When the crowd accuses the apostles of drunkenness (2:13), Peter stands and addresses the crowd (2:14–40). This is the first of the major speeches in Acts, and these speeches provide critical commentary on the significance of the events that Luke is recording. In this speech, Peter first refutes the charges of drunkenness by emphasizing that what just happened points instead to the fulfillment of God’s promises. Quoting from Joel 2:28–32 while inserting the phrase “in the last days” (2:17; cf. Isa. 2:2), he emphasizes that the outpouring of the Spirit points to the arrival of the eschatological era. Another insertion in this quotation (“and they will prophesy,” 2:18) further identifies…