Acts 2 as the Paradigmatic Gospel Proclamation in Acts

(avg. read time: 6–11 mins.)

I have written much that about resurrection in Acts and the various gospel proclamations in Acts, some of which I have already posted and some of which I will share at other times. Here, I want to put in writing observations I have made in chart form in the appendix to my article on Acts 2. That is, Peter’s Pentecost speech in Acts 2 serves two broad functions in Acts that I want to discuss here. One, the Pentecost speech is the initial and most immediate fulfillment of the apostolic commission given in Acts 1. Two, the Pentecost speech is itself paradigmatic for other gospel proclamations in Acts, as its contents anticipate the contents of other proclamations, although none have the exact same structure or contents.

First, Acts 2 is the immediate fulfillment of the apostolic commission in its many dimensions. More implicitly, Jesus speaks with his disciples about the kingdom of God between his resurrection and ascension in anticipation that they will continue in proclaiming about the kingdom when he sends them out (1:3). More directly, Jesus tells the disciples that their commission must be fulfilled after the Holy Spirit comes upon them, at which point they will serve as his witnesses across the world, starting in Jerusalem (1:7–8). When Peter articulates the qualifications of one of the Twelve specifically, he notes that Judas’s replacement needs to be someone who can become a witness with the others to his resurrection (1:22).

As noted in my entry on the three-phase gospel narrative, the apostles do not typically use the explicit language of the kingdom of God in proclaiming the gospel (though see 8:12; 19:8; 28:23, 31), but they continue this message by proclaiming the King/Lord of the kingdom (2:33–36). On the second point, the Pentecost proclamation happens in the immediate aftermath of receiving the Holy Spirit, whose action manifests in them speaking in tongues, at which point Peter and the others begin testifying in Jerusalem to representatives of nations across the world (2:1–36). Finally, central to this first gospel proclamation is the testimony to Jesus’s resurrection, both concerning the event itself and the apostolic witness of the same (2:24–32).

Second, in order to stress the fundamental continuity of the gospel in all of its various proclamations, even in the wide variety of forms and precise content, the Pentecost proclamation represents the fullest example of almost all the kinds of content from which the other summaries of gospel proclamations draw. To demonstrate this point, I note here all the different gospel proclamation elements in Acts 2 that are reiterated in other proclamations throughout Acts (or references to the same, in the case of Paul summarizing his message in his trial narrative).

One, an overarching point in Acts 2 is that God was climaxing the story of Israel, and thus of the world, through Jesus and proclaiming such through Jesus’s movement spawned in the Holy Spirit (2:14–36). This is a point made through the eschatological framing, especially with the citation of the eschatological text Joel 2:28–32, as well as the references to the scriptural story that is fulfilled. These points were a recurrent focus in gospel proclamations to Jewish audiences or audiences that otherwise were familiar with the OT. One can see them in the second gospel proclamation at Solomon’s Porch (3:12–26), both appearances before the Jewish leaders before Stephen’s martyrdom (4:11–12; 5:30–32), Philip’s meeting with the Ethiopian eunuch using Isa 53 as the prompt (8:32–35), Peter’s proclamation to Cornelius (10:34–48), Paul’s first extensively summarized speech in Pisidian Antioch (13:16–41), Paul and Silas’s proclamations in the synagogues in Thessalonica (17:2–3) and Berea (17:11), Apollos’s debates with Jews (18:28), and in Paul’s final proclamation in Rome (28:23). Paul also makes such arguments in his trial before Agrippa (26:17–23). In the setting of the Areopagus in Athens, Paul makes such an argument without direct appeal to Scripture, but with the same force of an eschatological paradigm shift that has happened with Jesus’s resurrection (17:30–31).

Two, as indicated in the apostolic commission and in Peter’s account of what qualifies one for the Twelve, the proclamation of Acts 2 involves the conviction that the apostles in particular were witnesses to and envoys of the climactic action of God, especially the resurrection of Jesus (2:14–21, 32). This appeal to apostolic witness was a prevalent part of the earliest declarations at Solomon’s Porch (3:12–16) and before the Jewish leaders (5:30–32). It was also a key point in the proclamation to Cornelius and his household in Caesarea (10:39–42). And, of course, it was a point Paul would appeal to in his trial before Agrippa in Caesarea (26:16–18). Beyond the bounds of the lands where Jesus walked, Paul made a point of referring to other apostolic witnesses and to portray his own status as an envoy (13:26–33, 38–41).

Three, the apostolic witnesses were also qualified to testify about Jesus’s life and how it—like the climactic events of his death, resurrection, and exaltation—bore the marks of God’s eschatological action (2:22). Interestingly, this is one element of the Pentecost proclamation that is not repeated nearly as often in summaries of proclamations after this one. It may have been present in the original speeches, but in any case the summaries focus on the climactic events, as noted in my aforementioned entry. The one exception in Acts is Peter’s proclamation to Cornelius and his household (10:36–39), where his audience includes people who may have heard of Jesus, but might not have had any direct interaction with him and had not remained in the vicinity of Jerusalem (as in the proclamations of chs. 2–5).

Four, the Pentecost proclamation also made a point that the Christian message and action bear those marks of God’s eschatological action as well in continuity with Jesus. Here, this point is made by appeal to the text of Joel to explain the speaking in tongues (2:16–21), by Peter drawing attention to the elements of repentance, forgiveness of sins, the gift of the Holy Spirit, as well as the summary of the character of the Church assembly as a result of this proclamation (2:38–43). Similar points are made in relation to the fact that the disciples perform signs and wonders, particularly healing miracles (3:12–16; 4:8–12; 5:12–32). Paul’s testimony before Agrippa focuses less on the signs and wonders that put him continuity with Jesus than on the proclamation of repentance and forgiveness of sins (26:16–23).

Five, the ultimate instantiation of this eschatological action was the three-stage narrative of the key gospel events, beginning with Jesus’s death, which is presented as an act of defiance against God on the human level, but made by God’s will to be crucial to his salvific purpose (2:23, 36). This Pentecost proclamation sets the scene for the other gospel proclamations by presenting this narrative in its most straightforward fashion. The Pentecost proclamation was also the first of four proclamations in Jerusalem where the “second person” is addressed as being involved in this event (“you killed,” “you handed over”; cf. 3:13–18; 4:10–11; 5:30). This gospel event is also made the focus of Philip’s proclamation to the Ethiopian eunuch, as the prompt for the conversation is Isa 53 (8:32–35). Outside of the vicinity of Jerusalem, the same point is made with third-person reference to the contrast of what humans intended in the crucifixion of Jesus and what God did through the execution of those intentions in bringing his own purposes to fulfillment (10:39; 13:27–29). Paul’s proclamation in Thessalonica is summarized as including the argument that the Messiah had to suffer (17:3), a point which is made in the Pentecost proclamation by appeal to God’s plan and foreknowledge, and which is made elsewhere by appeal to fulfillment of Scripture (3:18; 13:27; cf. Luke 24:26–27, 46). Paul also would make this point by appeal to Scripture in his summary of his message in his trial before Agrippa (26:23).

Six, the Pentecost proclamation establishes that the primary reason for believing all of what has preceded this point—and the foundation for the gospel proclamation in general—is God’s resurrection of Jesus (2:24–31). It was this eschatological resurrection in the middle of history that established this new setting of time and narrative, wherein the grand promises of God have or are beginning to come to fruition, as Peter signifies here with showing the fulfillment of Scripture and its connection to Jesus’s resurrection. Peter’s proclamation at Pentecost also sets the precedent for other “but God” statements, where God’s action of raising Jesus from the dead is the contradiction to the human intentions in Jesus’s crucifixion (3:15–16; 4:10–11; 10:40). It was thus a central element in other proclamations in Jerusalem (3:26; 4:2, 33; 5:30) and beyond (10:40–42; 13:30–37; 17:3, 18, 30–32). Indeed, as noted already at multiple points, it was primarily with reference to the resurrection that the apostolic witness was defined (e.g., 10:41–42). Paul’s first extensively summarized proclamation in Pisidian Antioch in Acts 13 deliberately echoes the structure and content of Peter’s Pentecost proclamation at multiple points, one of which is in the statements about Jesus’s resurrection and even the key use of Ps 16 as a text fulfilled by his resurrection. Even in the Areopagus, where the proclamation is by necessity significantly different from the Pentecost proclamation to a Jewish audience, this central emphasis on Jesus’s resurrection remains intact (17:30–32). And when Paul is summarizing his message throughout his multiple hearings before Jewish and Roman leaders, he regularly makes appeal to his hope in the resurrection because of Jesus’s resurrection (23:6; 24:21; 26:6–8, 23).

Seven, in Peter’s Pentecost proclamation Jesus’s resurrection and fulfillment of Scripture served as God’s confirmation that Jesus is the Messiah (2:31–36). This same point, like many others from Pentecost, is reiterated in the proclamation at Solomon’s Porch (3:18–21). The summary of the gospel in 5:42 simply is that Jesus is the Messiah, which obviously entails much else, including reference to the key gospel events and the fulfillment of Scripture. Philip’s proclamation in Samaria is summarized likewise (8:5). Before the extended summary of the speech in Pisidian Antioch, Saul’s/Paul’s initial proclamation is simply summarized as him proving that Jesus is the Messiah (9:22; cf. 13:32–37). Peter’s claim that God anointed Jesus is a roundabout way of referring to the same (10:38), as “Messiah” or “Christ” signifies “anointed one.” This continues to be Paul’s message in the synagogues of Greece (17:3; 18:5) and it is one that Apollos takes up as well (18:28). It is also part of Paul’s summary of his message before Agrippa (26:23).

Eight, in addition to the divine confirmation of Jesus as the Messiah by his resurrection and fulfillment of Scripture, another element of Peter’s Pentecost proclamation is that God has confirmed Jesus as Lord—or one might also say “King” in such a context, especially in light of Jesus’s proclamation of the kingdom of God, and in light of 17:6–7—by exalting him to his right hand (2:33–36). Peter refers to his current session in heaven in his proclamation on Solomon’s Porch (3:20–21). Peter speaks before the Jewish leaders of Jesus’s exaltation by reference to the exaltation of Jesus’s name (4:10–12). The summary of the apostolic testimony in 4:33 concerns the resurrection of the Lord Jesus (cf. 9:28; 10:36; 11:20; 13:12). When the apostles appear again before the Jewish leaders, they directly refer to God’s right hand as the “place” of Jesus’s exaltation (5:31). Jesus’s resurrection and exaltation are also linked to his being the Judge (10:42; 17:31). Paul’s proclamation in Rome at the end of the book is described in terms of proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ (28:31), which is to say he spoke of the kingdom and its King.

Nine, the opening and closing of the Pentecost proclamation signify in different ways that, with the coming of this King, the promises of the kingdom have begun coming to fruition, and thus the proper response is to repent and be baptized, thereby proclaiming allegiance to the King and receiving the Holy Spirit (2:16–21, 38–39). Thus, the message is one of an inaugurated eschatology, as one sees in Peter’s proclamation at Solomon’s Porch, that the time when God will restore everything remains for some indefinite point in the future, but the time of repentance and forgiveness of sins—two elements of eschatological hope in the OT—is now (3:19–21). Repentance and forgiveness of sins, as well as the command to be baptized, are also regular features of the gospel proclamation throughout the rest of Acts (5:31–32; 8:15–16, 22, 35–38; 10:42–48; 11:17–18; 13:38–39; 17:30–31; 26:20). On occasion, the eschatological character of the gospel is also made clear with the explicit reference to the evangelists proclaiming the kingdom of God (8:12; 19:8; 28:23, 31). In other cases, this eschatological significance is conveyed by reference to healing (for a case in a gospel summary, see 10:38). At times when the gospel is rejected by the Jews Paul proclaims to, he notes that the anticipated time for the salvation to go among the nations/gentiles has come in his proclamation of the gospel, and so the gospel will go to them (13:46–47; cf. 28:25–28). Of course, the Pentecost proclamation is thus also paradigmatic for Acts as a whole in how it is connected to the eschatological outpouring of the Holy Spirit, who drives the narrative of the rest of the book in fulfillment of promises (from the OT and the words of Jesus) of his presence and action.