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Acts 2:37
Now when they heardthis, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Menand brethren, what shall we do?

Acts 8:6-8
And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did…

Acts 13:48
And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

were baptized.

Acts 2:38
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

added.

Acts 2:47
Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Acts 1:15
And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)

Acts 4:4
Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.

were baptized
Baptism here is a public declaration of faith and repentance, symbolizing the washing away of sins and the believer's identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Romans 6:3-4). This act follows the Great Commission inMatthew 28:19, where Jesus commands His disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The practice of baptism has roots in Jewish purification rituals but is given new meaning in the Christian context as an initiation into the community of believers.

and about three thousand
The number "three thousand" signifies a significant and rapid growth of the early church, indicating the powerful work of the Holy Spirit. This event is reminiscent of the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai, where about three thousand people died due to idolatry (Exodus 32:28). In contrast, the giving of the Spirit at Pentecost brings life and salvation to about three thousand, highlighting the new covenant's superiority and grace.

were added to the believers
This addition to the believers marks the formation of the early Christian community, united in faith and purpose. The term "added" suggests divine action, as it is God who grows the church (1 Corinthians 3:6). This community is characterized by devotion to the apostles' teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer (Acts 2:42), reflecting the communal and spiritual life intended for the church.

that day
The phrase "that day" refers to the day of Pentecost, a Jewish feast occurring fifty days after Passover, celebrating the firstfruits of the wheat harvest and the giving of the Law. This timing is significant as it marks the birth of the church and the firstfruits of the new covenant community. The events of this day fulfill Jesus' promise of the Holy Spirit inActs 1:8, empowering the disciples to be His witnesses in Jerusalem and beyond.

Peter had just proclaimed the death, resurrection, and lordship of Jesus (Acts 2:22-36). The crowd was “cut to the heart” (Acts 2:37), and Luke tells us, “Those who embraced his message…” Genuine reception involves:

• conviction—John 16:8 reminds us the Spirit “will convict the world of sin,” seen here in the people’s urgent cry, “What shall we do?”

• repentance—Peter’s call was clear: “Repent and be baptized” (Acts 2:38).

• faith—John 1:12 promises, “To all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”

Embracing the message is therefore a conscious, wholehearted turning to Christ in repentance and faith, affirmed by Scripture as the only doorway into salvation (Acts 4:12).

Immediate baptism followed belief, underscoring that obedience is not optional but expected.

•Mark 16:16: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.”

•Acts 8:36-38: the Ethiopian eunuch requests baptism the moment faith is born.

•Romans 6:3-4: baptism pictures union with Christ in death and resurrection.

The act did not save them—faith did—but baptism publicly declared their allegiance and visibly joined them to the new covenant community (Galatians 3:27).

This number shouts the abundant harvest Jesus promised (Matthew 9:37-38) and testifies to the Spirit’s power. Interestingly, when Israel sinned with the golden calf, “about three thousand men” fell in judgment (Exodus 32:28); here, under the new covenant, the same number finds life. God reverses the curse, demonstrating grace far greater than sin (Romans 5:20).

Conversion is never merely individual; the Lord “added to their number” (Acts 2:47).

•1 Corinthians 12:13: “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.”

•Acts 2:42-47 describes the immediate fruit—teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer.

The phrase “that day” highlights the urgency of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2): when the gospel is heard, today is the day to respond. Membership in Christ’s body begins at once, with new believers enveloped in a life-giving community marked by worship, generosity, and joy.

Acts 2:41 records the Spirit-empowered pattern for every generation: the gospel is preached, hearts are pierced, people repent and believe, they obey through baptism, and the Lord Himself adds them to His church. Three thousand souls in one day prove that no heart is too hard and no crowd too large for God’s saving reach.

Three thousand souls.--The largeness of the number has been urged as rendering it probable that the baptism was by affusion, not immersion. On the other hand, (1) immersion had clearly been practised by John, and was involved in the original meaning of the word, and it is not likely that the rite should have been curtailed of its full proportions at the very outset. (2) The symbolic meaning of the act required immersion in order that it might be clearly manifested, andRomans 6:4, and1Peter 3:21, seem almost of necessity to imply the more complete mode. The swimming-baths of Bethesda and Siloam (see Notes onJohn 5:7;John 9:7), or the so-called Fountain of the Virgin, near the Temple enclosure, or the bathing-places within the Tower of Antony (Jos.Wars,v. 5, ? 8), may well have helped to make the process easy. The sequel shows (1) that many converts were made from the Hellenistic Jews who were present at the Feast (Acts 6:1); and (2) that few, if any, of the converts were of the ruling class (Acts 4:1). It is obvious that some of these converts may have gone back to the cities whence they came, and may have been the unknown founders of the Church at Damascus, or Alexandria, or Rome itself. . . .