Peter Tells Them Jesus is the Reason for That Crazy Passover
14 But Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them: “Men of Judah and all you residents of Jerusalem, let me explain this to you and pay attention to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it’s only nine in the morning. 16 On the contrary, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
17 And it will be in the last days, says God,
that I will pour out My Spirit on all humanity;
then your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.
18 I will even pour out My Spirit
on My male and female slaves in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will display wonders in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below:
blood and fire and a cloud of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the great and remarkable Day of the Lord comes.
21 Then everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Remember, 99% of the people here in Jerusalem during Pentecost were also in town 50 days earlier for Passover. They were there and may have been in the crowd shouting “Crucify! Crucify!” about Jesus. They were probably there when Jesus died on the cross and darkness covered the whole area for a few hours.
They felt the earthquake and as word spread, they heard that the curtain in the temple was torn in half and repairs were underway.
So when Peter starts talking about the end of the world and these crazy 870-year-old prophesies from Joel, he doesn’t sound that wrong. If these earthquakes and darkness are all together in the context of the end of the world, what should we do?
That’s when Peter brings it into its original context again: whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. The new spin that Peter brings to it is that Jesus, the one who has risen from the dead after everyone killed Him — is the name to call on.
The message was enough to stick. Paul would write a similar statement in Romans, but not quoting any Old Testament Prophets:
9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9
Remember when John the Baptist asked his disciples to ask Jesus if He was the Messiah or if they should expect someone else? Jesus’ answer was basically, “What more do you want? Look at what is happening! I’m the last chance out of here!”
Peter is confirming that, also. The end of the world as we know it is happening all around us and Jesus has come to save us. Look at the events of the world, people of Judea, and see that your Savior has come.
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