Peter's First Salvation Sermon
In Acts 2 we have a salvation sermon preached by the apostle Peter. It was the first sermon preached shortly after Yeshua went to heaven (Acts 1:9-11), and the man who preached it (Peter) was a direct disciple (student) of Yeshua. Peter walked with him and was as familiar with him as any man could have been. Peter had been given the keys to the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 16:13-19), just after he spoke the revelation the Father gave to him: that Yeshua was the Messiah, the Son of the living God.
Acts 2:22 "Men of Israel, hear these words! Yeshua of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, even as you yourselves know.
These men of Israel were Judahite men, dwelling in Jerusalem, because the Day of Pentecost was upon them (Acts 2:1, 5). Peter tells them to listen to what he is saying, and he begins by speaking of Yeshua of Nazareth, a man approved by God with miraculous signs that God did, through him, among them. Here in a salvation message, Peter begins by talking about how Yeshua was a man approved of God.
Think about it. This is a point that Peter brings out to the men of Israel, in a salvation message. Peter doesn't begin his dissertation about Yeshua by saying "Yeshua is Yahweh," or "Yeshua is the Almighty." Peter speaks of how God performed great and mighty signs through this man Yeshua. Yahweh did these miracles, but the way Yahweh did them was through the man, Yeshua of Nazareth. [1] Even though Yahweh chooses to use vessels to carry out His work, it is still Yahweh that is performing the work.
Acts 2:23-24 Him, being delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by the hand of lawless men, crucified and killed; whom God raised up, having freed him from the agony of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it.
Peter talks about how that Yeshua was delivered up to die by the counsel and foreknowledge of God, but it was "you," the men of Israel (vs. 22), that crucified him by the hands of the lawless. The Israelites were the ones who cried out, "Crucify him!" (Matthew 27:15-26)
But Yahweh raised up Yeshua from death, or as Christians today would say, God raised Jesus from death. One would think that if the "doctrine of the Trinity," or the belief that "Yeshua is Yahweh," is of such importance, Peter would have centered in on one of those here. After all, he is preaching his first message of salvation, a message of repentance to the men of Israel. They need to hear what is of utmost importance. But Peter is silent about a Trinity. Peter doesn't utter one word about Yeshua being Yahweh (Jesus being God). Peter instead drives home the point about Yeshua being a man approved of God, a man by whom God performed great miracles, and a man whom God raised from the dead.
Acts 2:25-28 For David says concerning him, 'I saw Yahweh always before my face, For he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced. Moreover my flesh also will dwell in hope; Because you will not leave my soul in Hades, Neither will you allow your Holy One to see decay. You made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of gladness with your presence.'
The text from David (that Peter is quoting) is a prophecy that sounds like it's about David. In Psalm 16, David says that "Yahweh is at my right hand." That's a reference to David's right hand. David says, "My heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad." That's a reference to David's heart and David's tongue. David says, "You will not leave my soul in Hades (the grave)." That's a reference to David's soul. But notice how Peter interprets this Psalm:
Acts 2:29-32 "Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was his soul left in Hades, nor did his flesh see decay. This Yeshua God raised up, to which we all are witnesses.
Peter begins by saying that David is dead, buried, and everyone knows where his grave is. So how could David have been talking about himself back in Psalms? Peter explains this by remembering that David was a prophet, and that Yahweh had sworn to David that from his physical progeny would come the Messiah. David saw this prophetically beforehand and thus spoke of the resurrection of Yeshua, that Yeshua's soul was not left in the grave. Verse 32 explains this by saying that God raised up Yeshua, David's descendant, and everyone there listening to Peter was a witness to that resurrection.
The understanding of Psalm 16 is to put Yeshua of Nazareth in the place of David. When David speaks, it is actually prophetic of Yeshua, the descendant of David. When he says, "I (David) foresaw Yahweh always before my face," that is prophetically the Messiah saying, "I (Yeshua) foresaw Yahweh always before my face." When David says, "You will not leave my soul in the grave," that is prophetically Yeshua saying "You will not leave my soul in the grave."
Take note that this the point Peter continues to drive home is the resurrection of Yeshua. Peter sees it important to center in on a prophecy of David (Yeshua's ancestor), that speaks of the resurrection of the Messiah, in the salvation message he preached that day, to the men of Israel.[2]
Acts 2:33-35 Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God[3] and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this, which you now see and hear. For David didn't ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit by my right hand, Until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."'
It was Yeshua who was pouring out the Spirit upon the apostles in Acts 2, because he now had the authority to do so (Daniel 7:13-14; Matthew 28:18). Yeshua is mentioned as different or separate from the words "God" and "Father." Yeshua is not referred to as God, but he has been exalted to the right hand of God. Yeshua is not referred to as Father, but he has received the promised Spirit from the Father.
Then Peter brings up David again, but he is continuing to point out that David prophetically spoke about Yeshua in the Psalms. David is not the one whom Yahweh raised from the dead, or the one whom Yahweh allowed to ascend into heaven. We know this because it was David himself that said, "Yahweh said unto my Lord."
Acts 2:34b-35 is a quotation from Psalm 110:1. There, David writes of Yahweh speaking to his (David's) Lord. There are two Lords in Psalm 110. Yahweh is Lord over Yeshua and Yeshua is Lord over David. David is recognizing Yahweh (one person) talking to "my Lord" (another person). What Yahweh says to David's Lord is this: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." This shows that not only are two persons involved, but that one of them (Yahweh) is superior to the other (David's Lord). Yahweh is the One inviting David's Lord to sit at His right hand. Yahweh is the One who will make this Lord's enemies to be a footstool for his feet.
To be at the right hand of Yahweh is a very prestigious position. I'd say it is the second highest position in all the universe, but it is still not the highest position. Father Yahweh alone holds that highest position.[4]
This Lord that Yahweh is prophetically speaking to in Psalm 110:1 is Yeshua. That's Peter's point. David has not ascended into the heavens, his grave was with them in that day, but David's descendant, Yeshua of Nazareth, did ascend into the heavens. He was invited to sit at the right hand of Yahweh. This explains the next verse:
Acts 2:36 "Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Yeshua whom you crucified."
What does Peter want the house of Israel to know for certain? He tells us: that God (Yahweh) hath made this Yeshua, whom you (the men of Israel) crucified, both Lord and Christ. Had Yahweh not made Yeshua Lord and Christ, he would not be Lord and Christ. The word Lord here is explained by the verses we just went over. Yahweh spoke to David's Lord or Master (Psalm 110:1). Yeshua is then the Lord over all other men. The word Christ is the Greek translation of its Hebrew counterpart, Messiah, meaning "anointed one." Yahweh made Yeshua (1) the Lord of David, and (2) His Anointed One.
Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
When the men heard this salvation message: about how Yeshua was a man approved of God, resurrected from death by God, and the Lord of David that ascended into heaven, their hearts were pricked, making them ask what they needed to do to receive this Yeshua they had rejected.
This is the salvation message the men of Israel heard on that day of Pentecost, and this message had nothing to do with a Trinity, or Yeshua being co-equal with Yahweh, or Yeshua being of the same essence as Yahweh, or Yeshua really being Father Yahweh. Peter proclaimed none of those points in his first salvation message, yet many preachers today think that this must be proclaimed in their salvation messages.
Acts 2:38-40 Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized, everyone of you, in the name of Yeshua [the] Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself." With many other words he testified, and exhorted them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation!"
Peter tells the men of Israel to repent and be baptized in the name of Yeshua the Christ. Repent of what? These men are devout and are at the feast of Pentecost. If you examined their life you would see men who observed Yahweh's law.
Number one, no matter how law-observant a man is, he is still a sinner in need of salvation. All sons of Adam and daughters of Eve have sinned and fallen short of Yahweh's glory. We are all in need of His grace and mercy, daily.
Number two, the main message of repentance here is that they were to repent of their sin of rejecting the one whom Yahweh made to be Lord. Yahweh sent Yeshua. Yahweh approved of Yeshua. Yahweh did miracles and wonders through the man Yeshua. Yahweh raised Yeshua from the dead. Yahweh invited Yeshua to His right hand, and Yahweh made Yeshua both Lord and Christ. They had missed this, and they needed to repent of their rejecting him, and be baptized in his name. Being baptized in the name of Yeshua the Messiah meant that at their baptism, they were confessing with their mouth that Yeshua is the promised Messiah, the Lord of David, Yahweh's Anointed One, the resurrected King (Acts 8:36-38).
Peter continues on, telling them that by doing this they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. I believe salvation and forgiveness of sins is what is in view here. Through repentance and baptism, they would be forgiven of all their sins and receive the gift of salvation that comes through the one Yahweh sent, Yeshua of Nazareth (Isaiah 53:5-6). That was a promise to them, their children, and to those who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.
Peter preached many other words that day. He continued to exhort the men of Israel to save themselves from the wicked generation alive at that time. But, the most important words that Peter preached, are recorded for us by Luke. They contain nothing about a Trinity, or that Yeshua is actually Almighty Yahweh.
If belief in a Trinity was an absolute necessity, or if believing that Yeshua the Son is really Yahweh the Father was an absolute necessity, why in the world did Peter not include any of that in his first salvation message to the men of Israel? The answer is that neither of those beliefs are a necessity. Such doctrines were foreign to the early apostles, and remember, Peter (among others) knew Yeshua personally. He spent over 3 years learning under him. What is a necessity is that we believe Yeshua is the resurrected Lord of David, the promised Messiah, the Son who sits at the right hand of his Father, Yahweh.
Acts 2:22 "Men of Israel, hear these words! Yeshua of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, even as you yourselves know.
These men of Israel were Judahite men, dwelling in Jerusalem, because the Day of Pentecost was upon them (Acts 2:1, 5). Peter tells them to listen to what he is saying, and he begins by speaking of Yeshua of Nazareth, a man approved by God with miraculous signs that God did, through him, among them. Here in a salvation message, Peter begins by talking about how Yeshua was a man approved of God.
Think about it. This is a point that Peter brings out to the men of Israel, in a salvation message. Peter doesn't begin his dissertation about Yeshua by saying "Yeshua is Yahweh," or "Yeshua is the Almighty." Peter speaks of how God performed great and mighty signs through this man Yeshua. Yahweh did these miracles, but the way Yahweh did them was through the man, Yeshua of Nazareth. [1] Even though Yahweh chooses to use vessels to carry out His work, it is still Yahweh that is performing the work.
Acts 2:23-24 Him, being delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by the hand of lawless men, crucified and killed; whom God raised up, having freed him from the agony of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it.
Peter talks about how that Yeshua was delivered up to die by the counsel and foreknowledge of God, but it was "you," the men of Israel (vs. 22), that crucified him by the hands of the lawless. The Israelites were the ones who cried out, "Crucify him!" (Matthew 27:15-26)
But Yahweh raised up Yeshua from death, or as Christians today would say, God raised Jesus from death. One would think that if the "doctrine of the Trinity," or the belief that "Yeshua is Yahweh," is of such importance, Peter would have centered in on one of those here. After all, he is preaching his first message of salvation, a message of repentance to the men of Israel. They need to hear what is of utmost importance. But Peter is silent about a Trinity. Peter doesn't utter one word about Yeshua being Yahweh (Jesus being God). Peter instead drives home the point about Yeshua being a man approved of God, a man by whom God performed great miracles, and a man whom God raised from the dead.
Acts 2:25-28 For David says concerning him, 'I saw Yahweh always before my face, For he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced. Moreover my flesh also will dwell in hope; Because you will not leave my soul in Hades, Neither will you allow your Holy One to see decay. You made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of gladness with your presence.'
The text from David (that Peter is quoting) is a prophecy that sounds like it's about David. In Psalm 16, David says that "Yahweh is at my right hand." That's a reference to David's right hand. David says, "My heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad." That's a reference to David's heart and David's tongue. David says, "You will not leave my soul in Hades (the grave)." That's a reference to David's soul. But notice how Peter interprets this Psalm:
Acts 2:29-32 "Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was his soul left in Hades, nor did his flesh see decay. This Yeshua God raised up, to which we all are witnesses.
Peter begins by saying that David is dead, buried, and everyone knows where his grave is. So how could David have been talking about himself back in Psalms? Peter explains this by remembering that David was a prophet, and that Yahweh had sworn to David that from his physical progeny would come the Messiah. David saw this prophetically beforehand and thus spoke of the resurrection of Yeshua, that Yeshua's soul was not left in the grave. Verse 32 explains this by saying that God raised up Yeshua, David's descendant, and everyone there listening to Peter was a witness to that resurrection.
The understanding of Psalm 16 is to put Yeshua of Nazareth in the place of David. When David speaks, it is actually prophetic of Yeshua, the descendant of David. When he says, "I (David) foresaw Yahweh always before my face," that is prophetically the Messiah saying, "I (Yeshua) foresaw Yahweh always before my face." When David says, "You will not leave my soul in the grave," that is prophetically Yeshua saying "You will not leave my soul in the grave."
Take note that this the point Peter continues to drive home is the resurrection of Yeshua. Peter sees it important to center in on a prophecy of David (Yeshua's ancestor), that speaks of the resurrection of the Messiah, in the salvation message he preached that day, to the men of Israel.[2]
Acts 2:33-35 Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God[3] and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this, which you now see and hear. For David didn't ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit by my right hand, Until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."'
It was Yeshua who was pouring out the Spirit upon the apostles in Acts 2, because he now had the authority to do so (Daniel 7:13-14; Matthew 28:18). Yeshua is mentioned as different or separate from the words "God" and "Father." Yeshua is not referred to as God, but he has been exalted to the right hand of God. Yeshua is not referred to as Father, but he has received the promised Spirit from the Father.
Then Peter brings up David again, but he is continuing to point out that David prophetically spoke about Yeshua in the Psalms. David is not the one whom Yahweh raised from the dead, or the one whom Yahweh allowed to ascend into heaven. We know this because it was David himself that said, "Yahweh said unto my Lord."
Acts 2:34b-35 is a quotation from Psalm 110:1. There, David writes of Yahweh speaking to his (David's) Lord. There are two Lords in Psalm 110. Yahweh is Lord over Yeshua and Yeshua is Lord over David. David is recognizing Yahweh (one person) talking to "my Lord" (another person). What Yahweh says to David's Lord is this: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." This shows that not only are two persons involved, but that one of them (Yahweh) is superior to the other (David's Lord). Yahweh is the One inviting David's Lord to sit at His right hand. Yahweh is the One who will make this Lord's enemies to be a footstool for his feet.
To be at the right hand of Yahweh is a very prestigious position. I'd say it is the second highest position in all the universe, but it is still not the highest position. Father Yahweh alone holds that highest position.[4]
This Lord that Yahweh is prophetically speaking to in Psalm 110:1 is Yeshua. That's Peter's point. David has not ascended into the heavens, his grave was with them in that day, but David's descendant, Yeshua of Nazareth, did ascend into the heavens. He was invited to sit at the right hand of Yahweh. This explains the next verse:
Acts 2:36 "Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Yeshua whom you crucified."
What does Peter want the house of Israel to know for certain? He tells us: that God (Yahweh) hath made this Yeshua, whom you (the men of Israel) crucified, both Lord and Christ. Had Yahweh not made Yeshua Lord and Christ, he would not be Lord and Christ. The word Lord here is explained by the verses we just went over. Yahweh spoke to David's Lord or Master (Psalm 110:1). Yeshua is then the Lord over all other men. The word Christ is the Greek translation of its Hebrew counterpart, Messiah, meaning "anointed one." Yahweh made Yeshua (1) the Lord of David, and (2) His Anointed One.
Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
When the men heard this salvation message: about how Yeshua was a man approved of God, resurrected from death by God, and the Lord of David that ascended into heaven, their hearts were pricked, making them ask what they needed to do to receive this Yeshua they had rejected.
This is the salvation message the men of Israel heard on that day of Pentecost, and this message had nothing to do with a Trinity, or Yeshua being co-equal with Yahweh, or Yeshua being of the same essence as Yahweh, or Yeshua really being Father Yahweh. Peter proclaimed none of those points in his first salvation message, yet many preachers today think that this must be proclaimed in their salvation messages.
Acts 2:38-40 Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized, everyone of you, in the name of Yeshua [the] Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself." With many other words he testified, and exhorted them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation!"
Peter tells the men of Israel to repent and be baptized in the name of Yeshua the Christ. Repent of what? These men are devout and are at the feast of Pentecost. If you examined their life you would see men who observed Yahweh's law.
Number one, no matter how law-observant a man is, he is still a sinner in need of salvation. All sons of Adam and daughters of Eve have sinned and fallen short of Yahweh's glory. We are all in need of His grace and mercy, daily.
Number two, the main message of repentance here is that they were to repent of their sin of rejecting the one whom Yahweh made to be Lord. Yahweh sent Yeshua. Yahweh approved of Yeshua. Yahweh did miracles and wonders through the man Yeshua. Yahweh raised Yeshua from the dead. Yahweh invited Yeshua to His right hand, and Yahweh made Yeshua both Lord and Christ. They had missed this, and they needed to repent of their rejecting him, and be baptized in his name. Being baptized in the name of Yeshua the Messiah meant that at their baptism, they were confessing with their mouth that Yeshua is the promised Messiah, the Lord of David, Yahweh's Anointed One, the resurrected King (Acts 8:36-38).
Peter continues on, telling them that by doing this they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. I believe salvation and forgiveness of sins is what is in view here. Through repentance and baptism, they would be forgiven of all their sins and receive the gift of salvation that comes through the one Yahweh sent, Yeshua of Nazareth (Isaiah 53:5-6). That was a promise to them, their children, and to those who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.
Peter preached many other words that day. He continued to exhort the men of Israel to save themselves from the wicked generation alive at that time. But, the most important words that Peter preached, are recorded for us by Luke. They contain nothing about a Trinity, or that Yeshua is actually Almighty Yahweh.
If belief in a Trinity was an absolute necessity, or if believing that Yeshua the Son is really Yahweh the Father was an absolute necessity, why in the world did Peter not include any of that in his first salvation message to the men of Israel? The answer is that neither of those beliefs are a necessity. Such doctrines were foreign to the early apostles, and remember, Peter (among others) knew Yeshua personally. He spent over 3 years learning under him. What is a necessity is that we believe Yeshua is the resurrected Lord of David, the promised Messiah, the Son who sits at the right hand of his Father, Yahweh.
End Notes
[1] I find it disturbing that in many of the articles I've read over the years about the identity of Yeshua, the authors often describe Yeshua as "the God-man." Such a term is never used of Yeshua in scripture, much less used with the connotations of today's authors or commentators. Peter rather says that Yeshua was "a man approved of God." If we have a problem with Yeshua being called a man in this salvation message, we have a problem with the apostle Peter, a direct and appointed apostle of Yeshua.
[2] Both Isaiah 11:1-2 and Psalm 89:20-37 promise that a shoot would sprout forth from the stump or stock of Jesse, David's father, and Yahweh did not lie to David that He would be faithful to His descendant. Apostle Peter, and many other Israelites in the first century, understood Yeshua to be the fulfillment of these prophecies.
[3] Acts 7:55-56 (HCSB) says, "But Stephen, filled by the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven. He saw God's glory, with [Yeshua] standing at the right hand of God, and he said, 'Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!'" How could Yeshua be standing on the right hand of God, and be the God he was standing next to? See also Colossians 3:1, Hebrews 10:12, and 1 Peter 3:21-22.
[4] In Ephesians 4:5, Paul writes that there is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism, but many people place a period after that statement, as though Paul was proclaiming that Yeshua was Yahweh. When the New Testament authors proclaimed Yeshua as Lord (the one Lord) they were speaking of the fact that he was the one (the only one) that Yahweh had exalted and proclaimed to be Lord. Yahweh made Yeshua Lord. Yeshua is Lord over all of us, including his ancestors (like king David). Paul goes on to write in Ephesians 4:6 about the one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. So the one Lord is Yeshua, but the one God is the Father, and he is above all.
[2] Both Isaiah 11:1-2 and Psalm 89:20-37 promise that a shoot would sprout forth from the stump or stock of Jesse, David's father, and Yahweh did not lie to David that He would be faithful to His descendant. Apostle Peter, and many other Israelites in the first century, understood Yeshua to be the fulfillment of these prophecies.
[3] Acts 7:55-56 (HCSB) says, "But Stephen, filled by the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven. He saw God's glory, with [Yeshua] standing at the right hand of God, and he said, 'Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!'" How could Yeshua be standing on the right hand of God, and be the God he was standing next to? See also Colossians 3:1, Hebrews 10:12, and 1 Peter 3:21-22.
[4] In Ephesians 4:5, Paul writes that there is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism, but many people place a period after that statement, as though Paul was proclaiming that Yeshua was Yahweh. When the New Testament authors proclaimed Yeshua as Lord (the one Lord) they were speaking of the fact that he was the one (the only one) that Yahweh had exalted and proclaimed to be Lord. Yahweh made Yeshua Lord. Yeshua is Lord over all of us, including his ancestors (like king David). Paul goes on to write in Ephesians 4:6 about the one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. So the one Lord is Yeshua, but the one God is the Father, and he is above all.