Daily Devotion – April 28, 2020 – Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison
Acts 2:14a, 36-39
2:14a: But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them,
2:36 “Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
2:37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
2:38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
2:39 For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.”
“You know that man you crucified? That rabbi Jesus? Well, God has just made him Lord AND Messiah.”
So imagine we are standing in front of Peter as he preaches. We like to show up for things. We were on the streets of Jerusalem waving palm branches, too. And we were in front of the governor’s palace that Friday morning when Pilate was arguing with the crowd. He wanted to let Jesus go, but somebody near us was chanting “Give us Barabbas” and we just kind of joined in. What could it hurt? And then when Pilate said “Well, what should I do with Jesus then?” somebody yelled, “Crucify him!” and so we just started yelling that, too.
We are thinking back over our enjoyment of acting like an extra in a big crowd scene. And then Peter says that Jesus, whom we asked Pilate to crucify, has just been made Lord and Messiah. God has made it known that Jesus is Lord now. As our grandson says when something falls onto the floor, “Uh oh.”
They/We were guilty. They/We realized it. And not only that, they/we were on the wrong side of what God was giving, was doing. So what were these people, these extras who had a hand in Jesus’ death, to do? Who are we?
Peter tells the people in the crowd to turn away from that crowd behavior and take responsibility. Be baptized in Jesus’s, the Lord’s, name. And accept the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Most of us have been baptized. And if we have been baptized in the name of Jesus, the Lord and Messiah, we have received the Holy Spirit. It’s a package deal and a huge gift. Do we live as if we’ve received the Holy Spirit? How would someone on the street watching us know that we have this valuable gift? How would someone know that we never have to be afraid? How are we living, especially in this present age of fear and uncertainty, that bears witness to our security being a follower of the One who is Lord AND Messiah? What does that look like for us? What MIGHT it look like?
Dear Lord, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for being our Lord and enriching us with the Holy Spirit. Help us to see times and places where we can be caught by others being your children, heirs of the promises that can take away fear. Amen.
