Monday of Whitsun Week
Posted on June 6, 2022 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
This One who had done no wrong, but was sentenced to death, brought about the miraculous preaching that day; each one heard the speaker’s voice in his own native language. The message, then, must be true: this Jesus was exalted on high, even to the position of exercising the authority and might of God. He is the Christ, the Lord!
Who is? The first words echo back, “This Jesus, whom you crucified.” Certainly, they were cut to the heart! The weight of their guilt is palpable, and what shall they do to be saved from what they deserve for such a crime? Peter’s response, though, was not one of what they must do, but of what they needed to have done to them: they needed to be baptized because of what is revealed in Christ. They needed to be baptized so that they would be clean as only His work could clean them. Baptism would give them a clean and renewed heart and mind through the washing away of sins and the giving of the Holy Spirit.
The leaders of the Jews had said, “Let His blood be on us and on our children.” Here Peter tells them that both they and their children could receive this gift of faith in Christ. Each one must be washed for one’s own sins, because each made it necessary for the Christ to suffer and die; each must receive the washing that applies the merit of His death and brings life to each believer.
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, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for the Monday of Whitsun Week.
O God, Who didst give Thy Holy Spirit to Thine Apostles: Grant unto Thy people the performance of their petitions, so that on us to whom Thou hast given faith, Thou mayest bestow also peace; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
