11/21/2022 – Day 267 – Acts 1 – 2 //
Last cycle, we had two posts on this reading. I encourage y’all to go over them with a search on the date of both posts: “02/07/2020”. The first post took a look at Peter’s sermon, and the 2nd provides an excellent summary on the book of Acts from Halley’s Bible Handbook.
Peter concludes his sermon concludes with the “Dixit Dominus” from David in Psalm 110: “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies Your footstool.’ ” I am going to try to find Handel’s “Dixit Dominus” , to post it into our Praise Music selections.
For the Pentecost section, 2:1 through 2:12, my Apologetics Study Bible footnote reads:
“The supernatural phenomena at Pentecost (rushing wind, tongues of fire, and the filling of the Spirit) marked the church’s formal , public beginning.” In western Christianity, Pentecost Sunday is celebrated on the 50th day, or the 7th Sunday after Easter. (I prefer the Eastern “Pascha” to “Easter”). Below is a link to a summarized article of the History of Orthodox Pentecost Sunday:
Within Peter’s sermon: “Though He was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail Him to a cross and kill Him.” Acts 2:23. My footnote expounds: “Jesus’ death was due to God’s plan and foreknowledge. But human beings were also held responsible. The NT often affirms both divine purpose and human involvement without necessarily explaining how they work together (or minimizing either).”
And the footnote to Acts 2:41 that noted 3,000 people coming to Christ that day:
“The large number (3,000) who responded to Peter is believable since Jews throughout the empire traveled to Jerusalem at Passover; the city’s population grew to several times it normal size.”
Soli Deo Gloria!