Acts 2:37, commentary and pictures

At Pentecost the hearers heard Peter's bold testimony that the same Jesus whom they had rejected and crucified God had raised and exalted and made both Lord and Christ and Son of God, and pierced in heart by what they heard they asked Peter and the rest of the apostles what they should do. That piercing was the Holy Spirit driving the message home with divine power, unfolding and glorifying Jesus before them and convicting them of guilt in crucifying the Son of God and awakening them to danger and need of salvation. Their question expresses convicted desire to respond and seek salvation, and it was answered directly with a call to repent and be baptized every one in the name of Jesus Christ for remission of sins and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost promised to them and their children and all afar off. Those who gladly received the word were baptized that same day, about three thousand souls added, continuing steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and prayers, as sincere Jews convicted that Jesus was the Messiah abandoned priestly traditions and were converted. Preaching centered on Christ lifted up as Prince and Saviour to give repentance and forgiveness and as the Lamb of God still pricks hearts and leads hearers to ask what they must do to be saved, while sermons that argue doctrine but leave out Christ do not produce this response.

Pentecost Setting and Hearers

The verse belongs to the connected narrative of Acts 2:1-47, set at Pentecost when the disciples had received the Holy Spirit and preached the risen Savior to people gathered in Jerusalem for a religious festival. That Spirit-empowered witness reached listeners in their own languages. At that time the believers were united and gathered together in one place, and the Holy Spirit worked powerfully through them.

The second chapter of Acts is to be read and received and presented to others. It calls for deeper piety and the sincere meekness of the Great Teacher, and with the whole book of Acts it teaches all to humble the individual heart and be converted daily.

What the hearers heard was Peter's firm, bold testimony about Christ to people who had rejected Jesus and demanded His crucifixion. He testified that God had raised and exalted Jesus, the same Jesus whom they crucified, and had made Him both Lord and Christ and Son of God. When they heard the disciples testify that the crucified Jesus was the Son of God and the Messiah, they were convicted deeply.

The chapter's witness at Jerusalem made the gospel known in a major center of influence. It is a model for giving a clear, influential representation of present truth in the nation's capital.

Spirit-Given Conviction of Heart

The pricking of the heart was not produced by argument alone, for the apostles' reasoning could not overcome prejudice, but the Holy Spirit gave their arguments power to reach the heart and drove the message home with divine power, making the truth convicting and effective. What pierced the hearers was the Spirit's work through the preaching, turning human words into a power that cut into the conscience.

That conviction came because the Spirit unfolded Jesus and glorified Him before eyes that before had seen no beauty in Him to desire Him. Jesus was lifted up in a sermon preached in demonstration of the Spirit and with power, and the glorious inner beauties of His work and character were opened to them. Those beauties natural eyes cannot discern, because it is the Spirit that quickens, and when Christ was thus exalted as Prince and Saviour to give repentance and forgiveness of sins, as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, souls were brought to repentance.

They were convicted of guilt in rejecting and crucifying Christ, and when they realized they had crucified the Son of God, conviction and anguish seized and pierced their hearts. Hearing the testimony that God had raised and exalted Jesus and made Him Lord and Christ and Son of God, the same Jesus whom they had crucified, deeply convicted the listeners. To be pricked or cut to the heart is to be deeply convicted and pierced by what was heard, awakened to danger and need for salvation, and the heart must be so stirred before anyone will seek healing from Christ.

Such stirring and moving of hearts by the proclamation of the gospel is the proper result of preaching in the demonstration of the Spirit and with power. Plain, sharp truths from God's word cut hearers to the heart and reach the heart to convict, and when such truths are not spoken people are not brought to this conviction. The living word of God cutting into hearts brings conviction, and its power to impress and change hearts remains and must be used earnestly.

Question Asked and Answered

Under deep conviction the hearers spoke to Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do. Their question was the cry of hearts pierced by the testimony that God had raised and exalted Jesus and made Him Lord and Christ, expressing desire to respond to the truth heard and need to know how to answer conviction. Conviction of sin in this way leads people to seek salvation and a way to respond to God, turning to Christ and seeking the pearl of great price. Hearing truth with such deep conviction can still move a person to ask what must be done.

The question received a direct answer beginning with repentance. They were told to repent and be baptized every one in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and they would receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. That gift was promised to them and to their children and to all afar off, as many as the Lord God shall call, with the exhortation to save themselves from the untoward generation. Repentance for rejecting Christ is the response that can save from impending ruin. It answers the evidence that Jesus is the promised Messiah, whose life, ministry, and death fulfilled prophecy and the meaning of the sacrificial system, and those who heard were brought under Christ's control and joined believers in seeking salvation.

Those who gladly received the word were baptized the same day, about three thousand souls added, through which the work of proclaiming Christ moved forward. They continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayers. They continued daily with one accord in the temple and from house to house, eating with gladness and singleness of heart and praising God, while the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

The preaching of Jesus' saving work convicted its hearers and led thousands to conversion. The explanation of the mystery of the cross and other truths about the Messiah convinced sincere, devout Jews that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God, and many who had mocked Jesus as no pretender became thorough converts to Christ. The hearers abandoned priestly traditions and superstitions and accepted the pure teachings of God's Word. The words heard remained in many hearts, awakening new thoughts and hopes, and after Christ's crucifixion and resurrection they came forward to carry out their commission with wisdom and zeal.

Christ-Centered Preaching Pattern

Preaching centered on Christ's saving power and blood pricks hearers' hearts and moves them to ask what they must do to be saved, while sermons that present subjects only as arguments do not produce this response. Arguing about the law but leaving out Christ does not awaken it either. The conviction that brought three thousand souls to repentance after the ascension came because the Spirit unfolded Jesus and glorified Him before eyes that before saw no beauty in Him to desire Him. Jesus was lifted up in a sermon preached in demonstration of the Spirit and with power, and the glorious inner beauties of His work and character, which natural eyes cannot discern because it is the Spirit that quickens, were opened to them. Their response came from Christ exalted to be Prince and Saviour to give repentance and forgiveness of sins, and lifting up Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world still brings souls to repentance.

When the word of God is preached in demonstration of the Spirit and with power, hearts are stirred and moved by the proclamation of the gospel, and that moving of hearts is the proper result of Spirit-filled preaching. God is no less willing to bestow His blessing and power on laborers now than in the apostles' day, so a present lack of power to move people is not because He withholds what He gave then. The preaching of the gospel in the apostles' day stirred people's hearts and moved them to respond. Hearing truth with deep conviction can still move a person to ask what must be done. That question also calls the minister to recognize the eternal stakes of preaching, for when he sought God and then exalted the Saviour and His love, revival followed.

Peter's Spirit-inspired preaching at Pentecost pierced his hearers' hearts and led them to ask the apostles what they should do, with conviction coming as a response to the message. His bold witness at the same time shows his own restoration through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. The verse belongs to a work of intercession, conviction, and genuine conversion, in which preaching empowered by the Holy Spirit convicted hearers' hearts and led them to seek what they should do. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, the disciples testified to Christ in the Pentecost witness in Jerusalem, and the hearers were moved to ask what they should do. The response led to preaching repentance and forgiveness of sins in Christ's name, and those who heard carried the message onward to other places.

Present Call to Respond

The promise of the Spirit's work in the church was not shut up to Pentecost but continues wherever people are invited to accept Christ's pardoning love, for the gift offered to them and their children and to all afar off whom God shall call still follows repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for remission of sins. The history of the early church during and immediately after Pentecost is instruction for God's people in later times, describing experiences they are likewise to pass through. That instruction calls for deeper piety and the sincere meekness of the Great Teacher, for the second chapter of Acts is to be read and received and presented to others, and with the whole book of Acts it teaches humbling of the individual heart and daily conversion.

Sinners are to be converted now in the same way as when the Holy Spirit came upon preachers who went out and preached the Word everywhere and thousands were converted in a day, and believers have something to do in it. That work requires receiving the self-denying life of Christ, taking the Bible from house to house and reading to people, waking from stupor and indifference, and not sleeping in this judgment hour while a world must be saved and a message must be given. Hearing truth with deep conviction can still move a person to ask what must be done, and the question also calls the minister to recognize the eternal stakes of preaching; when he sought God and then exalted the Saviour and His love, revival followed.

After the descent of the Holy Spirit the disciples went forth to proclaim a risen Saviour with salvation of souls as their one desire, rejoicing in communion with saints, tender, thoughtful, and self-denying. In word and deed they revealed the love Christ commanded in order to awaken it in others, a love believers are to cherish in willing obedience to the new commandment to love one another as Christ loved, closely united to Him and justified by His righteousness. After rebuking sin and humbling the penitent, God meets them with tender sympathy, for the heart must be stirred before people seek healing from Christ, and deep conviction awakens them to danger and need of salvation so that they ask what they must do. That same conviction leads to recognizing sin and seeking what must be done in practical fruit, as when a backslider and his companion repented, confessed their wrongs to those they had harmed, and made restitution, their changed lives showing conversion.

What must be done to be saved is the most important concern to set before the minds of the sick. God's truth can powerfully convict sinners, and a message can cut hearers to the heart so that even the most wicked opposers are deeply moved and weep like children. Hearing a message can still pierce the heart, and the world may be more receptive to the message and more deeply affected by the prayers of God's people than those who know the truth but are spiritually cold.