Simon Peter - Fisher of Men

The room was silent; they had been at prayer for a long time and now they waited quietly for they knew not what. They only knew that something momentous was about to happen. Peter had told them that; Peter, with his strangely new insight into the ways of their Lord; Peter, now calm, confident and resolute, so unlike the old tempestuous and unpredictable fisherman they had known. He had reminded them of the Lord's words and He had said it would happen today. "Stay in the city," Jesus had said "until you are clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24.49 RSV). So they had tarried ten days, since the Lord left them to return to heaven from which He had come, and now it was the Day of Pentecost, a Day of solemn religious observance. Jerusalem was full of Jews from all parts of the world, come to join in the ceremonies of this sacred time. This was the Feast of Ingathering, when the first fruits of the harvest were ceremonially presented to God. They also celebrated the giving of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai when Israel became the people of God, a first-fruits unto Him. But now that Law had come to an end, for Christ had superseded it, "nailing it to his cross". He had formally rejected the people who for fifteen hundred years had been in training to receive Him when He should come to them, but when He came they "knew not the time of their visitation", and rejected Him. Where now were God's first fruits, thought the disciples sadly as they sat in the quietness of that upper room? What was to take the place of that Law that had stood as the expression of God's covenant with His people through all their history? Jesus at the Last Supper had spoken of a new covenant sealed by His own death for the remission of sins and He had also told the Pharisees that the Kingdom of God was being taken from them and given to a people who would bring forth its proper fruits. It was all very dark and mysterious but Peter had told them that today they would understand and the certainty of his tone carried conviction, so they waited in quietness.

A low whisper of sound, just perceptible against the stillness ... the murmur of a summer breeze rustling the trees … the blowing of a strong wind around the house …the roar of a mighty tempest invading the room in which they were sitting and filling their ears with noise, yet with no movement of their clothing nor feeling on their faces and hands. Instantly came to each mind words spoken to a teacher in Israel some while back, "The wind blows where it wills and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with everyone that is born of the Spirit". (John 3.8 RSV). Were they even at this moment being born of the Spirit? Was this thing that was happening to them a demonstration of Divine power, fulfilling the promise Jesus made to them so little a time ago "you shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit has come upon you"? (Acts 1.8 RSV). Each head was bowed in reverence but each heart beat fast as they waited to experience the outcome of this wondrous thing.

The room was getting brighter; waves of light seemed to be impinging upon their closed eyelids. First one, and then another, looked up. A golden radiance, vibrating and pulsating as though it had life of its own filled the room above their heads. Even as they watched in awe, the radiance seemed to reach down and rest upon each of them, a fiery aura joining each one to that dazzling light which blotted out the ceiling from their view. And with those rhythmic tongues of fire came power, a power that filled mind and body, enlightening them to understand things that had been so obscure and perplexing before, vitalizing them so that they felt able to go out and dare all things for Jesus' sake. And when they lifted up their voices to praise God for what had happened they found that they were speaking words that they had never used before and talking of things that they had never understood before.

Peter, a transfigured Peter, was the first to grasp the practical implications of their experience. He led the little company, first in praise, next in prayer, and then, with something of his old impetuousness, motioned them to follow as he made for the street outside.

It was there, to the cosmopolitan crowd, drawn from "every nation under heaven", hastening to the Temple to play their part in the morning ritual of the Day of Pentecost, that the Christian Gospel was first preached. Those men stood and proclaimed the "wonderful works of God", not in their native Aramaic but in the languages and dialects of all the people who were gathered to hear them. Many have been the discussions and arguments as to just what is implied by the power to "speak with other tongues" at this memorable time, but the reaction of the hearers is enough to indicate the impression made upon them. "Every man heard them speak in his own language"… "how hear we every man in our own tongue wherein we were born?". It is sometimes argued that since Greek was a well-nigh universal language throughout the Mediterranean countries at this time these statements have little or no meaning but this view does not take into account all the factors involved. Greek was certainly the customary language with the educated classes, and in the commercial, political, and "upper-class" social worlds, but among the peasantry and workers and slaves the native tongues were to a much greater extent in use. Thus Jesus and his disciples habitually spoke Aramaic and in the same way visitors from Egypt and Libya, and Roman Asia, would be more familiar with their own local patois. Those from Parthia and Elam and Arabia would speak entirely different and non-Greek languages.

The conclusion is irresistible that the twelve disciples, on this occasion, whether they realised the matter or not, addressed the people in the tongues and dialects those people best understood. And the one who took the lead in all this was Peter. The words attributed to the stalwart Galilean on this historic occasion have often been referred to as the first Christian sermon to be preached. It is certainly the first synopsis which has been placed on record. It is probable that Peter said a great deal more than is preserved in the second chapter of Acts, but what is preserved is full of significance. It is very possible that the other disciples said much the same as did Peter but in other tongues; an overruling guidance of the Holy Spirit in the choice of words cannot be ruled out here. Each overseas visitor would naturally gravitate to the speaker whose language he understood best. It might well be that Peter was the one out of all of them who did use his native tongue; in verse 14 he addresses the men of Judea and dwellers in Jerusalem, for whose benefit Aramaic would be the obvious choice. In masterly fashion he connected the phenomena they were witnessing with the words of the prophet Joel. In the last days, said Joel, God would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, and there would be prophecy and visions and dreams. Added to this there would be signs in the heavens, and the sun darkened. Salvation would be proclaimed for all who will receive it. There is not much doubt that Peter saw in that day's happenings in the upper room the beginning of all that in history is to fulfil Joel's prophecy. He could not, at that moment, have had any idea of the time that was to elapse before the words would have their complete fulfilment. He did see, as Paul saw later on and so expressed himself to the men of Athens (Acts 17), that this Day of Pentecost was the beginning of all that was promised. He saw that there and then God began to pour out His Spirit, admittedly as yet to a strictly limited and small company, and they in consequence were now prophesying as was said of them. He might very reasonably have recalled the darkening of the sun which had occurred on the day of the crucifixion, the earthquake, the rending of the Temple Veil, the coming out of their tombs of certain holy men of old, as a fulfilment of the "signs from heaven" of Joel. With conviction he proclaimed to the people of Jerusalem that the time had come for God to move towards the fulfilment of all that Joel and other prophets had predicted would take place at the appearance of Messiah. It will not be until the coming Age of Christ's reign over the earth that all men without exception will experience their full and final opportunity to call upon the name of the Lord, in the light of full knowledge and understanding of what is involved, and so be saved. Nevertheless it is true, as Paul, again, said to those philosophers of Athens, that up to Pentecost God had suffered the times of man's ignorance, but from that moment calls upon all men everywhere to repent. So the pouring out of the Spirit and the consequent prophesying, and the outward signs accompanying these things, had a limited fulfilment and application back in AD33. It will have a greater and universal fulfilment in the future day when the Christ, whom Peter preached, takes to Himself His great power and commences His reign over the nations.

This was only the introduction to Peter's real thesis; the essential preliminary, the basis upon which his major message was to be built. Peter had something better than the prophets to talk about; he was going to preach Christ, and all that He was going to do for the sons of men. This reference back to the prophecy of Joel was for two reasons. First, it was to explain the enthusiastic fervour of the preachers and the fact that they were speaking in unusual tongues. Some of the bystanders had put that down to intoxication. Not so, said Peter, so early in the morning; it was now only 9.00 a.m. and the sun had only been up three hours. This, he said, is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit and it is just what the prophet Joel said would happen. Second, it was to awaken the minds of those who listened to a consciousness of the fulfilment of Messianic prophecy in their own day. All the sons of Israel in those times were fully conversant with the predictions of the prophets and most of them believed that they would surely come to pass. What Peter had to insist now was that the day of fulfilment had come and they themselves were the witnesses. There were none in Israel who did not long for deliverance, from the Roman yoke and from the power of Gentile nations, and to be once again a free theocratic nation as in the time of King David. Most of them believed in the coming Age when a son of David's line would sit on the throne of the Lord in Jerusalem and rule with justice and judgment forever. So Peter took them through the magic words of the golden prophecy and brought them to its sublime culmination. "It shall come to pass, that whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved".

There he stopped, surveying the multitude for a moment while his listeners waited, tense and expectant. So did he plunge into his real discourse. "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God among you… you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men…. God raised him up."

The great truth was out! Peter had publicly proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus and made that great thing the central feature of all that he was going to say. He did not mince matters. You crucified Christ; God has raised him from the dead. It says a great deal for Peter's sincerity and the impression created by his blazing fervour that apparently no voices were raised in protest and the crowd continued to listen. They listened, while the supremely confident Apostle took them back again to their own Scriptures, our Old Testament, and reminded them of the prophetic words of David describing this very resurrection in all its details. David prophesied of Christ's resurrection; they all knew that well: in a swift transition back to the present Peter connected that prophetic insight with the One of whom he was now talking. "This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses". And now, exalted to the heavens, and seated at the right hand of God the Father, He, by His power, has sent this manifestation of the Holy Spirit upon His followers in the sight of all men as a sign and a witness. The outward evidence to all Israel that Jesus of Nazareth had indeed survived death, had risen from the grave and was now possessed of all power in heaven and earth, resided in what they could see and hear in the faces and words of this band of men who had followed Jesus. They had dispersed, panic-stricken, into hiding at the time of his arrest and execution, and had now come out boldly to proclaim "He lives - we have seen and conversed with him". No wonder Peter concluded this appeal to his fellow-countrymen on that memorable day with the stirring assertion "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified".

There is perhaps no wonder, either, that his hearers, or at least a great proportion of them, were convinced and conscience-stricken. "Men and brethren" they cried, the close relationship in which they all, people and Apostles alike, stood as fellow- "what shall we do?" That expression "men and brethren" meant that they invoked heirs of the Law Covenant and joint-participants in the commonwealth of Israel. There was no animosity or resentment for the blunt manner in which Peter laid the blame for the death of Jesus at their doors. They accepted their guilt and by implication assented to the truth of the Apostle's exegesis of their ancient Scriptures. They put themselves unreservedly into the disciples' hands. "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"

The answer, of course, was what it has always been since in similar circumstances. "Repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ". That was all. There was to be no exacting of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth as was the standard laid down by their own Law, given by the hand of Moses at Sinai. God asked only repentance and conversion, and the slate was wiped clean. Of course, that repentance and conversion involved the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Messiah, as the One that should come to bring righteousness and peace to a troubled world. It meant interpreting the prophecies in a new and clearer light. No longer were they to think of His coming in terms of a military conqueror who would drive out the Romans and restore Israel to her ancient glory without any thought of what was to happen to anybody else. They were now to think in terms of a worldwide redemptive plan under which the Messiah would eventually come to all men in the endeavour to save as many as could be or willed to be saved. Not only the living but the long-past dead, were to have a place in this fruit of the Resurrection. "The promise" Peter told them "is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call" and that covers, according to Paul, all men, for God, he says "now calls all men everywhere to repent". For perhaps the first time in their lives those Jews standing there in Jerusalem, listening to the first Christian preacher and first Christian sermon, understood what their own prophet Isaiah had meant when he told their fathers that they as a nation were destined to become a light to the nations, to declare the salvation of God to the ends of the earth.

There were three thousand converts. It was a marvellous sequel to a wonderful day. Many of them must have returned to their home countries during the next few weeks, their Pentecost pilgrimage ended. That fact may have something to with the very early establishment of Christianity in so many parts of the Roman Empire. In the meantime and until they departed from Jerusalem, they, with the native converts, "continued steadfast in the apostle's doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread and of prayers". Peter found himself at once, leading a Christian community several thousand strong, a community exhibiting all the zeal and enthusiasm of the newly converted, and all the necessity of instruction in the faith which that new situation involved. In addition to the spirit of prophecy Peter undoubtedly had great need of the spirit of wisdom during the strenuous days which lay immediately ahead.