The passage
      v36. Jesus was acclaimed messiah at his baptism by the Father, a status he did not openly claim during his life. In the end, the Sanhedrin rejected even the possibility that Jesus was the messiah. God, on the other hand, affirmed Jesus' messianic credentials, and did so in his resurrection; he was "declared the Son of God with power.... by the resurrection from the dead", Rom.1:4. Jesus is Israel's long-awaited messiah, both Lord (a messianic title used for Gentiles) and Christ (a messianic title used by Jews) and yet it was the people of Israel who brought about his death.
      v37. To reject the messiah of Israel is a horrific crime, and obviously many in the crowd understood the consequences. "Brothers, what are we to do?" they cried.
      v38. Peter tells them what they can do. First, they must recognize their rejection of God's messiah and turn to him for mercy (repent). Not only will their sins be forgiven, but they will receive the long-awaited outpouring of the Spirit. Second, in similar fashion to the ministry of John the Baptist, Peter tells his hearers that they must submit to water baptism. Water baptism serves as a visible expression of repentance and forgiveness, a washing which illustrates our turning to God for cleansing. Although Peter's call to respond to the gospel is similar to that of John the Baptist, it has two distinct differences. First, it is "in the name of Jesus Christ." The phrase probably means something like "under the personal authority of Jesus Christ", an authority which applies to the person baptizing as well as the person baptized. The apostles would often use the same words when they were performing a mirracle. Second, Christian baptism adds to John's baptism in that it is linked to "the gift of the Holy Spirit." The promised gift of the Holy Spirit is the gift of God's indwelling presence in the life of a believer, rather than an infilling of his power for ministry. None-the-less, the gift of, and the empowering of, the Spirit, are integrally linked and belong to all who "repent and believe."
      v39. The good news of God's mercy in Christ is not just for Jews, but for all mankind, for all who "call on the name of the Lord", Jol.2:32, Isa.57:19. Yet, the "all" Peter is speaking of here is probably the scattered remnant of Isreal. Peter adds, it is for those whom "God will call." In Calvinist theology God's call serves to gather those predestined to salvation, ie. it is an effectual call. The call is certainly effectual in that it gathers a lost people for salvation, yet the Bible is clear that those who become members of God's predestined called-out people are those who choose to "repent and believe".
      v40. Israel was always a "faithless and perverse generation", Lk.9:41, yet within Israel there remains a faithful remnant, a godly line. Ultimately, Jesus is that godly remnant, the faithful Israel, and to this godly line a people can now escape from "this corrupt generation" and the judgement that hangs over it.
      v41. In the conversion of 3,000 people we see a fulfillment of Jesus' promise of the "greater things" that will following his ministry. Jesus, in his own ministry, never witnessed such a response to the gospel.

God in our midst
      On a number of occasions, Paul the apostle spoke of the struggle he went through in gospel ministry. He would often have to "argue" out the gospel with his hearers. It was not a take it or leave it business. In our passage for study we find Peter similarly striving to convince his audience of the importance of his message. He "warned" them of the danger they faced, and "pleaded" with them to accept the salvation that was possible through Christ. As a response to that call some 3,000 people chose to follow Christ.
      Do we believe that the gospel has the power to inspire people to such enthusiasm and risk-taking today? Perhaps the appeal of Peter's message lay in the promise of a direct relationship with God in Christ; it was "for you and your children and for all who are far away." Perhaps the appeal of the message lay in the sincerity and conviction of the disciples. Perhaps it lay in the hope that the power which had transformed these simple fishermen into orators could be a driving force within the lives of the hearers and their communities. If simple fishermen could be agents of God's Spirit, then there is hope for everyone.
      Clearly the Spirit can work with us as he worked with them. The mysterious power of the gospel still transcends human endeavour, both for the evangelist and the audience.

v37
      akousanteV (akouw) aor. part. "when the people heard this" - having heard. The participle probably forms a temporal clause, as NIV.
      katenughsan (katanussomai) aor. pas. "they were cut to [to the heart]" - they were pierced, stung, stabbed. The inward pain associated with anxiety and remorse. "They were cut to the quick", Phillips.
      thn kardian (a) "to the heart" - in the heart. Accusative of reference, although a locative dative variant exists.
      loipouV "other [apostles]" - rest, others. Luke includes the other apostles in this ministry; it is not all down to Peter.
      ti poihswmen (poiew) aor. subj. "what shall we do" - what should we do, [men, brothers]. Deliberative subjunctive. The literal "men, brothers" is a "fraternal Jewish form of address", Longenecker. "Brothers, brothers, so now what do we do?" Peterson.

v38
      "replied" - [and Peter to them]. "Peter said to them", Barclay.
      metanohsate (metanoew) aor. imp. "repent" - turn, change direction. A call for a complete change in direction with regard a person's attitude toward God, as opposed to a feeling sorry for wrongdoing, eg. "reform your lives", Fitzmyer. "Turn back to God", CEV.
      baptisqhtw (baptizw) aor. pas. imp. "be baptized" - be immersed, overwhelmed. Many commentators integrally link repentance and baptism as necessary elements for forgiveness, but it is not unreasonable to argue that water "baptism" is but the outward expression of repentance, or possibly "an outward sign of repentance and remission of sins", Bruce, such that it is the repentance which gains forgiveness, not the outward sign. So, "repent, expressing this in water baptism, for the forgiveness of sin." Of course, every time we see the word "baptism" we assume it refers to water baptism. The simplified exposition provided in the sample sermon takes this traditional line, but the word "baptism", meaning "immersed", is used in other ways, eg. "immersed/baptized in fire" (= persecution), and "immersed/baptized in the Spirit". There remains the possibility that "immersed in the Name" refers to something other than, or wider than, water baptism. Broughton Knox has suggested that it refers to being immersed into the gospel, into the teaching of Christ, into the person of Christ. So, in v41, "those who believed were immersed in water" could mean, "those who believed were instructed in the Christian faith." Yet, it is more likely that "repent and be baptized [in the Name]" is a technical descriptor of what had become, by the time Luke wrote Acts, standard practice, namely, gospel response (repentance and faith), followed by formal instruction in the Christian faith ("in the Name"), followed by a public affirmation of that faith in water baptism (a baptism "in the Name" = confirmed under the authority of Jesus). Of course, given the explosion of events at Pentecost and the enthusiastic response of many in the crowd, the niceties of Christian instruction would have been the last thing on the apostles mind. Finding some water would have been the pressing issue; instruction can come later. I don't think I'll get into the "how much water?" debate as I still haven't worked out how many angels reside on the head of a pin!!!
      epi + dat. "in [the name of Jesus Christ]" - on, on the basis of. Interesting use of this preposition here, given that it is the only time it is used with the phrase usually translated "baptized in the name." The preposition is often en + dat., "in", 10:48 (some texts read en for this verse), particularly when the phrase is used in a healing; either taken locally, or instrumentally, so Bruce, the Name being an "accompanying circumstance." The other preposition of choice is eiV, "into" at 8:16, 19:5, with "baptizing them in (into) the name", Matt.28:19. Possibly Luke didn't think the preposition was important to the sense of the phrase as a whole since it served to generally expressed "the power and authorization for apostolic activity", Johnson. So, "on/in/into the name of Jesus Christ" = "committed to and identified with Jesus", Longenecker, "on the authority of" Jesus, Bruce; "under the authority of Jesus", Dunn.
      tw/ onomati (a atoV) "the name" - the name. The "name" being the person of.
      eiV "for" - to, into. Here obviously the preposition expresses purpose.
      afesin (iV ewV) "the forgiveness [of your sins]" - forgiveness [of the sins].
      lhyesqe (lambanw) fut. "you will receive" - "As a result of your becoming a new-born spiritual babe, he saturates you body, soul and mine with his very nature, which will increasingly make you, your thoughts, your responses, and the totality of what you are, reflect who he is", Junkins.
      tou aJgiou pneumatoV gen. "[the gift] of the Holy Spirit" - The genitive is descriptive, epexegetic, explaining the nature of "the gift." Note, Peter's call to faith is little different to that of John the Baptist. The differences being, "in the Name of Jesus Christ" and "the gift of the Holy Spirit." This "gift" is of the Spirit himself, not "the gifts of the Spirit", although the presence of the Spirit naturally opens access to the gifts.

v39
      hJ epaggelia (a) "the promise" - The promise is probably the new covenant promise, Jer.31:33, the new heart within, which entails the gift of the Spirit for renewal apart from the law, a reality which fulfills the promise to Abraham and a truth which is central to Pauline theology, cf. Barrett, Johnson. More generally "the covenant of grace", Bruce. On the surface at least, the promise is that of forgiveness and the gift of the Spirit.
      uJmin dat. pro. "to you" - Dative of possession, is also "to your children" and "to the ones far into the distance." "All who are far off" are presumably "the lost" of Israel (the Diaspora - Israel in exile), rather than Gentiles, given that the audience was made up of Jews (not so Barrett). Of course, "the promise" does apply to Gentiles, "the stranger within the gates", but all in good time.
      oJsouV an + subj. "for all" - as many as [may call]. Forming an indefinite clause.
      proskaleshtai (proskaleomai) aor. subj. "will call" - may call. Possible echo of Joel 3:5, not included in 2:17-21, Fitzmyer. The promise applies to the called-out people of God, although this says nothing about how a person becomes part of this people. Some, of course, do argue that an effectal call is intended here.

v40
      eteroiV te logoiV pleiosin "with many other words" - many other words. The dative is obviously instrumental, "with", as NIV. Interesting comment indicating that this is only a summary of Peter's sermon, a truth that probably applies to all the recorded speeches in Acts.
      diemarturato (diamarturomai) aor. "he warned them" - he testified, declared. "Testified by argument", Bruce.
      parekalei (parakalew) imperf. "pleaded" - was appealing, urging, exhorting [to them]. The imperfect is durative, probably here iterative, "kept on urging", expressing repeated action. "He implored them", Phillips.
      swqhte (swzw) aor. pas. imp. "save yourselves" - let be saved. A reflective sense is possible, as NIV, but salvation from divine judgment for the remnant of Israel is a divine act of mercy, so "accept salvation", Barrett, cf. 2:21.
      thV skoliaV adj. "[this] corrupt [generation]" - crooked, bent. "This twisted Generation", Johnson, cf. Deut.32:5.