Acts 2:36-41

Acts 2:36-41

On the day of Pentecost, Peter said to the Jewish people,

“Let the whole house of Israel know for certain

that God has made him both Lord and Christ,

this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart,

and they asked Peter and the other Apostles,

“What are we to do, my brothers?”

Peter said to them,

“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.

For the promise is made to you and to your children

and to all those far off,

whomever the Lord our God will call.”

He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them,

“Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”

Those who accepted his message were baptized,

and about three thousand persons were added that day.

Opening Prayer: Heavenly Father, you raised your Son from the dead to new life. I trust in your promise to raise me to new life with you, your Son, and your Holy Spirit. Prepare my heart this day and always for the reward of eternal happiness.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Moved and Cut to the Heart: In the Acts of the Apostles, Peter’s listeners were moved and cut to the heart by his preaching on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit empowered Peter and the other Apostles to overcome their fear. The Spirit also convicts the world of sin (John 16:7-9) and, through the Holy Spirit, the people gathered in Jerusalem recognized their guilt and came to believe that Jesus had been raised by God from the dead and that Jesus was both Lord and Christ. They believed that Jesus is truly God and truly the Savior of the world.

2. Repent and Be Baptized: Their new faith in Jesus Christ spurred them to ask Peter: “What are we to do?” Peter answers: “Repent and be baptized.” “Repentance (metánoia) is a complete change of heart and mind involving a judgment upon the past and a new direction for the future. It is one of the necessary dispositions for initial justification, following faith and hope and preceding the charity bestowed with Baptism” (Pimentel, Witnesses of the Messiah, 47). John the Baptist preached the same message at the beginning of his ministry. John’s baptism, however, was powerless to forgive sins. The baptism inaugurated by Jesus and preached by Peter was able to forgive sins. John’s baptism cleansed the people with water and led to the conversion of the heart. Peter’s baptism in the name of Jesus Christ effectively cleanses the people with the Holy Spirit and brings people into God’s family.  

3. This Corrupt Generation: When Peter speaks about forgiveness, he uses the word “release.” This evokes the image of “release from captivity,” captivity to sin (Luke 4:18; Isaiah 61:1). Peter exhorted his listeners to save themselves from this “corrupt generation” (Acts 2:40). Peter is alluding to Israel’s wilderness generation as a type or pattern of the present generation. “The first Passover immediately preceded the crossing of the Red Sea and was soon followed by the giving of the Law; the Last Supper immediately preceded the death and Resurrection of Jesus and was soon followed by the giving of the Spirit. The Israelites wandered for forty years in the wilderness because of their unfaithful refusal to enter the promised Land (cf. Num. 14:20-35), with the result that those who had refused to enter died before crossing the Jordan; Israel restored by Christ would hold out the offer of salvation for forty years in Jerusalem in the face of intense persecution, until those who refused to accept the Gospel were destroyed along with the city and Temple” (Pimentel, Witnesses of the Messiah, 49). Today’s Responsorial Psalm, Psalm 33, says that those who fear the Lord hope that God will deliver them from death and preserve them. Those who believe, repent, and are baptized will be saved from the corrupt generation that rejected the one the Father sent to redeem them.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are my savior and have cleansed me through the waters of Baptism. Teach me to repent from sin each day and turn to you and the Father. Send your Spirit into my heart and guide me so that I may behold your glorious face in heaven.

Living the Word of God: How can I best encounter Jesus today? Do I hear him call my name in prayer? Do I listen to his word in the Bible? How can I prepare my heart to receive him in the Eucharist? Do I serve the suffering Christ in the poor? What can I do better?