“When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “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…”
Imagine that! At Jesus’ instruction, Peter was offering forgiveness and new life to the very ones who had condemned Jesus to death! His death…His blood…His forgiveness…embraced the whole world, even those who had committed the most heinous of crimes. They had demanded that God Himself, the one who had come in person, in human form, to reveal Himself to them…be eliminated because He was not to their liking!
Grace had won!
“Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.”
How many were in the crowd, baying for His blood? We have no idea. But remember something significant. The Bible is precise. how many died when God’s wrath fell on the Israelites when the broke the covenant…after they had danced around a golden calf?
“I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.” …The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died.”
Exodus 32:9-10, 28 NIV
Was it coincidence that exactly three thousand Jews came back to life…newly born-again believers from God’s own people became the firstfruits of the new “Israel”?
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
What a transformation! From angry, fist-waving enemies to humble, submissive children of Jesus…the Most High God…who had won their devotion and allegiance. When once they had repudiated everything He had taught them, now they couldn’t get enough of the truth that had saved them.
“Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
Acts 2:37-38, 41-47 NIV
These were halcyon days! The new-born church was a phenomenon not even the most fanatical of skeptics could ignore. Jesus was at work, gathering in the harvest heralded at Pentecost. And it was growing…daily…like a new-born baby.
Jerusalem was alight with a fire no human could extinguish. People everywhere in the city knew that something miraculous had happened that they could not deny. The Jesus they had tried so hard to eliminate was alive and active in the lives of thousands…and they liked it…at first!
The believers were nice. They were full of love…a different kind of love…not a love that was regulated by laws and requirements…but a spontaneous love that reached out in kindness and generosity to one another. They did everything together…a great big family of brothers and sisters, full of joy and laughter.
Jesus was at work, building His church, one stone at a time. The fire of the Holy Spirit was spreading across the city, and out…beyond…wherever His people went. It had to be because the euphoria would not last.
The favour the believers enjoyed would soon turn to a dangerous hostility. Remember! The ringleaders of the opposition were still there…and the unseen, implacable enemy who egged them on was still fanning the flames of hatred and murder. Just give them a chance and they would do everything in their power to stamp out the fire that had burst upon the world a few weeks before.
To be continued