The New Testament Church-the spiritual body called and chosen
to become God's faithful people-began with God giving the Holy
Spirit to Christ's disciples on one of His annual feast days, the Feast
of Pentecost. Acts 2 records how God's Spirit came on those who had
believed Jesus, accepted His teaching and faithfully followed Him. But
the miracles did not stop there. Thousands of others who were gathered
together that day were amazed by the miracles they also saw and heard.
As the apostle Peter spoke on that day, he announced that the promised
Messiah had come. But, rather than being accepted, He had been rejected
and suffered a brutal death. Peter explained that every human being
bears responsibility for Christ's death-not just the Roman soldiers
or the small group of Jews who arrested and brought Jesus to trial.
In the audience were visitors from nations all around the Mediterranean
world and as far away as Parthia and Mesopotamia to the east (Acts 2:7-11).
Many of them probably were not even in Jerusalem when Jesus had been
put to death earlier in the year.
To this diverse audience Peter declared: "Men of Israel, hear
these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles,
wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves
also know-Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge
of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to
death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because
it was not possible that He should be held by it" (verses 22-24).
