The Stranger and we strangers
Commentary
Knowing Jesus, that is, in the biblical sense of knowing, assumes that we are in an intimate relationship with him that goes far beyond our rational or intellectual awareness of his life and time. Not even the ability to quote a myriad Bible verses enables us to know him.
Actually, our ability to know Jesus is God's work. That work, our three lessons tell us in different ways, is the baptism by which we are brought into relationship with the Triune God. Through that sacrament we discover who we are: children of God in Christ Jesus and sisters and brothers to one another. Those new relationships also make us strangers to the world and its ways, strangers to certain ways of living and acting and even thinking.
The further we become estranged from the world, the closer we become identified with the Stranger who demonstrated to the world how different he was.
Acts 2:14a, 36-41
The first half-verse of our pericope introduces the reader once again to Peter, along with the other eleven, responding by way of sermon to the miracle of Pentecost. Verse 36 concludes Peter's sermon on that day, and the remaining verses describe the response to that sermon among those who listened.
The word "therefore" in verse 36 looks back to the previous verses where, Peter argued, David himself prophesied both the resurrection of Jesus and his ascension to the right hand of the Father. The result of that resurrection-ascension combination has led God to make him "both Lord and Messiah," and he who sits at God's right hand is the "Jesus whom you crucified."
We would not even need the following words to imagine the fear that struck that audience. They had just been told they had killed the King's Son, and that realization had to make them tremble in their sandals. Nevertheless, the author tells us "they were cut to the heart" and pleaded with Peter and the rest of the apostles to instruct them what to do now that they were in serious trouble.
In one sense, Peter's response to the question is quite similar to that given by John the Baptist when the multitudes, the tax collectors, and the soldiers all heard his sermon about the axe being laid to the root of the trees and every non-fruit bearing tree being cut down. Each group asked him, "What shall we do?" His answer to each group was to live a lifestyle opposite to the one of choice at the moment (Luke 3:7-14). John's sermon that attracted all the attention in the first place is summed up a few verses earlier: "preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins" (3:3). Turning one's life around 180 degrees is what repentance means, and so John filled in the necessary dots. Peter likewise responded to "What shall we do?" with the message, "Repent, and be baptized everyone one of you.." He was calling on those who had "crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law" (v. 23) to turn around. Peter's call to baptism had as its goal "the forgiveness of your sins," as did John's (v. 38), but for Peter -- on this side of Easter and Ascension and even the gift of the Holy Spirit -- the baptism was specifically "in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins; and you shall receive the Holy Spirit" as the apostles had earlier on that day. Peter further announced that "the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away," words that are reminiscent of Isaiah 57:19, where the Lord promises peace "to the far and to the near." Then the apostle adds a new twist to the words of Joel 2:32, "all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered," by announcing the promise is for "everyone whom the Lord calls to him." Now the calling is the Lord's action; indeed it is the Lord's election not of a nation but of individuals within the nation who are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Faced with the option of being strangers called by God or identified with "this corrupt generation," three thousand persons were baptized that day. No stranger could they have become to the world than to become God's children in a new age.
1 Peter 1:17-23
The bookends of our pericope pick up once again the identity of the audience as "exiles of the Dispersion" (v. 1). In the opening verse the author exhorts the readers to conduct themselves appropriately "during the time of your exile." The final verse explains what makes these readers exiles in the world: "you have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God" (v. 23; see also v. 3). The bookends identify the Christian readers as strangers in their world.
In between these bookends the author explains what God has done that calls them to estrangement. God has ransomed them "with the blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish." In the Old Testament the divine act of ransom appears especially -- but not only -- in regard to the deliverance of the people from exile in Babylon. Based on the conviction of the psalmist that "God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol" (Isaiah 49:15), the prophets of the exile announced to the people that "the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing" (Isaiah 35:10; 51:11; compare also Jeremiah 31:11-12). With the exception of Isaiah 43:3, however, where the ransom for the children of Israel is Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba, the actual price paid is not stated. The author of 1 Peter, however, shouts loudly and clearly the price God paid for the ransoming of the born-anew exiles called Christians: "the precious blood of Christ" (v. 19). At such a cost the ransomed of the Lord come not only singing but living "in reverent fear during the time of your exile."
This reverent fear involves not a solitary life but a life in community, a new family of sisters and brothers who, because of their purification by obedience to the truth, are called "to love one another deeply from the heart" (v. 22). The focus on loving "one another" rather than "the neighbor as yourself" derives from the teaching of Jesus. On several occasions Jesus taught this new commandment and based it on the love he showed by sacrificing himself on the cross (John 15:9, 12, 17; 1 John 4:7-
11, 19). In our pericope the command to love one another is based not only on the cross but on the resurrection (v. 21).
In this world of violence and hatred, of conflict among nations afar and families' members close-up, the command to love another can only make sense to the world's strangers.
Luke 24:13-35
The twenty-fourth chapter of Luke, the final one of this Gospel, packs one resurrection punch after another. Verses 1 through 11 report the empty tomb and the angelic interpretation of that event to "Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women" (v. 10). The apostles considered their report "an idle tale, and they did not believe them" (v. 11). Following our pericope there is reported the appearance of the Lord in Jerusalem among the apostles who were listening to the report of the two men (vv. 36-53).
The narrative is placed in the evening of Easter Day. Two men who were apparently disciples but not a duo of the remaining eleven apostles, for verse 33 indicates these two found the "eleven gathered together." In fact, the name of one is cited: Cleopas (v. 18). The two do not recognize Jesus, either by sight or by hearing his voice.
It is indeed the identity of Jesus that lies at the heart of this story. When the two men began to explain to "the stranger" what had happened back in Jerusalem, they spoke of Jesus as "Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people" (v. 19). Certainly Jesus did appear to be a prophet. Like Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 17; 2 Kings 4) Jesus raised from the dead the only son of a widow and was called "the prophet" (Luke 7:16). Like Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 17; 2 Kings 4) he miraculously fed people with a little bit of food and had much left over. Such deeds, coupled with his powerful preaching of God's word, led to the conclusion that Jesus was a prophet (Luke 9:19).
When the two men reported the events of Friday and Sunday, Jesus called them "foolish" and "slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken" (v. 25). Jesus calls others prophets, the ones called from of old to speak the word of the Lord. On the basis of their ancient preaching, Jesus asks rhetorically, "Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter his glory?" While the two men do not yet know the identity of the stranger in their midst, Jesus turns the conversation from prophet to Messiah. Furthermore, he connects the prophetic message to the Messiah's suffering on the one hand and his glory on the other. This passage is by no means the only one in the New Testament that states the suffering of the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament (see, for example, v. 46; 1 Corinthians 15:3). In actual fact, however, there are no prophecies about the suffering of the Messiah to come. There are passages about a suffering servant (Isaiah 52:13--53:12), about a suffering prophet (Ezekiel 4), about a suffering Son of man (Daniel 7). But there are no prophecies about the future and ideal Messiah that speak of his suffering. The fact of the passion and death of Jesus who is the Christ/Messiah causes a reinterpretation of the prophecies, forcing all passages about suffering to point to him. Indeed, since Jesus is indeed not only the Messiah but also the servant, the Son of man, and a prophet, the application of originally disparate traditions to Jesus brings all the trappings along. In short, the identity of Jesus and the reality of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection reinterpret the entire Old Testament in order to point to him.
The identity of Jesus finally becomes clear at the conclusion of our pericope. "He had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread." The action is described in verse 30: "he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them." While the words are quite similar to those at the feeding of the multitude at Luke 9:16 where Jesus' identity is not obvious, the words are also similar to the words of institution at 1 Corinthians 11:23-24 where his identity is precisely the issue. It is difficult to know for certain if Luke intended a sacramental allusion by his choice of words; it is difficult to read them without considering that possibility. Jesus is known to us most specifically in the sacrament of the Supper, at which time the words "This is my body" and "This is my blood" identity him as the crucified Lord. What clearer announcement of Jesus' identity can we have than the words that accompany the elements of the Supper?
Mixed with the key identity issue are a few other expressions worthy of comment. The two men reported their dismay with the words "But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel" (v. 21). Their hope was dashed by the crucifixion. But that Jesus was the object of their hope is itself interesting, because in the Old Testament the object of hope is always the Lord, the God of Israel (see Jeremiah 14:8; 17:3). That Jesus became the hope of the people indicates -- whether they knew it or not at the moment -- a divine implication about who he was.
Yet the two men must have been suspicious about the stranger's identity, because they urged him strongly to "stay with us" (vv. 28-29). While the invitation might be nothing more than an expression of Mediterranean hospitality, it might reflect the more specific possibility that they suspected the stranger was an angel. The same kind of persistence on the part of a prospective host occurs in the story of Lot when he "urged them (the two angels) strongly to stay in his house" (Genesis 19:2-3). While in our day it would seem most risky to bring into our homes a stranger on the street who might be an angelic visitor, such possibilities were very real in the biblical period. Perhaps the folks of ancient times had quite an advantage over us who live our lives in fear of strangers.
While all these themes and others appear in the pericope, the preacher cannot lose sight of the reason this story has been recorded by Luke: to demonstrate with one more resurrection appearance the reality of the Risen Lord and to indicate his presence among us from generation to generation "in the breaking of the bread." That intimacy with us in the sacrament makes us strangers no more to him but confirms at the same time how strange we must seem to the world.
FIRIST LESSON FOCUS
By Elizabeth Achtemeier
Acts 2:14a, 36-41
Picking up where we ended our reading last week, we continue this morning with Acts' account of Peter's sermon to the assembled Jews on the Day of Pentecost.
Strangely, the lectionary last Sunday was supposed to end with verse 32, and then the reading this morning begins with verse 36. But the intervening verses 33-35 are extremely important for understanding what is happening. We therefore mentioned them briefly last week and will reiterate their meaning again this week.
Because of his resurrection (v. 32; cf. Philippians 2:9), Jesus Christ has been shown to be both Lord and Christ, the Ruler of the new age of the Kingdom of God, who has been exalted in his ascension to the right hand of God, and who shares in the power of the Father. With Christ's appearance, the powers of the new age have broken into human history, his Spirit has been poured out upon his disciples gathered there, and the "last days," before the last judgment and the coming of the kingdom, of which the prophet Joel foretold, have begun. Yet, Peter tells the assembly, you crucified that Lord (v. 36). You tried to put to death the One who is now risen Lord and Messiah over all. You face condemnation in the final judgment.
Such a message does not go over well with a modern congregation, of course. Ours is a society that, on the whole, does not believe that God judges anyone. God is a loving, forgiving, comforting God, who makes us feel better about ourselves. Self-esteem and therapeutic assurances rule our day. And salvation is equivalent with getting ourselves together.
But the scriptures are quite sure that God is moving human history toward the goal of his kingdom and that before that final coming, we will all face the question of how we stand in relation to Jesus Christ. "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ," Paul writes, "so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done in the body" (2 Corinthians 4:10).
Peter's audience of devout Jews in our scripture lesson knows that. And so their reaction to Peter's account of the resurrection and lordship of Jesus Christ, and their realization that they have been among those who crucified him, cuts them "to the heart" (v. 37). "Brethren, what shall we do?" they cry out to Peter and the apostles.
Peter's answer is immediate. "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (v. 38). Repentance for sin in trust in Christ, baptism, receipt of the enabling Spirit of good -- those define the crowd's path to salvation in the last judgment (cf. v. 40).
That action that Peter prescribes is not to be taken as the absolute order that we are to follow. After all, most of you here this morning have already been baptized. And with your baptism, we believe you have received the Holy Spirit. The church has always considered that baptism and the receipt of the Spirit are given simultaneously. But obviously, all of us here this morning have need of repentance -- repentance for things we have done or left undone during this past week, repentance for our past and our proclivities to go our own way instead of God's, repentance for the fact that we have not loved our God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, or our neighbor as ourselves. We all stand in need of repentance.
The important note in our text is that little phrase "in the name of Jesus Christ" (v. 38). Always the forgiveness of our sins and our restoration to relation with our God is dependent on Jesus Christ. He is the only one by whom we can be justified and counted righteous in the eyes of our God. He is the only one who can redeem us from our sin and from eternal death. He is the only one who can present us blameless before the bar of God in the final judgment. Trust in the forgiving and saving work of Jesus Christ -- that is the foundation of Christian discipleship. That is the action by which we can be saved. And trust means that we count no longer upon our own abilities to justify and save ourselves, but that we count solely upon our Lord. We throw ourselves totally upon his mercy -- "Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner" (Luke 18:13) -- and he who is forgiving Love beyond all of our imagining declares us righteous inheritors of eternal life.
Note too in our text that when Peter tells the assembled crowd what they must do, he also proclaims to them that the promise of salvation is not only to them, assembled there in Jerusalem that day, but "the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off" (v. 39). The promise of salvation is to every generation of every nation that has lived or that shall live since Peter preached in Jerusalem. The promise is to us gathered here this morning. There are no barriers to the love of God in Jesus Christ, no barriers of race or status, of gender or condition, of class or previous unworthiness. God loves his world, every single, sinful, hurting, hungering one of us. And in his Son our Lord, God offers us reconciliation and return to his beloved company and to the joy of our Father's house.
Another note in our text: "The promise is to you and to your children" (v. 39). Our little children, our sons and daughters whom we love so very much, are loved also by the Lord of us all and called to trust in him. And we can aid that trust by telling them the story of what God in Christ has done. Are you teaching your children the story that is found in the Bible? Are you passing on to them the language of our faith? Are you accompanying them to church school and worship and teaching them how to pray? And very important, are you praying every day also for them? For God wants to welcome them, along with you, into his kingdom of eternal life.
Finally, note that our text says that the promise is to "every one whom the Lord calls to him" (v. 39). By that sentence, Peter is saying that even our trust in Christ is not our own doing. Rather, it too is a gift of God's Holy Spirit. God does it all for us, good Christians. He calls us, forgives us, justifies us, receives us, all that we may have life and have it eternally. Thanks be to God for his inestimable gift through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Actually, our ability to know Jesus is God's work. That work, our three lessons tell us in different ways, is the baptism by which we are brought into relationship with the Triune God. Through that sacrament we discover who we are: children of God in Christ Jesus and sisters and brothers to one another. Those new relationships also make us strangers to the world and its ways, strangers to certain ways of living and acting and even thinking.
The further we become estranged from the world, the closer we become identified with the Stranger who demonstrated to the world how different he was.
Acts 2:14a, 36-41
The first half-verse of our pericope introduces the reader once again to Peter, along with the other eleven, responding by way of sermon to the miracle of Pentecost. Verse 36 concludes Peter's sermon on that day, and the remaining verses describe the response to that sermon among those who listened.
The word "therefore" in verse 36 looks back to the previous verses where, Peter argued, David himself prophesied both the resurrection of Jesus and his ascension to the right hand of the Father. The result of that resurrection-ascension combination has led God to make him "both Lord and Messiah," and he who sits at God's right hand is the "Jesus whom you crucified."
We would not even need the following words to imagine the fear that struck that audience. They had just been told they had killed the King's Son, and that realization had to make them tremble in their sandals. Nevertheless, the author tells us "they were cut to the heart" and pleaded with Peter and the rest of the apostles to instruct them what to do now that they were in serious trouble.
In one sense, Peter's response to the question is quite similar to that given by John the Baptist when the multitudes, the tax collectors, and the soldiers all heard his sermon about the axe being laid to the root of the trees and every non-fruit bearing tree being cut down. Each group asked him, "What shall we do?" His answer to each group was to live a lifestyle opposite to the one of choice at the moment (Luke 3:7-14). John's sermon that attracted all the attention in the first place is summed up a few verses earlier: "preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins" (3:3). Turning one's life around 180 degrees is what repentance means, and so John filled in the necessary dots. Peter likewise responded to "What shall we do?" with the message, "Repent, and be baptized everyone one of you.." He was calling on those who had "crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law" (v. 23) to turn around. Peter's call to baptism had as its goal "the forgiveness of your sins," as did John's (v. 38), but for Peter -- on this side of Easter and Ascension and even the gift of the Holy Spirit -- the baptism was specifically "in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins; and you shall receive the Holy Spirit" as the apostles had earlier on that day. Peter further announced that "the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away," words that are reminiscent of Isaiah 57:19, where the Lord promises peace "to the far and to the near." Then the apostle adds a new twist to the words of Joel 2:32, "all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered," by announcing the promise is for "everyone whom the Lord calls to him." Now the calling is the Lord's action; indeed it is the Lord's election not of a nation but of individuals within the nation who are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Faced with the option of being strangers called by God or identified with "this corrupt generation," three thousand persons were baptized that day. No stranger could they have become to the world than to become God's children in a new age.
1 Peter 1:17-23
The bookends of our pericope pick up once again the identity of the audience as "exiles of the Dispersion" (v. 1). In the opening verse the author exhorts the readers to conduct themselves appropriately "during the time of your exile." The final verse explains what makes these readers exiles in the world: "you have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God" (v. 23; see also v. 3). The bookends identify the Christian readers as strangers in their world.
In between these bookends the author explains what God has done that calls them to estrangement. God has ransomed them "with the blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish." In the Old Testament the divine act of ransom appears especially -- but not only -- in regard to the deliverance of the people from exile in Babylon. Based on the conviction of the psalmist that "God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol" (Isaiah 49:15), the prophets of the exile announced to the people that "the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing" (Isaiah 35:10; 51:11; compare also Jeremiah 31:11-12). With the exception of Isaiah 43:3, however, where the ransom for the children of Israel is Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba, the actual price paid is not stated. The author of 1 Peter, however, shouts loudly and clearly the price God paid for the ransoming of the born-anew exiles called Christians: "the precious blood of Christ" (v. 19). At such a cost the ransomed of the Lord come not only singing but living "in reverent fear during the time of your exile."
This reverent fear involves not a solitary life but a life in community, a new family of sisters and brothers who, because of their purification by obedience to the truth, are called "to love one another deeply from the heart" (v. 22). The focus on loving "one another" rather than "the neighbor as yourself" derives from the teaching of Jesus. On several occasions Jesus taught this new commandment and based it on the love he showed by sacrificing himself on the cross (John 15:9, 12, 17; 1 John 4:7-
11, 19). In our pericope the command to love one another is based not only on the cross but on the resurrection (v. 21).
In this world of violence and hatred, of conflict among nations afar and families' members close-up, the command to love another can only make sense to the world's strangers.
Luke 24:13-35
The twenty-fourth chapter of Luke, the final one of this Gospel, packs one resurrection punch after another. Verses 1 through 11 report the empty tomb and the angelic interpretation of that event to "Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women" (v. 10). The apostles considered their report "an idle tale, and they did not believe them" (v. 11). Following our pericope there is reported the appearance of the Lord in Jerusalem among the apostles who were listening to the report of the two men (vv. 36-53).
The narrative is placed in the evening of Easter Day. Two men who were apparently disciples but not a duo of the remaining eleven apostles, for verse 33 indicates these two found the "eleven gathered together." In fact, the name of one is cited: Cleopas (v. 18). The two do not recognize Jesus, either by sight or by hearing his voice.
It is indeed the identity of Jesus that lies at the heart of this story. When the two men began to explain to "the stranger" what had happened back in Jerusalem, they spoke of Jesus as "Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people" (v. 19). Certainly Jesus did appear to be a prophet. Like Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 17; 2 Kings 4) Jesus raised from the dead the only son of a widow and was called "the prophet" (Luke 7:16). Like Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 17; 2 Kings 4) he miraculously fed people with a little bit of food and had much left over. Such deeds, coupled with his powerful preaching of God's word, led to the conclusion that Jesus was a prophet (Luke 9:19).
When the two men reported the events of Friday and Sunday, Jesus called them "foolish" and "slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken" (v. 25). Jesus calls others prophets, the ones called from of old to speak the word of the Lord. On the basis of their ancient preaching, Jesus asks rhetorically, "Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter his glory?" While the two men do not yet know the identity of the stranger in their midst, Jesus turns the conversation from prophet to Messiah. Furthermore, he connects the prophetic message to the Messiah's suffering on the one hand and his glory on the other. This passage is by no means the only one in the New Testament that states the suffering of the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament (see, for example, v. 46; 1 Corinthians 15:3). In actual fact, however, there are no prophecies about the suffering of the Messiah to come. There are passages about a suffering servant (Isaiah 52:13--53:12), about a suffering prophet (Ezekiel 4), about a suffering Son of man (Daniel 7). But there are no prophecies about the future and ideal Messiah that speak of his suffering. The fact of the passion and death of Jesus who is the Christ/Messiah causes a reinterpretation of the prophecies, forcing all passages about suffering to point to him. Indeed, since Jesus is indeed not only the Messiah but also the servant, the Son of man, and a prophet, the application of originally disparate traditions to Jesus brings all the trappings along. In short, the identity of Jesus and the reality of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection reinterpret the entire Old Testament in order to point to him.
The identity of Jesus finally becomes clear at the conclusion of our pericope. "He had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread." The action is described in verse 30: "he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them." While the words are quite similar to those at the feeding of the multitude at Luke 9:16 where Jesus' identity is not obvious, the words are also similar to the words of institution at 1 Corinthians 11:23-24 where his identity is precisely the issue. It is difficult to know for certain if Luke intended a sacramental allusion by his choice of words; it is difficult to read them without considering that possibility. Jesus is known to us most specifically in the sacrament of the Supper, at which time the words "This is my body" and "This is my blood" identity him as the crucified Lord. What clearer announcement of Jesus' identity can we have than the words that accompany the elements of the Supper?
Mixed with the key identity issue are a few other expressions worthy of comment. The two men reported their dismay with the words "But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel" (v. 21). Their hope was dashed by the crucifixion. But that Jesus was the object of their hope is itself interesting, because in the Old Testament the object of hope is always the Lord, the God of Israel (see Jeremiah 14:8; 17:3). That Jesus became the hope of the people indicates -- whether they knew it or not at the moment -- a divine implication about who he was.
Yet the two men must have been suspicious about the stranger's identity, because they urged him strongly to "stay with us" (vv. 28-29). While the invitation might be nothing more than an expression of Mediterranean hospitality, it might reflect the more specific possibility that they suspected the stranger was an angel. The same kind of persistence on the part of a prospective host occurs in the story of Lot when he "urged them (the two angels) strongly to stay in his house" (Genesis 19:2-3). While in our day it would seem most risky to bring into our homes a stranger on the street who might be an angelic visitor, such possibilities were very real in the biblical period. Perhaps the folks of ancient times had quite an advantage over us who live our lives in fear of strangers.
While all these themes and others appear in the pericope, the preacher cannot lose sight of the reason this story has been recorded by Luke: to demonstrate with one more resurrection appearance the reality of the Risen Lord and to indicate his presence among us from generation to generation "in the breaking of the bread." That intimacy with us in the sacrament makes us strangers no more to him but confirms at the same time how strange we must seem to the world.
FIRIST LESSON FOCUS
By Elizabeth Achtemeier
Acts 2:14a, 36-41
Picking up where we ended our reading last week, we continue this morning with Acts' account of Peter's sermon to the assembled Jews on the Day of Pentecost.
Strangely, the lectionary last Sunday was supposed to end with verse 32, and then the reading this morning begins with verse 36. But the intervening verses 33-35 are extremely important for understanding what is happening. We therefore mentioned them briefly last week and will reiterate their meaning again this week.
Because of his resurrection (v. 32; cf. Philippians 2:9), Jesus Christ has been shown to be both Lord and Christ, the Ruler of the new age of the Kingdom of God, who has been exalted in his ascension to the right hand of God, and who shares in the power of the Father. With Christ's appearance, the powers of the new age have broken into human history, his Spirit has been poured out upon his disciples gathered there, and the "last days," before the last judgment and the coming of the kingdom, of which the prophet Joel foretold, have begun. Yet, Peter tells the assembly, you crucified that Lord (v. 36). You tried to put to death the One who is now risen Lord and Messiah over all. You face condemnation in the final judgment.
Such a message does not go over well with a modern congregation, of course. Ours is a society that, on the whole, does not believe that God judges anyone. God is a loving, forgiving, comforting God, who makes us feel better about ourselves. Self-esteem and therapeutic assurances rule our day. And salvation is equivalent with getting ourselves together.
But the scriptures are quite sure that God is moving human history toward the goal of his kingdom and that before that final coming, we will all face the question of how we stand in relation to Jesus Christ. "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ," Paul writes, "so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done in the body" (2 Corinthians 4:10).
Peter's audience of devout Jews in our scripture lesson knows that. And so their reaction to Peter's account of the resurrection and lordship of Jesus Christ, and their realization that they have been among those who crucified him, cuts them "to the heart" (v. 37). "Brethren, what shall we do?" they cry out to Peter and the apostles.
Peter's answer is immediate. "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (v. 38). Repentance for sin in trust in Christ, baptism, receipt of the enabling Spirit of good -- those define the crowd's path to salvation in the last judgment (cf. v. 40).
That action that Peter prescribes is not to be taken as the absolute order that we are to follow. After all, most of you here this morning have already been baptized. And with your baptism, we believe you have received the Holy Spirit. The church has always considered that baptism and the receipt of the Spirit are given simultaneously. But obviously, all of us here this morning have need of repentance -- repentance for things we have done or left undone during this past week, repentance for our past and our proclivities to go our own way instead of God's, repentance for the fact that we have not loved our God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, or our neighbor as ourselves. We all stand in need of repentance.
The important note in our text is that little phrase "in the name of Jesus Christ" (v. 38). Always the forgiveness of our sins and our restoration to relation with our God is dependent on Jesus Christ. He is the only one by whom we can be justified and counted righteous in the eyes of our God. He is the only one who can redeem us from our sin and from eternal death. He is the only one who can present us blameless before the bar of God in the final judgment. Trust in the forgiving and saving work of Jesus Christ -- that is the foundation of Christian discipleship. That is the action by which we can be saved. And trust means that we count no longer upon our own abilities to justify and save ourselves, but that we count solely upon our Lord. We throw ourselves totally upon his mercy -- "Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner" (Luke 18:13) -- and he who is forgiving Love beyond all of our imagining declares us righteous inheritors of eternal life.
Note too in our text that when Peter tells the assembled crowd what they must do, he also proclaims to them that the promise of salvation is not only to them, assembled there in Jerusalem that day, but "the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off" (v. 39). The promise of salvation is to every generation of every nation that has lived or that shall live since Peter preached in Jerusalem. The promise is to us gathered here this morning. There are no barriers to the love of God in Jesus Christ, no barriers of race or status, of gender or condition, of class or previous unworthiness. God loves his world, every single, sinful, hurting, hungering one of us. And in his Son our Lord, God offers us reconciliation and return to his beloved company and to the joy of our Father's house.
Another note in our text: "The promise is to you and to your children" (v. 39). Our little children, our sons and daughters whom we love so very much, are loved also by the Lord of us all and called to trust in him. And we can aid that trust by telling them the story of what God in Christ has done. Are you teaching your children the story that is found in the Bible? Are you passing on to them the language of our faith? Are you accompanying them to church school and worship and teaching them how to pray? And very important, are you praying every day also for them? For God wants to welcome them, along with you, into his kingdom of eternal life.
Finally, note that our text says that the promise is to "every one whom the Lord calls to him" (v. 39). By that sentence, Peter is saying that even our trust in Christ is not our own doing. Rather, it too is a gift of God's Holy Spirit. God does it all for us, good Christians. He calls us, forgives us, justifies us, receives us, all that we may have life and have it eternally. Thanks be to God for his inestimable gift through Jesus Christ our Lord!
