Acts 2:22, commentary and pictures

Peter stood before the men of Israel at Pentecost to declare that Jesus of Nazareth had been openly shown to be sent from God by the miracles and wonders and signs worked through Him in their midst, which they themselves had seen and knew. He spoke with unhesitating boldness in the power of the Spirit to a crowd gathered at Jerusalem from every nation, after the disciples had waited together in united prayer for the promised power to witness. The works proved His divine character shining through His humanity and left His hearers without excuse for rejecting Him, for they had reason to believe yet chose darkness rather than to seek the truth. That testimony lifted up the crucified One before eyes that had seen no beauty in Him, proclaiming His suffering foretold by the prophets, His resurrection as God's answer to those who sealed the tomb, and His exaltation as both Lord and Christ. Preached in this Spirit-inspired way by one restored and made courageous through prayer, the message cut to the heart those who had shared in His death and brought three thousand to repentance in one day, leaving the chapter as a model and call for God's people to seek the same Spirit, deeper piety, and daily conversion.

Context and Plain Meaning

The verse belongs within the full Pentecost narrative of Acts 2:1-47. It was spoken in Jerusalem to the multitudes assembled there for the great religious festival. Jews from every nation were present and heard the message of the risen Saviour.

It was spoken after the disciples obeyed the command not to depart from Jerusalem until they received the promise of the Father. They had spent several days together with one accord, confessing sins and praying for the Holy Spirit, with power to be witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea and to the uttermost parts of the earth. The preaching followed the sudden sound of a rushing wind, cloven tongues of fire, filling with the Holy Ghost, and speaking with other tongues of the wonderful works of God. At that time the early church was united and harmoniously gathered together in one place on the day of Pentecost.

Its plain sense is that Jesus of Nazareth, as a man, was publicly approved by God among the people. That approval came by miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in their midst. These works were known to them because they themselves had witnessed that they occurred.

Peter addressed this testimony to the men of Israel. He spoke with decided, unhesitating boldness and courage in the demonstration of the Spirit, not in a timid, trembling way. His firm testimony confronted hearers who had rejected Christ and walked in darkness despite the special miracles then being wrought. It was part of the sermon that confronted them with what they had done to Jesus.

Christ Proclaimed and Rejected

The verse presents Jesus of Nazareth as the world's Redeemer, whose divine character shone through His humanity. God testified to Him and approved Him publicly among the people by miracles and wonders and signs performed through Him in their midst, works that were publicly known to the hearers themselves. Those works revealed Him as Saviour and supported the teaching about His saving work and sacrifice. At Pentecost He was boldly proclaimed as divine, the humiliated and crucified One now seated at God's right hand.

That public evidence gave the people reason to believe and laid upon them the obligation to accept it. Their rejection was therefore not excused by ignorance, for they chose not to seek and study the truth.

His coming as Messiah had been foretold, and the sacrifices had pointed to Him as the One in whom their hope of eternal life was centered. Yet the Jewish leaders in pride and enmity failed to recognize Him, rejected Him, and demanded that Barabbas, a murderer and thief, be released instead. In so doing they fulfilled prophecy without knowing it, and their course stands as a warning concerning the future history of the religious world.

Peter's witness unfolds and glorifies Jesus, lifting Him up before eyes that before had seen no beauty in Him to be desired. Through that sermon the mystery of the cross was explained, and thousands became converts, including some who had joined in mocking Him and later recognized that the accusations against Him were false. The witness culminates in declaring that God made the crucified Jesus both Lord and Christ.

The verse is joined to testimony of His crucifixion and resurrection and of His suffering as foretold through the prophets. The following account of Christ's resurrection is God's answer to the apparent victory of those who had sealed and guarded the tomb. It confronts the hearers with what they had done and charges that the rulers denied and killed Jesus, whom God raised, though acknowledging that they acted in ignorance.

Spirit's Power and Application

Peter's courage and boldness in declaring Jesus of Nazareth approved by God through miracles, wonders, and signs done among the people were strengthened by the disciples' united prayer in the upper chamber. His Spirit-inspired witness to thousands at Pentecost shows that restoration reaches the depths of the soul through the Holy Spirit. He testified before the people with boldness about Jesus, and in charging that the rulers denied and killed Jesus whom God raised, he acknowledged they acted in ignorance while Christ's suffering fulfilled what God foretold through the prophets.

Preached in the demonstration of the Spirit and with power, with Jesus unfolded and glorified and lifted up before eyes that before saw no beauty in Him, the sermon brought three thousand souls to repentance and converted three thousand in one day. Its bold proclamation that the humiliated and crucified Jesus was divine and now at God's right hand brought conviction to those who had taken part in His death. Through the explaining of the mystery of the cross thousands became converts to Christ, including some who had joined in mocking Him and later recognized that the accusations against Him were false. This was because the Spirit quickens and opens natural eyes to discern the glorious inner beauties of Christ's work and character.

The disciples' public witness at Jerusalem was empowered by the Holy Spirit to testify to the truth of Christ's words before the people. That witness was grounded in having spoken with the risen Christ and seen His ascension. The message of repentance and forgiveness in His name given at Jerusalem was carried by those who heard it to other places.

The chapter stands as a model for making a clear public representation of the gospel in an influential city, with Peter's witness in Jerusalem showing the message about Jesus proclaimed to people gathered there. Jerusalem was a major center of influence where heaven's light was to shine powerfully through the Lord's witnesses, supporting the duty to establish a clear representation of the truth in important centers, including the nation's capital. As on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and they went out and preached the Word everywhere with thousands converted in a day, sinners are still to be converted. Believers have a part in this by receiving that same Spirit and living the self-denying life of Christ, waking from stupor and indifference to give the message to a world to save in this judgment hour, taking the Bible from house to house to make people hungry to hear the Word, and trusting God to enlarge small human efforts to satisfy hungry souls.

The verse belongs within the full Pentecost narrative of Acts 2:1-47. The second chapter of Acts is to be read and received and presented to others, teaching deeper piety and the sincere meekness of the Great Teacher. With the whole book of Acts it calls for humbling of individual hearts and daily conversion. The history of the early church during and immediately after Pentecost is an experience God's people are to study because they must pass through similar experiences.