New Testament Commentary - Acts 2

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 2 Spirit poured out on day of Pentecost—Peter testifies of Jesus' resurrection—He tells how to gain salvation and speaks of the gift of the Holy Ghost—Many believe and are baptised.
1 And when the day of ^aPentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty ^awind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them ^acloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the ^aHoly Ghost, and began to speak with other ^btongues, as the ^cSpirit gave them utterance.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. 6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own ^alanguage. 7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? 9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and ^aproselytes, 11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our ^atongues the wonderful works of God. 12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
13 Others ^amocking said, These men are full of new wine. 14 ¶ But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: 15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet ^aJoel; 17 And it shall come to pass in the ^alast days^a, saith God, I will ^bpour out of my ^cSpirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall ^dprophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall ^edream dreams: 18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall ^aprophesy:	17^a in the last days Now in the spirit of likening the scriptures unto ourselves as they apply and understanding the concept that the term 'last days' may be taken personally, that is we are all living in the last days of our lives; then the application made of of Joel's prophecies may be allowed. But as to the exact time of which Joel did speak, it is these verses of Joel in respect to the last days of the restoration that Moroni qouted to Joseph Smith and stated that they were about to be fullfilled (See JS-H 1:41 concerning Joel 2:28 in the Pearl of Great Price).
19 And I will shew ^awonders in heaven above, and ^bsigns in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: 20 The sun shall be turned into ^adarkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and ^bnotable day of the Lord come: 21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be ^asaved.
22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man ^aapproved of God among you by ^bmiracles and wonders and signs, which ^cGod did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: 23 Him, being delivered by the ^adeterminate counsel and ^bforeknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have ^ccrucified and slain: 24 Whom God hath ^araised up, having loosed the ^bpains of ^cdeath: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the ^aLord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: 26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: 27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in ^ahell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see ^bcorruption. 28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the ^apatriarch David^a, that he is both dead and ^aburied, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. 30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an ^aoath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up ^bChrist to sit on his throne^a; 31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption^a. 32 This Jesus hath God ^araised up, whereof we all are ^bwitnesses.	29^a the patriarch David David was not only a King, but according to the Covenant of Abraham which fell through to Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Ephriam, David was also of the heirship of being the rightful 'Patriarch' of Israel. That is the one through whom all the blessings of the covenant or promises of the fathers fell through. (See Messiah ben David ~ Messiah ben Ephraim). 30^a God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne Perhaps reflective of that which was once clearly stated in the record of the prophets is more clearly stated here than that which has remained in the Jewish preserved Old Testiment as the covenant promise made that Jesus would be the Son of David. Certainly in the minds of the Jews of Jesus day there was no question as to such an understanding and belief that Jesus Christ would be the promised Messiah of the House of David. And just as likely, that which was in the prophets has been since subdued so that one much search to find those scriptures which less clearly state it in that record which the Jews have allowed to remain since the time of Jesus. 31^aneither his flesh did see corruption This has reference to the fact that Jesus' body did not lay in the tomb more than three days, after which the Jews considered that the flesh did begin to rot. In fact Jesus did raise up his body as he had laid it down and his tabernacle did not return to the dust of the earth. Though all will be resurrected, even those whose bodies have been totally so corrupted to the dust of the earth, it was significant that Jesus did raise up his exact body as he exactly laid it down, for Jesus still carries the marks of his death in his hands, feet and side as a witness of who he is. That is his spirit has yet to perfect these markings in his flesh as a special witness, though he has been perfected and gloried in all else.
33 Therefore being ^aby the ^bright hand of God^a ^cexalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath ^dshed forth this, which ye now see and hear. 34 For David is not ^aascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my ^cLord^a, Sit thou on my right hand, 35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool. 36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have ^acrucified, both ^bLord and Christ.	33^a being by the right hand of God In this verse it presents the relationship of the Godhead as three distinct beings. Jesus is always portrayed as standing at the right hand of God the Father of Spirits in glory. How can on stand at the right hand of one's self, that's being 'beside one's self' literally in a physical sense. And of course that is not possible. Jesus Christ and his Father are two separate beings, as is also the Holy Ghost. And this verse presents them as such. 34^a The LORD said unto my Lord This reference to the LORD of David's Lord is reference to the fact that Jehovah, David's Lord, had a LORD above him, even Elohiem, God the Father of Spirits. Here in these verses it is given that the Jews had the understanding of exactly what David spoke of. And that is that the God of the Old Testament, who was David's Lord and the God of the Old Testament, Jehovah, did have and was subject to a God above him. We who understand the nature of the Godhead and the appointment of the Firstborn son Jehovah, to act in the stead of the Father in all things, can readily understand and follow exactly what is being stated in these verses concerning God the Father and God the Son who sits on the right hand of the Father as recorded by David in Psalms 110.
37 ¶ Now when they heard this, they were ^apricked in their ^bheart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, ^cwhat shall we do? 38 Then Peter ^asaid unto them, ^bRepent, and be ^cbaptized every one of you in the ^dname of Jesus Christ for the ^eremission of sins, and ye shall receive the ^fgift of the ^gHoly Ghost. 39 For the ^apromise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are ^bafar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. 40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, ^aSave yourselves from this ^buntoward generation.
41 ¶ Then they that gladly ^areceived his ^bword were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about ^cthree thousand souls. 42 And they continued ^astedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and ^bfellowship, and in breaking of ^cbread, and in prayers. 43 And ^afear came upon every soul: and many wonders and ^bsigns were done by the apostles.
44 And all that believed were together, and had all things ^acommon; 45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had ^aneed. 46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the ^atemple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and ^bsingleness of heart, 47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord ^aadded to the ^bchurch daily such as should be saved.