Peter continued his sermon, now pointing to Jesus. Jesus was a man from Nazareth but His divinity had been attested to by God through mighty works, wonders, and signs that God did through Him in their presence. Jesus was then delivered over to the hands of lawless men to be crucified and killed, not by chance, but by the foreknowledge of God. This had been God’s plan all along. But God raised Him up releasing the pain of death because He could not be held by death. Jesus, as a man could and had to experience physical death, but as God and because of His perfection, it was impossible for Him to remain dead.

Peter referred to Psalm 16 as a prophetic psalm about Jesus. Peter explained that David, who wrote the psalm, had died and was buried in a tomb they could visit. David acted as a prophet with the promise from God that one of his descendants would sit on his throne and wrote about Him who would not be left dead and whose body would not decay. “This Jesus God raised up.” And Peter declared that the disciples with him were all witnesses (1 Cor 15:5-7). Jesus was not in a tomb that they could visit. Peter then explained that Jesus has been exalted to the right hand of the Father and sent the Holy Spirit as He promised He would. That is what everyone was witnessing that Pentecostal morning. Peter then pointed to David’s prophecy in Psalm 110, David did not ascend into heaven, Jesus did. David also recognised the Messiah as his master when he declared that Jesus would sit at the Father’s right hand and perform His priestly duty (Ps 110:4) during the church age “until I [the Father] make your enemies your footstool.” Peter concluded with a call to all of Israel to recognise that God had esteemed Jesus, whom they crucified, as both Lord and Christ. They had accused Jesus of blasphemy for referring to Himself as God, but the Father affirmed His deity because God does not share His glory with another (Isa 42:8).

Hearing that they had crucified their Messiah, they were cut to the heart and asked Peter what they should do. Their question and Peter’s answer indicate that they believed in Jesus. Peter addressed the generation who had seen Jesus’ earthly ministry and rejected Him. Now they needed to reestablish fellowship with Him through repentance (of their role in the crucifixion of the Messiah) and baptism, then they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This was a unique situation for that generation of Jews (Gentiles who believed received the Holy Spirit before their baptism, Acts 10:43-48; 11:15-18). Repentance and baptism are not a condition for eternal life, which is by faith alone (Eph 2:8-9). It was a requirement for this generation of Jews to publicly identify with Jesus and distance themselves from the actions of the nation. Peter concluded that the gift of the Holy Spirit was available to them, their children, and all Jews, even those not with them (the promise of the Holy Spirit for the Gentiles was not yet understood, that would come later, Acts 10). Peter urged them all to be saved from the judgment that would befall that generation (Matt 21:41-44; 22:7). That day the church grew from about 120 to just over three thousand.

Jesus is not in a tomb that you can visit. That is the crux of the gospel message. Jesus is seated at the right hand of God the Father and has done everything to reestablish your relationship with the Father—no matter what you have done. What could be worse than the sin of crucifying the Messiah? And they were offered forgiveness and a relationship with the Father (Rom 5:10). Do you still need to believe? What’s holding you back? Have you strayed from God? What’s keeping you away?