Monday in Whitsuntide
Posted on May 24, 2021 by under
Scripture: Acts 2:33-41 (NKJV)
2:33 Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.
34 “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself:
‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand,
35 till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”’
36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
Devotion
While attending seminary I had to take two courses on preaching. One professor liked to emphasize the use of stories and illustrations in a pastor’s sermon. So, many of the sermons presented were long on stories, while short on theology. What I found interesting was that this same professor, out of the many Lutheran churches he could have attended, liked the preaching of a man who rarely used stories or illustrations in his sermons. Why?
“Then [Jesus] said to them, ‘Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem’” (Luke 24:46-47). Maybe there is something to be said about listening to Jesus and what He taught as central to preaching.
Should anyone really be surprised that Jesus’ instruction was focused on preaching repentance and forgiveness of sins? The disciples of Jesus had heard the preaching of Jesus’ forerunner, John the Baptist. The message he brought was quite clear, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matt. 3:2). This is the same message which the prophets had preached for centuries.
If there was anyone who could have told great stories, it was Peter. He was witness to countless miracles of Jesus. Instead, Peter preached repentance and forgiveness of sins, “and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.”
Prayer: O God, who didst teach the hearts of Thy faithful people by sending to them the light of Thy Holy Spirit, grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things and evermore to rejoice in His holy comfort; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
