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Acts 2 Commentary

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Acts 2:1-4

The Holy Spirit arrives as promised. With the sound of wind and the appearance of flaming tongues, the disciples are filled by the Spirit and speak languages they did not know beforehand.

Jewish pilgrims and immigrants from all over the Roman Empire have come to Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost. They hear the disciples speaking about God’s deeds in the native languages of the foreign places where they were from.

Acts 2:14-18

Peter begins a sermon to explain to the Jewish pilgrims why they are speaking in foreign languages. The Spirit of God has been poured out on His people, as predicted by the prophet Joel.

Acts 2:19-21

Peter quotes more from Joel’s prophecies. Prior to the day of the Lord’s judgment, there will be signs and wonders and darkness on the earth. But whoever calls on God will be saved.

Acts 2:22-28

Peter preaches that Jesus’s death was part of God’s plan, and that He has been resurrected from death by God. King David had prophesied this resurrection in his psalms.

Acts 2:29-36

Peter tells the crowd that he and the other disciples are witnesses to Jesus’s resurrection. They have seen Him alive again. And now He has ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of God. The Jewish people are called to realize that they crucified God’s messiah.

Acts 2:37-41

Some of the Jews are ashamed that they put God’s messiah to death. They ask Peter what to do, and he calls them to repent and be baptized in Jesus’s name. Then the Holy Spirit will dwell in them too. 3000 people repent and are baptized.

Acts 2:42-47

The disciples of Jesus devote themselves to learning from the apostles and taking care of one another. They sell property to provide for their fellow believers. Everyone continues to feel the fear of God in them as the apostles perform wonders and signs.

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Chapter Context

The apostles and disciples of Jesus wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost (the Feast of Weeks), the Holy Spirit arrives with the sound of rushing wind. Tongues of fire appear over the heads of the disciples, and they begin to speak in foreign languages by the power of the Holy Spirit. Filled with the Holy Spirit, they go out into the streets of Jerusalem and attract the attention of the Jews who have made pilgrimage there to celebrate Pentecost. These Jews are from all over the Roman Empire and speak different languages, so the Holy Spirit communicates through Jesus’s disciples in their native tongues, preaching the greatness of God.

Peter gives a sermon, explaining that Jesus was the Son of God and God’s Messiah, and that He was crucified by the hands of wicked men according to God’s design. But Jesus resurrected and now sits at the right hand of God. Peter’s audience asks him what they must do, and he calls them to repent and be baptized. Three thousand people are baptized in response.

With the Holy Spirit working through the apostles, the first Christian church emerges. The apostles continue to perform miracles from God. The believers share all of their possessions, food, and houses to support one another. They dedicate themselves to learning from the apostles and praying. Every day new people join the church.