Steve Conover: Welcome to The Friends of Israel Today. I'm Steve Conover. With me as always is our host and teacher, Chris Katulka. Have you visited our website, foiradio.org? After this episode ends, I invite you to visit us if you haven't been there. We have over eight years worth of teaching on our site. Again, that's foiradio.org.

Chris Katulka: Steve, we're starting a two-week series today on Acts Chapter 2, and I've titled it Peter's Truth Bombs to Israel, and the reason I've called it that is because after the spirit of God comes down in Acts chapter 2, Peter gets the opportunity to give a message specifically to the people of Israel about what happened at Jesus' death, burial and resurrection, and how it wasn't a mistake. And so we're going to share about these truth bombs as we go through this week and next week as well.

Steve Conover: I've heard Chris teach this series and I know it's going to be meaningful in your life. But first in the news, Fatima Musa Muhammad's recent City University of New York Law commencement message was deemed hate speech by the school itself after the law graduates said these words to the graduating class. And I quote, "As Israel continues to indiscriminately reign bullets and bombs on worshipers, murdering the old and young, as it continues its project of settler colonialism, expelling Palestinians from their homes." Her remarks were considered antisemitic by many. She went on to promote anti-police and anticapitalist rhetoric as well.

Chris Katulka: Steve, could you imagine going to a commencement speech after you go through law school and this is the kind of anti-Israel rhetoric that's being spoken? In fact, I think she did this without the permission of leadership from the school, but it should be no surprise to hear that Miss Musa Muhammad belongs to the Students for Justice in Palestine CUNY Group, which calls for the full decolonization of all illegally held Palestinian lands, or another way of putting it, making Israel non-existent. It's good that CUNY has rejected her speech, but maybe now they should do more to show support for Israel and the Jewish people.

Chris Katulka: Today, we're going to start a two-part series on Peter's sermon to the Jewish people in Acts chapter 2, directly after the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church. So take a listen to Acts chapter 2, starting in verse 14. It says this, "But Peter stood up with the eleven raising his voice and addressed them. “You men of Judea and all of you who live in Jerusalem know this and listen carefully to what I say. In spite of what you think, these men are not drunk, or it is only 9:00 in the morning, but this is what was spoken about through the prophet Joel.”

"’And in the last days it will be,’" God says, "That I will pour out my spirit on all people, and your sons and daughters will prophesy, and your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my spirit in those days and they will prophesy. And I will perform wonders in the sky above and miraculous signs on the earth below. Blood and fire and clouds of smoke, the sun will be changed to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Now before we continue, it might be good to clarify why Peter is preaching that certain Jewish men around him are not drunk. It's important to see this. Now, if you go back earlier in the chapter, it says, starting in Acts 2:2, that, "Suddenly, a sound like a violent wind blowing came from heaven and filled the entire house where they were sitting, and tongues spread out like fire appearing to them and came and rests on each one of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and they began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them."

Well, Luke explains in Acts Chapter 2:5 that Jewish people from all around the world were gathered in Jerusalem for their festival, the festival of Shavuot, or as the text says, Pentecost, and they were there and they could hear each other's native tongues being spoken from where they came from. It says that in Acts Chapter 2:5, and it goes on, it says, "When this sound occurred, a crowd gathered and was in confusion because each one heard them speaking in his own language." And later, it'll say in verse 12 that all were astounded and greatly confused saying to one another, "What does this mean?" But others jeered at the speaker saying, "They're drunk on new wine." This is why Peter had to clarify to his audience that these men are not drunk at 9:00 in the morning. They are full of the Holy Spirit.

This statement should have grabbed the attention of Peter's audience. We have to ask ourselves, why is this so important to his audience? Who is his audience? Well remember, he’s speaking to the men of Judea as it says in Acts 2:14, and that's just another way of saying, actually, Jewish men. So Peter is speaking specifically to the nation of Israel. The Apostle Paul writes this in Romans 1:16 and 17. He says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God's power for salvation to everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek, for the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel from faith to faith. Just as it is written, the righteous by faith will live. The gospel is the power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first."

Now, this is an interesting phrase, "To the Jew first." It could mean that salvation was offered to the Jew first since Jesus and the apostles were Jewish. It could mean that as Christians, everyone needs to hear the gospel to the Jew first and then to the Greek, or to the Gentile, or the Greek word for “first,” protos, could also mean the word, “especially.” "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God's power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew especially, and also to the Greek." I think any one of these translations, these interpretations is good, but the idea of the word as “especially,” I think, encapsulates all of them perfectly.

Of all the people to understand what's going on with Jesus coming as the Messiah, what Messiah even means, his death, his burial, his resurrection, ascending to sit at the right hand of the Father, and then the coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell in the lives of those who believe. If there's anyone who can understand all of these things, it's especially the Jewish person because all of these truths are rooted in the Hebrew scriptures, in the prophets and in the writings. It's the reason the apostle Paul says, starting in Romans 9:3, "For I wish that I myself were a curse, cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, my fellow countrymen who are Israelites, to them belong the adoption as sons, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from them, by human descent, came the Christ who is God overall, blessed forever. Amen."

Now, think about that. As the apostle Paul will begin ministering to the Gentiles, many of them would never have stepped foot in a synagogue or heard a single passage, or read from the law or the prophets or the writings. Gentiles who were turning to Christ didn't have the culture or the teaching or the history that explains why Jesus came and will come again. These things originally belong to the Jewish people, and now Gentiles are being grafted into the olive tree as it says in Romans 11. This is why Peter is about to preach to his Jewish audience. He wants to share how God is fulfilling the promises and prophecies of the Old Testament that they would've been familiar with.

These weren't drunk men. What they were witnessing was spoken by the prophets. God promised in the prophet Joel and others that the spirit would come, and it did. But maybe you're thinking, "I thought the Holy Spirit was present in the Old Testament." What's different in Acts Chapter 2 as Peter is speaking to the Jewish people, and what was going on in the Old Testament? Well, the Holy Spirit was present in the Old Testament, but this person of the Godhead; Father, Son, Holy Spirit, functioned differently between the Old Testament and the events that will happen here in Acts Chapter 2.

In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was actually given to select individuals to lead and guide the people of Israel. There's actually a case in the Book of Numbers in Chapter 11 where the Spirit of God came upon two men who started to prophesy outside of the tabernacle space, and actually, this concerned Joshua. So Joshua went to Moses to tell them to stop, and Moses said to Joshua in Numbers Chapter 11, starting in verse 29, "Are you jealous for me? I wish that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put his spirit on them." And then Moses returned to the camp along with the elders of Israel.

So what does this mean? It shows that in the Old Testament, select people were given God's Spirit to accomplish tasks given by God. Moses was given the Spirit of God to lead and direct the people of Israel. King David was anointed with oil, a symbol of God's Spirit being poured out on him to guide and lead the nation of Israel. But the prophet Ezekiel prophesied that a day would come when God would place his Spirit in all of Israel. Ezekiel 36:26 says, "I will put a new Spirit in you," the Lord says. And then again, in the prophet Joel, he writes, "I will pour my Spirit out." Now listen, when we return, we're going to look more into this moment when God's Spirit is poured out in Acts Chapter 2, and what that actually meant for Peter's Jewish audience. 

But before we get there, I want to share about a new two-day nationwide conference that focuses on biblical truth about Israel and the Messiah. It's called our Proclaim Conference, where you're going to be able to dive deep into topics that should ignite the Christian's heart for God's chosen people and his plan for Israel. Come hear our passionate Bible teachers as they expound on God's Word, leaving the listener encouraged and full of hope.

This year's topic is The World on Edge, where you're going to discover how the sweeping global changes that we are witnessing right before our very eyes relate to God's ongoing conflict with Satan and his plan to triumph over the evil one. You'll be strengthened in your faith and grow in the hope to endure during these troubling days. Now listen, there's actually three opportunities to be a part of our Proclaim Conference. The first is July 28th and 29th, 2023 in Winona Lake, Indiana at Grace College. The next one is September 29th and 30th, 2023 at the Word of Life Bible Institute in Hudson, Florida. And finally, you'll be able to join us at Lancaster Bible College on October 13th and 14th, 2023.

I hope that you join us for our new Proclaim Conferences. Steve, how can our listeners register?

Steve Conover: Yeah, we sure hope to see you at one of our conferences this summer. You can learn more at foiradio.org. Again, that's foiradio.org.

Chris Katulka: Welcome back, everyone. Over the next two weeks, we are taking a deep look at Acts chapter 2 and examining Peter's message to his Jewish audience. Keep that in the back of your mind. Remember, he's speaking specifically to Jewish people. Peter's strictly Jewish audience just watched the moment that the spirit was poured out, and Jewish believers in Jesus were now in dwelt with the Holy Spirit of God. And they tried to say that these new believers were simply drunk on wine, but Peter steps in and uses this as an opportunity, a platform, to share the gospel.

And here's what he says in Acts Chapter 2, starting in verse 22, "Men of Israel, listen to these words. Jesus the Nazarene, a man clearly attested to you by God with powerful deeds, wonders, and miraculous signs that God performed among you through him. Just as you yourselves know, this man, who was handed over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you executed by nailing him to a cross at the hands of the Gentiles. But God raised him up, having released him from the pains of death because it was not possible for him to be held in its power."

Let me tell you what Peter is saying to his Jewish audience. Jesus' death and resurrection were planned by God. It wasn't a mistake in God's plan. It wasn't a hiccup in God's program where he had to adjust on the fly to fix the problem. Jesus' death and resurrection were part of God's plan from the very beginning, Peter tells his Jewish audience, "You know that this Jesus, a man clearly attested to you by God with powerful deeds, wonders, and miraculous signs that God performed among you through him." The Jewish people, Peter is saying, knew Jesus. They knew him as one who taught with authority, a man who performed powerful deeds, wonders, miraculous signs. Look, even the Talmud, which Jewish people read as a commentary on the law, a very sacred text to the Jewish people. Even the Talmud talks about Jesus being a miracle worker.

It says this about him. He says that he, Jesus, is going to be stoned because he practiced sorcery and enticed and led Israel astray. Now, it's not the most flattering sentence about Jesus, but the idea of practicing sorcery is a negative spin on performing powerful deeds, wonders and miraculous signs as Peter is preaching. They all know who Jesus was, and Peter is making it clear that his death and resurrection were no divine mistake. They were a part of God's predetermined plan. They were part of God's foreknowledge.

And notice how Peter states it, "This man, who was handed over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you executed by nailing him to a cross at the hands of Gentiles." He's telling the Jewish people, "You wanted him dead and you handed him over to the Gentiles to finish it." Again, a verse that shows Jew and Gentile were culpable in Jesus' death. The world put Jesus on the cross, not just the Jewish people and not just the Gentiles, everyone did. But Peter is preaching to this Jewish audience saying, "Jesus' death and resurrection were a part of God's predetermined plan and foreknowledge."

The reason he's saying this, really, another way of saying this is that God is very much in control of events that are tied to Jesus, including this suffering that he would go through as a part of his calling. Look, to the Jewish people, they did not expect the Messiah, the King of Israel to die a shameful death at the hand of the very people he was supposed to defeat, the Romans. Jesus' death was assigned to the Jewish people that he had failed the mission, not fulfilled it. However, the apostle Paul shares in Philippians Chapter 2, that he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

As a result, God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. God was in control the entire time, and it would be through Jesus, the Jewish Messiah's obedience to the Father, that through his suffering, God would make him the King of kings.

Steve Conover: Israel, on the verge of becoming a state, a teenaged Holocaust survivor arrives on her shores alone. His name is Zvi Kalisher. Little did he know, his search for a new life in the Holy Land would lead him to the Messiah. Zvi, enthusiastic to share his faith, engaged others in spiritual conversations, many of which can be found in our magazine, Israel My Glory. While Zvi is now in the presence of his Savior, his collective writings from well over 50 years of ministry continue to encourage believers worldwide. Now, Apples of Gold, a dramatic reading from the life of Zvi.

Mike Kellogg: "As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we must be ready in season and out of season, to tell people of our hope." 2 Timothy 4:2.

We must always be prepared to witness for Him because we never know whom the Lord may send across our paths. Recently, one of our neighbors came to ask us many questions about our faith. She said, "I want to know how you came to believe in him." I was delighted to give her my testimony. She continued to visit, and each time she asked if I knew others who believed in the Lord and how they had come to believe in him. One day I asked, "Are you here to draw close to the Lord or to investigate me?" She answered very sincerely, "I am truly interested in knowing how you came to your faith in the Lord." I gave her the Bible and said, "Take this home and read it."

She accepted the Bible and left. About five hours later, her husband knocked on my door. "Please do not give my wife any more of this poison," he said as he handed me the Bible. I told him, "I only want to help her find the truth. If this is poison, then what is the truth?" He was very unhappy and said, "I work against Christian missionaries in Israel, and against all Jews like you who believe in Jesus the apostates." "Then you have come to the right place." "Oh, no," he said. "I would never fight against you because we are neighbors." I told him, "If you think what I am doing is against the law, feel free to bring other members of your organization."

The prophet Isaiah wrote, "The Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, nor his ear heavy that it cannot hear. The Lord may enable your friends to believe what you refuse to believe." He became very serious and said, "You could be killed if I did what you were suggesting." I replied, "But I will not be alone."` I reminded him that God told Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and all of his servants not to fear because he would be with him and would protect them. And so it will be with me, I assured him. He said, "You may not be afraid, but I am. If I tell them that because you are my neighbor, I do not fight against you, I will probably lose my job."

"I have lost my job many times because of my faith in the Lord," I told him. "And I have been in more dangerous situations than I can remember." However, I have never lost my hope in the Lord because he has told us in his Word, "Do not be afraid of them." Deuteronomy 20:1.

The man then left my home. The next day, his wife visited again. She seemed more self-confident than she had before. I asked, "are you not afraid to come here?" She replied, "I have no fear. My husband knows where I am, and he told me He will not inform his superiors about you. Now please, tell me more about the Lord." I praise God for this woman, for her courage and her desire to know about the Lord. I am praying she will come to know Him as her Messiah and Savior, and I am also praying that her husband may one day yield his life to Him.

Chris Katulka: The impact of Zvi's life and ministry in Israel, it didn't end when he went home to be with the Lord. In fact, Zvi's legacy lives on. Our Friends of Israel Ministry representatives continue to share the gospel in Jerusalem, Israel, and really, all throughout the world. We also serve Holocaust survivors and their families. We provide free food, medicine and clothing, and we even promote the safety and security of the state of Israel and the Jewish people everywhere.

So when you give to the Friends of Israel, your donation actually allows us to advance the gospel of our Messiah Jesus. You can give online by visiting foiradio.org. Again, that's foiradio.org. You can click right there on our donate link. Also, be sure to let us know where you listen when you contact us.

Steve Conover: Thank you so much for joining us this week. Chris. We're back in the book of Acts next week. Where are we headed?

Chris Katulka: Yeah. So we're going to actually look at the text that Peter's going to use in the Old Testament to show the Jewish people that he's speaking to exactly why God had always planned out that this suffering that Jesus would go through, his death, burial, and resurrection, were all a part of God's plan from the very beginning.

Steve Conover: We sure hope you join us then. Our host and teacher is Chris Katulka. Today's program was produced by Tom Gallione, edited by Jeremy Strong, who also composed and performs our theme music. Mike Kellogg read Apples of Gold, and I'm Steve Conover, executive producer. Our mailing address is FOI Radio, PO Box 914, Bellmawr, New Jersey, 08099. Again, that's FOI Radio, PO Box 914 Bellmawr, New Jersey, 08099.

And one last quick reminder, to visit us at foiradio.org. The Friends of Israel Today is a production of The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. We are a worldwide evangelical ministry, proclaiming biblical truth about Israel and the Messiah, while bringing physical and spiritual comfort to the Jewish people.