“Thank You, Lord Jesus, that You are calling us as nations of the world to be reconciled with You and come into Your habitat. Lord, You do not want anyone to perish but that all should come into the fullness of life in You. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.”
Acts 2:15-16 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. (16) But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
Peter is making the mockers know that this miraculous event of the disciples praising God for all His wonderful works, in different languages, is a fulfilment of the prophecy of Joel.
These were devout Jews and were fully conversant with the Old Testament. Peter took them to the prophecy of Joel, for this was familiar ground for this group.
We will now look at the prophecy in Joel, which Peter was quoting.
Joel 2:28-32 “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. (29) And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. (30) “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. (31) The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. (32) And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the LORD has said, Among the remnant whom the LORD calls.
Peter stopped by saying, “…whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved”. Peter, obviously, was challenging this audience of Jews to come to faith in Jesus.
This Jewish audience knew that Peter had stopped at a particular point in the prophecy. They also knew the whole context of the prophecy that Peter was referring to. God was longing for His people, as well as all the nations, to be restored to the fullness of life in Him.
Joel 2:12-17 “Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” (13) So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm. (14) Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him—A grain offering and a drink offering For the LORD your God? (15) Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; (16) Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, And the bride from her dressing room. (17) Let the priests, who minister to the LORD, Weep between the porch and the altar; Let them say, “Spare Your people, O LORD, And do not give Your heritage to reproach, That the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’ “
The baptism of the Holy Spirit and the disciples speaking in different languages should not be seen as a ‘standalone’ miracle. As the disciples spoke in different languages of the wondrous works of God, they were articulating the heart of God that restores His people to Himself.
This is the message that Peter brought across to this Jewish group. They needed to repent and return to God so that God’s fullness would fall on them. They would then become those through whom God’s message of reconciliation would go out to the nations.
When people repent and return to the Lord, what will be His response?
Joel 2:21-27 Fear not, O land; Be glad and rejoice, For the LORD has done marvelous things! (22) Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field; For the open pastures are springing up, And the tree bears its fruit; The fig tree and the vine yield their strength. (23) Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the LORD your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you—The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month. (24) The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. (25) “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. (26) You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame. (27) Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the LORD your God And there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame.
This was the wonderous works of God that God was speaking through the tongues of the disciples when they were baptised with the Holy Spirit. We can now understand how this must have been for this Jewish group. This was what they longed for.
The church must articulate the heart of God to the nations.