Acts 2:22-47: The First Sermon in the First Church

The Preacher

The disciple who denied he knew Jesus in private is now preaching the first sermon in public before thousands (with more than 3,000 converts!). How do we explain the difference? First, we have the power of the resurrection. Because Christ is risen the movement to make the kingdom of God present in the world continues, in fact at a greater pace with greater power than before. Second, we have the power of forgiveness. Peter’s forgiveness by Jesus and his reinstatement following his denial (I recommend a quick read of John 21:1-19) have set Peter free to be more than he ever thought he could be. I will resist a sermon on forgiveness and its power at this point! Third, there is the power of the Holy Spirit, empowering Peter from within. The scared Peter ready to protect his own skin has now become the bold Peter who will tell anyone the good news of God’s love, confronting the very people who took the life of his Savior. I am reminded that the biggest witness you and I have is the witness of our own changed lives. What difference has your relationship with God in Christ made in your life by the power of the Spirit? A question you will be asked at our next class meeting is “Who were you before Christ (BC) and who are you after your relationship with Christ (AD)?” For some people that change is a single dramatic event with a date and time, while for others it is a process that happens over time with key points of growth but without a definite date and time. But the presence of Christ within us by the power of the Spirit is transforming. Just ask Peter.

The Crowd

Pentecost was a marvelous feast for which many made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Those who heard were a mixture of Jews and God-fearers (a growing number of Gentiles who had a faith in God but had not yet converted to Judaism). Many of the early converts to the Christian faith and the first generation of leaders were God-fearers.

The Sermon

For an uneducated fisherman, this is a pretty sophisticated sermon, in fact one that is a pattern for most of the preaching to come. First, it is a presentation of Jesus as crucified and risen. Second, it draws on the scriptures in a way that the people would have recognized. He is proclaiming God’s word empowered by God’s Spirit. Every good sermon, or Sunday School class lesson for that matter, should do that. Third, he invites them to a point of decision – “Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38) In the baptism of John the Baptist people confessed their sins and were baptized as a sign of cleansing and an intent to live better. Christian baptism is that and more. It is a life change as we become more than religious people trying to be better, but instead people who are newly alive by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Community

The sermon did not exist in isolation. The people were invited into community in which they met regularly in worship, holy communion, fellowship and service. In the Wesleyan movement that started what is now the United Methodist Church, John and Charles Wesley, following the preaching and singing in their open air meetings, converts were invited to be part of small gatherings to encourage their faith and growth in Christ. The power of recent movements like Promise Keepers and the Walk to Emmaus to effect lasting change is not just the powerful events, but also the covenant groups that followed them (in which people are encouraged and held accountable for their relationship with God and witness). Just as the first sermon was a great pattern for preaching, so this short description in verses 42-47 (which is repeated again in Acts 4) is a pattern for being the Church. When you look at the ministry of St. Barnabas, how true to our roots are we? As we seek to be a movement of the Spirit in the 21st century, what should our ministry look like?