Peter’s Sermon at Pentecost

14 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. 15 For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is the third hour of the day; 16 but this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: Acts 2:14-21 (LSB) Read verses 17-21 on the site.

Thus began the Apostle Peter’s sermon following the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost just 10 days following our Lord’s Ascension. I am going to walk through this sermon with you so that we can see how the Gospel works when preached with power and with the right focus. Who is being glorified in vv14-21 above?…

Is it the preacher Peter? Is it those prophesying? Is it those responding? No, it is God who is causing this to happen through the moving of His mighty hand. What will be the result as Peter summarizes in v21? Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Here is that verse from Greek,

21 καὶ ἔσται πᾶς ὃς ἂν ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου σωθήσεται.“και εσται πας ος εαν επικαλεσηται το ονομα κυριου σωθησεται.Acts 2:21 (NA28)

The LSB’s rendering of “calls on” translates επικαλεσηται the Aorist, Subjunctive, Middle form of ἐπικαλέομαι (epikaleomai), which, in this context, is making use of the name of the Lord in adoration as Lord and Saviour. This is a turning to Him for salvation from the hour of judgment and wrath to come. That is how Peter opens his sermon. Let us see the rest. View article →