Question regarding Acts 2:37-38

[cameronpickett]

37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Would anyone mind giving an explanation why the Spirit was promised after water baptism here? And why in other accounts like in Peter’s sermon to Cornelius, in Acts 10, did they receive the Spirit upon hearing and then afterwards baptized with water?

 

[Contra_Mundum]

In my opinion, you are forcing a strict sequence on a set of terms (in the Act.2 text) that may just as nicely be interpreted in a conjunctive manner; that is to say the reception of the Holy Spirit is promised unto faith--the same faith that willingly receives baptism--but there is no demand for a specific order of events, meaning that the manifest presence of the Spirit in Act.10 makes evident the fitness of applying the sign to them apparently already in possession of the Gift attached to the sign. The preaching contains woe, deliverance, direction, and information concerning accompanying benefit: all rewarded unto faith.

Those Jews in Jerusalem to whom Peter preached on Pentecost needed to find grace and forgiveness from the One they only recently spurned, who was made Heir of all the covenant promises. It was most fitting for them to find reunion in covenant with God through his Covenant Man, which union/reunion was marked on them by baptism. And flowing from their restoration, they submitted to a new sign of the covenant and received the accompanying Gift from their newly acknowledged Lord. Did each one wait for the moment post-baptism when the Spirit should be "given" him? That seems like possibly too fine a demand.

Others hearing the gospel preached, whether Jews, Samaritans, or Gentiles (in later contexts) often had faith born in them, which was immediately rewarded by the Gift. Thereby it was evident that receiving the visible mark of union to Christ and his body on earth was pro forma requisite to them as they were bound to join the church and separate from the world and previous devotions/covenants.