“Men
of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him among you, even as you yourselves know,
Acts 2:22
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.’
Acts 2 [22.] “Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him among you, even as you yourselves know, him, being delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by the hand of lawless men, crucified and killed; whom God raised up, having freed him from the agony of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it.
Acts 2 [25.] For David says concerning him,
‘I saw the Lord always before my face,
For he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved.
Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced.
Moreover my flesh also will dwell in hope;
because you will not leave my soul in Hades,
neither will you allow your Holy One to see decay.
You made known to me the ways of life.
You will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
Meaning:
Peter has finished quoting Joel. Now he turns to the main subject of his sermon: Jesus. Calling them “Men of Israel,” the name of God’s covenant people, he urges them to listen. Before speaking of the cross and the resurrection (Acts 2:23), he reminds his hearers of something they already knew. Jesus of Nazareth had lived among them, and God had shown openly, by mighty deeds, that this man came from him.
- “Jesus of Nazareth, a man”
Peter uses the familiar name by which people knew him. Nazareth was an obscure village; Nathanael once asked, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46). Peter begins with Jesus’ humanity: he was “a man” whom they had seen and heard. The sermon will rise step by step until it declares that God has made this same Jesus “both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).
- “Approved by God to you”
The word translated “approved” means shown, proved or publicly attested. Even Nicodemus admitted, “no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him” (John 3:2).
- “By mighty works and wonders and signs”
Peter uses three words for Jesus’ miracles. “Mighty works” stresses the power of God at work. “Wonders” describes the amazement they produced. “Signs” points to their meaning: they showed who Jesus was and that God’s kingdom had come near. Jesus himself sent this answer to John the Baptist: “the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them” (Matthew 11:5).
- “Which God did by him among you”
Peter says that God did these works through Jesus. Jesus spoke the same way: “the Father who lives in me does his works” (John 14:10).
- “Even as you yourselves know”
Peter was not telling the crowd something hidden or secret. Many of them had seen Jesus’ works or heard reliable reports of them. Paul would later tell King Agrippa that “this has not been done in a corner” (Acts 26:26). The gospel rests on public events.
The Significance of Acts 2:22
- God’s testimony to Jesus
Jesus’ miracles were God’s own testimony that he was sent from heaven. Hebrews says that God confirmed the message of salvation “both by signs and wonders, by various works of power, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit” (Hebrews 2:4).
- Responsibility for what we know
Peter reminds the crowd that they knew about Jesus. Knowledge brings responsibility. Those who have heard about Jesus cannot remain neutral; they must decide what they will do with him.
Cross-References:
John 3:2: "no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him." Nicodemus recognizes God’s approval.
Acts 10:38: "God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good" Peter’s summary to Cornelius.
Conclusion: Peter began the heart of his sermon by reminding Israel that Jesus of Nazareth was a real man whom God had openly approved through mighty works, wonders and signs done among them. These public deeds were God’s testimony that Jesus came from him. Knowing this, the hearers, and we too, are called to respond to him.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible