Acts 2:38 Baptism

Target year level: Year Eight

Scripture text

Introduction

The text is in that section of Acts which can be given the title The Jerusalem Church (Acts 1:12-5:42). This section of Acts has a Jewish setting and narrates events related to the life of the first Christian communities and the conflicts with Jewish authorities that these communities experienced. The Acts of the Apostles is itself the second part of a larger work, Luke-Acts, attributed to a common author, Luke, whose sophisticated and elegant Greek writing is much admired by scholars. Book One, the Gospel of Luke, has as its primary focus the ministry of Jesus to the Jews culminating in Jerusalem, the centre of Judaism. Book Two, the Acts of the Apostles, has as its primary focus the ministry of Jesus’ disciples beginning in Jerusalem and moving out to the Gentile world culminating in Rome, the centre of the Roman Empire.

For further information, see the Teacher Background information, Who wrote the Gospels and when?and the The New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE),Introduction to Acts .

World behind the text

The Gospel of Luke tells the story of Jesus’ public ministry culminating in Jerusalem. The Acts of the Apostles continues the narrative of the Jesus Movement as it moves beyond its predominantly Jewish setting in Jerusalem to the wider Greco-Roman World that is religiously, linguistically and culturally diverse. The Acts of the Apostles culminates in the proclamation of the Gospel by Paul in Rome.

World of the text

Acts Chapter 2 emphasises the work of the Holy Spirit at the birth of the Church at Pentecost (2:1-4) and in Peter’s address to the assembled crowd (2:17-18, 33-34). When Luke gives his readers an account of the first conversions to the Christian Way he has Peter sum up the essentials of becoming a Christian: “Repent, and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38) In the following text (Acts 2:43-47) Luke narrates the effects of repenting, being baptised and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. In his account of life among the believers, sharing is the norm, those in need are cared for and gratitude to God, good will, and generosity of spirit abound. This passage summarises the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit that are elaborated in greater detail in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 and Galatians 5:22-23 .

World in front of the text

Building viable common life that is harmonious and serves the common good can be difficult. In contemporary western society an over-emphasis on the individual can result in selfish and self-centred attitudes and sinful behaviours that gradually erode authentic community life.

In Acts 2:34-37, Luke describes the first Christian communities in terms that seem just too good to be true. Maybe there is something of the ‘ideal’ in Luke’s account since in other places in Acts, in the New Testament Letters and in the Gospels there is clear evidence that the early Christian communities exhibited the flaws and faults that communities generally are susceptible to.

Acts 2:38 emphasises the need for repentance and for turning away from sin without which the gifts of the Holy Spirit manifested in genuine community are not possible. In secular terms, we could say that it is self-centredness and selfish behaviours that destroy community and other-centeredness and unselfish behaviours which build community. In a Christian sense, the gifts of the Holy Spirit put love as described in 1 Corinthians 13 as the basis on which Christian community, and indeed any genuine community, must be built if it is to flourish.