Regarding the Jews that received Peter’s message and were baptized and subsequently the 3,000 that also came to Christ through Peter’s speech after Pentecost: Was Christ the Messiah to them, or was he their Savior, as he is to you and me? I’ve always thought that Grace came to those that believed that Christ died for our sins, and that we received Salvation through acceptance of this Gift. Was this not the mystery that came to Paul after Damascus and his three years of being tutored by Christ in Arabia ?
He was both. Messiah means anointed one or chosen one. Jesus was chosen to die for the sins of mankind, Jew or Gentile, to bring God’s salvation to the ends of the earth (Isaiah 49:6). His Hebrew name, Yeshua, means God brings salvation. In Acts 2:38 Peter said, “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.”
The mystery Paul referred to was that this forgiveness had also been made available to the Gentiles and they also were heirs together with Israel in the promise in Christ Jesus (Ephes. 3:6)