Acts 2:38-41 36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. 37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. 40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. 41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Baptism In Water Settles The Issue Of Who Jesus Is

In this part of Acts we are seeing Peter preach the Gospel on the Day of Pentecost. This is around fifty days after Jesus was crucified on the Cross, and around 10 days after Jesus rose from the Grave and ascended into Heaven. Jesus told His disciples to “wait for the Promise of the Father” (Acts 1:4), that is, to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. For 10 days, 120 disciples prayed in the upper room – probably the same room where Jesus gave His Lord’s Table.

The Holy Spirit came on the Church in a mighty way, anointing the disciples with fire. Peter, on fire for the Lord, went out and began preaching the glorious Gospel of salvation. Fifty days before the crowd in Jerusalem cried out for the crucifixion of Jesus. Pilate, the Governor of Jerusalem asked the people:

Matthew 27:17 Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?

The Bible says that the “the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus”. So when Pilate asked that question, the crowd, incited by the religious leaders, said “Release Barabbas, but let Jesus be crucified”. Though Pilate asked more than once, the crowd was adamant. Jesus must die!

So Jesus died. The soldiers “stripped Him, and put on Him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon His head, and a reed in His right hand: and they bowed the knee before Him, and mocked Him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. And after that they had mocked Him, they took the robe off from Him, and put His own raiment on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him” (Matthew 27:28-31). They did not lead Jesus away to sit upon a throne, but to hang upon a tree. The soldiers led Jesus to a mock palace on a hill called Calvary. The Bible says:

Matthew 27:34-37 They gave Him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when He had tasted thereof, He would not drink. 35 And they crucified Him, and parted His garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted My garments among them, and upon My vesture did they cast lots. 36 And sitting down they watched Him there; 37 And set up over His head His accusation written, This Is Jesus The King Of The Jews.

Jesus’ Lordship was a mockery, something the unbelieving world made light of. The unbelievers mocked Jesus as He suffered shame and agony on Calvary. “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself” (Luke 23:37). “If You are God’s Son, come down from that Cross. Save Yourself (Matthew 27:40). Jesus is just another Man to these people. He might have been a Rabbi, a great Teacher. But King? Pshaw! No such thing is true. Jesus is just a misguided Jew, a Heretic, a False Teacher.

But then, crucified on Calvary, Jesus died between two thieves. Laid to rest in a borrowed tomb, a guard was set on that Tomb. And three days later, that Tomb was empty. Jesus Christ rose from the grave.

As Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost, he preached that Jesus Christ is the Risen Savior. He said:

Acts 2:22-24 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a Man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by Him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: 23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: 24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that He should be holden of it.

Jesus Christ did die on that Cross, mocked and shamed. But Jesus did not stay dead. He was raised from the grave by God, and was seen of many. Death could not hold Him. Though it was God’s Will that Christ die on that Cross for our sins, it was wicked hands that crucified Him. Those who should have known better killed Jesus out of jealousy. Men killed Jesus on a Cross, but God raised Jesus up to sit on the throne of Heaven. The Man that the Israelis killed was not just a Jewish Teacher, but He was, is, and will always be more than this.

Jesus Is Lord Of My Life

The Jews had been hoodwinked into believing Jesus was no more than a heretic, a false prophet. But Jesus is no false prophet/ Jesus Christ is THE Son of God. Jesus Christ is THE LORD of His people, as well as the SAVIOR of His people. Peter declared plainly:

Acts 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

They mocked Jesus when He declared Lordship while on this earth. But Peter presents to us all that Jesus is “both Lord and Christ”. The word “Christ” is a reference to Jesus’ saving work. Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus is the ONLY Messiah. God caused Jesus to rise from the Grave on the third day, and Jesus went out and taught His followers for 40 days before ascending to Heaven. Peter preached in

Acts 4:10-12 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which {Jesus} is become the head of the corner. 12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Jesus Christ Is The Cornerstone On Which
The Kingdom Of God Is Built

Salvation is freely available to all, but only through faith in Jesus Christ. It is Jesus Who died for our sins. It is Jesus Who, after three days, rose from the Grave. There is “none other Name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved”. Only by faith in Jesus as “both Lord and Christ” can anyone be saved.

Realizing that they had been duped by the priests and scribes, the Bible says that those whom Peter preached to asked:

Acts 2:37 … they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

We have killed God’s Son. We have crucified the One and Only Messiah! We are guilty of the most atrocious murder in all of human history. “What shall we do”? How can we fix this? Peter is very clear:

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Peter outlined the plan of salvation very clearly here. How are we saved? What do we DO to contribute to our salvation?

We REPENT and OBEY JESUS

Dr. J.I. Packer said of what Peter preached:

“It is easy to miss the full force of this. Peter was prescribing not a formal gesture of regret for the crucifixion (of Jesus), but total renunciation of independence as a way of living and total submission to the rule of the Risen Lord”.

Tonight we will baptize some young people “in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”. Why are we doing this? Why are the young people coming forward to be baptized? It is because Jesus said to do so, and they are obeying Jesus. God commands baptism in water for those who have received Christ as Savior. Baptism is an act of obedience.

When John the Baptist was baptizing converts in the Jordan, Jesus came to John and said “baptize Me”. John told Jesus, “I have need to be baptized of You, Jesus, not to baptize You”. Jesus told John,

“Baptize Me – for we must fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15)

Baptism is an act of obedience to the Lord Jesus. Jesus commanded that His followers be “baptized in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Following baptism, Jesus said “teach them to observe ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER I HAVE COMMANDED YOU” (Matthew 28:20). We are baptized because Jesus is our Lord. We OBSERVE all that Jesus commands us to do. The first thing we are to do is be baptized in water. But baptism is not the entirety of what we are to do. We are to obey Jesus.

Jesus made baptism an issue for every Christian. The Bible says:

Philippians 3:20-21 (ESV) our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

We are citizens of Heaven, and Jesus is our Lord. Jesus said:

Matthew 23:8 (ESV) … you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers

What Jesus says is true, and the Scripture is authoritative.

Ephesians 4:25 … having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

We are all parts of the Body of Christ, the Church. We love and honor one another as we love and obey our Jesus.

Galatians 3:28 (ESV) There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

These young women are making an open profession of their faith in Jesus tonight. By following Jesus in baptism they are declaring that Jesus Christ is their Shepherd and King.

Blessed be the Name of the Lord!