But
Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke out to them, “You men of Judea, and all you who dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words. For these aren’t drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel:
Acts 2:14-16
Acts 2 [5.] Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under the sky. When this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were bewildered, because everyone heard them speaking in his own language. They were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Behold, aren’t all these who speak Galileans? How do we hear, everyone in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians: we hear them speaking in our languages the mighty works of God!” They were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” Others, mocking, said, “They are filled with new wine.”
Acts 2 [14.] But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke out to them, “You men of Judea, and all you who dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words. For these aren’t drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel:
Acts 2 [17.] ‘It will be in the last days, says God,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.
Your sons and your daughters will prophesy.
Your young men will see visions.
Your old men will dream dreams.
Yes, and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days,
I will pour out my Spirit, and they will prophesy.
I will show wonders in the sky above,
and signs on the earth beneath;
blood, and fire, and billows of smoke.
The sun will be turned into darkness,
and the moon into blood,
before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.
It will be that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Meaning:
The crowd at Pentecost had asked, “What does this mean?” while others mocked, “They are filled with new wine” (Acts 2:12-13). Peter now stands up to answer. These verses open the first Christian sermon. He first clears away the false explanation, then points the people to the Scriptures, which alone can explain what they have seen and heard.
- “Peter, standing up with the eleven”
Peter does not speak alone. He stands with the eleven, including the newly chosen Matthias (Acts 1:26). The twelve together bear witness, as Jesus had appointed them to do.
It is striking that Peter is the speaker. A few weeks earlier, in the courtyard of the high priest, a servant girl’s questions had frightened him into denial: “I don’t know this man of whom you speak!” (Mark 14:71). Now, filled with the Holy Spirit, he faces thousands in the city where Jesus was crucified. Jesus had promised that in such moments “the Holy Spirit will teach you in that same hour what you must say” (Luke 12:12). The Jewish leaders would later marvel at “the boldness of Peter and John” and recognize “that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).
Jesus had told Peter, “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly” and promised him “the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 16:18-19). On this day Peter opened the door of the kingdom to the Jews gathered in Jerusalem, as he would later open it to Gentiles in the house of Cornelius.
- “Lifted up his voice, and spoke out to them”
Peter addresses “You men of Judea, and all you who dwell at Jerusalem.” He speaks to residents and pilgrims alike and asks for their full attention: “let this be known to you, and listen to my words.” This was not a private conversation but a public proclamation.
- “These aren’t drunken, as you suppose”
Peter answers the mockers with common sense. It was only “the third hour of the day,” about nine in the morning. Devout Jews normally did not eat or drink until after the morning prayers on a feast day, and drunkenness so early would be unusual. The disciples’ joy and boldness had another source. Paul later contrasts the two: “Don’t be drunken with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).
Peter does not answer with anger. He gives a calm and reasonable reply, a model for believers who are misunderstood. Peter himself would later write, “always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear” (1 Peter 3:15).
- “This is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel”
Peter’s explanation comes from Scripture. What the crowd had witnessed was the fulfilment of Joel’s prophecy: “It will happen afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh” (Joel 2:28). Peter goes on to quote the passage at length (Acts 2:17-18).
After the resurrection Jesus had “opened their minds, that they might understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45). Now Peter reads the events of Pentecost in the light of the prophets. Joel spoke of a day when God’s Spirit would not be limited to prophets, priests and kings but given to all his people. That day had arrived.
The Significance of Acts 2:14-16
- Grace that restores and empowers
The man who once denied Jesus now proclaims him boldly. The Holy Spirit can turn fearful, failing disciples into courageous witnesses. No past failure is too great for God’s grace.
- Let Scripture explain experience
Peter did not build his message on the excitement of the moment but on the word of God. Spiritual experiences need to be tested and understood by Scripture. The Bible gives the true meaning of what God is doing.
Cross-References:
Joel 2:28: "It will happen afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;" The prophecy Peter quotes.
Luke 12:12: "for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that same hour what you must say." The promise fulfilled in Peter.
1 Peter 3:15: "always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear:" Peter’s own later counsel.
Conclusion: Standing with the eleven, Peter answered the crowd at Pentecost. He calmly rejected the charge of drunkenness and explained that the outpouring they had witnessed was what God had promised through the prophet Joel. The once fearful disciple, now filled with the Spirit, shows how God restores and uses his people and how Scripture explains his work.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible