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A Year in the Bible with Daily Grace
S4: Week 44 Day 4: Connecting Acts 2:32-33 & Joel 2:28-29
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- [00:01]
A
Welcome to A Year in the Bible with daily Grace. This year, we want to spend a few minutes with you every day walking through our study, Christ in All of Scripture. Each week we will dive deeply into two passages of Scripture, one from the Old Testament and one from the new, seeing how they connect and point to Jesus.
- [00:18]
B
Whether you are doing the study yourself or just following along with us here, we are hopeful that through studying these passages each week, you will see how Christ is not only present throughout the entire Biblical story, but but the center of it. Hey, everyone. Welcome back to A Year in the Bible. My name is Alexa and I'm here with my co host, Beth.
- [00:36]
A
Hi, friends.
- [00:37]
B
This week we have been looking at Joel 2:28, 29 and Acts 2:32, 33 separately. And today we're going to talk about how these passages fit together and especially how they both point us to Christ. So first, Beth, can you give us a little context for the passage from Acts that we annotated yesterday?
- [00:55]
A
Yeah, of course. So in the beginning of Acts 2, we see that after Jesus's ascension, the Spirit fell on his disciples and they began to miraculously preach the Gospel to all the people who were gathered in Jerusalem for the Pentecost celebration. And so the Spirit gave them the ability to speak in the languages of all the people who were gathered there. And it actually caused great commotion. And so Peter decided to stand up and give a speech explaining to all of the people that were gathered there what was happening. And these verses that we read and annotated yesterday are part of that speech.
- [01:29]
B
That's helpful, thanks. So with that context in mind, can you help us see how these passages connect to each other and to Christ?
- [01:36]
A
Yeah. So when we were discussing Joel, we talked about how God promised to pour out his Spirit after the day of the Lord, which is the day of God's judgment, and after the people turned to him in repentance. And so then here in Acts, we see that this pouring out of the Spirit happens on this day of Pentecost, which happens after Jesus's death and resurrection and his ascension. And Peter in his speech, just a few verses before the ones we annotated actually quotes the Joel passage directly. So we can conclude that this moment is the fulfillment of what Joel prophesied. The day of the Lord happened when Jesus died on the cross and rose again. And through his death, God's judgment fell upon all of our sins that Jesus bore upon himself. And through his resurrection, God's judgment fell on sin, death, and the powers of Satan. But after that judgment happened God is now able to show grace by pouring out his spirit on all who repent.
- [02:28]
B
It's so amazing to think that Jesus took on the judgment that humans actually deserve. It's sinful humanity who should receive God's judgment. And we know that ultimately when Christ returns, that judgment will happen for those who don't repent. But because Jesus took on God's judgment on the cross, those of us who do repent not only have the gift of salvation, but the gift of the Spirit. And, you know, I think it's really easy for us to focus on Christ's crucifixion, and there isn't anything wrong with that, but we don't always give as much attention to Jesus's ascension. So do you want to talk more about Jesus's ascension and how that connects with this week's passages?
- [03:02]
A
Yeah. Like you were saying, Christ's ascension is a really underappreciated aspect of his work. And this is probably because it's kind of a confusing concept. I remember a conversation that I had with a friend where he was saying that he understood why Jesus had to die, why he had to resurrect, but he could not wrap his brain around why he had to ascend. Wouldn't it be better if he just stuck around? But looking at these passages actually shows us why he needed to ascend to the right hand of the Father. In fact, in John 16, 7, 8, Jesus says directly that it is better that he goes away. He says, nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away. Because if I don't go away, the counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment. So we see that without the ascension, the fulfillment of this prophecy cannot take place. The Spirit cannot come and convict the world. I once had a professor say that Jesus had to ascend so that he could take what was local, what was only present in the physical body of Jesus, and make it universal, meaning that it could be present all throughout the world and all over the world and in the bodies of all believers. So Jesus had to go take his place at the right hand of God in the heavens so that he could pour his spirit out on all of those who repent and believe. And it was this first outpouring that was the catalyst for the start of the church as we know it today.
- [04:24]
B
That's really helpful. It would be so great to have Jesus still with us in the same way he was with people before. But the Spirit does secure for us God's continual presence, and he empowers us to live faithful lives to Christ. So the Spirit is such a gift. Well, that is all for today, but we hope that you will join us tomorrow as we close out this week talking about application. Thank you for listening to today's episode of A Year in the Bible with Daily Grace. Be sure to check out our show notes for some helpful links and resources related to today's episode. And make sure you're following a Daily Grace Podcast and the Daily Grace Co on Instagram for more Bible study resources and encouragement. We're looking forward to studying God's Word with you again tomorrow. Bye friends.