February 24: Three thousand people saved

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know beyond a doubt that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.” Now when they heard this, they were acutely distressed and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “What should we do, brothers?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far away, 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 perverse generation!” So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added.  (Acts 2:36-41  NET)

The Jewish Pentecost was one of the seven yearly feast days of the Jews. It was exactly seven weeks after the Passover and celebrated the first fruits of the new grain harvest. Since it was the first harvest after the winter, people were normally running low on food and it was a test of their faith in God to give the tenth of this harvest, trusting that God would give other harvests during that year.

Right before Peter speaks the first phrase of today’s passage, the Holy Spirit had been poured out to 120 people gathered in the upper room, then after they had spoken to the people, 3000 were baptized and saved. Isn’t it interesting that the Holy Spirit was given during a feast that was meant to celebrate abundance after a long, dry spell? The outpouring of God’s Spirit was God’s way of bringing refreshment and relief to a world that was empty and dry.

How could 3000 people respond to the message that day and want to be baptized? Only the Holy Spirit has the power to save people on that scale. Peter and the others spoke, but God’s Spirit opened the minds of the humble and gave them the confidence to believe what they had heard. In fact, they were so convinced that they were eager to do whatever Peter and the other disciples told them to do.

If we are humble and honest with God… if we are fed up with our lives the way they are and want a change… there is no way that God will ignore our request.