By David Webb

We can only imagine what goes through the mind of a man when he is given irrefutable evidence that he has committed a crime.  If he has any sense of moral or ethical values at all, that man would surely feel a deep sense of guilt followed by an overwhelming dread of the punishment that will follow.

But what is beyond our comprehension is to imagine what when through the minds of the devout worshippers who were assembles in the Temple court yards on that fateful Pentecost.  They had come to Jerusalem from all regions of the Roman Empire to worship Jehovah and to give thanks for his material blessings upon their nation.  However, they now stood condemned of the worst crime any of them could possibly imagine.  They were the betrayers and the murders of the Son of God, the Messiah, the very hope of Israel, Jesus of Nazareth!

The evidence was overwhelming.  The stage had been set by the sound of a mighty wind when there was no wind, and by the visible sign of something appearing as tongues of fire sitting upon twelve men.

These twelve were immediately filled with the power of the Holy Spirit in a miraculously way, and began to speak flawlessly in the native tongues and dialects of these foreign worshippers.  Everyone recognized this as a miraculous demonstration of Jehovah's presence.

But the sermon from the man known as Peter is what brought thousands to their knees.  He gave them undeniable evidence that the man called Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah – and they had sanctioned his murder by their own wicked hands.

The evidence was threefold.  First, Peter argued that Jesus was a man approved of God by the many miracles, signs and wonders which he had performed in their very presence.  No one could deny that.

Secondly, Peter argued that David, the psalmist, prophet and beloved King of Israel, had spoken of Jesus' resurrection from the dead.  No one could deny that either.

And finally, Peter testified that he and the other apostles had seen Jesus resurrected from the dead.  And no one could deny that, for they all recognized Peter and the other apostles as being prophets of Jehovah.

What had begun as a day filled with the joy of celebrating the feast of Pentecost had now become a day of blackened dread, as the minds of the guilty thousands pondered their own fate.  Surely Jehovah's wrath would be poured out upon them.  No doubt they remembered the times in their own nation's history when Jehovah utterly destroyed the rebellious and disobedient.  Some had been struck with plagues, others were struck by fire falling from heaven, and still others were swallowed up by the earth itself.  Deep fear must have filled the hearts of these men as they looked upon the faces of the 12 apostles of the risen Jesus of Nazareth.

But perhaps some may have remembered Peter's earlier remarks, those things he said about Joel's prophecy.  They may have remembered that Joel prophesied there would be prophetic revelations on this day.  They had already heard the apostles of Jesus utter prophetic revelation in fulfillment of that prophecy.  They may have remembered that Joel prophesied of miraculous demonstrations taking place on this day also.  They had indeed been witnesses to miraculous demonstrations of Jehovah's power.  But there remained one thing which Joel prophesied which may provide the remedy for their dilemma.  Joel prophesied that, "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."  Spiritual salvation!  They still had the hope that somehow they may be saved from Jehovah's wrath.

Therefore, they said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"

As Peter stood before the massive crowd of worshippers, one thing may have become obvious.  These were still devout worshippers of the God of heaven.  They had crucified the Son of God in their own ignorance, being blinded by the traditional belief that the Messiah would come differently than Jesus came.  However, no one could possibly question their heart-felt sorrow now.  They knew they were the betrayers and murders of the Messiah, and they felt the piercing guilt of that sin rack their very souls.  They were indeed "cut to the heart."  Their sorrow and was real, their faith based upon undeniable and unquestionable evidence.

Perhaps as Peter looked into their faces he saw eyes filled with tears.  Perhaps he saw others who were weeping bitterly, as he himself had once wept over his own denial of the Savior.  These devout worshippers were now at the very point in their lives where he had been, not more than 50 days earlier.  They were now fully convicted of their sins.

But, at the same moment, perhaps Peter's face began to radiate with hope, his eyes sparkling with pure joy, knowing that he could now give them the simple answer to their dilemma.

When Peter raised his voice to answer their question, "what shall we do," we can imagine every ear straining to hear every precious word.

Then Peter spoke.  He said, "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. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call."

"Repent," said Peter.  That is, turn from your past life, and turn to serving the God of heaven.  Their repentance would produce a change of heart which would bring about a change of life.

"And be baptized."  Be immersed, as John immersed in the River Jordan.  A ceremonial washing with which every Jew was familiar.  It had always represented a ceremonial cleansing of that which was unclean, making it clean; or from that which was impure, making it pure again.  When Gentiles chose to convert to Judaism they were required to be immersed in water where they would become dead to their Gentile ways, and would be raised to begin their new life as a Jew.

"Everyone of you."  This salvation was needed by everyone, for all had sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

"In the name of Jesus Christ."  This baptism or immersion would be by the authority of Jesus, who was now the Christ, the anointed of God.  This baptism would be different from John's baptism, because it would have behind it the authority of the risen Savior, Jesus of Nazareth.

"For the forgiveness of your sins."  To receive the forgiveness of sins this baptism must be preceded by repentance and complete faith in Jesus Christ.  But baptism would not only be the final act to forgive or remove the sin of the murder of Jesus.  Peter said "sins" in the plural sense.  They could now be forgiven of all their past sins.

"And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."  The gift would be what the Holy Spirit would give – "the promise" which Peter said was made "for you and your children" (the Jews), and "for all who are far off" (the Gentiles).  That gift was the promise of being justified by faith, being one to whom God would no longer impute sin because those sins would be forever blotted out.

Peter concluded his sermon with "many other words," in which he warned them, saying, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation."

It was now their choice.  They had all been given the solution to their situation, but no one could take the first step for them.  It was theirs to make, and theirs alone.