In many ways, this verse is central to the topic of baptism in the Bible. The day of Pentecost marks a change, as this is the day that many of the promises of God made previously – both by the prophets of old and more recently by John the Baptist and Jesus Himself – were fulfilled.

Acts chapter 2 is where the church began. Verse 1 is the dawn of the day of Pentecost, and this 38^th verse is the start of the culmination of the events of that day. It will be well worthwhile reading this chapter now as we try to get this verse in it’s context, and possibly even keep your Bible open at this page while I attempt to summarise the verses leading up to this 38^th verse. The first part of the chapter relates to the coming of the Holy Spirit:

• At the start of the day, all of the hundred and twenty disciples that we saw earlier in Acts 1v15-26, were together in the same place. They were all in one accord, quite possibly because they were praying and worshipping together (verse 1).

• As they were together, a sound like a rushing mighty wind came and filled the whole house (verse 2). This sound originated in Heaven.

• After this came cloven tongues like fire, which rested on each of them (verse 3). This was a manifestation of the Holy Spirit that was first promised by John the Baptist (Matthew 3v11 {4}, Mark 1v8 {20}, Luke 3v16 {33}, John 1v33), and then more recently by Jesus (Acts 1v5 {54}).

• Then they began to speak with other tongues (languages that they had not learnt), as the Holy Spirit used their voices to give them the ability to speak (verse 4). This was another manifestation of the Holy Spirit, and had also been promised by Jesus, as recorded in Mark 16v17.

Clearly, this was the start of the promise of the Holy Spirit, fire and power that both John the Baptist and then Jesus had told of previously. The Holy Spirit had immersed and overwhelmed them to the point that they now had the power to do and say things they had never learnt before, through the supernatural power now within them.

The next part of the day related to the reaction of the people living and staying in Jerusalem:

• The people in Jerusalem at the time were devout Jews that had come from every nation to celebrate the feast of Pentecost (verses 5 and 9-11).

• The sound had been such a great one that many of the city ‘came together’ to find out what ‘the rushing mighty wind from Heaven’ had caused (verse 6).

• When the people came together, they were confounded, thinking it was marvellous that each of them heard the disciples speak in their own languages, (verses 6-8) possibly with a Galilean accent.

• The things the disciples were speaking about were the wonderful works of God (verse 11).

• The gathered crowds were amazed, and started asking each other what these things meant. They were trying to find out the heavenly reason or change that these earthly manifestations were pointing out (verse 12).

• Some of the crowd mocked and suggested that the disciples were drunk (verse 13).

The next thing to happen was that Peter stood up to explain what was going on:

• Peter stood up with the other eleven Apostles, and told all those gathered around to listen to him, as he was about to make very important proclamations (verse 14).

• The first of these was that the one hundred and twenty were not drunk, as some had supposed and then mocked the disciples (verse 15).

• Instead, this is a fulfilment of prophecy, as God had promised through Joel (verse 16).

• Peter now quotes Joel 2v28-32 (verses 17-21) and says that this is now fulfilled:

• The last days have now started, where God had promised to pour out His Spirit on all flesh (verse 17). Previously the Holy Spirit was limited in both the measure (as John the Baptist was recorded as saying in John 3v34) and spread of availability, being only available to a chosen few. From this point on, the Holy Spirit is available to all, and in the amount that Jesus Himself had. The speaking in new tongues is the first evidence that this has happened, and is the fulfilment of the promise of Jesus recorded in Mark 16v17-18.

• Sons, daughters, young men, old men, and God’s servants and handmaids are all included, and shall prophecy, dream dreams and see visions, all caused by the Holy Spirit (verses 17-18).

• Signs and wonders shall also be shown in the Heavens, Earth, Sun, and Moon in these last days (verses 19-20).

• These signs and wonders in the Heavens and heavenly bodies will happen before another day, still to come, called “that great and notable day of the Lord” (verse 20).

• Peter finishes his quotation of the prophet Joel by noting that “whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (verse 21). Clearly calling on the Name of the Lord is very important to our salvation in these last days. Peter will again mention this point as he tells the people to be baptised at the end of his message (verses 36 & 38).

As Peter continues, the next part of the message summarises the life of Jesus, especially recent events:

• Jesus (of Nazareth) was approved by God, as shown by the many miracles and signs that He did in the midst of the people, as many present had witnessed – including the gathered crowd and not just the disciples (verse 22).

• God had decided beforehand and knew what was going to happen to Jesus – it had not been an accident or failure on God’s part, but His fully thought-out and pre-determined plan (verse 23).

• Jesus was taken by the Jews, who then crucified Him through the use of the “wicked hands” of the Romans. Some of those present had been included in this group (verse 23).

• God raised Jesus up from the dead, because it was not possible for Him to stay dead (verse 24) – Peter will explain why in the next section of his message.

Now Peter turns to yet more scriptures that had foretold of Jesus and His ministry, this time the words of King David:

• David had kept the constant ministry of the Lord in his sight. As he was always looking to the Lord for his help, he kept himself from being concerned by any adverse circumstances (verse 25).

• He rejoiced in his heart, and praised God with his mouth, having a certainty of hope that his body’s resurrection and eternal rest would come in the fullness of time (verse 26).

• The “Holy One” (Peter will later show this to be Jesus) would not see his flesh decay into corruption, nor would His soul be left in hell (verse 27).

• The ways to eternal life were made known to David, and his joy was complete and overflowing due to God looking down on him (verse 28).

• David is dead and buried, and his tomb was still around in those days, so ‘The Holy One’ could not have been David talking about himself (verse 29).

• David was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn to him that one of his descendants after the flesh would be the Christ, who would sit on David’s throne (verse 30).

• David was therefore speaking beforehand of the resurrection of the Christ, ‘The Holy One’, who would not see his flesh decay into corruption, nor would His soul be left in hell (verse 31).

Peter changes now from using the word “Christ”, with the forceful words “This Jesus”. Straight away he is saying that Jesus is the Christ, and “The Holy One” foretold by David. He leaves the listener in no doubt about who Jesus is (verse 32).

• God had resurrected Jesus, which the hundred and twenty disciples could all testify to (verse 32).

• Jesus has now been exalted by the right hand of God (verse 33).

• The promise of the Holy Ghost has now been received by Jesus (verse 33).

• Jesus has now given what was His by right and promise, so that the church can and has now received the Holy Spirit, as is now seen by the speaking in tongues, witnessed on and since this day of Pentecost (verse 33).

• David had not yet ascended to heaven, but had prophesied beforehand by the Spirit of God that Jesus (his seed) was to sit at God’s right hand (verse 34, also verses 30-31).

• The ministry of Jesus is to make the enemy of our soul into our footstool (verse 35).

• Peter now stresses his next point greatly, and so shall I: God has made this Jesus, the same one that was crucified, dead and buried, and then resurrected, into both Lord and Christ (verse 36). If they were not sure before, now there should be no doubt about who Jesus is. When we put this verse together with verse 21, seen earlier, we can see that Peter is saying that it is important to call upon the name of Jesus in order to be saved. We will find that he becomes even more specific in verse 38.

• Peter in verse 36 also stresses again the point first made in verse 23 – that at least some of those he was talking to had been responsible for crucifying Jesus. The gathered crowd most likely contained part of the crowd that had asked for Pilate to crucify Him, as recorded in Mark 15v13-14, Luke 23v18-23 and John 19v6-15.

The word of God will always challenge the listener, and expect a response from them. Those present were now convinced of their sin, especially in regard to having crucified Jesus. So, in verse 37, we find that “Now when they (the crowd) heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?” – reading between the lines, the implied question was ‘how do we escape the judgement for what we have done?’ The conviction had come into their hearts, and they saw a need for a change in their lives, but were not sure what to do, or which way to turn.

At this point, let us remind ourselves that Peter is effectively preaching the first message to start the church. It is important to remember that Peter had been promised the keys to the kingdom of Heaven by Jesus (Matthew 16v18-19) as we study his message. Here in Acts 2v38 he is about to disclose, apply and use those keys, and open the gates to the kingdom of heaven. (For an explanation of why I believe that the church now has these keys, please see also section {91})

Peter in this verse lists three positive actions that every believer must take in order to be saved from the judgement of the sin in their lives:

What must I do to be saved? Positive action 1 Repent of all sin Acts 2v38 Repentance from sin was nothing new – we have already seen it as part of baptism from the start of the ministry of John the Baptist. Repentance had in fact been part of the law since the time of Moses. It is still as important today as it was back then, although we now have a better revelation of how to express our true repentance, as Peter shows later in this verse.
What must I do to be saved? Positive action 2 Be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ Acts 2v38 Peter had already clearly shown during his message that it was important to call on the name of the Lord to be saved. He had also shown that Jesus – the same one that was crucified, dead and buried before being resurrected – was both Lord and Christ. Here he becomes more specific in one of the ways that we must call on the name of Jesus – by being baptised in His name. Baptism is now a greater revelation of how to express the true repentance that we are called to. It is now through baptism rather than the blood sacrifices of animals that we can show our true turning away from sin and back towards God. It is through baptism that we can become partakers of the blood sacrifice of the sinless Jesus (Romans 5v9-11, John 1v28-29 {45}). This is also why we are baptised in His name.
	What must I do to be saved? God’s blessing Remission of all sin Acts 2v38 It is also very important to notice the promise attached to these first two positive actions. As we have already seen, Peter and the Apostles had been given the right by Jesus to decide whose sins would be remitted (John 20v23). Peter now reveals a part of God’s new covenant – if we truly repent of our sins, and are baptised in the name of Jesus, God is bound by His word to keep His part of the covenant – He does this by giving us remission of sins. This remission ensures that we no longer have to pay the penalty for those sins, because Jesus has already paid the price for us.
What must I do to be saved? Positive action 3 Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit Acts 2v38 Peter here reveals something that people still need to realise today – that the Holy Spirit is a gift. There is nothing that we can do to deserve the gift – God doesn’t give the Holy Spirit because of what you can give to Him. The Holy Spirit is like a cheque (or check if you like) that you have in your hand – you may have the promise of the million pounds, dollars, euros, or rupees, but until you take it to the bank and exchange it for cash then you can’t receive the blessing that is promised. The Holy Spirit is there and available for all those that mix their desire and belief. Notice also that the Holy Spirit is another of God’s blessings and a gift for those that believe.

When we look at the next verse, we will find Peter’s answer to the question that some would ask - ‘Is this still relevant to me, today?’ Peter told the crowd that the promises of God were not just for those present, but also for their children and descendants, as well as “all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call” (2v39). Clearly non-inclusion for reasons of ancestry, time, distance, or any other reason was not an option. God was not going to limit His blessings to only those able to be present on the day of Pentecost. In other words, this promise is still as relevant today as it was back on the day of Pentecost.

Peter’s use of the word translated here as “promise” shows that this is part of the revelation of God’s New Covenant – or contract. He is showing us that if we do our part, God is bound by His Word to perform His part of the contract.

For those that still today would baptise people in any other name than the name of Jesus, Peter addresses this in Acts 4v10,12, where Peter states in front of the High Priest and all of his family, scribes, elders and rulers that “by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth . . . Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” In other words, it is only possible to be saved by using the name of Jesus, and no other name that men can know will be sufficient. The response to this was the direct opposition to any more teaching or preaching in the name of Jesus, as seen in Acts 4v18. This opposition to the name of Jesus continues today, and is ultimately traceable back to the High Priests, scribes and elders of Jesus’ time. The extraordinary thing about it is that this spirit of anti-Christ is not only found among non-Christians, but has found it’s way into the church, and can be seen among those professing to be Christians as well.

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