Acts 2: Jesus Already Reigns and His Invitation Has Gone Out

Introduction

Picture yourself in the streets of Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. From the window of a house, you hear people praising God in your native language. You ask a passerby what is going on. The answer: "They are announcing that God has finally brought the world back under his rule."

That is how this message opens, preached at Église Connexion in Paris as part of a series on the book of Acts. The preacher asks the question head on: if God reigns, what does that look like today? He confesses that this fall has been "one of the most complicated" he has known. "God reigns? Well, he must be on a state visit somewhere else," you might think.

The answer is found in Acts 2: Jesus reigns as Lord and Christ from heaven, and by his Spirit he brings people back to God. Two pieces of good news shape the message: the universal reign of Jesus has begun, and his universal invitation has gone out.

Outline of the message

1. God has brought the world back under his rule, but what does that look like?

This is the central claim of Christianity: through Jesus Christ, God has established his rule on earth and put the world back under his authority.
The preacher runs through the images that come to mind: a giant open-air Mass on the Champs-Élysées, marches mixing crosses, "Christ is King" signs and nationalist speeches, a life that smiles on us with health, job and relationships all sorted out, or a church that is "taking off," with packed rooms and huge influence.
Faced with these images, many feel a gap: "My life doesn't feel very much under control. I feel pretty much left to myself."
We are not the first to ask the question. The book of Acts is addressed to Theophilus in the middle of the first century, at a time when the church is fragile, contested and persecuted, and when the apostle Paul is in prison. Theophilus must have wondered: "Is this what God's reign on earth looks like? I was expecting better."

2. Being filled with the Spirit means speaking about Jesus

Before his ascension, Jesus told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came upon them so that they could witness about him. At Pentecost, the promise was fulfilled: they proclaimed the wonders of God in other languages.
The preacher recalls growing up in churches where being filled with the Spirit meant having extraordinary experiences, "not always very connected to Jesus." Yet when Peter is filled with the Holy Spirit, he speaks about the person of Jesus by explaining the Scriptures. "That is what the Spirit enables us to do."
Peter does not try to break the ice. He tells the crowd: you killed the one whose miracles marked him out as coming from God. The preacher finds this funny: when he preaches to a not very Christian audience, he has rarely started by accusing his listeners of murder, along the lines of "Hello, you bunch of murderers."
Christ is not Jesus' last name. The word means "anointed": the one whom God designates by anointing as king.

3. The resurrection proves that Jesus is the Christ

Peter quotes Psalm 16, written by David a thousand years earlier: God is too good and too powerful to let the king he chose rot in a tomb.
Yet David died, his tomb is still there and his body really did decay. God had promised him, in 2 Samuel 7, that one of his descendants would be set on an eternal throne. So David was speaking about the resurrection of the Christ.
Peter and the other disciples are witnesses: they saw Jesus alive after his death.
Throughout history, many have presented themselves as messiahs, sometimes in a ridiculous way, like a former goalkeeper of Coventry City football club, sometimes in a dangerous way, like the founder of the Raëlian movement. How can you know that Jesus is different? Because he rose from the dead, just as had been announced.

4. Jesus is Lord, seated at the right hand of the Father

If Jesus really is the king, where is his throne? We cannot see it. Peter answers: the pouring out of the Spirit shows that Jesus is Lord in heaven (Acts 2:33).
With Psalm 110, David brings us into the heavenly throne room: "Yahweh says to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand.'" The Father and Jesus are on equal footing, both called Lord.
When Kate Middleton married Prince William, she received the royal family's name and the authority that comes with it. Jesus receives the same name as God, Lord, and the same authority.
In the Old Testament, the one who was to pour out the Spirit is the LORD himself. Peter announces that Jesus is the one who poured it out. He is far more than the greatest king of Israel.
Saying that Jesus is in heaven does not mean he is absent or distant. Just as the presidency of the Republic is the supreme authority of the state, the heavenly throne is the highest authority in the universe, and Jesus has taken his seat on it.
The Bible tells of God's plan to bring the world back under his good and gracious rule. Human beings chose to "give the Creator the finger" and declare their independence. The consequences are everywhere: conflict, broken relationships, injustice.

5. A Gospel that is both wonderful and terrifying

We often sum up the Christian message like this: Jesus loves you, he died for you, he invites you into a relationship with him. All of that is true. But the first sermon in the history of the church says something else: "God has made him both Lord and Christ," this Jesus whom you crucified (Acts 2:36).
"It is not that Jesus can improve our life a little. It is that Jesus is Lord, whether we like it or not."
In the first century, the word gospel announced a sweeping change of regime, like a new Roman emperor. That is wonderful, because Jesus is a good Lord who wants the best for our world. It is terrifying for his adversaries.
The preacher uses the end of The Matrix as an example: the hero is killed, comes back to life and turns out to be the chosen one. Everyone rejoices, but his adversaries understand that their days are numbered.
Hence the crowd's question: "Brothers, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37). We did not crucify Jesus, but we have all rebelled against him. The preacher tells how it was as a teenager, when he understood that he had not bowed to King Jesus and was living his own way, that he began to grasp the meaning of the Christian faith.

6. Jesus' universal invitation has gone out

In the preacher's impression, the marches mentioned earlier often use aggressive, even violent language toward their opponents, as if a return to Christian values meant taking revenge. "Jesus is different. His authority is supreme and so is his grace. He does not crush his adversaries, he reaches out his hand to them."
Changing your mind and attitude means realizing you have gone the wrong way and turning around. The preacher, who is "absent-minded," sometimes takes the wrong direction on the metro: he gets off and goes back the other way. Once, he "repented" twice in the same evening.
With Jesus, it means acknowledging that you have lived for yourself instead of living for him: "we take the crown off our head and lay it at his feet." Baptism is saying publicly that you have switched sides.
In return, Jesus offers forgiveness. This crowd had killed the one who had been declared equal to God, "hard to do worse," and yet forgiveness is offered to them.
He also offers the gift of the Holy Spirit: "King Jesus offers to make us his palace." He comes to live in us, to transform us and to make us his spokespeople.
The promise is for you, for your children and for those who are far away (Acts 2:39). "No one is too bad, no one is too far away."

7. Jesus' reign today: the season of royal amnesty

For those who are already Christians, the invitation applies for a lifetime: if Jesus reigns today, then today is the day I repent and take hold of his forgiveness. "We live it every day."
No army, no flag, no political program: God brings the world back under his rule when people repent and believe in Jesus. It is an objective reality, because he is seated on the throne, and an inner reality: giving him the controls of our life.
The day will come when Jesus puts everything in order. For now, we are living in the season of royal amnesty. Like Nelson Mandela offering amnesty to those who publicly acknowledged their crimes during apartheid, Jesus brings the world back to himself through reconciliation, not coercion. "He forgives to win hearts to his cause."
His authority does not depend on our consent. Your colleagues, your boss, your next-door neighbor will one day have to answer to King Jesus.
This reign does not make the headlines. When someone asks for baptism, no news channel comes to cover it. But every time someone repents and believes, the reign of Jesus comes on earth. The risk of a return to Christian values driven by society is "surface-level moralism." Jesus, for his part, wins the heart in order to transform the whole person.
If you expect from this reign a life that always smiles on you, you will end up shaken in your faith. If you understand that Jesus reigns by leading people to bow before his gracious authority, you will find opportunities everywhere to take part in his reign: in your family, at church, with your friends and your colleagues.
The preacher admits that he long believed an incomplete version of the message: God loves us, Jesus died, rose, went up to heaven, and will return. The problem is what this version leaves out: what Jesus is doing today. "We are not left adrift while we wait for his return. He has never left us."
This fall has been complicated for the church and for other Parisian churches. But Jesus has not lost control. If 3,000 people who had called for his crucifixion could change their attitude in a single day, no one is beyond reach. "The arm of the Lord is not too short".
This summer, the preacher shared his worries with his former pastor, in particular the church planting project, ambitious and full of uncertainties. The pastor took a sip of tea and answered: "I believe that this year, Jesus will still be on his throne."

Key takeaways

Being filled with the Holy Spirit means first of all speaking about Jesus by explaining the Scriptures, like Peter at Pentecost.
Through the resurrection and the ascension, God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ. His authority is supreme, whether or not we acknowledge it.
The Gospel announces a change of regime: good news for those who receive Jesus, a threat for those who oppose him.
Jesus does not crush his adversaries, he reaches out his hand: forgiveness, the gift of the Spirit, and a promise for all those who are far away.
His reign advances quietly, one life after another. Even when our lives are complicated, Jesus is still on his throne.

Personal application

What do you expect from the reign of Jesus: a life without difficulty, a triumphant church, political influence, or hearts turning to him?
How would you sum up the Gospel to a friend? Does your version say what Jesus is doing today from his throne?
Is there an area of your life where you are still wearing the crown instead of laying it at Jesus' feet?
Which person or situation do you consider beyond hope? What does the conversion of 3,000 people who had called for Jesus' death change for you?
In which place (family, church, work, neighborhood) can you take part this week in the advance of Jesus' reign?

Verses cited

Frequently asked questions

What does "God has made this Jesus both Lord and Christ" mean in Acts 2?

Christ is not Jesus' last name: the word designates the one whom God anointed as king. Through the resurrection and the ascension, God entrusted Jesus with an authority equal to his own. He reigns today from heaven, and his authority does not depend on our consent.

Why is the Gospel both good news and terrible news?

In the first century, the word gospel announced a change of regime, like the arrival of a new emperor. It is good news, because Jesus is a good Lord who wants the best for the world. It is terrifying for those who oppose him, because they are opposing the supreme authority.

What does Jesus' reign look like today?

No army, no flag, no political program. Jesus' reign advances every time a person changes their attitude and believes in him. We live in the season of royal amnesty: Jesus forgives to win hearts, before the day when he will put everything in order.