The Sermon That Built the Church
Introduction: The Sobering Intoxication of God
When the Holy Spirit falls, the world gawks. They hear the mighty works of God being declared in their own languages, and their best explanation, their most sophisticated analysis, is that these men must be drunk. It is only nine in the morning, but they have already hit the bottle. This is the perennial response of the unbelieving world when confronted with the raw power of God. They see a miracle and call it madness. They witness a divine visitation and diagnose it as a drunken party.
We must not miss the irony. The world, drunk on its own pride and rebellion, sees the soberest men on earth and calls them intoxicated. These mockers in Jerusalem were the truly inebriated ones, blind to the reality unfolding before them. They were witnessing the birth of the New Covenant, the inauguration of Christ's kingdom on earth, and all they could muster was a sneer. They thought they were looking at a spectacle, but they were actually standing in the courtroom of the living God, about to hear the verdict.
Into this confusion, Peter stands up. This is not the wavering, cowardly Peter who denied Jesus by a charcoal fire. This is Peter filled with the Holy Spirit, and he is about to deliver the sermon that would build the church. This is not an apology. It is not a suggestion. It is a declaration of war on unbelief. It is a logical, scriptural, confrontational, and inescapable argument. Peter takes their playground taunt and uses it as a springboard to proclaim the enthronement of Jesus Christ as Lord of the cosmos. He is about to explain to them, and to us, what in the world is going on.
The Text
But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: ‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says, ‘THAT I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS; EVEN ON MY MALE SLAVES AND FEMALE SLAVES, I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR OUT MY SPIRIT And they shall prophesy. AND I WILL PUT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW, BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE. THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND AWESOME DAY OF THE LORD COMES. AND IT WILL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’ “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God did through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know, this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of lawless men and put Him to death. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. For David says of Him, ‘I SAW THE LORD CONTINUALLY BEFORE ME; BECAUSE HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN. THEREFORE MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE EXULTED; MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL LIVE IN HOPE; BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT FORSAKE MY SOUL TO HADES, NOR GIVE YOUR HOLY ONE OVER TO SEE CORRUPTION. YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; YOU WILL MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH YOUR PRESENCE.’ “Men, brothers, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. And so, because he was a prophet and knew that GOD HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SET one OF THE FRUIT OF HIS BODY ON HIS THRONE, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that HE WAS NEITHER FORSAKEN TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SEE CORRUPTION. This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this which you both see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says: ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES AS A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.” ’ Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
(Acts 2:14-36 LSB)
This is That (v. 14-21)
Peter begins not with a defense, but with an authoritative explanation. He dismisses the charge of drunkenness with a simple statement of fact: it is only nine in the morning. Then he immediately pivots to the true meaning of the event. He says, in effect, "You want to know what this is? I'll tell you what this is. This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel."
"but this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel..." (Acts 2:16 LSB)
This is the interpretive key. Peter doesn't allow the mockers to define the terms of the debate. He takes them straight to the Word of God. What they are seeing is not chaos, but fulfillment. This is the arrival of the "last days." Now, we must be careful here. For two thousand years, gullible Christians have looked at this phrase and thought it meant the world was about to end. But the apostles understood the "last days" as the final era of redemptive history, the age of the Messiah, which was dawning right then. It was the end, not of the planet, but of the old covenant world order centered on the temple and its sacrifices.
And what marks this new age? The pouring out of the Spirit on "all mankind." Not just on a select few prophets, priests, and kings, but on everyone. Sons and daughters. Young men and old men. Even male and female slaves. This is a radical, social revolution. In Christ's kingdom, spiritual status is not determined by age, gender, or social standing. The Spirit is democratized. This is the creation of a new humanity, where the Spirit of God Himself indwells His people directly.
The language of wonders, blood, fire, and smoke is not a weather forecast for the distant future. It is apocalyptic language, common in the Old Testament, to describe the collapse of a nation or a covenantal order. The sun being darkened and the moon turning to blood speaks of the de-creation of the political and religious cosmos of old covenant Israel. This judgment was coming, and it would fall definitively in A.D. 70 with the destruction of Jerusalem. But in the midst of this earth-shattering judgment, Joel provides the glorious escape: "And it will be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
The Man You Murdered (v. 22-24)
Having set the prophetic stage, Peter now brings the main character to the center of it. He presents his case for Jesus of Nazareth, and he does it like a prosecuting attorney laying out the undeniable facts.
"Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God did through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know, " (Acts 2:22 LSB)
First, he appeals to public knowledge. Jesus' ministry was not done in a corner. The miracles were public record. God openly and powerfully endorsed this man, and Peter says, "you yourselves know" this. He starts on common ground. Then he brings the hammer down.
"this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of lawless men and put Him to death." (Acts 2:23 LSB)
Here we have the perfect synthesis of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. This was no accident. This was God's "predetermined plan." God was not wringing His hands in heaven, surprised by the betrayal of Judas or the cowardice of Pilate. He ordained it. But this divine ordination does not excuse the murderers. Peter looks them in the eye and says, "you nailed to a cross... and put Him to death." God's sovereignty does not eliminate our guilt; it establishes it. You cannot use God's decree as an alibi for your sin.
You delivered your verdict on Jesus. But God had the final say. "But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power." Your "no" was overruled by God's eternal "yes." Your act of maximum injustice was overturned by God's act of ultimate justice. And it was impossible for death to win. Why? Because Jesus is the Prince of Life. For death to hold Him would be for reality to contradict itself. It was a metaphysical impossibility.
David's Prophetic Testimony (v. 25-35)
Peter knows his audience. They revere the Scriptures, and they revere King David. So he calls their greatest king to the witness stand to testify on behalf of Jesus. He quotes Psalm 16.
"BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT FORSAKE MY SOUL TO HADES, NOR GIVE YOUR HOLY ONE OVER TO SEE CORRUPTION." (Acts 2:27 LSB)
Peter's logic is devastatingly simple. "Men, brothers," he says, with a pastoral but firm tone, "I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day." We can go look at it. The proof is right down the street. David's body saw corruption. Therefore, David could not have been talking about himself. Who was he talking about?
As a prophet, David was looking ahead. He spoke of the resurrection of the Christ. This wasn't a new idea, a plan B that God cooked up after the crucifixion went wrong. It was the plan from the beginning, embedded in their own psalms. Jesus' body did not see corruption.
Then Peter doubles down with another Psalm, the great 110. "THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, 'SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND...'" David did not ascend into the heavens. So who is this "Lord" that David himself calls Lord? It can only be the Messiah. And where is this Messiah? He is exalted to the right hand of God. He is reigning. And what is the proof of this reign? Peter says that Jesus, having received the promised Spirit from the Father, "has poured out this which you both see and hear." The chaos you see in the streets is not drunkenness. It is the evidence of a coronation. The King has taken His throne, and this is the confetti.
The Inescapable Verdict (v. 36)
Peter has now presented all the evidence: the testimony of the prophet Joel, the public facts of Jesus' life, the paradox of His death, the power of His resurrection, and the prophetic testimony of King David. He rests his case and delivers the verdict. And he makes it personal.
"Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." (Acts 2:36 LSB)
Notice the certainty. "Know for certain." This is not a matter of opinion. This is a declaration of fact from the throne room of the universe. God has officially installed Jesus of Nazareth in the office of Lord (Kyrios, the sovereign King) and Christ (Messiah, the anointed one). He runs everything now.
And then, the final, sharpest point of the spear: "this Jesus whom you crucified." He does not let them off the hook. He does not say, "this Jesus whom the Romans crucified." He says you did it. The one you rejected, the one you mocked, the one you murdered, is now your Lord and Judge. Your act of ultimate rebellion was the very instrument God used to enthrone His Son.
This is the fundamental announcement of the gospel. It is not, first, a self-help program. It is not a list of spiritual suggestions. It is news. It is an announcement of a change in administration for the entire cosmos. A new King is on the throne. His name is Jesus. And our first responsibility is to come to terms with the fact that we are rebels who participated in his execution. The sermon is designed to produce a crisis, to prick the heart, to lead to the question that every sinner must ask: "What shall we do?" For until you recognize that the one you have offended is the one who holds your life in His hands, you will never understand your need for grace. And until you see that this crucified King is also the one who saves all who call upon His name, you will never know the joy of salvation.