But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea, and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words.  (36) Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”  (47) Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”  (38) Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  (39) For the promise is  to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”  (40) And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.”  (41) Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.

Luke, physician and historian of the early church; dear fellow traveler of the Apostle Paul, wrote the Acts of the Apostles.  Acts  records the transition time between the Old Testament and the New Testament – the founding of the church and the miraculous spread of the gospel. The Messiah has come and His work of redemption is complete.

Our verses today reflect the launch of the Church.  It is fifty days after the resurrection of  Christ Jesus and Peter and the eleven are in Jerusalem.  They remained there at the commandment of the Lord – they were witnesses to the living Christ.  At the time of the crucifixion this group had deserted Jesus and fled terrified that they would be seized and killed next.  Their future leader, Peter, had followed Jesus after his arrest and in his fear Peter denied him three times. The group was in complete disarray and ignorance of the import of what they were living through.

Now it is Pentecost Sunday and the promised Spirit has descended on the group.  There was a sudden and enormous wind which caused the Jews in the city to rush find its source.  Peter, an illiterate fisherman and no orator, addressed the crowds with words so persuasive – read true – that 3000 Jewish people were moved to abandon their lifelong culture, laws and tradition.  And this happened in Jerusalem on a Jewish feast day.

Our verses today reflect the launch of the Church.  The geographically diverse group heard the words of Peter in their own native tongues – and how did this crowd of people hear him at all?? And what caused the alarming sudden sound and force of the wind that caused them to gather?  We are given only the gist of this sermon but God was clearly at work.  Peters words were powerful and bold but he was the instrument and the invitation was of God.  Peter, like us, was/is responsible for the effort to deliver the message but clearly the outcome was of God.  His message was that Jesus did not die as a victim – but was murdered by the Jews in fulfillment of the Scriptures and of God’s decree.  This does not mean men are not responsible but that God used evil men for His purpose – the culpability lies on man, not God.  The Spirit entered those chosen with deep conviction that Christ was the Messiah and they had His blood on their hands  – this conviction of sin was needed for repentance.

The message was/is to repent, to be baptized and that God will keep his promise of eternal life.  This does not contradict the doctrine that faith is all – we don’t have real faith unless we see ourselves clearly.   We are reborn and changed people and baptism is a public sign of this personal commitment.  Baptism and good works are a result of real faith but they are an outcome of faith – a result of faith.