Peter’s Report

March 16, 2014 Background Scripture: Psalm 110; Mark 12:35 – 37; Acts 2:22 – 36 Lesson Passage: Psalm 110:1 – 4; Acts 2:22 – 27, 29 – 32 Peter’s first sermon on the day of Pentecost provides most of the background and lesson passage for today’s lesson. With the anointing of the Holy Ghost upon him, Peter preached the gospel to a bewildered crowd in Jerusalem. The entire message centered on Peter’s declaration of who Jesus is. Peter strongly defended Jesus’ humanity while also declaring his divine nature. He reminded them that they were aware of the miracles and deeds Jesus did in their midst for approximately three years. The miracles were done as a sign that Jesus was indeed sent from God and the signs were indisputable evidence of it. In spite of his goodness to them, Jesus was betrayed and crucified. Jesus died and was buried but God raised him up as proof that death and the grave could not hold him. All of this was according to the foreknowledge and approval of God. God spoke through David by way of Psalm 110 concerning an eternal priesthood. Some thought the Psalm was David’s literal reference to himself. However, it is clear that the Psalm was prophetic because it spoke of the king who would also be an eternal priest. David died and his body decayed in the grave. Put another way, David historically did not demonstrate putting on immortality as he wrote about in the Psalm of the eternal priesthood. David’s mortality is evident in that he remained dead. Jesus, on the other hand, was not allowed to remain in the grave indefinitely although he died. Rather, God quickened him or made him alive again on the third day and thus preserved his flesh from decay. God assured David that he would have a descendant who would have an eternal nature and could therefore establish an eternal kingdom. David wrote prophetically of this descendant who we know as Jesus. Peter’s sermon combined the prophecy of God with Peter’s eyewitness account. Peter witnessed what God had prophesied and thus he declared it in his initial sermon. Others had also witnessed the same thing. Peter’s closing statement was the explanation for why the people were bewildered. The crowd heard the Galileans speaking in the native tongues of those from throughout the various regions. Luke recorded fifteen different groups who represented many different languages in the crowd that heard this strange discourse in their native language. How could this be? Peter’s response provided the answer. Jesus, who had been raised from the dead by God, ascended back to God and received the promise of the Holy Ghost. Having received the promise, Jesus richly blessed his followers by allowing the Holy Ghost to be poured out as an anointing upon them. The gift of speaking in an “unlearned” tongue was the proof of the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. Jesus’ followers had received the promise of the Father and were now praising God for his wonderful works. Today’s lesson revisits Peter’s report to the bewildered crowd. Robert C. Hudson March 7, 2013