““So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!” Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”” Acts 2:36-37 NLT
Peter, clearly under the influence of the Holy Spirit makes a declaration after this wide-reaching, powerful sermon. ““Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this” (vs 14). He kicked it off with a quote from the Old Testament prophet Joel, and finished it with a passage out Psalm 110:2 where Nathan is prophesying over David. Then Peter ends with these words above.
Peter, pulling from historical and effectual words of God’s spokespersons, lays it before the listeners, “let everyone know for certain.” Would they still, after all these years, be hearing but never understand, as Isaiah said (Isa 6:9-10)? Jesus preached that (Mark 4:12), and now Peter is using the plumb-line of truth to gauge where his listener’s hearts are at. I wonder: Did the declaration seem to hang in the air penetrating into their souls, “piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart,” as Hebrews 4:12 says it does? This isn’t a bully-pulpit move, nor weaponizing the Word of God for revenge, for personal gain or profit, nor to rain down justice on their heads. This was skillfully applying the eternal Word of God as a healing scalpel.
And it worked!
Luke records that Peter’s sermon had the intended results of reaching their hearts. When Luke wrote, “Peter’s words pierced…” I just had to look that word up. It’s “katanussó” – it “pierce all the way down, i.e. deeply (thoroughly) pained; “emotionally pierced through”; psychologically pricked, emotionally stunned (Abbott-Smith). It is used only in Acts 2:37. Short-code, it worked. How do we know it worked? Because they said, “Brothers, what should we do?” They heard, they understood and asked about their next step.
This moment wasn’t about hearing or understanding more truth, it was doing something with it. Isn’t this what every Pastor/Preacher wants? Not to just increase knowledge or comprehension, but have the listeners asking what they should do – How Should We Then Live? Now, in the great reversal of hard-heartedness, they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed! Oh, may the truth of God’s Word pierce all those have seen and have heard to then understand and turn to God, coming home that they would be healed.
Prayer
Dad,
I never want to live under the curse of seeing and hearing only to ignore Your words of life! I want to remain open, tender, humble and quickly responsive to the truth and the move of your Holy Spirit. And, it breaks my heart that so many I know saw, heard and even understood, but no longer turn towards you, instead they continue to walk away from you. I pray your Holy Spirit pursues and pierces, contending for their heart, arresting their attention for them to come home.