In 2:22-36 Peter witnesses of the Man Jesus in His work, death, resurrection, and ascension. In verse 36 Peter declares, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.” Jesus was made the Lord to possess all, and He was made the Christ to carry out God’s commission. As God, the Lord Jesus was already the Lord, and in His divinity there was no need for Him to be made Lord. Nevertheless, in His ascension He, as a man, was made the Lord of all by God. God made Jesus the Lord of all to possess all things, including us.
The Lord Jesus was also Christ, even from eternity. Furthermore, He was born as the Christ (Luke 2:11). However, in His ascension He was officially made the Christ of God. This means that in His ascension God inaugurated Him officially into the office of the Christ. God had already appointed Him, but in His ascension He still inaugurated Him into His office as the Christ to carry out God’s commission. May we all be impressed with the fact that in 2:36 “Lord” refers to possession, and “Christ” refers to commission.
The record in 2:14-47 emphasizes Peter’s speaking concerning Christ. Peter spoke of Christ, and he even spoke forth Christ. This is the first case of the speaking of Christ by the believers. In his speaking, Peter presents to us the Man Jesus and witnesses to us concerning Him. In particular, Peter speaks of the Lord Jesus in His work, death, resurrection, and ascension.
In his speaking concerning Christ in chapters two through five of Acts, Peter does not refer to Him as the Son of God. Peter’s emphasis here is not on the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. Rather, in these chapters Peter stresses that the Lord Jesus is a man. The reason for this emphasis is that the Jews crucified Christ as a man, regarding Him merely as a despised man, a Nazarene, a person of low estate. Therefore, Peter said that the One regarded by the Jews as a lowly Nazarene was approved by God in all that He did.
As we shall see, Peter’s speaking of Christ produced the propagation of Christ. On the day of Pentecost this propagation included the three thousand souls who were saved. Such a propagation was the result, the issue, of Peter’s speaking concerning Christ. From this we see that the speaking of Christ surely leads to the propagation of Christ in those who believe in Him. Furthermore, the believers as Christ’s propagation become the church. Therefore, in chapter two we see that the speaking of Christ produced a church in Jerusalem. In this chapter we have both the propagation of Christ and the church life.
After Peter spoke concerning the Lord Jesus in His work, death, resurrection, and ascension, he instructed and entreated the Spirit-moved ones to repent, to be baptized, and to be saved (vv. 37-41). Acts 2:37 and 38 say, “And when they heard this, they were pierced in the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, What should we do, men, brothers? And Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized, each one of you, upon the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Here Peter first told the people to repent. To repent is to have a change of mind issuing in regret, to have a turn in purpose. Literally, the Greek word for repent means to think differently afterward, that is, to have a change of mind. To repent is to have a change of mind with regret for the past and a turn for the future. On the negative side, to repent before God is to repent not only of sins and wrongdoings, but also to repent of the world and its corruption that usurp and corrupt people whom God made for Himself, and to repent of our God-forsaking life in the past. On the positive side, to repent is to turn to God in every way and in every thing for the fulfilling of His purpose in making men. Therefore, it is a repentance unto God (20:21).