37Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” 38Peter said to them, “Repent, and each 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. 39For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” 40And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.”
Guilt has been established, but who was guilty of killing Jesus? Peter is not referring to the soldiers who carried out the execution. Nor is he speaking of the Romans (i.e., Pilate or the Romans). He is speaking to “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem” (Acts 2:14), or, more specifically, “Men of Jerusalem” (Acts 2:22). One immediately thinks of the chief priests and rulers who cried out to Pilate, “Crucify Him, crucify Him” (John 19:6, 15), and the crowd hysterically agreed (Matt. 27:22–23, Mark 15:13). Peter preached to all who would hear, and his message extends to all who had not believed in Jesus. Not just the Jews, but we must add all of us, for whose sin Jesus was crucified and died—we are all guilty of His death!
As the old saying goes, “If the shoe fits, wear it.” A grave sense of guilt and responsibility settled on the crowd present. Whether that includes the mockers of Acts 2:13 is uncertain. But there was a massive response, which Luke describes as a heart-piercing, followed by a remorseful, submissive attitude: “Brethren, what shall we do?” There is no thought about the apostles starting a new religion called “Christianity.” A restoration of Israel to God is in focus, a reformation to what God had called them to.
The apostolic response? Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Acknowledge and turn from your rebellion against God. Show the integrity of your change of heart by the outward show of baptism. This represents a complete break with the past and a recognition of the need for and reality of forgiveness. Peter is not saying that baptism brings about forgiveness, nor is he saying that repentance is a work of righteousness that merits salvation. These are the inward reflections of the heart that give way to outward actions.
Peter succinctly summarizes: “Be saved from this perverse generation,” that is, from the company of those who continue to reject Jesus Christ. “Each of you” indicates this repentance to be an individual matter, not something some people can do by simply being part of the Jewish people.
Lord, I stand before You alone, repentant and believing that Jesus died for me.
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