out His Spirit upon His people…”
But Peter actually quotes it a little bit differently. Peter quotes Joel as saying, “And in the last days it shall be…”
That may seem like a small difference, but it reveals something significant about how Peter understood what was happening. What Joel had prophesied as a future promise, Peter now understood as a present reality.
Peter’s quotation from Joel 2 should not necessarily be understood as a description of the ordinary way God works in His church throughout every age. Rather, Peter is using Joel’s prophecy to explain the extraordinary events they had just witnessed. He’s saying that Joel 2 was prophesying the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
Notice who Joel says would receive the Spirit. The Spirit wasn’t reserved for just kings, prophets, or priests— Joel says it will be poured out on all flesh. Meaning, all types of people would receive the Spirit. Sons, daughters, young and old, even male and female servants. There is no class of people excluded from receiving the Spirit.
And of course, this was the sign that the New Covenant age had arrived.
Notice who Joel says would receive the Spirit. The Spirit was not reserved for kings, prophets, priests, or some special class of religious leaders. Joel says that God would pour out His Spirit “on all flesh.” Sons and daughters. Young and old. Male and female servants. There is no class of people excluded from the promise. And of course, this was one of the great signs that the New Covenant age had arrived. God was now pouring out His Spirit upon His people in a new and greater way.
But perhaps even more important is where Peter ends his quotation from Joel in verse 21: “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Do you see the connection? The Spirit is poured out on all flesh, and salvation is promised to everyone who calls upon the Lord. The gospel is not restricted by ethnicity, social class, age, family background, or religious achievement. It is for the person who has spent their entire life in the church, and it is for the person who walked through those doors this morning having never opened a Bible. It is for the person who looks like they have everything together and the person whose life is falling apart.
And notice the simplicity of Peter’s language: “Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Not everyone who is good enough. Not everyone who has cleaned themselves up enough. Not everyone who has performed enough religious duties. Everyone who calls. That is grace. The gospel call goes out to everyone because the message is for everyone. Your past does not disqualify you. Your failures do not put you beyond the reach of Christ. Your sins may be great, but Christ is a greater Savior. The gospel is for everyone—and that includes you.
The Spirit Reveals God's Plan (vv. 22–24)
But what exactly is the content of this gospel? What actually happened? Peter answers that question in verses 22–24. Look at these verses with me:
“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—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”
Peter has just explained from Joel that God has poured out His Spirit and that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. But now he gets to the heart of the matter: saved from what, and on what basis? Peter moves from the promise to the person, and from the call of the gospel to the content of the gospel—Jesus Christ.
And notice that Peter assumes his audience already knows something about Jesus. These people weren't hearing about some obscure religious figure from a distant land. Peter reminds them that Jesus of Nazareth was “a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs.” They had seen what Jesus had done. They knew about His miracles. They knew His reputation. Many of them had likely heard Him teach or had personally encountered the effects of His ministry. Peter is saying, in effect, you know who Jesus is and you know what He did. Now you need to understand what His death and resurrection actually mean.
Because the truth is, you may know about Jesus without actually knowing Jesus. And that's an important distinction because you can know a lot about Jesus and still not know Jesus. You can know the stories. You can know about His miracles. You can know that He was crucified under Pontius Pilate. You can know that Christians believe He rose from the dead. You can even know the right answers to all the questions. But Peter is doing more than giving this crowd information about Jesus. He is calling them to understand what those facts mean and to respond accordingly.
Because notice how Peter describes Jesus’ death. He says, “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” Peter doesn't minimize their responsibility, but neither does he present the cross as a tragic accident. The crucifixion was simultaneously the wicked act of sinful men and the sovereign plan of God. They meant it for evil, but God had ordained it for the salvation of His people.
And then comes the glorious contrast in verse 24: “God raised him up.” They killed Him, but God raised Him. They rejected Him, but God vindicated Him. They put Him in a tomb, but the grave could not hold Him. The cross was not the end of Jesus' story—it was the means by which God accomplished redemption, and the resurrection was God's declaration that Jesus had conquered sin and death.
So Peter is giving us the heart of the gospel in remarkably simple terms: Jesus died according to God's plan, Jesus was raised from the dead, and therefore Jesus is Lord and Christ.
Peter’s sermon is remarkable when you consider what has just happened. The church has witnessed wind, fire, and tongues. The Holy Spirit has been poured out in a way that is dramatic, miraculous, and impossible to miss. And yet Peter stands up and essentially says, “All of this is pointing you to Jesus Christ.” Pentecost was never meant to draw attention to the experience itself. The wind, the fire, the tongues—all of it was meant to point beyond itself to the crucified, risen, and exalted Christ. That’s why Peter’s sermon is so thoroughly Christ-centered.
And I think there is an important lesson for us here. Christians can spend an enormous amount of time debating secondary questions. We debate baptism. We debate how we should understand and practice the Lord’s Supper. We debate worship, church government, spiritual gifts, and a whole host of other important theological questions. And don't misunderstand me—I believe those things matter. I have convictions about them, and I think Scripture gives us good reason to have those convictions.
But Peter reminds us that underneath all of those questions is something far more fundamental: What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
Because you can have the right position on baptism and not know Christ. You can have a well-developed theology of the Lord’s Supper and not know Christ. You can understand church polity, worship, spiritual gifts, and all the finer points of theology and still have a heart that remains far from Him.
At the end of the day, when you strip away your family, your career, your accomplishments, your failures, your reputation, and even the challenges you’ve overcome—when all of those things are taken away, who are you? What do you actually believe? What is it that governs your life when no one else is watching? What are the deepest convictions tucked away in your heart that determine what you love, what you fear, what you pursue, and how you live?
Peter's sermon forces us to come back to the center. Christianity is not ultimately about having the right religious experience, belonging to the right church, or even winning the right theological arguments. Christianity is about Jesus Christ—who He is, what He has done, and whether you have placed your faith and hope in Him.
The wind points to Him. The fire points to Him. The tongues point to Him. Peter points to Him. And this morning, the question is whether you are looking to Him.
The Spirit Reveals God's King (vv. 25–36)
And as Peter continues his sermon, he once again turns his attention to the Scriptures—specifically, to the Psalms. He quotes two Psalms written by King David: first Psalm 16 and then Psalm 110.
Look at Peter’s quotation of Psalm 16 in verses 25–28. The key phrase is verse 27, where David says, “For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.”
Peter quotes Psalm 16 because King David prophesied the Messiah’s resurrection. David couldn’t have been speaking of himself in Psalm 16 because, as Peter says in verses 29-31: “David died. His body was buried, and his tomb is still here.” David was speaking prophetically about the Messiah, declaring roughly a thousand years beforehand that His body would not remain in the grave long enough to undergo the ordinary process of decay. He would rise from the dead.
And so Peter’s point is that the resurrection of Jesus Christ was not some unexpected event. It wasn’t something God suddenly came up with on the fly. The resurrection was the fulfillment of what God had promised centuries earlier through David. The empty tomb was not merely a miracle—it was the fulfillment of Scripture.
What God had promised through David, God had now accomplished in Jesus Christ.
But Peter goes on to establish Christ’s exaltation by turning to Psalm 110 at the end of verse 34 and into verse 35: “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’”
Peter wants us to notice something significant here. David is the one speaking, yet David says, “The Lord said to my Lord.” In other words, David is describing a conversation between God the Father and someone whom David himself recognized as his Lord. So David cannot ultimately be referring to himself. He is speaking prophetically about the promised Messiah.
Just as David predicted, God exalted Jesus to His right hand and gave Him authority over His enemies at the ascension.
Peter is saying, in effect, “Psalm 110 has been fulfilled in Jesus!” He was crucified, but God raised Him from the dead. And then, forty days later, Jesus ascended into heaven and was exalted to the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
So Peter's sermon moves from the cross, to the empty tomb, to the throne room of heaven. Jesus did not remain in the grave. He did not simply rise from the dead and then disappear from the story. He ascended into heaven, where He now reigns at the right hand of the Father.
The One whom the crowd had crucified is the very One whom God has exalted. The One they rejected is now reigning as King. And that is why Peter can bring the whole sermon to its climactic conclusion in verse 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.”
Everything in the history of redemption had been building toward this moment. The miracles, the promises of Joel, the words of David, the crucifixion, the resurrection, the ascension, and now the outpouring of the Holy Spirit—all of it points to one glorious conclusion: Jesus Christ is Lord. He is the promised Messiah. He is the risen Savior. He is the exalted King.
And so the question before us this morning is not whether or not this is true. It is true. The question is: What are you going to do about it?
Most of you are familiar with what happens next in Acts 2. Peter finishes his sermon, and the people are “cut to the heart.” They ask the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
That is the right question.
But it seems to me that we’ve sometimes reduced Christianity to nothing more than repeating a few magical phrases. “I believe in God.” “I believe in Jesus.” And if you can say the right words, we're tempted to think that settles everything—that you can simply add Jesus to your life and then continue living however you want.
But that's not the Christianity Peter is preaching.
If Jesus Christ is truly Lord, then that reality fundamentally reorients your entire life. Jesus isn't merely someone you acknowledge with your lips; He is your King. And if He is your King, then you don't simply believe certain things about Him—you submit your life to Him.
How do we know? Look at what Peter tells them a few verses later: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.”
Repentance means turning away from sin and turning toward God. It is acknowledging, “I have not been living the way God has called me to live. I have been living for myself. I have been trusting myself. I have been pursuing my own desires rather than submitting to my King.”
There is a definitive repentance that takes place when a person comes to Christ in faith. We turn from our old way of life and turn to Christ, trusting in Him alone for salvation.
Even those of us who have been Christians for many years can never outgrow repentance.
In fact, the Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 15, paragraph 5, says, “Men ought not to content themselves with a general repentance, but it is every man’s duty to endeavor to repent of his particular sins, particularly.”
In other words, the Christian life is not simply saying, “God, forgive me for everything I've done wrong,” and then moving on. We should learn to recognize our particular sins, confess them honestly before God, turn from them, and continually return to Christ for grace.
We repent of our pride. We repent of our anger. We repent of our lust. We repent of our selfishness. We repent of our bitterness. We repent of our unbelief. We repent of the ways we have failed to love God and love our neighbor.
Why? Because what Jesus has for us is far better.
Conclusion
So notice how Peter’s sermon unfolds.
He begins with the Spirit. He explains what the crowd has just witnessed and shows them that God has poured out His Spirit just as He promised. But Peter doesn’t stay there. He quickly moves to the cross. And then he spends the majority of his sermon proclaiming the resurrection and exaltation of Jesus Christ.
Why?
Because the Spirit’s purpose is to bear witness to Christ. The Spirit comes so that Christ would be proclaimed. The Spirit doesn't draw attention away from Jesus; He brings us to Jesus.
He reminds us that the fireworks are not the end in themself. The fireworks point us to the celebration.
And look at the movement of Peter’s sermon: the cross secures our salvation. The resurrection vindicates the Son. The ascension enthrones the King. And Pentecost announces that the crucified Jesus now reigns over all.
That means Christianity is not fundamentally a new philosophy. It isn't simply a better way to live. It isn't a collection of moral principles or religious practices that we adopt in order to make our lives better.
Christianity is the announcement of a historical reality: Jesus Christ, who was crucified for sinners, has been raised from the dead by the Father, exalted to His right hand, and now reigns as Lord over heaven and earth.
And if that's true—and it is—then there is no area of your life that falls outside His lordship.
Your marriage belongs to Him. Your children belong to Him. Your work belongs to Him. Your money belongs to Him. Your ambitions belong to Him. Your sexuality belongs to Him. Your time belongs to Him. Your private life belongs to Him. Even the parts of your life that you would rather keep hidden from everyone else belong to the King.
And that means the question Peter puts before his hearers is the same question before us today: What will you do with Jesus?
You cannot remain neutral about a King who has been raised from the dead and enthroned at the right hand of God.
Maybe you've spent your entire life around Christianity. Maybe you've grown up in the church. Maybe you know the Bible. Maybe you can explain the doctrines. Maybe you've been baptized. But the question isn't simply whether you know about Jesus. Do you belong to Jesus?
Have you turned from your sin and placed your faith in Him? Have you surrendered yourself to the One who surrendered Himself for you?
And if you are a Christian, don't miss the encouragement of Pentecost. Christ has not abandoned His church. He has given us His Spirit. The Spirit dwells within us, empowers us, sanctifies us, and sends us out as witnesses. The risen and exalted Christ is still building His church.
Jesus Christ is Lord. And because He is Lord, the only right response is to repent, believe, worship, and give your whole life to Him.
