As

Peter stands before the crowd, the Holy Spirit guides his words.

Jesus promised this guidance when he said, “I will give you words

and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or

contradict” (Luke 21:15), and, “When he, the Spirit of truth,

comes, he will guide you into all the truth . . . and he

will tell you what is yet to come” (John 16:13).

Peter’s

message is therefore rooted in the promises of God and the

fulfillment of those promises in Christ. He recalls the words of the

prophet Joel, which contain not only the promise of God’s Spirit

poured out on all people, but also an invitation to call on the name

of the Lord and be saved.

Who

is this Lord? It is Jesus, whom the people crucified.

By

weaving back and forth from the promises of God and the life of

Jesus, Peter builds his case to this key point: “God has made this

Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” And the people

ask, “What shall we do?”

Peter

then guides these listeners to “repent and be baptized . . .

in the name of Jesus Christ.” And they receive the gift of the Holy

Spirit. Pressing further, he urges and pleads with others to call on

the Lord’s name. And about 3,000 people believe and are baptized!