Acts 2:14-41
“the mighty deeds of God” (v.11)
The crowd notes what it is hearing (ἀκούομεν, akouomen, presented vividly as a present tense; see v. 8). These Galileans speak of “the mighty deeds of God” (τὰ μεγαλεῖα τοῦ θεοῦ, ta megaleia tou theou). The term μεγαλεῖος (megaleios, mighty) appears only here in the NT but is frequent in the LXX (Deut. 11:2 [of exodus and wilderness events]; Ps. 70:19 LXX [71:19 Eng.]; Sir. 18:4; 36:7; 42:21; conceptually Jer. 33:3). Thus the tongues lead to a declaration of what God has done through Jesus. The passage is conceptually like Luke 19:37–38, where the miracles of God through Jesus are praised.
Bock, Darrell L.. Acts (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament) (p. 184). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
“THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD” (v.20)
These cosmic signs precede (πρίν, prin, before) the arrival of the day of the Lord, which in this context means the decisive time of judgment that the OT often discusses (Amos 8:9; Joel 2:10; 2:30–31 [3:3–4 MT and LXX]; Zeph. 1:15). The preposition πρίν here looks to subsequent time (Wallace 1996: 596). Peter is saying that the eschatological clock is ticking. With the end the cosmic signs and judgment come (so also Rev. 6:12, alluding to this verse in Joel; Bruce 1990: 121; in the NT: 1 Cor. 1:8; 2 Cor. 1:14; Phil. 1:6, 10; 2:16; 1 Thess. 5:2; 2 Thess. 2:2; 2 Pet. 3:10 [also the day of Christ]). Barrett (1994: 138) discusses Luke’s outline of the basic movement of the plan, from Jesus’s coming to the coming of the Spirit to mission to portents of the end and then the judgment in Jesus’s return. Second Peter shows how comprehensive the judgment is that is associated with this day. It also presents a picture of fire dissolving the creation at the final judgment. That is why Peter describes the day as “great and manifest,” a slight change from Joel’s “great and terrible” day in the MT but in line with the LXX. The NT rendering makes the point that the day will be obvious, even glorious, when it comes; God will be demonstrably at work. All Jews already knew that the judgment was to be a terrible time for many.
Bock, Darrell L.. Acts (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament) (pp. 202-203). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
“both Lord and Christ” (v.36)
The order of the christological titles is important (κύριον αὐτὸν καὶ χριστόν, kyrion auton kai christon) because “Lord” is in the forward and emphatic position. It is the key title, as verses 21 and 34 connect it to the reference to “Lord” in Ps. 110:1 and Joel 3:5 (2:32 Eng.). The Lord to be called upon is Jesus Christ, as it is in his name that they are to be baptized (v. 38). The title “Lord” was used by Palestinian Jews as a title for Yahweh, as is now attested in numerous sources.19 The point about Jewish sources is important, for it shows that the language is not exclusively Greek and the concept is not exclusively Hellenistic, as some claim. The term “Lord” in this context shows in particular Jesus’s lordship over salvation and the distribution of salvation’s benefits. Jesus as “Lord” often appears in Acts (4:33; 8:16; 11:17, 20; 15:11, 26; 16:31; 19:5, 13, 17; 20:21, 24, 35; 21:13; 28:31). The sharing of the title with God led the church to apply to Jesus OT passages that were about Yahweh, as Acts 2:21 shows. Similarly the uses of Isa. 45:23 in Phil. 2:10 and of Isa. 8:13 in 1 Pet. 3:15 reflect the same hermeneutical move, indicating that it was common in the church (Bruce 1988a: 68n92; also as a title, 1 Cor. 8:4–6; Rom. 10:9; 1 Cor. 12:3). The resurrection shows that Jesus’s authority is one that God attests to be equal to God’s own (on the debate over whether this is adoptionism, see the previous verse).
“Christ” is a key title for Luke (Luke 2:11, 26; 3:15; 4:41; 9:20; 20:41; 22:67; 23:2, 35, 39; 24:26, 46; Acts 2:31, 36, 38; 3:6, 18, 20; 4:10, 26; 5:42; 8:5, 12; 9:22, 34; 10:36, 48; 11:17; 15:26; 16:18; 17:3; 18:5, 28; 24:24; 26:23; 28:31; Jones 1970: 69–76). The Christ is the figure of deliverance. God raised Jesus to come directly into God’s presence in heaven. The very one the Jewish leaders crucified is the unique, anointed one whom God placed at his side. This point is made to establish their guilt and need to repent (vv. 37–38). “The crucifixion of one who shares the throne of God is a sin against God” (Barrett 1994: 152). On this point, Peter ends his address and leaves the audience to react.
In sum, Peter’s speech proclaims that the distribution of the Spirit is the sign of the last days, the movement to the day of the Lord, the fulfillment of God’s promise, and, most important, the indication that Jesus is vindicated, so that this crucified one now sits at God’s side, mediating God’s salvific blessing as both Lord and Christ. Scripture shows this, as Joel 3 (2 Eng.) is linked to Ps. 16, then to Ps. 132, and finally to Ps. 110. To understand who Jesus is, one must look to both what God did and what Scripture says. The speech highlights that it is God who acted through Jesus. God pours out the Spirit (v. 17), worked miracles through Jesus (v. 22), and then raised and exalted him (vv. 24, 32–33), thereby showing Jesus to be Lord and Christ (v. 36; Weiser 1981: 94). One cannot think of God’s activity without thinking of Jesus, and Jesus cannot be who he is without the work of God. The unity of their work is affirmed in the speech.
Bock, Darrell L.. Acts (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament) (pp. 229-230). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
“you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (v.38)
The second key element in the gospel is the gift (δωρεάν, dōrean) that is the Spirit (an epexegetical genitive), already bestowed on those who have followed Jesus but now available as the sign of the new era to anyone who turns to embrace the call of God made through Jesus. In Acts 2:17 this is called the outpouring of the Spirit without discrimination. The Spirit falls on those who call on the name of the Lord for deliverance (see discussion there and at 1:5). At the core of the gospel is the offer of the gift of the Spirit and what the Spirit provides to the one who believes. Paul taught this as well in Rom. 1:16–17 and Rom. 6–8. It reflects core Christian orthodox teaching about the content of the gospel. All four references to a gift in Acts are to the giving of the Holy Spirit to those who respond to the preaching of the church (2:38; 8:20; 10:45; 11:17). In the Spirit is the enablement for new life and for sharing the new message, as Acts 2 itself has shown. The varying way in which the Spirit is distributed, especially on occasions without baptism (Acts 10:44; also Luke 24:47; Acts 3:19; 26:18 [forgiveness mentioned without baptism]), indicates how Spirit baptism signifies primarily the Spirit’s washing and consequent presence, rather than representing an emphasis on tongues speaking as a required evidence of salvation or a “second” gift of salvation. In other words, one is baptized in the Spirit so that new life can come and flow forth from cleansing.
Bock, Darrell L.. Acts (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament) (pp. 240-241). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.