Peter gives a speech where he makes three key points: 1) He boldly claims that Jesus is the Messiah foretold in Jewish scripture, who God "raised up" and sent as his "Servant" to bless people. 2) Jesus turns people away from their sins by appealing to their love for God and revealing God's goodness, rather than threatening punishment. 3) Peter's understanding is growing that the blessing Jesus brings is meant not just for Jews but for people of all nations, as the Old Testament promised. However, Jews will be the first to receive this blessing.

1. JESUS WAS SENT TO BE A BLESSING
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Acts 3:26, "Unto you first God, havingraised up his
Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every
one of you from his iniquities."
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The MissionOf Jesus Christ
Acts 3:26
R.A. Redford
Unto you first, etc. (Revised Version., "Servant," see margin). The Bible its
own interpreter. All acknowledge the greatness,wonderfulness, perfectionof
the gospelportrait. Misconstructionofthe facts by the Jew, by the unbelieving
philosopher, by the mere moralist, by the rationalist. The lastverse of the
apostle's sermona summing up Scripture and facts of history. So always
revelation and history explain one another. The truly evangelicalview of
Christ the only one that appeals to the universal human heart.
I. THE INFINITE FOUNDATION ON WHICH THE GOSPELRESTS. God
raisedup his Son (Servant); God senthim.

2. 1. The twofold aspectof the Divine characterthus presented to us. Love
desiring to bless; righteousnessrequiring the putting awayof iniquities. All is
from the Father.
2. The person and the work of Christ revealedin their intimate union.
"Raisedup," comprehending the whole conceptionof the mediatorial
exaltation of Jesus Christ. Difference betweenhis history and that of any mere
human agentraisedup for action, the necessityfor all that we find in the
Scripture record. God knows it, though we may not see it.
3. The Scripture is not given to be workedup by men's devices into mere food
for human pride; it is a practicalBook, the foundation laid, to be built upon.
Christ was sentto bless us, and we canfind the blessing only as we seek it
practically.
II. THE UNIVERSAL MESSAGE TO THE WORLD.
1. The moral state of all men shows the necessityfor such a proclamation.
"Your iniquities. The history of the gospelreminds us that the most
religiously instructed were far from being the most godly. The superstitions
and oppositions of the world multiply its iniquities, Man cannot turn himself
to God.
2. The whole gospelmust be preached, or its true successcannotbe realized.
The mutilated Christianity of our time is proving itself impotent. We must
lead the hearts of men to a person; we must teachthem dependence on a
power; we must call them to newness of life, a life already made manifest
through Christ, both in his history and in the history of his people. Then:

3. 3. The blessing should be put first and foremost. Blessing whichthe world has
been waiting for from the beginning, which it has been prepared for by the
dispensations, which it receivedin germ in Abraham and his seed, but which
is for all the families of the earth. Hence it was to the Jew first," as the
consecratedmessenger;but as the patriarchs were takento the larger sphere
of Egypt that they might come forth from it prepared to be God's messengers,
so Christianity must be takenfrom its Judaistic standpoint, and put into the
central position of the world's life, that it may draw to itself Greece and
Rome, the Eastand the West, the whole nature and existence ofhumanity. So
now the progress of man is from the emancipationof the individual, through
that of the nation, to the cosmopolitanblessednessofmankind as a race. The
mission of Christ is to eachand to all. - R.
Biblical Illustrator
Unto you first God, having raisedup His Son Jesus, sentHim to bless you.
Acts 3:26
Sent to bless you

4. W. Birch.
I. GOD SENT JESUS TO BLESS US. We should have thought that after the
Jews had slain the prophets, God would have had no more to do with them; or
that if He sent His own Son, it would be to take vengeance upon them. But
when the Jews murdered Jesus, whatwould you expectGod to do? A human
father could scarcelyforgive such murderers; it needs a God to do that. What
did He do? This: He raisedup Jesus, and not to punish evil-doers, but to bless.
Many look upon religion as a sadthing; but it is the most joyous inspiration of
life. Jesus is not a taskmaster;He gives rest to the weary and help to the
heavy-laden. He charms the dullest life, sweetens the bitterest cup, salves the
deepestwound, heals the most strickenheart, gives joy to the sorrowful, peace
to the troubled, hope to the despairing, pardon of sin to the penitent, salvation
from the powerof sin to the believer, and eternal felicity to all who trust Him.
II. GOD SENT JESUS TO BLESS US IN TURNING AWAY EVERY ONE
OF US FROM OUR INIQUITIES. Without sin life would be very joyous; but
when we yield to anything which we know to be wicked, gladness atonce
departs. A man may gratify his wickedpropensity, and by so doing satisfy, for
the time being, his physical appetite, but the hunger of his soul for peace is not
satisfied. The greedyboy, who hides behind the door, awayfrom his brothers,
to eat the whole of his big apple alone, is fully satisfying his appetite, yet he is
unhappy, and comes from his feastvexed, sullen, and spiritless. Had he
divided the apple amongsthis brothers, what a joyous lad he would have
been! Greediness, orany other sin, brings sorrow to the soul.
1. The greatestblessing, therefore, that God cangive us is to turn us away
from our sins. We may turn awayfrom sin in our outward life, and, at the
same time, love and indulge it in our hearts; but Jesus would turn us from sin
altogether;and in order to do so, He begins first with the heart. Make the
fountain pure, and the stream shall be pure. The philosophy of the unbeliever
tries to guide the human ship by outside pressure;but Jesus puts a rudder to
it, and gives it a magnetof love to show its pathway in the trackless deep. He is
not satisfiedwith half-measures. We must be turned awayfrom our sins.

5. There has been, unfortunately for the world, a church-organisationwhich has
allowedits priests to sell indulgences for sin. But Jesus knows sinto be so
hurtful, that He could not, at any price, give a licence to permit it. He came to
take sin away. A man says, "If I do not cheat, I shall have to go to the
workhouse."Jesusteachesus to reply, "Under such circumstances you would
be happier if you walkedalong an honest path to the workhouse, thanon the
road of cheating to a palace."As you would hastily pass a house in which you
know the small-pox to be, so would Jesus have us turn awayfrom sin. May the
Lord, likewise, turn away every one of us from our sins!
2. The text goes on to say, that God sent Jesus to bless us, in turning away
every one of us from our iniquities. Then the worstman in the world is
capable of being saved. Here is a man who has been guilty of many crimes,
and is now standing at the bar to receive sentence.The judge may say within
himself, "No goodcan be done with this man; he has been twice in penal
servitude, and we must now get rid of him altogether." "Penalservitude for
life!" But God dooms no man to life-servitude to sin. Jesus comes to open the
prison doors in the soulof every one of us; and the man who is the chief sinner
of this age may be saved. Your life may be like a tangled string, which you
have tried to unravel, but failing to do so, you have thrown it among the ashes.
That tangled string weariedyour patience, and you gave it up; but though
your life just now is like the tangledstring, Jesus is not weary of blessing you,
and in this world He will never give you up. As every tangled string can be
undone, so every sinful life can be converted. God sent Jesus to bless such as
you; and His skilful fingers, His loving heart, and His patient Spirit will work
in you until you are like Himself.
III. JESUS TURNS US FROM OUR INIQUITIES BY —
1. The powerful inducement of pleasing God. To call upon a man to turn from
iniquity because it will be a goodthing for himself is to appeal to his lowest

6. motive, and is not the most successfulway in winning souls. To bribe a man by
promising something goodif he will serve the Lord, or to intimidate him by
the threat of the torment of hell, is a popular way of winning men, but it is the
leastsuccessful. The most powerful force in the heart of a child is the love
which constrains him to obedience, because ifhe did wrong he knew it would
grieve his mother. Jesus draws us effectually from sin by reminding us of the
loving heart of God; our sin grieves Him, and it should pain us to grieve His
loving heart.
2. Revealing the goodnessofGod. His goodness in first loving us should draw
us to Himself. After Jesus had risen from the dead, He said, "Go and preach
the gospelto every creature, beginning at Jerusalem." He was not angry
because the Jews rejectedand crucified Him; and there was nothing in His
heart but love to them.
(W. Birch.)
The servant of the Lord and his blessing
A. Maclaren, D. D
Notice —
I. THE BOLDNESSAND LOFTINESS OF THE CLAIM WHICH IS HERE
MADE FOR JESUS CHRIST.
1. Long ago Peterhad said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."
And as long as Jesus Christ had been with them none of them had waveredin
that belief; but the Cross shatteredall that for a time. "We trusted that it had
been He that should have redeemedIsrael." There had been plenty of
pretenders to the Messiahship(Acts 5:36), and death had disposedof all their
claims. And so it would have been with Christ, unless He had risen from the

7. dead. But the faith and hope in His Messiahshipwhich had died with Him on
the Cress, rose withHim to newness of life — as we see from such words as
these.
2. Now the characteristic ofthese early addresses containedin chap. 2.-4., is
the cleardecisivenesswith which they put forward Christ as the fulfilment of
Jewishprophecy. The Cross and the Resurrectel poured a flood of light on
the Old Testament. Almost every word here has reference to some great
utterance of the past, which now for the first time Peteris beginning to
understand.(1) "God, having raisedup His SonJesus." The reference is not to
the resurrection, but to the prediction in ver. 22. Now that prediction, no
doubt, refers to the prophetic order, and the word, "a prophet," is a
collective, meaning a class. But the order does not come up to the ideal of the
prophecy. For the appendix to the Book of Deuteronomyis plainly referring
to the prophecy, when it sadly says, "And there arose not a prophet since in
Israellike unto Moses." The prophetic order, then, was a prophecy by reason
of the very incompleteness ofthe noble men who composedit; not only by
their words, but by their office and by their limitations, they pointed onwards
to Him who not only, like the greatlaw-giver, beheld God face to face, but
from the beginning dwelt in the bosom of the Fatherand therefore declares
Him perfectly to men. The manifold methods and fragmentary portions of the
revelations to the prophetic order are surpassedby the one final and complete
utterance in the Son, as noonday outshines the twilight dawn.(2) "His Son
Jesus" means, literally, a "boy" or a "child," and like our own English
equivalent, is sometimes used with the meaning of "a servant." For instance,
we talk about "a boy," or "a maid," or "a man," meaning thereby to express
the factof service in a gracefuland gentle way; to coverover the harsher
features of authority. So the centurion in Matthew's Gospel, whenhe asks
Christ to heal his little page, calls him "his boy," which our Bible properly
translates as "servant." The reasons foradopting "servant" here rather than
"son" are these:that the New Testamenthas a distinct expressionfor the
"Sonof God," which is not the word employed here: and that the Septuagint
has the same expressionwhich is employed here as the translation of Isaiah's,
"the Servant of the Lord."(a) Now it is interesting to notice that this.

8. expressionas applied to Jesus Christ only occurs atthis period. Altogether it
occurs four times in these two chapters, and never again. Does notthat look
like the frequent repetition of a new thought which had just come to a man
and was taking up his whole mind for the time? The Cross and the
resurrectionhad opened his eyes to see that the dim majestic figure that
lookedout on him from the prophecy had had a historicalexistence in the
dear Masterwhom he had lived beside; and we can almostperceive the
gladness and surprise swelling his heart as he thinks — "Ah! then He is 'My
servant whom I upheld.' Of whom speakeththe prophet this? Wonder of
wonders, it is of Jesus of Nazareth, and we are His witnesses." If you turn to
the secondhalf of Isaiah's prophecies, you will find that they might almost be
calledthe biography of the Servant of the Lord. And whilst I admit that the
collective Israelis often intended by the title "the Servant of the Lord," there
remain other parts of the prophecy which have distinctly a person for their
subject, and which cannotapply to any but Him that died and lived again. For
instance, is there anything which cancorrespondto the words, "when His soul
shall make an offering for sin He shall see His seed"? Who is it whose death is
the birth of His children, whom after His death He will see? Who is it whose
death is His own voluntary act? Who is it whose deathis a sacrifice for others'
sin? Who is it whose days are protracted after death, and who carries out
more prosperously the pleasure of the Lord after He has died?(b) But that
name on Peter's lips is not only a reference to prophecy, but it is a very
beautiful revelation of the impressionof absolute perfectionwhich Christ's
charactermade. Here was a man who knew Christ through and through; and
the impressionmade upon him was this: "All the time that I saw Him there
was never a trace of anything but perfect submission to the Divine will." Jesus
assertedthe same thing for Himself. "I do always the things that please Him":
"Which of you convinceth Me of sin?" Strange claims from one who is meek
and lowly of heart! Strangerstill, the world, not usually tolerant of
pretensions to sanctity, has allowedand endorsedthe claim.(c) So the claim
rises up into yet loftier regions;for clearlyenough, a perfect and stainless man
is either an impossible monster or something more. And they that fully believe
that God's will was absolutelyand exclusively done by Jesus Christ, in all
consistencymust go a step further and say, "He that perfectly did the Father's
will was more than one of us, stainedand sinful men."

9. II. THE DAWNING VISION OF A KINGDOM OF WORLD-WIDE
BLESSINGS.
1. Peterand all his brethren had had their full share of Jewishprejudices. But
I suppose that when they found the tongues of fire sitting on their heads they
beganto apprehend that they had been intrusted with a world-wide gospel.
The words before us mark very clearly the growing of that consciousness,
while yet the Jewishprerogative of precedence is firmly held. "Unto you first"
— that was the law of the apostolic working. But they were beginning to learn
that if there were a "first," there must also be a "second";and that the very
words of promise to the father of the nation which he had just quoted pointed
to "all the nations of the earth" being blessedin the seedof Abraham. If Israel
was first to receive the blessing, it was only that through Israel it might flow
over into the whole Gentile world. That is the true spirit of "Judaism," which
is so often spokenofas "narrow" and "exclusive." There is nothing clearerin
the Old Testamentthan that the candle is lighted in Israelin order that it
might shed light on all the chambers of the world. That was the genius of
"Judaism," and that is Peter's faith here.
2. Then, again, what grand confidence is here! What a splendid audacity of
faith it is for the apostle with his handful of friends to stand up in the face of
his nation to say: "This Man, whom you hung on a tree, is going to be the
blessing of the whole world." Why, it is like the old Roman story of putting up
to auction in the Forum the very piece of land that the enemy's camp was
pitched upon, whilst their tents were visible over the wall. And how did all
that come? Was all that heroism and enthusiasm born out of the grave of a
dead man? The resurrectionwas the foundation of it, and explains it, as
nothing else cando.

10. III. THE PURELY SPIRITUAL CONCEPTION OF WHAT CHRIST'S
BLESSING IS. What has become of all the Jewishnotions of the blessings of
Messiah's kingdom? Thathad not been the kind of kingdom of which they
had dreamed when they had soughtto be first in it. But now the Cross had
taught Peterthat Him hath God raised up a Prince and a Saviour to give —
strange gift for a prince to have in his hand — "to give repentance unto Israel,
and remissionof sins."
1. The heart, then, of Christ's work for rice world is deliverance from sin.
That is what man needs most. There are plenty of other remedies offered for
the world's ills — culture, art, new socialarrangements, progress of science
and the like, but the disease goesdeeperthan these things cancure. You may
as well try to put out Vesuvius with a teaspoonfulof coldwater as to cure the
sicknessofhumanity with anything that does not grapple with the
fundamental mischief, and that is a wickedheart. There is only one Man that
ever pretended He could deal with that, and it took Him all His power to deal
with it; but He did it! And there is only one way by which He could deal with
it, and that was by dying for it, and He did it! So He has conquered. "Canst
thou draw out leviathan with an hook?" When you can lead a crocodile out of
the Nile with a bit of silk thread round his neck, you will be able to overcome
the plague of the world, and that of your own heart, with anything short of the
greatsacrifice made by Jesus Christ.
2. The secretof most of the mistakenand partial views of Christian truth lies
here, that people have not gotinto their hearts and consciences a sense oftheir
own sinfulness. And so you get a tepid, self-sufficient and superficial
Christianity; and you getceremonials, and high and dry morality,
masquerading under the guise of religion: and you gelUnitarian and semi-
Unitarian tendencies in churches. But if once there came a wholesome, living
consciousnessofsin all such mutilated Christianity would crumble.

11. 3. So I beseechyou to put yourself in the right place to understand the gospel
by the recognitionof that fact. But do not stop there. It is a matter of life and
death for you to put yourselves in the right place to receive Christ's richest
blessing. You canonly do that by feeling your own personalsin, and so
coming to Him to do for you what you cannotdo for yourselves, and no one
but He can do for you.
4. And notice how strongly the text puts the individuality of this process.
"Every one" — or rather "eachone." The inadequate notions of Christianity
that I have been speaking aboutare all characterisedby this amongstother
things: that they regard it as a socialsystemdiffusing socialblessingsand
operating on communities by elevating the generaltone and quickening the
public conscience andso on. Christianity does do that. But it begins with
dealing with men one by one. Christ is like a great King, who passing through
the streets ofHis capital scatters His largesseoverthe multitude, but He
reserves His richestgifts for the men that enter His presence chamber. Even
those of us who have no close personalunion with Him receive of His gifts.
But for their deepestneeds and their highest blessings they must go to Christ
by their own personalfaith — the flight of the solitary soul to the only Christ.
(A. Maclaren, D. D)
Christ and His blessing
T. Manton.
I. THE PARTIES CONCERNED.Why was the first offer of Christ made to
the Jews?
1. Becausethey were the only Church of God for that time. And God hath so
much respectfor the Church, that they shall have the refusal and the
morning-market of the gospel.

12. 2. They were the children of the covenant (ver. 25). God follows a covenant
people with more offers of grace than others.
3. Christ came of them after the flesh, and was of their seed(Romans 9:5), to
teachus to seek the salvationof our kindred first.
4. That He might magnify His grace and faithfulness, not only in the matter of
the gospel, but even in the first offer of it (Romans 15:8; 1 Thessalonians 2:14,
15).
5. This was necessarytoo for the confirmation of the gospel. Christdid not
stealinto the world privately, but He would have His law setup where, if
there were any falsehoodin it, it might easilybe disproved; and because the
main of the Jewishdoctrine was adoptedinto the Christian, and was
confirmed by the prophecies of the Old Testament, they were the only
competent judges to whose cognisancethese things should be first offered.
6. That the ruin of that nation might be a fit document and proof of God's
severity againstthe contemners of the new gospel(Acts 13:45-47).
7. That the first ministers might be a pattern of obedience, to preachwhere
God would have them, to preach in the very face and teeth of opposition.
II. THE BENEFIT OFFERED:wherein is setforth the greatlove of God unto
the people to whom the gospelcomes.

13. 1. In designing such a glorious person as Jesus Christ: "having raised up His
Son Jesus."
2. In that He gave notice, and did especiallydirect and send Him to them:
"hath sent His Son."
3. Why He came among them in His Word: it was "to bless them."
III. THE BLESSING INTERPRETED. Theyexpecteda pompous Messiah,
that should make them an opulent and potent nation. But Christ came to
convert souls unto God.
IV. WHAT IT IS TO BE TURNED FROM SIN. Take these considerations:
1. Man fallen, lay under the power and guilt of sin (Ephesians 2:1-3). So man
was both unholy and guilty.
2. Christ came to free us from both these.
(1)The guilt (Ephesians 1:7);
(2)and the power (Titus 3:5).

14. 3. To be turned from sin implies our whole conversion. Though one part only
be mentioned, the term "from which," yet the term "to which" is implied
(chap. Acts 26:18).
4. That remissionof sins is included in our conversionto God (ver. 19, chap.
Acts 5:31).
V. IT IS A BLESSED THING TO BE MADE PARTAKERS OF THIS
BENEFIT. Blessedness imports two things —
1. An immunity from, or a removal of, the greatevil, and that is sin.
(1)The greatcause ofoffence betweenGod and us is takenout of the way
(Isaiah 59:2).
(2)We are freed from the greatblemish of our natures (Romans 3:23).
(3)We are freed from the greatburden of sin.
(4)Being turned from our sins, we are freed from the greatbane of our
persons and all our happiness (Psalm 32:1, 2; Romans 8:1).
2. The enjoyment of positive good. It is a blessedthing to be turned from our
sins because —

15. (1)This is the matter of our serenity, comfort, and peace here (Isaiah 32:17).
(2)It is the pledge of our eternal felicity hereafter; for heaven is the perfection
of holiness, or the full fruition of Godin glory (Hebrews 12:14; Ephesians
1:13, 14).
(T. Manton.)
Christ and His blessing
I. GOD RAISED UP HIS SON JESUS TO BE A PROPHET (ver. 22,
Deuteronomy 18:15).
1. To teachthe will of God (Isaiah61:1).
2. To expound it to us (John 14:2; John 15:15).
(1)By His prophets (1 Peter 3:19; Nehemiah9:30).
(2)Himself (Hebrews 1:1, 2; Hebrews 2:2, 3).
(3)His apostles (2 Corinthians 5:19, 20).
(4)His ministers (Ephesians 4:11, 12).
II. GOD SENT HIM.

16. 1. By promise in the Old Testament(1 Peter1:10, 11; 1 Peter3:19; Genesis
3:15).
2. In person in the New (Galatians 4:4, 5).(1) First to the Jews (Acts 2:39;
John 4:22).
(a)He was first promised to them.
(b)Born of them.
(c)ManifestedHimself first among them (Matthew 4:12, 17).(2)To the
Gentiles also (Acts 2:39; Acts 11:18;Acts 15:7-9; Galatians 3:14; Genesis
22:17, 18).
III. HE WAS SENT TO BLESS US (Genesis 22:17, 18).
1. To purchase a blessing for us (Galatians 3:13, 14).
2. To apply it to us.
IV. HIS GREAT BLESSING IS CONVERSION FROM SIN (Psalm1:1;
Psalm32:1, 2). lsit not a blessedthing to know —

17. 1. Our sins pardoned (Matthew 9:2).
2. God reconciled(Romans 5:1).
3. That we have an interestin Christ (1 John 3:24).
4. To have a pacified conscience(2 Corinthians 1:12).
5. To delight ourselves in the best things (Psalm 1:2).
6. To be related to God (Galatians 4:6).
7. To have all things blessedto us (Romans 8:28).
8. To have an infallible evidence of our title to heaven (Romans 8:1; Matthew
25:46).
V. CHRIST HAS PURCHASED THIS BLESSING FOR US (Matthew 1:21; 1
Peter1:18; Titus 2:14; 1 John 3:8).
1. What?
(1)Pardon; therefore conversion(Ezekiel18:30;chap. Acts 2:38).

18. (2)Peacewith God; therefore conversion.
(3)Redemption from misery; therefore conversion(Luke 13:3).
(4)Heaven; therefore conversion(John 3:16; Hebrews 13:14).
2. How? Note —
(1)All men are sinners.
(2)Christ undertook to cleanse us from our sins.
(3)This could not be but by purchasing the same grace we lostby sin.
(4)No way to obtain grace but by the Spirit of God.(Ezekiel36:27;Numbers
14:24).
(5)God would not send His Spirit until man's sins were satisfiedfor, and so
God reconciled.
(6)Christ by His death satisfies forsin (1 John 2:2).

19. (7)And so purchased the donation of the Spirit (John 16:7).
(8)The Spirit sent into our hearts, turns us from sin (2 Thessalonians 2:13).
(Bp. Beveridge.)
The blessedmission
H. Allon, D. D.
I.GOD'S GRACIOUS ACT, "Raisedup Jesus."
II.GOD'S MERCIFULPURPOSE, "To bless you."
III.GOD'S BLESSED WAY, "By turning every one of you," etc.
IV.GOD'S GREAT ENCOURAGEMENT,"To you first"
(H. Allon, D. D.)
The gospelblessing
DeanVaughan.
I. THE WORK IS NOT DESCRIBEDONLYAS CHRIST'S, BUT RATHER
AS GOD'S WORKIN CHRIST. We are too ready to make a difference; to
think of God as all justice, and of Christ as all love. In past days men had used
a loose and unscriptural language about Christ's calming God's wrath. The
language ofScripture is always this: "Godso loved the world," etc. What

20. things soeverthe Son doeth, these also doeth the Father likewise. There is but
one will, one work. Neverrun awayfrom God, but ever seek Him and see Him
in the Son.
II. CHRIST HAS A MISSION TO US. There is no thought more delightful
than that of the missionof Christ as He now is in heaven; of His having an
errand, and apostleshipstill towards us (Hebrews 3:1). We are all calledto
from heaven: that is the meaning of "partakers ofa heavenly calling." We are
all like Saul of Tarsus when Jesus Christ spoke to him suddenly from heaven.
Christ is calling to us. In His Word, by His minister, in conscience, by His
Spirit also. And then, as we recognise this truth, we are told also to fix our
thoughts upon Him as "the apostle ofour profession" (or confession). Godhas
sent, is sending, Him to us, with a message,addressedto eachone of us
separately, "everyone of you," not a vague, general, promiscuous mission, but
a direct and single one to each. You are not lost in a crowd. If this be so, "how
shall we escape if we neglectso great," becauseso minute and so personal, "a
salvation?"
III. A MISSION OF WHAT SORT? Is it that of One who comes from the
dead to appal and to terrify? the apparition of a reprover and a prophet of
evil? Hear the text: "to bless you"; to speak wellof you; to declare goodto
you; and in the very act of doing so, to communicate the goodof which He
tells. Is not this the very notion of a Gospel? It is not a threatening, a reproof,
it is not even a condition of acceptance,ora rule of duty: it does not say, like
the Law, "Do this, and thou shalt live": its essentialcharacteris that of an
announcement; tidings of something alreadydone; the goodnews of some
change which God has made in our state and in our prospects. And what is
that? Surely that Godforgives us, whatsoeverwe are. God sent Him not to
curse, but to bless;not to judge the world, but to save.
IV. How is THIS MISSION OF BLESSING MADE EFFECTUAL?

21. 1. Is it a flattering of human vanity, a lulling of human indolence, the
intelligence that God has forgiven, and that therefore man may lie asleepin
his sins that, where sin abounded, grace did much more abound, and that
therefore we may continue in sin if only to swellthe triumphs of Divine grace?
None of these things. "SentHim to bless you, in turning awayeachone of you
from his iniquities."
2. Does this description of Christ's work seemto militate againstthe former?
Does any one say, Then, after all, the gospelis a law: it is only the old story
once again, You must be holy, and then Godwill save? Oh the ignorance and
the hardness of these hearts of ours! Is there no difference betweenworking
for forgiveness andworking from forgiveness, betweenbeing holy because we
are loved, and being holy that we may be loved, betweenthe being
commanded to turn ourselves from our sins, and the being blessedby finding
ourselves turned from them by another? Your hearts tell you that there is all
the difference!Which of us knows not something of the force of gratitude?
Which of us has not felt that it is one thing to please a personas a duty, and
another to please a personout of love? Which of us has not knownthe strange
effectof a word or an act of affection, from one whom we are conscious that
we have injured? how it sometimes rolls awaythe whole barrier betweenus,
makes us ashamedof our ill-temper, and heaps coals of fire upon our head?
Even thus is it with the man whom God has forgiven. How did David begin to
inquire, "What reward can I give unto the Lord for all His benefits that He
hath done unto me?" and answerhimself, saying, "I will receive the cup of
salvation, and callupon the name of the Lord": yea, I will love much, having
been much forgiven!
3. But there may be some here present who cannotunderstand the connection
of the words. They may be saying, I know that my sins are wrong; and I can
understand being required to part with them: but how can it be a blessing to
give up this pleasantthing which sin is to me? But does your sin make you
happy? Have you found the pleasure of sinning as greatas its anticipation?

22. Have you found the morning after sinning a bright and pleasantawakening?
Have you never known what it was to curse the fetter which bound you, and
to long (even without hoping) to be free? Have you not sometimes lookedback
upon a past and now unattractive sin with bitter remorse, with astonishment
at your own infatuation? Then that experience has shownyou what it would
be to look back upon a life of sin, from a world where it will be too late ever to
repent. A thing which has all these marks of misery upon it cannotbe
happiness. If there is any power or any person, in earth or in heaven, who can
setus free from this influence, the coming of that poweror that person may
indeed be said to be a blessing. Costus what it may, it will be a blessing if it
succeeds. And when that victory is wrought wholly through the powerof love;
through an assurance offree forgiveness;through the agencyofan inward
influence as sweetas it is constraining; how much more may it be so regarded!
God grant that eachone of us may know it for ourselves!
(DeanVaughan.)
The blessing of Christ in the heart
Lady Somersetat Chicago saidthat in a fisherman's but in the extreme north-
eastof Scotland, she saw a picture of our Saviour, and as she stoodlooking at
it the fisherman told her its story: "I was waydown with the drink," he said,
"when one night I went into a 'public,' and there hung this picture. I was
soberthen, and I saidto the bar-tender, 'Sell me that picture, this is no place
for the Saviour.' I gave him all the money I had for it, and took it home. Then,
as I lookedat it, the words of my mother came back to me, I dropped on my
knees, and cried, 'O Lord Jesus, will you pick me up again, and take me out of
all my sin?'" No such a prayer is everunanswered. To-day that fisherman is
the grandestman in that little Scotchvillage. "I askedif he had no struggle to
give up liquor; such a look of exultation came over his face as he answered,
'Oh, madam, when such a Saviour comes into the heart He takes the love of
drink right out of it.' This Saviour is ready to take every sin out of your heart
if only you will let Him."

23. Christ's errand of mercy
T. L. Cuyler.
After the long, sharp winter, a bright, beautiful day comes like a benediction.
As I lookedup toward the welcome sun, this thought came into my mind:
Yonder sun is ninety-six millions of miles away. These rays of light have
travelled all that stupendous distance, and yet I have only to drop the curtain
of my eyelid and I am left in total darkness. There might as well be no sun as
to have his rays shut out at the last instant from this little doorwayof my eye.
Even so has the Lord Jesus Christ come from His infinite, far-awaythrone, on
His errand of mercy, to a sinner's soul. That sinner has but to close up his
heart's door and keepit bolted, and for him there might as wellhave been no
redemption and no Redeemer. Eternallife is refused, eternal death is chosen
at that very spot, the door of the human heart.
(T. L. Cuyler.)
The generous missionof Christ
T. De Witt Talmage.
When Madame Sontag beganher musical careershe was hissedoff the stage
at Vienna by the friends of her rival, Amelia Steininger, who had already
begun to decline through her dissipation. Years passedon, and one day
Madame Sontag, in her glory, was riding through the streets of Berlin, when
she saw a child leading a blind woman, and she said, "Come here, my little
child, come here. Who is that you are leading by the hand?" And the little
child replied, "That's my mother; that's Amelia Steininger. She used to be a
greatsinger, but she losther voice, and she cried so much that she lost her
eyesight." "Give my love to her," said Madame Sontag, "andtell her an old
acquaintance will call on her this afternoon." The next week in Berlin a vast
assemblagegatheredata benefit for that poor blind woman, and it was said
that Madame Sontag sang that night as she had never sung before. And she
took a skilled oculist, who in vain tried to give eyesightto the poor blind
woman. Until the day of Amelia Steininger's death, Madame Sontag took care

24. of her, and her daughter after her. That was what the queen of song did for
her enemy. But, oh, hear a more thrilling story still. Blind, immortal, poor and
lost, thou who, when the world and Christ were rivals for thy heart, didst hiss
thy Lord away— Christ comes now to give thee sight, to give thee a home, to
give thee heaven. With more than a Sontag's generosityHe comes now to meet
your need. With more than Sontag's music He comes to plead for thy
deliverance.
(T. De Witt Talmage.)
God's plan for making us happy
J. W. Norton, D. D.
We are told, in a simple allegory, that when man was made in the image of
God, one of the bright angels aboutthe throne was appointed to wait upon
him, and to be his constantcompanion. After this beautiful image had been
marred by sin, Happiness could no longerrecognise the Heavenly Father's
likeness upon earth, and pined to go back to her happy home on high. Fallen
and wretchedman now wanderedabout searching for a friend to make good
his loss. He lookedon the fair face of Nature, and saw her gay and cheerful;
but Nature assuredhim that she could offer no alleviation for his misery. Love
appearedso bright and joyous, that man, in his disappointment, turned next
to her; but she timidly shrank back at his approach, while her tender eyes
overflowedwith tears of sympathy. He now soughtfriendship, and she sighed
and answered, "Caprice, anxiety, and the fearof change are ever before me."
Disappointed at these repeatedfailures, man followed after Vice, who boasted
loudly, and promised greatthings; but even while she talkedwith him the
borrowedroses dropped from her withered brow, and disclosedthe wrinkles
of sorrow and the deep furrows ploughed by pain. Retreating in haste from
the haunts of the vile enchantress, he now soughtfor Virtue, hoping that the
secretof happiness might be learned from her; but she assuredhim that
Penitence was her proper name, and that she was powerlessto bestow the
boon he craved. Brought down at last to the verge of despair, man applied to
grim Death, who relaxed his forbidding aspect, while he answeredwith a

25. smile: "Happiness can no longerbe found upon the earth. I am really the
friend of man, and the guide to the blessednesswhichhis heart yearns after.
Hearkento the voice of Him who died on the Cross of Calvary, and I will, at
last, lead man through the shades of the dark valley to the delectable
mountains, where Happiness makes her perpetual abode." The allegorywhich
I have thus tried to .repeat, is a mere expansion of the text. God does not
secure happiness to His people —
I. BY MAKING ALL OF THEM RICH. Instead of saying, "Blessedare ye
rich," He says, "Blessedare the poor." The only really happy rich man is the
one who acts as God's steward, paying his lawful tithes to the Church, and
dealing kindly with the suffering poor. Dr. Guthrie says:"Moneywill buy
plenty, but not peace;money will furnish your table with luxuries, but not you
with an appetite to enjoy them; money will surround your bed with
physicians, but not restore health to your sicklyframe: it will encompass you
with a crowdof flatterers, but never promise you one true friend; it will bribe
into silence the tongues of accusing men, but not an accusing conscience;it
will pay some debts, but not one, the least, of your debts to the law of God; it
will relieve many fears, but not those of guilt, the terrors that crownthe hour
of death."
II. By bestowing on us the empty honours of the world. It is true, multitudes
imagine that happiness is to be found in them; but experience always proves
how grievously they were mistaken. The devil seems to have persuaded
himself that even the Son of God could be tempted by such a bribe. A
mandarin puffed up with a sense of his high position was fond of appearing in
the public streets, sparkling with jewels. He was annoyed, one day, by an
uncouth personage, who followedhim about, bowing often to the ground, and
thanking him for his jewels. "Whatdoes the man mean?" cried the mandarin;
"I never gave you any of my jewels." "No,"returned the other; "but you have
let me look at them, and that is all the use you can make of them yourself. The
only difference betweenus is, that you have the trouble of watching them."

26. III. BY AFFORDING THEM A LARGE SHARE OF WORLDLY
PLEASURE. Mostof the things which are called "worldly pleasures " not
only fail to make people happy, but leave positive misery behind them. And
then, the terrible phantom, which, in moments of solitude and silence, must
disturb the minds of the most frivolous — the end; when God shall bring all
these things into judgment. When the Chevalier Gerard De Kampis, a rich
and proud man, had finished his magnificent castle, he gave a great
entertainment to all his wealthy neighbours. At the close of the sumptuous
banquet, the guests made speechafter speech, lauding their host to the skies,
and declaring him to be the happiest of men. As the chevalierloved flattery,
this fragrant incense was mostacceptable;and nothing disturbed his
equanimity, until one of the guests who had, thus far, kept silence, gravely
remarked: "Sir Knight, in order that your felicity should be complete, you
require but one thing, but this is a very important item." "And what thing is
that?" demanded the astonishednobleman. "One of your doors must be
walled up," replied his guest. At this strange rejoinder severalof the guests
laughed aloud, and while Gerard himself beganto think the man was mad, he
preservedself-controlenough to ask:"Which door do you mean?" "I mean
that through which you will one day be carried to your grave." The words
struck both guests and host, and the proud man saw the vanity of all earthly
things, and beganfrom that moment to lay up treasure in heaven.
IV. BUT BY SENDING HIS SON JESUS, "TO TURN AWAY EVERY ONE
OF THEM FROM HIS INIQUITIES." There can be no salvation for us,
unless we are delivered from our sins. God only makes men happy by making
them holy (Matthew 1:21). Lycurgus would allow none of his laws to be
written, insisting that the principles of government must be interwoven with
the lives and manners of the people, as the only sure way of promoting their
happiness. He who would abide by the commandments of God must be able to
say with David, "Thy word have I hid within my heart." He who will be
receivedinto the presence of God and enjoy the blessedness ofheaven, is "the
new man, which after God is createdin righteousness andtrue holiness"
(Ephesians 4:24). We are made heirs of glory only by putting on Christ; but
we are "made meet for the inheritance of the saints" through a studied and

27. careful conformity to the Divine precept: "Be ye holy, for I am holy." Sayof
no sin, howevertrivial it may appear, "Is it not a little one? " but following
after holiness, let evil under every possible disguise be your abhorrence.
(J. W. Norton, D. D.)
The gospelturns men from sin
J. B. Walker.
If a physician were calledto see a patient who had a canceron his breast, the
only thing to be done would be to cut it out from the roots. The physician
might give palliatives, so that the patient would have less pain — or he might
make his patient believe it was no cancer — or forgetthat he had a cancer
near his vitals; but if the physician were to do this instead of removing the
evil, he would be a wickedman and the enemy of his patient. The man's case
was such that the only favour which could be conferredupon him would be to
cut out the cancer. Now allagree that sin is the greatevil of the soul of man.
Nothing can make man more spiritually happy here, or fit him for happiness
hereafter, but the removal of sin from his nature. Sin is the plague-spoton the
soul which destroys its peace, andthreatens its destruction unless removed. It
is therefore certain that if the love of God were manifestedtowards man, it
would be in turning man from sin which produces misery, to holiness which
produces happiness.
(J. B. Walker.)
Turning awayevery one of you from his iniquities
The blessednessofconversion
T. Webster, B. D.

28. I. THAT THE INDULGENCE OF SIN IS THE GRAND SOURCE OF
HUMAN MISERY. We increase by our own transgressions the maladies to
which we are naturally exposed:our understandings become more confused;
our affections more depraved; our passions, appetites andtempers more
unrestrained and virulent; our disappointments more bitter and acute;and all
this progressive advancementin evil and misery is the consequence of
increasing indulgence in sin.
II. THAT CHRIST ESPECIALLY BLESSES HIS PEOPLE IN TURNING
AWAY EVERY ONE OF THEM FROM THEIR INIQUITIES.
1. In that as a prophet He enlightens their understanding to perceive the evil,
the misery, and the ruinous consequencesofsin, both as it regards the present
and the future state.
2. This turning from iniquities is progressive;at first the gross and outward
acts of sin are cut off, unlawful and expedient pleasures, and indulgences
follow, many things of a doubtful and indifferent nature are then
relinquished. The tongue, the temper, the thoughts, are gradually brought
more and more under regulation and restraint; holy principles are cultivated;
the spirit of fervent charity takes possessionofthe soul; and pity, meekness,
forbearance, compassion, patience, holyresignation, lively hope, and heavenly
joy increase andabound.
(T. Webster, B. D.)
The return of the affections to God
G. T. Noel, M. A.
The history of man on this side of the grave is like the history of the natural
world: the seasonschange;if the winter chills, the summer warms; if darkness

29. wraps in its shade, light cheers with its brilliancy. Thus joy and sorrow, hope
and fear, satisfactionand perplexity are mingled together. Under these
circumstances it is very material to know whether there be any mode of
defending ourselves againstsuchan increase ofsorrow, and of insuring to
ourselves suchan increase ofcomfort. Here in the text is a chart to the
wanderer, a light to the benighted, a shelter to the forlorn, a certainty to the
dubious! The misery of man lies chiefly in the circumstances ofhis moral
condition; he is wretchedunder the effects of his iniquities. His remedy must
be found in the return of his affections to God; God sentChrist to bless you by
turning you awayfrom your iniquities. The sorrows ofman mainly issue from
the depravity of his affections. He is guilty before God. Certainly his passions,
earthly and selfish, spurn every barrier when occasions exasperate their
movements. To restrain them under such excitements is as impracticable, as,
by the weight of the dews of heaven, to chain down the fiery matter which a
volcano is about to castforth. But to come to individual experience. From
whence does the largestportion of man's sufferings arise? Is it not from the
disordered state of his affections? Is there not a disease ofthe heart, which is
widely prevalent, and which no skill can heal? To reproduce happiness in a
sinful being requires, therefore, a remedy applicable to the inward disease in
his mind; a remedy which not only respects a new and favourable relation on
the part of God, but also a new and holy state of the affections on the part of
man. In other words, the happiness of a sinner will depend first upon, the
conviction that God has pardoned him, and secondly, upon the consciousness
that he loves the Being who has thus tenderly dealt with him. Now the remedy
which Christianity brings forward to the view of him who believes it, is
exactly of this kind. "Jesus Christcame to bless you by turning awayevery
one of you from his iniquities." He holds out to us pardon and peace, and He
gives us the disposition to love the nature and the heart from which that
pardon flows!In this complex operation the means of human happiness are
unfolded. The pardon of sin is complete and free, uncloggedwith any
condition or qualification. "There is no more condemnation," but perfect
reconciliationand peace. Now the belief in this truth, under the agencyof the
Spirit, conveys healing to the heart. Sin becomes loathsome whenits
consequencesare thus made visible in the personalsufferings of Jesus Christ,
and obedience to the will and mind of God then becomes identicalwith peace

30. and happiness. Thus Christ blesses by turning awayfrom iniquity, by
procuring at once the pardon of sin, and by healing the disease ofsin; by
restoring peace in the relations betweenGodand man, and by making God's
characterthe glowing objectof attractive imitation.
(G. T. Noel, M. A.).
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(26) Unto you first. . . .—Here againwe note, even in the very turn of the
phrase as well as of the thought, an agreementwith St. Paul’s formula of the
purpose of God being manifested “to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile”
(Acts 13:46; Romans 1:16; Romans 2:9-10). St. Peterdoes not as yet know the
conditions under which the gospelwill be preachedto the heathen; but his
words imply a distinct perceptionthat there was a call to preach to them.
His SonJesus.—Better, as before, Servant. (See Note on Acts 3:13.)
Sent him to bless you.—The Greek structure gives the presentparticiple
where the English has the infinitive, sent Him as in the actof blessing. The
verb which strictly and commonly expresses a spokenbenediction is here used
in a secondarysense, as conveying the reality of blessedness. And the blessing
is found, not in mere exemption from punishment, not even in pardon and
reconciliation, but in a change of heart, in “turning eachman from his
wickednesses.” The plural of the abstractnoun implies, as in Mark 7:22, all
the many concrete forms in which man’s wickedness couldshow itself.

31. MacLaren's Expositions
Acts
THE SERVANT OF THE LORD
Acts 3:26.
So ended Peter’s bold address to the wondering crowdgathered in the Temple
courts around him, with his companion John and the lame man whom they
had healed. A glance at his words will show how extraordinarily outspoken
and courageous they are. He charges home on his hearers the guilt of Christ’s
death, unfalteringly proclaims His Messiahship, bears witness to His
Resurrectionand Ascension, assertsthat He is the End and Fulfilment of
ancient revelation, and offers to all the greatblessings that Christ brings. And
this fiery, tender oration came from the same lips which, a few weeks before,
had been blanched with fear before a flippant maidservant, and had quivered
as they swore, ‘I know not the man!’
One or two simple observations may be made by wayof introduction. ‘Unto
you first’-’first’ implies second;and so the Apostle has shakenhimself clearof
the Jews’narrow belief that Messiasbelongedto them only, and is already
beginning to contemplate the possibility of a transference of the kingdom of
God to the outlying Gentiles. ‘God having raised up His Son’-that expression
has no reference, as it might at first seem, to the fact of the Resurrection;but
is employed in the same sense as, and indeed looks back to, previous words.
For he had just quoted Moses’declaration, ‘A prophet shall the Lord your
God raise up unto you from your brethren.’ So it is Christ’s equipment and
appointment for His office, and not His Resurrection, which is spokenabout
here. ‘His Son Jesus’-the RevisedVersion more accuratelytranslates ‘His

32. Servant Jesus.’ I shall have a word or two to say about that translation
presently, but in the meantime I simply note the fact.
With this slight explanation let us now turn to two or three of the aspects of
the words before us.
I. First, I note the extraordinary transformation which they indicate in the
speaker.
I have already referred to his cowardicea very short time before. That
transformation from a cowardto a hero he shared in common with his
brethren. On one page we read, ‘They all forsook Him and fled.’ We turn over
half a dozen leaves and we read: ‘They departed from the council, rejoicing
that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.’ What did that?
Then there is another transformation no less swift, sudden, and inexplicable,
excepton one hypothesis. All through Christ’s life the disciples had been
singularly slow to apprehend the highest aspects ofHis teachings, and they
had clung with a strange obstinacyto their narrow Pharisaic and Jewish
notions of the Messiahas coming to establisha temporal dominion, in which
Israelwas to ride upon the necks ofthe subject nations. And now, all at once,
this Apostle, and his fellows with him, have stepped from these puerile and
narrow ideas out into this large place, that he and they recognise thatthe Jew
had no exclusive possessionofMessiah’s blessings, and that these blessings
consistedin no external kingdom, but lay mainly and primarily in His
‘turning every one of you from your iniquities.’ At one time the Apostles stood
upon a gross, low, carnallevel, and in a few weeks theywere, at all events,
feeling their wayto, and to a large extent had possessionof, the most spiritual
and lofty aspects ofChrist’s mission. What did that?

33. Something had come in betweenwhich wrought more, in a short space, than
all the three years of Christ’s teaching and companionship had done for them.
What was it? Why did they not continue in the mood which two of them are
reported to have been in, after the Crucifixion, when they said-’It is all up! we
trusted that this had been He,’ but the force of circumstances has shivered the
confidence into fragments, and there is no such hope left for us any longer.
What brought them out of that Slough of Despond?
I would put it to any fair-minded man whether the psychological facts of this
sudden maturing of these childish minds, and their sudden change from
slinking cowards into heroes who did not blanch before the torture and the
scaffold, are accountable, if you strike out the Resurrection, the Ascension,
and Pentecost? It seems to me that, for the sake ofavoiding a miracle, the
disbelievers in the Resurrectionacceptan impossibility, and tie themselves to
an intellectual absurdity. And I for one would rather believe in a miracle than
believe in an uncaused change, in which the Apostles take exactly the opposite
course from that which they necessarilymust have taken, if there had not
been the facts that the New Testamentasserts thatthere were, Christ’s rising
againfrom the dead, and Ascension.
Why did not the Church share the fate of John’s disciples, who scatteredlike
sheepwithout a shepherd when Herod chopped off their master’s head? Why
did not the Church share the fate of that abortive rising, of which we know
that when Theudas, its leader, was slain, ‘all, as many as believed on him,
came to nought.’ Why did these men actin exactly the opposite way? I take it
that, as you cannotaccountfor Christ except on the hypothesis that He is the
Son of the Highest, you cannotaccountfor the continuance of the Christian
Church for a week after the Crucifixion, excepton the hypothesis that the
men who composedit were witnesses ofHis Resurrection, andsaw Him
floating upwards and receivedinto the Shechinah cloud and lost to their sight.
Peter’s change, witnessedby the words of my text-these bold and clear-sighted
words-seems to me to be a perfectmonstrosity, and incapable of explication,

34. unless he saw the risen Lord, beheld the ascendedChrist, was touchedwith
the fiery Spirit descending on Pentecost, andso ‘out of weaknesswas made
strong,’and from a babe sprang to the stature of a man in Christ.
II. Look at these words as setting forth a remarkable view of Christ.
I have already referred to the factthat the word rendered ‘son’ ought rather
to be rendered ‘servant.’ It literally means ‘child’ or ‘boy,’ and appears to
have been used familiarly, just in the same fashion as we use the same
expression‘boy,’ or its equivalent ‘maid,’ as a more gentle designationfor a
servant. Thus the kindly centurion, when he would bespeak our Lord’s care
for his menial, calls him his ‘boy’; and our Bible there translates rightly
‘servant.’
Again, the designationis that which is continually employed in the Greek
translation of the Old Testamentas the equivalent for the well-known
prophetic phrase ‘the Servant of Jehovah,’which, as you will remember, is
characteristic ofthe secondportion of the prophecies of Isaiah. And
consequentlywe find that, in a quotation of Isaiah’s prophecy in the Gospelof
Matthew, the very phrase of our text is there employed: ‘Behold My Servant
whom I uphold!’
Now, it seems as if this designationof our Lord as God’s Servant was very
familiar to Peter’s thoughts at this stage ofthe development of Christian
doctrine. Forwe find the name employed twice in this discourse-inthe
thirteenth verse, ‘the God of our Fathers hath glorified His ServantJesus,’
and againin my text. We also find it twice in the next chapter, where Peter,
offering up a prayer amongsthis brethren, speaks of‘Thy Holy Child Jesus,’
and prays ‘that signs and wonders may be done through the name’ of that
‘Holy Child.’ So, then, I think we may fairly take it that, at the time in

35. question, this thought of Jesus as the ‘Servant of the Lord’ had come with
especial force to the primitive Church. And the fact that the designationnever
occurs againin the New Testamentseems to show that they passedon from it
into a deeperperception than even it attests of who and what this Jesus was in
relation to God.
But, at all events, we have in our text the Apostle looking back to that dim,
mysterious Figure which rises up with shadowylineaments out of the great
prophecy of ‘Isaiah,’and thrilling with awe and wonder, as he sees,bit by bit,
in the Face painted on the prophetic canvas, the likeness ofthe Face into
which he had lookedfor three blessedyears, that now began to tell him more
than they had done whilst their moments were passing.
‘The Servant of the Lord’-that means, first of all, that Christ, in all which He
does, meeklyand obediently executes the Father’s will. As He Himself said, ‘I
come not to do Mine ownwill, but the will of Him that sent Me.’But it carries
us further than that, to a point about which I would like to say one word now;
and that is, the clearrecognitionthat the very centre of Jewishprophecy is the
revelation of the personality of the Christ. Now, it seems to me that present
tendencies, discussions aboutthe nature and limits of inspiration,
investigations which, in many directions, are to be welcomedand are fruitful
as to the manner of origin of the books of the Old Testament, and as to their
collectioninto a Canon and a whole-thatall this new light has a
counterbalancing disadvantage, in that it tends somewhatto obscure in men’s
minds the greatcentral truth about the revelationof God in Israel-viz. that it
was all progressive, and that its goaland end was Jesus Christ. ‘The testimony
of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy,’ and howevermuch we may have to learn-
and I have no doubt that we have a greatdeal to learn, about the composition,
the structure, the authorship, the date of these ancient books-Itake leave to
say that the unlearned reader, who recognises thatthey all converge on Jesus
Christ, has hold of the clue of the labyrinth, and has come nearerto the
marrow of the books than the most learned investigators, who see allmanner

36. of things besides in them, and do not see that ‘they that went before cried,
saying, Hosanna! Blessedbe He that cometh in the name of the Lord!’
And so I venture to commend to you, brethren-not as a barrier againstany
reverent investigation, not as stopping any careful study-this as the central
truth concerning the ancientrevelation, that it had, for its chief business, to
proclaim the coming of the Servant of Jehovah, Jesus the Christ.
III. And now, lastly, look at these words as setting forth the true centre of
Christ’s work.
‘He has sent Him to bless you in turning awayevery one of you from his
iniquities.’ I have already spokenabout the gross, narrow, carnal
apprehensions of Messiah’s work whichcleavedto the disciples during all our
Lord’s life here, and which disturbed even the sanctity of the upper chamber
at that last meal, with squabbles about precedence which had an eye to places
in the court of the MessiahwhenHe assumedHis throne. But here Peterhas
shakenhimself clear of all these, and has graspedthe thought that, whatever
derivative and secondaryblessings ofan external and visible sort may, and
must, come in Messiah’s train, the blessing which He brings is of a purely
spiritual and inward character, andconsists in turning away single souls from
their love and practice of evil. That is Christ’s true work.
The Apostle does not enlarge as to how it is done. We know how it is done.
Jesus turns away men from sin because, by the magnetismof His love, and the
attractive raying out of influence from His Cross, He turns them to Himself.
He turns us from our iniquities by the expulsive power of a new affection,
which, coming into our hearts like a greatriver into some foul Augean stable,
sweeps outon its waters all the filth that no broom can ever clearout in detail.

37. He turns men from their iniquities by His gift of a new life, kindred with that
from which it is derived.
There is an old superstition that lightning turned whatever it struck towards
the point from which the flash came, so that a tree with its thousand leaves
had eachof them pointed to that quarter in the heavens where the blaze had
been.
And so Christ, when He flings out the beneficentflash that slays only our evil,
and vitalises ourselves, turns us to Him, and awayfrom our transgressions.
‘Turn us, O Christ, and we shall be turned.’
Ah, brethren! that is the blessing that we need most, for ‘iniquities’ are
universal; and so long as man is bound to his sin it will embitter all
sweetnesses, andneutralise every blessing. It is not culture, valuable as that is
in many ways, that will avail to stanch man’s deepestwounds. It is not a new
socialorder that will still the discontent and the misery of humanity. You may
adopt collective economic and socialarrangements, anddivide property out as
it pleases you. But as long as man continues selfishhe will continue sinful, and
as long as he continues sinful any socialorder will be pregnant with sorrow,
‘and when it is finished it will bring forth death.’ You have to go deeper down
than all that, down as deep as this Apostle goes in this sermon of his, and
recognise thatChrist’s prime blessing is the turning of men from their
iniquities, and that only after that has been done will other goodcome.
How shallow, by the side of that conception, do modern notions of Jesus as the
greatsocialReformerlook!These are true, but they want their basis, and
their basis lies only here, that He is the Redeemerof individuals from their
sins. There were people in Christ’s lifetime who were all untouched by His
teachings, but when they found that He gave bread miraculously they said,

38. ‘This is of a truth the Prophet! That’s the prophet for my money; the Man
that can make bread, and secure materialwell-being.’ Have not certain
modern views of Christ’s work and mission a gooddeal in common with these
vulgar old Jews-viewswhichregard Him mainly as contributing to the
material good, the socialand economicalwell-being of the world?
Now, I believe that He does that. And I believe that Christ’s principles are
going to revolutionise societyas it exists at present. But I am sure that we are
on a false scentif we attempt to preach consequences withoutproclaiming
their antecedents, and that such preaching will end, as all such attempts have
ended, in confusion and disappointment.
They used to talk about Jesus Christ, in the first FrenchRevolution, as ‘the
GoodSansculotte.’Perfectlytrue! But as the basis of that, and of all
representations ofHim, that will have poweron the diseasesofthe
community, we have to preach Him as the Saviour of the individual from his
sin.
And so, brethren, has He savedyou? Do you begin your notions of Jesus
Christ where His work begins? Do you feelthat what you want most is neither
culture nor any superficial and external changes, but something that will deal
with the deep, indwelling, rooted, obstinate self-regardwhich is the centre of
all sin? And have you gone alone to Him as a sinful man? As the Apostle here
suggests, JesusChristdoes not save communities. The doctorhas his patients
into the consulting-room one by one. There is no applying of Christ’s benefits
to men in batches, by platoons and regiments, as Clovis baptized his Franks;
but you have to go, every one of you, through the turnstile singly, and alone to
confess, andalone to be absolved, and alone to be turned, from your iniquity.

39. If I might venture to alter the position of words in my text, I would lay them,
so modified, on the hearts of all my friends whom my words may reachnow,
and say, ‘Unto you-unto thee, God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sentHim
to bless you, first in turning awayevery one of you from his iniquities.’
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
3:22-26 Here is a powerful address to warn the Jews ofthe dreadful
consequencesoftheir unbelief, in the very words of Moses,their favourite
prophet, out of pretended zeal for whom they were ready to reject
Christianity, and to try to destroyit. Christ came into the world to bring a
blessing with him. And he sent his Spirit to be the great blessing. Christ came
to bless us, by turning us from our iniquities, and saving us from our sins. We,
by nature cleave to sin; the designof Divine grace is to turn us from it, that we
may not only forsake, but hate it. Let none think that they can be happy by
continuing in sin, when God declares that the blessing is in being turned from
all iniquity. Let none think that they understand or believe the gospel, who
only seek deliverance from the punishment of sin, but do not expecthappiness
in being delivered from sin itself. And let none expect to be turned from their
sin, except by believing in, and receiving Christ the Son of God, as their
wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Unto you first - To you who are Jews. This was the direction, that the gospel
should be first preachedto the Jews, beginning at Jerusalem, Luke 24:47.
Jesus himself also confined his ministry entirely to the Jews.
Having raisedup - This expressiondoes not refer to his having raised him
from the dead, but is used in the same sense as in Acts 3:22, where God
promised that he would raise up a prophet, and send him to teachthe people.
Petermeans that Godhad appointed his Son Jesus, orhad commissioned him
to go and preach to the people to turn them awayfrom their sins.
To bless you - To make you happy; to fulfill the promise made to Abraham.

40. In turning away- That is, by his preaching, example, death, etc. The highest
blessing that canbe conferredupon people is to be turned from sin. Sin is the
source of all woes, and if people are turned from that, they will be happy.
Christ blessesno one in sin, or while loving sin, but by turning them from sin.
This was the object which he had in view in coming, Isaiah 59:20;Matthew
1:21. The design of Peterin these remarks was to show them that the Messiah
had come, and that now they might look for happiness, pardon, and mercy
through him. As the Jews might, so may all; and as Jesus, while living, sought
to turn awaypeople from their sins, so he does still, and still designs to bless
all nations by the gospelwhich he had himself preached, and to establish
which he died. All may therefore come and be blessed;and all may rejoice in
the prospectthat these blessings will yet be bestowedon all the kindreds of the
earth. May the happy day sooncome!
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
26. God, having raised up—not from the dead, but having provided,
prepared, and given.
his SonJesus—"His ServantJesus"(see on[1945]Ac 3:13).
sent him to bless you—literally, "sentHim blessing you," as if laden with
blessing.
in turning awayevery one of you from his iniquities—that is, "Hitherto we
have all been looking too much for a Messiahwho should shed outward
blessings upon the nation generally, and through it upon the world. But we
have learned other things, and now announce to you that the greatblessing
with which Messiahhas come laden is the turning awayof every one of you
from his iniquities." With what divine skill does the apostle, founding on
resistless facts,here drive home to the conscienceofhis auditors their guilt in

41. crucifying the Lord of Glory; then soothe their awakenedminds by
assurancesofforgiveness onturning to the Lord, and a glorious future as soon
as this shall come to pass, to terminate with the PersonalReturn of Christ
from the heavens whither He has ascended;ending all with warnings, from
their own Scriptures, to submit to Him if they would not perish, and calls to
receive from Him the blessings of salvation.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
Unto you first; the Jews and inhabitants of Jerusalem, who are the lostsheep
of the house of Israel. St. Peterdid not yet know, that the Gentiles should be
called, until he was taught it by the vision, Acts 10:1-48;and though our
Saviour had told the apostles that they should be his witnesses unto the
uttermost part of the earth, Acts 1:8, they understood it only of those of their
own nation, scatteredor dispersedabroad, 1 Peter 1:1.
Raisedup his son, Jesus;which word does not only refer to the resurrectionof
Christ, but to his being constituted and appointed to be a Prince and a
Saviour; thus it is said, a greatprophet is risen up amongstus, Luke 7:16;
and, God hath, raisedup a horn of salvation, Luke 1:69. Howsoever, itis by
virtue of Christ’s being raisedfrom the dead, and carried into his kingdom,
that we are blessed. In turning away everyone of you from his iniquities; this
is the greatestblessing indeed;hence our Saviour hath his name imposed by
God on him, Matthew 1:21, and was calledJesus, because he saves his people
from their sins; and without this being savedfrom our sins, nothing can be a
blessing to us, Isaiah 3:11; and, There is no peace, saithmy God, to the
wicked, Isaiah57:21. Add to this, that if any be turned from their iniquities, it
is through the blessing of God in Christ.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Unto you first, God having raisedhis Son Jesus,.... Whichmay be understood,
either of the incarnation of Christ, and his exhibition in the flesh; which is
sometimes expressedby raising him up, and is no other than the mission, or

42. manifestation of him in human nature, as in Luke 1:69. Or of the resurrection
of him from the dead, and the exaltationof him at the right hand of God:
sent him to bless you; in person, according to the former sense;for he was
indeed sentonly to the people of Israel, and to them he preached; many of
whom were blessedwith converting grace under his ministry; but according
to the latter sense, and which seems mostagreeable, he was sent in the
ministry of the word, and came by his Spirit, first to the Jews, among whom
the Gospelwas first preachedfor a while, and was blessedto the conversionof
many thousands among them, both in Judea, and in the nations of the world,
where they were dispersed:
in turning awayeveryone of you from his iniquities; in this the blessing lay,
and is rightly in our version ascribedto Christ, and to the power of his grace,
in the ministration of the Gospeland not to themselves, as in many other
versions;as the Syriac version, "if ye convert yourselves, and turn from your
evils"; making it both their ownact, and the condition of their being blessed;
and the Arabic version likewise, "sothat everyone of you departs from his
wickedness";but that work is Christ's, and this is the blessing of grace he
himself bestows, andis a fruit of redemption by his blood, Titus 2:14.
Geneva Study Bible
Unto you first God, having {k} raisedup his Son Jesus, senthim to bless you,
in turning awayevery one of you from his iniquities.
(k) Given to the world, or raisedfrom the dead, and advancedto his kingdom.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary

43. Acts 3:26. Progressofthe discourse:“This bestowal—inaccordancewith
God’s covenant-arrangements—ofsalvationon all nations of the earth
through the Messiahhas commencedwith you,” to you first has God sent, etc.
πρῶτον] soonerthan to all other nations. “Praevium indicium de vocatione
gentium,” Bengel. Romans 1:16;Romans 11:11. On this intimation of the
universality of the Messianic salvationOlshausenobserves, thatthe apostle,
who at a later period rose with such difficulty to this idea (ch. 10), was
doubtless, in the first moments of his ministry, full of the Spirit, raisedabove
himself, and in this elevationhad glimpses to which he was still, as regards his
generaldevelopment, a stranger. But this is incorrect: Petersharedthe views
of his people, that the non-Jewishnations would be made partakers in the
blessings ofthe Messiahby acceptance ofthe Jewishtheocracy. He thus still
expectedat this time the blessing of the Gentiles through the Messiahto take
place in the way of their passing through Mosaism. “Caputet summa rei in
adventu Messiaein eo continetur, quod omnes omnino populi adorent Jovam
illumque colant unanimiter,” Mikrae Kodesch, f. 108. 1. “Gentes non traditae
snnt Israeliin hoc saeculo, attradentur in diebus Messiae,” Berish. rab. f. 28.
2. See alreadyIsaiah 2:2 f., Isaiah 60:3 ff.
ἀναστήσας]causing His servant to appear (the aoristparticiple synchronous
with ἀπέστ.). This view of ἀναστ. is required by Acts 3:22. Incorrectly,
therefore, Luther, Beza, Heumann, and Barkey:after He has raised Him from
the dead.
εὐλοῦντα ὑμᾶς]blessing you. The correlate ofἐνευλογ., Acts 3:25. This
efficacyof the Sent One procuring salvationthrough His redeeming work is
continuous.

44. ἐν τῷ ἀποστρέφειν]in the turning away, i.e. when ye turn from your iniquities
(see on Romans 1:29), consequentlydenoting that by which the εὐλογεῖνmust
be accompaniedon the part of the recipients (comp. Acts 4:30)—the moral
relation which must necessarilybe thereby brought about. We may add, that
here the intransitive meaning of ἀποστρέφειν,[153]and not the transitive,
which Piscator, Calvin, Hammond, Wetstein, Bengel, Morus, Heinrichs adopt
(when He turns away), is required by the summons containedin Acts 3:19.
The issue to which Acts 3:25-26 were meant to induce the hearers—namely,
that they should now believingly apprehend and appropriate the Messianic
salvationannounced beforehand to them by God and assuredby covenant,
and indeed actually in the mission of the Messiahofferedto them first before
all others—was alreadyexpressedsufficiently in Acts 3:19, and is now again
at the close in Acts 3:26, and that with a sufficiently successfulresult (Acts
4:4); and therefore the hypothesis that the discourse was interrupted while
still unfinished by the arrival of the priests, etc. (Acts 4:1), is unnecessary.
[153]So only here in the N. T.; but see Xen. Hist. iii. 4. 12;Genesis 18:33, al.;
Sir 8:5; Sir 17:21;Bar 2:33; Sauppe, ad Xen. de re eq. 12. 13; Krüger, § lii. 2.
5.
Expositor's Greek Testament
Acts 3:26. ὑμῖν πρῶτον—ὑμῖν:againemphatic. In the words of St. Peter we
may againnote his agreementwith St. Paul, Acts 13:46, Romans 1:16 (Acts
10:11), although no doubt St. Petershared the views of his nation in so far
that Gentiles could only participate in the blessings ofthe Messianic kingdom
through acceptanceofJudaism.—ἀναστήσας, cf. Acts 3:22, τὸνπαῖδα, “his
servant,” R.V., see above on Acts 3:13. ἀπέστειλεν also shows that ἀνασ. here
refers not to the Resurrectionbut to the Incarnation.—εὐλογοῦντα:as in the
act of blessing, presentparticiple; the present participle expressing that the
Christ is still continuing His work of blessing on repentance, but see also
Burton, N. T. Moods and Tenses, p. 171.—ἐντῷ: this use of ἐν governing the

45. dative with the infinitive is most commonly temporal, but it is used to express
other relations, such as manner, means, as here (cf. Acts 4:30, where the
attempt to give a temporal sense is very far-fetched, Hackett, in loco);see
Burton, u. s., p. 162, and Blass, Grammatik des N. G., p. 232. This formula of
ἐν with the dative of the article and the infinitive is very common in St. Luke,
both in his Gospeland in the Acts, and is characteristicofhim as compared
with the number of times the same formula is used by other writers in the
N.T., Friedrich, Das Lucasevangelium, p. 37, and also Zeller, of the Apostles,
ii., p. 196, ., also in the LXX the same constructionis found, cf. Genesis 19:16;
Genesis 34:15, etc.—ἀποστρέφειν:probably intransitive (Blass, Grimm, and
so often in LXX, although the English A. and R.V. may be understood in
either sense). Vulgate renders “ut convertatse unusquisque,” but the use of
the verb elsewherein Luke 23:14 (cf. also Romans 11:26, Isaiah59:20)makes
for the transitive sense (so Weiss, in loco). The argument from Acts 3:19 (as
Alford points out) does not decide the matter either way (see also
Holtzmann).—πονηριῶν, cf. Luke 11:39, and adjective πονηρός frequent both
in the Gospeland in the Acts; in LXX both words are very common. The
word may denote miseries as well as iniquities, as Bengelnotes, but the latter
sense is demanded by the context. πρῶτον according to Jüngst does not mark
the factthat the Jews were to be converted first and the Gentiles afterwards,
but as belonging to the whole clause, andas referring to the first and past
sending of Jesus in contrastto the second(Acts 3:20) and future sending in
glory. But to support this view Jüngst has no hesitation in regarding 25b as an
interpolation, and so nothing is left but a reference to the διαθήκη ofGod with
the fathers, i.e., circumcision, which is quite in place before a Jewishaudience.
St. Peter’s Discourses.—More recentGerman criticism has departed far from
the standpoint of the early Tübrigen school, who could only see in these
discourses the free compositionof a later age, whilst Dr. McGiffert, in spite of
his denial of the Lucan authorship of Acts, inclines to the belief that the
discourses in question representan early type of Christian teaching, derived
from primitive documents, and that they breathe the spirit of St. Peterand of
primitive JewishChristianity. Feine sees in the contents of the addresses a
proof that we have in them a truthful recordof the primitive Apostolic

46. teaching. Just the very points which were of central interest in this early
period of the Church’s life are those emphasisedhere, e.g., the proof that
Jesus ofNazareth, the Crucified One, is the Messiah, a proof attestedby His
Resurrection, the appealto Israel, the chosenpeople, to repent for the
remissionof sins in His name. Nor is there anything againstthe speechesin
the factof their similarity; in their first and early preaching, as Feine urges,
the Apostles’thoughts would naturally move in the same circle, they would
recur againand again to the same facts, and their addresses couldscarcelybe
otherwise than similar. Moreoverwe have an appeal to the facts of the life of
Jesus as to things well known in the immediate past: “Jesus ofNazareth” had
been working in the midst of them, and Peter’s hearers were witnesseswith
him of His signs and wonders, “as ye yourselves know,” Acts 2:23; we become
conscious in such words and in their context of all the moral indignation and
the deep pain of the Apostles at the crucifixion of their Master, just as in Acts
3:13 we seemto listen to another personalreminiscence of the Passionhistory
(see Beyschlag,Neutest. Theol.,i., pp. 304, 305;Scharfe, Die Petrinische
Strömung, 2 c., pp. 184, 185).
The fact that no reference is made to, or at all events that no stress is laid
upon, the doctrinal significance ofthe death of Christ, as by St. Paul, is again
an intimation that we are dealing with the earliestdays of Apostolic
teaching—the death of the Cross was in itself the factof all others which was
the insuperable offence to the Jew, and it could not help him to proclaim that
Christ died for his sins if he had no belief in Jesus as the Christ. The first and
necessarystepwas to prove to the Jew that the suffering of the Messiahwas in
accordancewith the counsels of God and with the voices of the prophets
(Lechler, Das Apostolische Zeitalter, pp. 230, 231). Butthe historicalfact
accepted, its inner and spiritual significance would be imparted, and there
was nothing strange in the fact that disciples who had themselves found it so
difficult to overcome their repugnance to the mention of their Master’s
sufferings, should first direct their main efforts to remove the like prejudice
from the minds of their countrymen. But we cannot adduce from this method
that the Apostles had never heard such words as those of Christ (Matthew
20:28, Mark 10:45, cf. 1 Peter1:18) (cf. the striking passagein Beyschlag, u.

47. s., pp. 306, 307), or that they were entirely ignorant of the atoning significance
of His Death. St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 15:1-3, speaks ofthe tradition which he
had received, a tradition in which he was at one with the Twelve, Acts 3:11,
viz., that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures (Feine, Die
vorkanonische Ueberlieferung des Lukas; see p. 230).
When we pass to the considerationofSt. Peter’s Christology, we againsee
how he starts from the actual experience ofhis hearers before him: “Jesus of
Nazareth, a man,” etc.—plainly and fearlesslySt. Peteremphasises the
manhood of his Lord—the title which is never found in any of the Epistles
leads us back to the Passionand the Cross, to the early records of the
Saviour’s life on earth, Acts 24:9; Acts 22:8. And yet the Crucified Nazarene
was by a startling paradox the Prince or Author of Life (see note on ἀρχηγός);
by a divine law which the Jews couldnot discern He could not save Himself—
and yet—anotherparadox—there was no other Name given amongstmen
whereby they must be saved.
St. Paul could write of Him, Who took upon Him the form of a servant, Who
humbled Himself, and became obedient to the death of the Cross, Php 2:6;
and St. Peter, in one familiar word, which so far as we know St. Paul never
used, brings before his hearers the same sublime picture of obedience,
humility, death and glory; Jesus is the ideal, the glorified “Servant” ofGod
(see note on Acts 3:13). But almost in the same breath St. Peterspeaks ofthe
Servant as the Holy and Righteous One, Acts 3:14; holy, in that He was
consecratedto the service of Jehovah(ἅγιος, Acts 4:27; Acts 4:30, see note,
and Acts 2:27); righteous, in that He was also the impersonation of
righteousness, a righteousnesswhichthe Law had proclaimed, and which
Prophets and Kings had desired to see, but had not seen(Isaiah 53:11). But
whilst we note these titles, steepedeachand all of them in O.T. imagery, whilst
we may see in them the germs of the later and the deeper theologyof St. Paul
and St. John (see Dr. Lock, “Christologyofthe EarlierChapters of the Acts,”
Expositor, iv. (fourth series), p. 178 ff.), they carry us far beyond the

48. conceptionof a mere humanitarian Christ. It is not only that Jesus of
Nazarethis set before us as “the very soul and end of JewishProphecy,” as
Himself the Prophet to whom the true Israelwould hearken, but that He is
associatedby St. Petereven in his earliestutterances, as none other is
associated, withJehovahin His Majestyin the work of salvation, Acts 2:34;
the salvationwhich was for all who calledupon Jehovah’s Name, Acts 2:21,
was also for all in the Name, in the power of Jesus Christ, Acts 4:12 (see notes,
l. c, and cf. the force of the expressionἐπικαλεῖσθαι τὸ ὄνομα in 1 Corinthians
1:2, Schmid, Biblische Theologie, p. 407);the Spirit which Joelhad foretold
would be poured forth by Jehovahhad been poured forth by Jesus raisedto
the right hand of God, Acts 2:18; Acts 2:33 (see further notes in chap. Acts
10:36;Acts 10:42-43).
One other matter must be briefly noticed—the correspondence inthought and
word betweenthe St. Peterof the early chapters of the Acts and the St. Peter
of the First Epistle which bears his name. A few points may be selected. St.
Peterhad spokenof Christ as the Prince of Life; quite in harmony with this is
the thought expressedin 1 Peter1:3, of Christians as “begottenagain” by the
resurrectionof Jesus Christ from the dead. St. Peter had spokenof Christ as
the Holy and Righteous One, so in the First Epistle he sets forth this aspectof
Christ’s peculiar dignity, His sinlessness. As in Acts, so also in 1 Pet. the
thought of the sufferings of Christ is prominent, but also that of the glory
which should follow, chap. 1, Acts 3:11. As in Acts, so also in 1 Pet. these
sufferings are described as undeserved, but also as foreordained by God and
in accordancewith the voices of the Prophets, 1 Peter1:11; 1 Peter2:22-25.
As in Acts, so in 1 Pet. it is the specialtask of the Apostles to be witnessesof
the sufferings and also of the resurrection of Christ, chap. Acts 5:1. As in
Acts, so in 1 Pet. we have the clearesttestimony to the δόξα of Christ, 1 Peter
1:21; 1 Peter4:11. As in Acts stress is laid not only upon the facts of the life of
Christ, but also upon His teaching, Acts 10:34 ff., so also in 1 Pet., while
allusions are made to the scenes ofour Lord’s Passionwith all the force of an
eye-witness, we have stress laid upon the word of Christ, the Gospelor
teaching, Acts 1:12; Acts 1:23; Acts 1:25, Acts 2:2; Acts 2:8, Acts 3:19, Acts
4:6. As in Acts, so in 1 Pet. we have a reference to the agencyof Christ in the

49. realm of the dead, 1 Peter3:19; 1 Peter4:6. As in Acts, Acts 10:42, so in 1 Pet.
Christ is Himself the judge of quick and dead, Acts 4:6, or in His unity with
the Fathershares with Him that divine prerogative, cf. Acts 1:17. As in Acts,
so in 1 Pet. the communication of the Holy Spirit is speciallyattributed to the
exalted Christ, cf. Acts 2:33, 1 Peter1:11-12. As in Acts, so in 1 Pet. Christ is
the living corner-stone on which God’s spiritual house is built, Acts 4:12 and 1
Peter2:4-10. As in Acts, so in 1 Pet. not only the details but the whole scope of
salvationis regarded in the light and as a fulfilment of O.T. prophecy, cf. Acts
3:18-25, 1 Peter 2:22-23;1 Peter1:10-12. But this correspondenceextends to
words, amongstwhich we may note πρόγνωσις, Acts 2:23, 1 Peter1:2, a word
found nowhere else in the N.T., and used in eachpassagein the same sense;
ἀπροσωπολήμπτως, 1 Peter1:17, and only here in N.T., but cf. Acts 10:34,
οὐκ ἐστιν προσωπολήμπτης. ξύλονtwice used by St. Peterin Acts 5:30; Acts
10:39 (once by St. Paul), and again in 1 Peter2:24; ἀθέμιτος only in the
Cornelius history, Acts 10:28, by St. Peter, and in 1 Peter4:3; μάρτυς with the
genitive of that to which testimony is rendered, most frequently in N.T. used
by St. Peter, cf. Acts 1:22; Acts 6:13; Acts 10:39, and 1 Peter5:1; and further,
in Acts 4:11 = 1 Peter 2:7, Acts 10:42 = 1 Peter4:5, the verbal correspondence
is very close.
See on the whole subject Nösgen, Apostelgeschichte, p. 48; Lechler, Das Apost.
Zeitalter, p. 428 ff.; Scharfe, Die Petrinische Strömung, 2 c., p. 122 ff.; Lumby,
Expositor, iv. (first series), pp. 118, 123;and also Schmid, Biblische Theologie,
p. 389 ff. On the striking connectionbetweenthe Didache 1, and the language
of St. Peter’s sermons, and the phraseologyofthe early chapters of Acts, see
Gore, Church and the Ministry, p. 416.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
26. Unto you first] That the Jews might first receive the blessing themselves,
and then spreadit abroad.

50. God, having raised up] Not spokenhere of the resurrection of Jesus, but
recalling the promise of Moses (Acts 3:22) that a prophet should be raised up
and sent unto the people.
his SonJesus]his Servant (as Acts 3:13). The best authorities omit Jesus.
sent him to bless you] by the times of refreshing alluded to Acts 3:19. The way
and means to which blessing is to be by the repentance and turning againto
which the Apostle has been exhorting them.
Bengel's Gnomen
Acts 3:26. πρῶτον, first) A previous intimation as to the call of the Gentiles.—
ἀναστήσας, having raisedup) of the seedof Abraham.—παῖδα) Acts 3:13 [His
servant, not His Son, as Engl. Vers.]—εὐλογοῦντα, blessing)This is deduced
from Acts 3:25.—ἐν τῷ ἀποστρέφειν)Active: in turning away. Christ is He
who turns awayboth us from wickedness, andungodliness from us: Romans
11:26, “There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away
ungodliness from Jacob.” It is a thing not to be done by human strength.—
πονηριῶν) wickednesses, iniquities, whereby the blessing is impeded. Πονηρία
denotes both wickednessand misery.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 26. - Servant for SonJesus, A.V. and T.R.;your for his, A.V. Unto you
first. In virtue of the covenant, the first offer of salvationwas made to the
Jews (see Acts 1:8; Acts 13:26, 46; Luke 24:47; Romans 2:10, etc.; comp.
Matthew 15:24). His Servant (as in ver. 13). As regards the phrase, "having
raisedup," howevernatural it is at first sight to understand it of the raising
from the dead, the tenses make it impossible to do so. Nor could it be said that
God sent Jesus to bless them after his resurrection. We must, therefore,
understand ἀναστήσας as to be equivalent to ἐξαγείρας, and to mean "having
appointed," setup, raised up (as the English word is used, Luke 1:69; Romans
9:17). In this sense Godraisedup his Servant by the incarnation, birth,

51. anointing, and mission to be the Savior. To bless you; to fulfill to you the
blessing promised to Abraham's seed. In turning away, etc., deliverance from
sin being the chief blessing which Christ bestows upon his people (so Acts
5:31, repentance is spokenofas Christ's greatgift to Israel). So closedthe
secondgreatapostolic sermon.
Vincent's Word Studies
His SonJesus
The best texts omit Jesus. Renderservantfor son, and see on Acts 3:13.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCE HURT MD
Acts 3:26 "Foryou first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you
by turning every one of you from your wickedways."
KJV Acts 3:26 Unto you first God, having raisedup his Son Jesus, senthim to
bless you, in turning awayevery one of you from his iniquities.
For you first Acts 1:8; 13:26,32,33,46,47;18:4-6; 26:20;28:23-28;Mt 10:5,6;
Luke 24:47; Ro 2:9,10;Rev 7:4-9
God raisedup His Servant Acts 3:15,22

52. sent Him to bless you Acts 3:20,25;Ps 67:6,7;72:17;Luke 2:10,11;Ro 15:29;
Gal 3:9-14;Eph 1:3; 1 Pe 1:3; 3:9
by turning every one of you from your wickedways Isa 59:20,21;Jer 32:38-
41; 33:8,9;Ezek 11:19,20;36:25-29;Mt 1:21; Eph 5:26,27;Titus 2:11-14;1
John 3:5-8; Jude 1:24
Acts 3 Resources -Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
THE SERVANT SENT
TO BLESS
For you first - Peterreminds them of their privileged position. The blessing
brought by God's (suffering) Servant although promised to all the families of
the earth, was given first to the Jews.
Robertsonon for you first - The Jews were first in privilege and it was
through the Jews thatthe Messiahwas to come for "allthe families of the
earth."
Thomas Constable - The gospelwent to the Jews before it went to the Gentiles
(cf. Matt. 10:5; Acts 13:46;Rom. 1:16) because the establishmentof Christ's
earthly kingdom depends on Israel's acceptanceofher Messiah(Matt. 23:39;
Rom. 11:26). Before Christ can reign on the earth, Israelmust repent (Zech.
12:10-14). (Acts 3 Commentary)
Gilbrant - The blessing promised to all the families of the earth came first to
the people of Israel. What a privilege! Yet this was not favoritism on God's
part. It was their opportunity to receive the blessing by repenting and by
turning from their "iniquities" (their sins, their evil or malicious acts). (The
Complete Biblical Library – Acts)
God raisedup His Servant and sent Him to bless you - Peteruses Servant
(pais) which is the same descriptionof Messiahthathe used when describing
how they had delivered Him up and disownedHim in the presence of Pilate

53. (Acts 3:13+). The One they had delivered up to become a curse (Gal 3:13+),
would be the One Who would bless them. They should have been cursed but
instead are blessed. Is this not radical grace....totallyunmerited favor! This is
the same radicalgrace we have all receivedin Christ, in Whom there is grace
"piled upon" grace (Jn 1:16+).
Raisedup - see anistemi above in Acts 3:22+. In contextthis means God raised
up Jesus for His ministry. Obviously God also raisedHim from the dead but
that does not fit the context as well.
Sent - see apostello above in Acts 3:22+
Bless (presenttense = continually) (2127)(eulogeoeu= good+ lógos = word;
see cognateseulogetosand eulogia)means speak goodor well. When God
blesses men He grants them favor and confers happiness upon them.
By turning every one of you from your wickedways - The idea in this verse is
as causing someone to change from incorrect to correctbehavior. This of
course is not just self-will but is a Spirit-enabled supernatural act. Fallen man
will not (and cannot) by himself turn awayfrom the wickednessofhis own
fallen flesh, his own wickedheart, for he is enslaved by Sin which rules as
"King" in his heart. (Jn 8:34, Ro 6:16, cf Ro 6:11 and Ro 6:12-14)
Turning is epistrepho in Acts 3:19 and here the verb is apostrepho. In Acts
3:19 it is turning to and here it is turning awayfrom. In a sense the
combination of these two verbs gives us a description of repentance which is a
turning to God and a turning awayfrom sin. We see this illustrated in the
pagan, idol worshipping Gentiles in Thessalonia, Paulwriting

54. For they themselves report about us what kind of a receptionwe had with you
(FORMER IDOLATERS), andhow you turned to (cf EPISTREPHO)God
from (cf APOSTREPHO)idols to serve a living and true God (cf BRINGING
FORTHFRUIT IN KEEPING WITH REPENTANCE!), 10 and to wait for
His Sonfrom heaven, Whom He raisedfrom the dead, that is Jesus, who
rescues us from the wrath to come. (1 Thes 1:9-10+)
Turning (654)(apostrepho from apo = awayfrom, a marker of dissociation,
implying a rupture from a former associationand indicates separation,
departure, cessation, reversal + strepho = turn quite around, twist, reverse,
turn oneselfabout) means literally to turn back or away. To cause to turn
awayin a positive sense (active voice as in Acts 3:26) but also in a negative
sense (2 Ti 1:15, 2 Ti 4:4, Titus 1:14). The use of apostrepho in the warning
passagein Hebrews would be appropriate in the present context as Peter
warns the Jewishaudience that to turn awayfrom the Prophet (Jesus)will
bring utter destruction...
See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. Forif those did not
escape whenthey refusedhim who warned them on earth, much less will we
escape who turn away from (apostrepho)Him who warns from heaven. (Heb
12:25+).
Apostrepho is used in the Isaiah's prophecy in Isaiah59:20
“A Redeemer(Heb = goel/ga'al;Lxx = rhuomai) will come to Zion, And to
those who turn from (Lxx = apostrepho) transgressionin Jacob,” declaresthe
LORD.

55. Comment - Paul quotes the Septuagintversion of Isaiah 59:20 in Romans
11:26+ as he explains how "all Israelwill be saved" noting that “THE
DELIVERER (rhuomai) WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE
UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.”
MacArthur - The Messiah, the Suffering Servant (ED: "THE DELIVERER"),
will redeemZion and all faithful Israelites. This unalterable promise to the
nation was the basis for Paul's reassuranceofthe future salvation of Israel
(Ro 11:26, 27). (The MacArthur Study Bible)
ESV Study Bible note says "In Ro 11:26-27, Paulcombines this verse (Isaiah
59:20)(from the lxx) with Jer. 31:33+ (and perhaps Isa. 27:9) to describe his
hope for his ethnic kin....the salvationof the end-time generationof the Jewish
people in the future....The Deliverercoming from Zion probably refers to
Christ (cf. 1 Th 1:10+), suggesting that the Jews willbe savednear or at the
SecondComing." (ED: THE JEWS!) (Bolding added)
This verse will be fulfilled completely for the remnant of believing Jews when
Messiahreturns. Paul describes this future turning by the nation of Israel
using apostrepho in Romans 11.26+ writing that "all (ALL THAT BELIEVE)
Israelwill be saved; just as it is written, “THE DELIVERER WILL COME
FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROMJACOB.”
Each(eachindividual) (1538)(hekastosfrom hékas = separate)everysingle
one, of eachone separately. The idea is that eachone is singled out. Turning
from wickedways would be individual by individual and clearly is the
supernatural work of the Spirit of Jesus.
Wickedways (4189)(poneria from poneros from pónos = labor, sorrow, pain
and and poneo = to be involved in work, labor) refers to depravity, to an evil
disposition, to badness or to an evil nature. Poneria is used in the NT only in
the moral and ethicalsense and refers to intentionally practicedill will.

56. Poneria is active malice. Poneria is malevolence, notonly doing evil, but being
evil. Ponēría means maliciousness andit is to be distinguished from kakía
which is simply the evil habit of mind, depravity, not necessarilybeing
expressedand affecting others. Poneria is used only 7x in the NT - Mt 22:18;
Mk 7:22; Lk 11:39; Acts 3:26; Ro 1:29; 1 Co 5:8; Eph 6:12.
NET Note on wickedways - For the translation of plural (poneria) as
"iniquities," see G. Harder, TDNT 6:565. The plural is important, since for
Luke turning to Jesus means turning awayfrom sins, not just the sin of
rejecting Jesus.
Surgeon- They were to have the first proclamationof the gospel;from among
them would be gatheredmany of the first converts. The preacherdid not
know immediately what result this sermonproduced; it was not like the
sermon preachedat Pentecost, forhe did know what happens after its
delivery. This is quite as gooda sermon every way, and we have every reason
to believe that as many were converted by it. The Spirit of God was with
Peter;yet even the Spirit of God, does not always work in the came way upon
men. You see, the apostles had no opportunity to have a talk with the people
afterwards, and to find out what had been done, as they had on the day of
Pentecost.
JIM BOMKAMP
VS 3:25-26 - “25 It is you who are the sons of the prophets, and of the
covenantwhich God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in
your seedall the families of the earth shall be blessed.'26 "Foryou first, God
raisedup His Servant, and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you

57. from your wickedways." (NASB)” - Peterreminds the people that they are
sons of the prophets and of the covenantthat God made with their fathers
9.1. In the last two verses of this chapter, Peterreminds the people of the
covenantto Abraham, and how that they are recipients of that covenant. If
they will receive the risen savior, Jesus Christ, then they will inherit the
covenantpromises made to Abraham.
9.2. Petertells this Jewishaudience that it was to them that the gospel
was first to be preached, as it was for them first that God raisedup His Son
from the dead. God’s purpose for them in hearing the gospelwas that eachof
them repent and turn away from their sinful, ‘wickedways’. Foras I said
earlier in this chapter, there can be no salvationif there is no repentance.
10. CONCLUSION: We see here in this secondsermonof Peterthat
the theme is “the resurrectionof Jesus from the dead”, and Petertells these
Jews in a very direct waythat they had murdered their Messiahand that they
must ‘repent’ if they are to find times of refreshing from the Lord and have
God send to them their Messiah. But, the question I have to ask you today is,
“What will you do now with Jesus in your life?”

58. 10.1. Will you rejectHim completely from your life and have nothing to do
with Him?
10.2. Or, will you merely tolerate His existence and be content to just give
assentthat He exists?
10.3. Or, will you invite Him to your house but then give Him the keys to the
guesthouse and only invite Him into the main house if some crisis arises
which He might help in?
10.4. Or, will you invite Him to your house and give Him a key to every
room and invite him to share in all that goes onin your house? Will you make
Him Lord of your house?
10.4.1.This is what ‘true repentence’repentence is…
10.4.2. What will you do with this Jesus?

59. CALVIN
Verse 26
26.He hath raisedup his Son. He gathereth out of the words of Mosesthat
Christ is now revealed. But the words do seemto import no such thing; yet
doth he reasonfitly thus, because the blessing could no otherwise be, unless
the beginning thereof did flow from the Messias. Forwe must always
remember this, that all mankind is accursed, and, therefore, there is a
singular remedy promised us, which is performed by Christ alone. Wherefore,
he is the only fountain and beginning of the blessing. And if so be that Christ
came to this end, that he may bless the Jews first, and, secondly, us, he hath
undoubtedly done that which was his duty to do; and we shall feel the force
and effectof this duty in ourselves, unless our unbelief do hinder us.
This was a part of the priest’s office under the law, to bless the people;and,
lest this should be only a vain ceremony, there was a promise added; as it is,
(Numbers 6:27.)And that which was shadowedin the old priesthood was truly
performed in Christ, (Hebrews 7:1.) Concerning which matter we have
spokenmore at large in the seventh chapter to the Hebrews. I like not
Erasmus’s translation; for he saith, when he had raisedhim up, as if he spoke
of a thing which was done long ago. But Petermeaneth rather, that Christ was
raisedup, when he was declaredto be the author of the blessing;which thing,
since it was done of late and suddenly, it ought to move their minds the more.
For the Scripture useth to speak thus, as in the last place, of Moses,whereunto
Peteralludeth. To raise up a prophet, is to furnish him with necessarygifts to
fulfill his function, and, as it were, to prefer him to the degree of prophetical
honor. And Christ was raisedup then, when he fulfilled the function enjoined

60. him by his Father, but the same thing is done daily when he is offeredby the
gospel, that he may excelamongstus. We have said that in the adverb of
order, first, is noted the right of the first-be-gotten, because it was expedient
that Christ should begin with the Jews, thathe might afterward pass over
unto the Gentiles.
Whilst that he turneth. He doth againcommend the doctrine of repentance, to
the end we may learn to conclude under the blessing of Christ newness oflife,
as when Esaias promiseth that a “Redeemershould come to Zion,” he addeth
a restraint; (200) “Those whichin Jacobshallbe turned from their iniquities.”
For Christ doth not do awaythe sins of the faithful, to the end they may grant
liberty to themselves to sin under this color; but he maketh them therewith all
new men. Although we must diligently distinguish these two benefits which
are linked together, that this ground-work may continue, that we are
reconciledto God by free pardon, I know that other men turn it otherwise;
but this is the true meaning of Luke; for he speakeththus word for word, “In
turning every one from his wickedness.”
Acts 3:26
Unto you first God, having raisedup his Son Jesus, senthim to bless you, in
turning awayevery one of you from his iniquities.
26. Unto you first] That the Jews might first receive the blessing themselves,
and then spreadit abroad.
God, having raised up] Not spokenhere of the resurrection of Jesus, but
recalling the promise of Moses (Acts 3:22) that a prophet should be raised up
and sent unto the people.

61. his SonJesus]his Servant (as Acts 3:13). The best authorities omit Jesus.
sent him to bless you] by the times of refreshing alluded to Acts 3:19. The way
and means to which blessing is to be by the repentance and turning againto
which the Apostle has been exhorting them.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 26
26. ὑμῖν πρῶτον. That the house of Israelmight first receive the blessing, and
be God’s instruments in spreading it abroad.
ἀναστήσας. The word is used here not of the resurrectionof Jesus, but
recalling the promise of Moses,citedin Acts 5:22 that a prophet should be
raisedup (ἀναστήσει κύριος)and sent unto the people.
τὸν παῖδα αὐτοῦ, His servant. See note on Acts 3:13.
εὐλογοῦντα, to bless you (literally, blessing you), i.e. by the appointed times of
refreshing alluded to in Acts 3:19. The way and means to this blessing is to be
by the repentance and turning again to which the Apostle has been exhorting
them. And to effectthis they must turn awayfrom their iniquities, but for
doing this he assures them they will find present help in Christ.

62. Such a constructionas this of a presentparticiple after an aorist tense has
sometimes been explained as though it were equal to a future. It is better to
regard the action expressedby the participle as having begun from the point
of time indicated by the verb. So here, the blessing was ready for the faithful
as soonas everChrist was sent. Cf. Winer-Moulton, p. 429.
ἐν τῷ ἀποστρέφειν, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. This
word is very common in the LXX. in this sense. See Ezekiel18:27, ἐν τῷ
ἀποστρέψαι ἄνομονἀπὸ τῆς ἀνομίας αὐτοῦ. Also Ezekiel3:19;Ezekiel33:14
and Jonah3:10, ἀπέστρεψανἀπὸ τῶν ὁδῶν αὐτῶντῶν πονηρῶν.
Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools andColleges
ADAM CLARKE
Verse 26
Unto you first, God, having raisedup - As you are the children of the
prophets, and of the covenant, the first offers of salvation belong to you, and
God thus makes them to you. The greatmission of Jesus Christ is directed
first to you, that you may be saved from your sins. God designs to bless you,
but it is by turning eachof you awayfrom his iniquities. The salvation
promised in the covenantis a salvationfrom Sin, not from the Romans; and
no man can have his sin blotted out who does not turn awayfrom it.
We may learn from this that neither political nor ecclesiasticalprivileges can
benefit the soul, merely consideredin themselves:a man may have Abraham
for his father, according to the flesh; and have Satan for his father, according
to the spirit. A man may be a member of the visible Church of Christ, without
any title to the Church triumphant. In short, if a man be not turned away

63. from his iniquities, even the death of Christ profits him nothing. His name
shall be called Jesus, forhe shall Save his people From their Sins.
If Christ be the substance and sum of all that the prophets have written, is it
not the duty and interest of every Christian, in reading the Scriptures, to
searchfor the testimony they bear to this Christ, and the salvation procured
by his death?
STEVEN COLE
To proclaim the gospel, we must offer God’s grace to the repentant.
After Peter’s indictment of his audience, you would expect him to say,
“You’re all going to burn in hell for crucifying Jesus,” andwalk off and leave
them. But rather, he exhorts them (3:19), “Repentand return, so that your
sins may be wiped away.” If they would repent, God would send Jesus to
bring times of refreshing and to restore all things (3:19, 21), a reference to the
millennial kingdom. There will be a major revival in Israel just before the
return of Christ (Matt. 23:39; Rom. 11:26; see Zech. 12:10; 14:9). He tells
them that God sent His Servant Jesus “to bless you by turning every one of
you from your wickedways” (3:26).
If God is so gracious as to offer forgiveness and His kingdom blessings to
those who crucified His Son, then surely He offers grace to every sinner who
will repent. The apostle Paulwas the chief of sinners, but he found mercy, so
that in him as the foremost, Jesus Christmight demonstrate His perfect
patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life (1
Tim. 1:15-16). Godsent His Servant Jesus to bless you, by turning you from
your wickedways!

64. What is repentance? It is a change of mind that results in a change of one’s
entire life. It means to turn to God from our sin. Spurgeon (ibid.) says that
there is no better definition of it than in the children’s hymn: “Repentanceis
to leave the sins we loved before, and show that we in earnestgrieve, by doing
so no more.” No matter how terrible your sins have been, if you will repent,
you will experience in advance “times of refreshing” from God, because He
will wipe awayyour sins and bless you.
Conclusion
So whenever you getan opportunity to talk to someone aboutspiritual
matters, seek to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ. The sinner needs to know who
Jesus is and what He did. Don’t hesitate, out of fear of giving offense, to
confront the sinner and warn him of impending judgment. He needs to feel his
guilt so that he realizes his need for a Savior. And, don’t fail to offer God’s
grace and forgiveness to everyone who will repent. And whether God uses
your witness to save 2,000, as He did with Peter’s sermon, or maybe just one,
you will be filled with joy to know that by turning a sinner from the error of
his way, you have been used to save his soul from death (James 5:20).
THOMAS CONSTABLE
Verse 25-26
Peter"s hearers were the sons of the prophets in that they were the
descendants ofthose people, not prophets themselves. Theywere sons of the
covenantGod made with Abraham because they were Abraham"s physical
descendants. Theywere part of Abraham"s physical seedthrough whom God
purposed to bring blessing to all the families of the earth ( Genesis 12:3;
Genesis 22:18;Genesis 26:4). Their acceptanceofGod"s Messiahwas
essentialto their fulfilling all God"s purposes through them and in them. God

65. desired to bless all people, but He purposed to bless humanity by first blessing
the Jews. Itwas to bless first the Jews and then all humanity that God had
calledJesus forth as a prophet. "Foryou first" ( Acts 3:26, Gr. hymin proton)
reflects the emphatic position of this phrase in the Greek text, which stresses
the primacy of Jewishblessing.
It seems that in view of the context the phrase "raisedup" ( Acts 3:26) refers
to God raising up Jesus as a prophet like Moses ( Acts 3:22). He probably did
not mean that God raisedHim up from the grave by resurrection, though
obviously God did that too.
The gospelwentto the Jews before it went to the Gentiles (cf. Matthew 10:5-6;
Acts 13:46;Romans 1:16) because the establishment of Christ"s earthly
kingdom depends on Israel"s acceptance ofher Messiah( Matthew 23:39;
Romans 11:26). Before Christ can reign on the earth, Israelmust repent (
Zechariah 12:10-14).
"This speechis one of the most christologicallyrich addresses in Acts , as
Jesus is the servant, the Holy and Righteous One, the Author of life, the
prophet like Moses, the Christ, and the seedof Abraham." [Note:Bock, Acts ,
p165.]
ELLICOTT
Verse 26
(26) Unto you first. . . .—Here againwe note, even in the very turn of the
phrase as well as of the thought, an agreementwith St. Paul’s formula of the

66. purpose of God being manifested “to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile”
(Acts 13:46; Romans 1:16; Romans 2:9-10). St. Peterdoes not as yet know the
conditions under which the gospelwill be preachedto the heathen; but his
words imply a distinct perceptionthat there was a call to preach to them.
His SonJesus.—Better, as before, Servant. (See Note on Acts 3:13.)
Sent him to bless you.—The Greek structure gives the presentparticiple
where the English has the infinitive, sent Him as in the actof blessing. The
verb which strictly and commonly expresses a spokenbenediction is here used
in a secondarysense, as conveying the reality of blessedness. And the blessing
is found, not in mere exemption from punishment, not even in pardon and
reconciliation, but in a change of heart, in “turning eachman from his
wickednesses.” The plural of the abstractnoun implies, as in Mark 7:22, all
the many concrete forms in which man’s wickedness couldshow itself.
MATTHEW HENRY
As Israelites, they had the first offer of the grace of the New Testament.
Becausethey were the children of the prophets and the covenant, therefore to
them the Redeemerwas first sent, which was an encouragementto them to
hope that if they did repent, and were converted, he should be yet further sent
for their comfort(Acts 3:20): He shall send Jesus Christ, for to you first he
hath sent him, Acts 3:26. Unto you first, you Jews, thoughnot to you only,
God, having raised up his SonJesus, appointed and authorized him to be a
prince and a Saviour, and, in confirmation of this, raisedhim from the dead,
sent him to bless you, to make a tender of his blessing to you, especiallythat

67. greatblessing of turning every one of you from his iniquities and therefore it
concerns you to receive this blessing, and turn from your iniquities, and you
may be encouragedto hope that you shall. [1.] We are here told whence Christ
had his mission: God raised up his SonJesus, and sent him. God raised him
up when he constituted him a prophet, owned his by a voice from heaven, and
filled him with his Spirit without measure, and then sent him for to this end he
raisedhim up, that he might be his commissionerto treat of peace. He sent
him to bear witness of the truth, sent him to seek and save lost souls, senthim
againsthis enemies, to conquer them. Some refer the raising of him up to the
resurrection, which was the first step towards his exaltationthis was, as it
were, the renewing of his commissionand though, having raised him up, he
seemedpresently to take him from us, yet he did really send him afreshto us
in his gospeland Spirit. [2.] To whom he was sent: "Unto you first. You of the
seedof Abraham, you that are the children of the prophets, and of the
covenant, to you is the tender made of gospelgrace." The personalministry of
Christ, as that of the prophets, was confined to the Jews he was not then sent
but to the lost sheepof the house of Israel, and he forbade the disciples he then
sent forth to go any further. After his resurrection, he was to be preached
indeed to all nations, but they must begin at Jerusalem, Luke 24:47. And,
when they went to other nations, they first preachedto the Jews they found
therein. They were the first-born, and, as such, had the privilege of the first
offer. So far were they from being excluded for their putting Christ to death,
that, when he is risen, he is first sent to them, and they are primarily intended
to have benefit by his death. [3.] On what errand he was sent:"He is sent to
you first, to bless you this is his primary errand, not to condemn you, as you
deserve, but to justify you, if you will acceptof the justification offered you, in
the waywherein it is offeredbut he that sends him first to bless you, if you
refuse and rejectthat blessing, will send him to curse you with a curse,"
Malachi4:6. Note, First, Christ's errand into the world was to bless us, to
bring a blessing with him, for the Sun of righteousness rose withhealing
under his wings and, when he left the world, he left a blessing behind him for
he was parted from the disciples as he blessedthem, Luke 24:51. He sent his
Spirit to be the great blessing, the blessing of blessings, Isaiah44:3. It is by
Christ that God sends blessings to us, and through him only we can expectto
receive them. Secondly, The greatblessing wherewith Christ came to bless us

68. was the turning of us awayfrom our iniquities, the saving of us from our sins
(Matthew 1:21), to turn us from sin, that we may be qualified to receive all
other blessings. Sin is that to which naturally we cleave the design of divine
grace is to turn us from it, nay, to turn us againstit, that we may not only
forsake it, but hate it. The gospelhas a direct tendency to do this, not only as
it requires us, every one of us, to turn from our iniquities, but as it promises
us grace to enable us to do so. "Therefore, do your part repent, and be
converted, because Christ is ready to do his, in turning you from your
iniquities, and so blessing you."
Verse 26
God, having raised up — not from the dead, but having provided, prepared,
and given.
his SonJesus — “His Servant Jesus” (seeonActs 3:13).
sent him to bless you — literally, “sentHim blessing you,” as if laden with
blessing.
in turning awayevery one of you from his iniquities — that is, “Hitherto we
have all been looking too much for a Messiahwho should shed outward
blessings upon the nation generally, and through it upon the world. But we
have learned other things, and now announce to you that the greatblessing
with which Messiahhas come laden is the turning awayof every one of you
from his iniquities.” With what divine skill does the apostle, founding on
resistless facts,here drive home to the conscienceofhis auditors their guilt in
crucifying the Lord of Glory; then soothe their awakenedminds by

69. assurancesofforgiveness onturning to the Lord, and a glorious future as soon
as this shall come to pass, to terminate with the PersonalReturn of Christ
from the heavens whither He has ascended;ending all with warnings, from
their own Scriptures, to submit to Him if they would not perish, and calls to
receive from Him the blessings of salvation.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Israel’s SecondChance:Acts
Acts 3:21-26
Dr. S. Lewis Johnsondiscusses Peter's preaching aboutthe fulfillment of
God's promises in Christ Jesus.
SLJ Institute > Acts > Israel’s SecondChance:Acts
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70. Now, let’s turn to Acts Chapter 3, and our Scripture reading today is the
entire chapter; Chapter 3, Verse 1 through Verse 26. The subjectfor today,
and the message thatfollows will be “Israel’s SecondChance.” In fact, it’s not
simply “Israel’s SecondChance,” but “Israel’s Continuing Chance,” but since
so much is devoted to it, that’s the title of the messagethis morning. The Day
of Pentecosthas just occurred. There has been daily worship of the Lord in
the temple area, and from house to house, and Luke picks up the story and
says,
“Now Peterand John went up togetherin to the temple at the hour of prayer,
being the ninth hour. And a certainman lame from his mother’s womb was
carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called
Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple.
Who seeing Peterand John about to go into the temple askedan alms. And
Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John said; Look on us. And he gave
heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Petersaid;
Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee. In the name of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand
and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones receivedstrength.
And he leaping up stoodand walkedand entered with them into the temple,
walking and leaping and praising God.
And all the people saw him walking and praising God. And they knew that it
was he that satfor alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple, and they were
filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him. And
as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran
togetherunto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatlywondering.
And when Petersaw it, he answeredunto the people; Ye men of Israel, why
marvel ye at this, or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own
poweror holiness, we have made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, and

71. of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers” — you notice the greatstress
here on the covenants — “hath glorified his SonJesus, whom ye delivered up,
and denied him in the presence ofPilate, when he was determined to let him
go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be
granted unto you. And killed the Prince of life, whom Godhath raised from
the dead, whereofwe are witnesses. And his name through faith in his name
hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know. Yea, the faith which is by
him hath given him this perfectsoundness in the presence ofyou all.” (Now
you see, those apostleswere southerners;“presence ofyou all.”)
“And now brethren, I know that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your
rulers. But those things, which God before had showedby the mouth of all his
prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. Repent ye therefore,
and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of
refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”
Later in the message — because I’m telling you this now, I won’t tell you then
— but this word “times of refreshing” is a word that, in its root, is relatedto
the Exodus experience, because the same word is used — same root is used in
that connectionin the Old TestamentGreek translation. So what Peteris
offering, is something like a “new Exodus” for them, and of course, the
prophets repeat that theme, too.
“When the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. And
he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preachedunto you. Whom the
heavens must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God
hath spokenby the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.”
You know, back in Chapter 1 in Verse 5 I believe, the apostles hadsaid to our
Lord, “Wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” Some have

72. sought to make of this far more than should have been made of it, and have
even insisted that our Lord is denying there will be a restorationif the
kingdom to Israel. Actually, all he says is, “It’s not for you to know the times
or seasons.”He doesn’tsay that the kingdom will not be restore to them, and
that term “restore” is again, ofthe same root as this expression“times of
restitution of all things.” So Petertells us — now he knows better, you see —
that the Lord will restore the kingdom to Israel, but it will take place at his
SecondAdvent.
“Whom the heavenmust receive until the times of restitution of all things
which God hath spokenby the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world
began. For Moses truly said unto the fathers; A prophet shall the Lord your
God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me. Him shall ye hear in all
things whatsoeverhe shall sayunto you. And it shall come to pass, that every
soul which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the
people.
“Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many
as have spoken, have likewise foretoldof these days. Ye are the children of the
prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto
Abraham; And in thy seedshall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.” (It’s
obvious that Israelis the keyto the salvationof the world.) “Unto you first
God, having raised up his SonJesus, senthim to bless you, in turning away
every one of you from his iniquities.”
May the Lord bless this reading of his word. Let’s bow togetherin a moment
of prayer.
[Prayer] Our heavenly Father, we are indeed grateful to Thee that we are able
to open the Scriptures and study them. We are thankful for Believers Chapel

73. and its elders and its officers and members who still desire to hear the
exposition of Holy Scripture. And we are grateful because we know, Lord,
that our spiritual strength and well-being is related to the study of the Word
of God. “Manshall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of God.”
O God, deliver us from indifference to the Scriptures, indifference to the
exposition of them, indifference to feeding upon them personally. And we ask
that Thy hand of blessing may be upon our elders and deacons and members
and friends and upon all the ministries of this particular work. And we pray
for the whole body of Christ as well, and pray that Thou wilt, through the
Scriptures, build us up, and prepare us for the times of restitution of all things
which the prophets have so brilliantly and beautifully spokenabout.
We pray for the whole body of Christ. We pray for our country, and we would
especially, Lord, pray for those who have spiritual and physical needs, and
who are either among us, or are related, or have friends among us. We pray,
O God, for them. We ask that there may be responsivenessto the needs;
physically as it should please Thee, and spiritually. Lord, we are grateful for
the promises of forgiveness ofsins and all of the other promises that go with
our salvation;the promise that Thou wilt be with us; the promise that our
future is secure, and that, in the meantime, we can be confident that Thou wilt
meet our needs, and at the same time give testimony to Thy greatnessthrough
us. We pray Thy blessing upon eachone gathered here this morning, and may
we, as we study the Scriptures, be built up in our faith.
For Jesus’sake. Amen.
[Message]As many of you know, both Martha and I love Scotland, and so it
was a enjoyable, restful time for us to travel to Scotlandand spend over two

74. weeks justwandering around in the northeastand northwest, seeing some
sights that I had never seen, and — and of course, some that Martha had not
seen, too. We had some interesting experiences. One of them I — when I had
this experience, I thought of the Chapel. When I gotto Aberdeen, which was
the first Sunday that we were there, I lookedin the telephone book for a
church that might be something like Believers Chapel, and we might
remember the Lord and the Lord’s Supper on Sunday morning. And it was
very difficult to find any such church, although I knew that there were
probably twenty-five in the city, but they don’t believe in advertising the fact.
And finally I locatedone church that lookedlike it might be the kind that I
wanted to go to, and I intended to go to one of the Churches of Scotlandon
Sunday night, because the minister there is a well-knownevangelical,and for
many years — about forty years — has preached the gospel, and also has been
responsible for a number of young men staying in the Church of Scotlandand
preaching the gospel. The Church of Scotlandis largelyliberal now, but
finally at ten o’clock onSunday morning I called this place that was called I
believe, “BethelgospelHall,” right downtown. And I gotsomebody on the
phone, and I askedhim, “Is this a Christian Brethren Assembly?” And he
said, “Well, yes.” I could tell he didn’t want to acknowledge anyname,
believing that they were just Christians, and that was all. And anyway he told
me that the meeting beganat ten thirty. Well, it was alreadyten o’clock, andI
was on the edge of town, and Aberdeen has become a pretty large city now. So
we immediately rushed to getdown to ten thirty, and I arrived at the building
at ten thirty-two, and tried to open the door, and it was locked. When ten
thirty comes, they shut the doors and they lock them.
And that’s when I thought of Believers Chapel. I thought, if we lockedthe
doors at eleveno’clock, we might have about a third of our congregation
standing outside in the parking lot. But I know that some of them find that
from Scripture, and particularly the parable of the wise and foolish virgins,
because they are aggrieved, that when the wise entered into the house, the

75. door was shut, and some churches that I know of have made a point of that;
that when the time comes, shut the doors. And so they did, or fortunately, the
church was just around the cornerfrom the church that I was — intended to
see Sunday night, and I went there, and William Still, who is a man in his
seventies, but preaches the gospel, gave a very goodgospelmessagethat
morning.
The next Sunday we were in Ulapool, which is way up in the northwestof
Scotland, and we arrived there on Satur — or Friday night, and were going to
be there through Sunday morning, and so fortunately the Church of Scotland
was just down the way from the motel. It’s a small town; about five thousand
people. And we wanderedaround, and I thought, “Well, I’d like to go to the
Free Church of Scotland,” because itis more conservative, although
somewhatdead. And so down a block from it is the Church of Scot — Free
Church of Scotland, and then as we were walking back, I came to a little
church calledthe “Free PresbyterianChurch.” Now of course, I’m familiar a
bit with Scottishtheology, and all of these at one time were together, but
they’re all separate now. You know, they have a saying about Scots that,
“Everybody is a theologian, even if he’s not religious.”
So here were these three churches, and so I told Martha, “Let’s go to the Free
Church of Scotland,” because I’ve known some men in it, and they generally
are sound theologically. And so we went there. It was a communion weekend.
They make a lot of that; have meetings on Saturday in preparation, and
nobody was there at eleveno’clock. Church was open. Two German young
fellows that were apparently traveling on vacationwere standing outside, and
we talked with them, and we went in. We were four, and then another couple
came in — evidently visitors. Then someone came out and said, “We’re not
having a meeting here at eleven. We’ll have a little prayer meeting, and then
we have a communion service attwelve.”

76. So we had to leave shortly, and so we decided we’d leave immediately and
walk down the streetto the Free PresbyterianChurch, which was half a block
away. And we lookedthere, and there was nobody standing around there
either, so evidently the same thing was happening, and so I said, “Well, we are
forcedto go to the Church of Scotland,” and so we went around the corner.
It’s just another half block away. They all canalmost hear eachother
preaching.
We walkedin. The congregationwas there. They had the Lord’s Supper that
morning, and their pews have the — the pew in front of you has a little ledge
on which hymn books and Bibles are placed, rather than as we do here. And
they had it setup with tablecloths all down the centersection;two side
sections, one large centersection, and white cloths setall the way down where
they serve the Lord’s Supper. And so we went in and sat on the side, and the
minister in the course of the opening announcements said, “In the first hymn
we welcome all Christians to partake with us, and when we sing the first
hymn, if you want to partake the Lord’s Supper with us, move over from the
side into the center.” And so we moved over into the center, and two or three
other couples did, but largely all down the sides, there were lots of people that
didn’t take communion.
So I wondered what kind of message we wouldhave, and a young man about
thirty-six years of age was the guestspeakerthat morning, and he stoodup
and delivered a messagethat could have been delivered in Believers Chapel,
maybe better. So the two Sundays that I was there, it was a very sound
message— Calvinistic too, very Calvinistic — in harmony with the
WestminsterConfessionofFaith. Both of these messages — both touched on
unconditional electionand preach it. And I was very pleased. It shows that
God providentially guides our steps, no matter where it might seem,
sometimes in unlikely places. Well, as I walkedout I couldn’t resistthis —
when I walkedout the regular minister was there. I said, “Do you believe the
things that that fellow preached this morning?” And I fully expectedhim to

77. hedge a bit you know and say, “Well, I generally,” orsomething like that. He
said, “No, that’s what I believe, and that’s what I preach.” So even in a
denomination that now is largelyon the liberal side of things, there are some
fine preaching still being carried on in Scotland.
The next Sunday we had the soundest messageofall, and I preached
[laughter]; a church in Edinburgh. So it — it’s a — it’s greatto be back, and I
really appreciate very much the privilege and opportunity that is ours. When
you go to a place like that, which is such — is filled with such history —
Christian history, and see the condition of the nation spiritually today, it’s
very sad; very sadto go into the cathedrals, and find that there is no
preaching of the gospel;very sad to read the newspapers, and note that John
Knox and those who followedhim in the ScottishReformationhave very, very
little influence in the land of Scotlandtoday. It’s very sad.
It has been said that the Church today needs more than a lift. It needs a life
that issues in a leap of joy, and of course, the occasionofthat saying is the
third chapter of the Book ofthe Acts, in which we have recorded for us the
healing of the lame man. Some years ago an Episcopal bishop, realizing that
there was something wrong in his denomination, calledfor more religious
fanaticism; a rather strange thing we might think for an Episcopalianto say.
A Methodist, about the same time, calledfor the emotionalism that made
Methodism famous. Of course, that is one of the things that we remember
about Methodists;that they loved to sayin the golden days of the
denomination, “Amen and Hallelujah” in their meetings. But then the gospel
of the grace ofGod was continually preached. Even a Baptist spoke some
years ago about the same time, that the denomination should not be afraid to
shed tears. Well, all of these things may be useful, but of course, the more
fundamental thing is, “What is being said in the pulpit?”

78. A socialgospelmay give the sense of emotionalism;may also be accompanied
by some shedding of tears;might even call — be calleda form of religious
fanaticism. But a socialgospelcangive no realspiritual leapthat comes from
life in Christ.
One of the more famous of our contemporary theologians is Jurgen
Moltmann, and he is famous for his theology of hope. Well, that’s perhaps a
little better, so far as the title is concerned, but again identifies — identified as
it is with the theologyof liberation, it too cannotreally give us any
fundamental spiritual experience that is valuable for us. What we need can
only come through the risen Christ, and Luke, who has written the history of
the early Church, makes that very plain chapter after chapter; that our needs
can only be met by the Christ who was raisedfrom the dead and who is
continuing to do his work.
I have a — a very greatlove for Vance Havner, who is now with the Lord, but
for many years he preached over the country. He preached. He taught. He
was a pastorin my home city of Charleston, South Carolina, in the First
Baptist Church there for a while. He had a remarkable gift with his pen. In
one of his messages, he asks the question, “Would we really like for religious
fanaticism? Would we really like for emotionalism to come to our churches?”
He said, “Suppose we took seriouslyCharles Wesley’s ‘O Fora Thousand
Tongues’, and we sang ‘Hear him ye deaf, his praise ye dumb, your loosened
tongues employ. Ye blind behold your Saviorcome, and leap ye lame for
joy.’” And he said, “You know, if people started leaping in our congregations
today, there probably would not be a greatdeal of happiness, but on the other
hand, an exodus of scandalizedsaints.” Well, that’s probably true, and, in one
sense, we’re not asking for that, but what this man experienced;this
tremendous joy that came to him because ofthe ministry of the Lord Jesus on
the spiritual level is something that the Scriptures set out as an experience for
us.

79. The scene is, as you cansee, very simple. It is in the days following the coming
of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. There is some connectionwith the
preceding in that we read in Verse 43 of Chapter 2 that, “Fearcame upon the
people in Jerusalemin those days, and many wonders and signs were being
done by the apostles.”And this is the story of one of those mighty miracles
that was being done. It was three o’clock in the afternoon, the time — the
third time of prayer for the Jews during the day, and Peter the practical, and
John the poet, or Peterthe doer of deeds, and John the dreamer of dreams
and visions, come to the temple area, evidently to engage in prayer.
Now, there was a certainlame man who lived in Jerusalem, or thereabouts.
He had been lame from his mother’s womb, and so he had never walked. He
didn’t know what it was to geton his feet and take a step. And he had been
carried daily, and placed at the gate of the Temple — which is called
“Beautiful” — in order that he might ask for alms. And so he was there. One
thinks of him as a picture, not simply of individuals, because ofcourse, he is a
picture of individuals outside of Christ. They are lame in their sins, and
cannot walk in a way that pleases God. But it also is a picture of a church in
which the gospelhas departed.
I think of so many churches in Scotland — the land that I visited; large
cathedrals in many cases,othertypes of churches, the gospelnot preached.
The church is like the lame man. It cannothelp anyone. It needs help. And so
this man is lying at the gate of the temple called“Beautiful,” and asking for
alms. Now, of course, whatwill happen when he walks is designed to be a
messianic sign. That will become evident as the miracle takes place, but the
fact that he was lame from his mother’s womb alerts us in the beginning, to
the factthat this is a messianic miracle.
Now, the Old Testamentis full of clearsigns by which Israelmight have
recognizedtheir messiah. It was not a surprise — should not have been a

80. surprise for Israel — that the Lord Jesus was the messiah, for the Scriptures
had setout in detail the things that would mark out the messianic king. For
example, in IsaiahChapter 35 the prophet speaks ofthe things that the
messiahwill do. He says, “Thenthe eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears
of the deaf shall be unstopped; then the lame man leapas in heart, and the
tongue of the dung — dumb sing, for in the wilderness shall waters break out
and streams in the desert. Then shall the lame man leap as a deer.”
So when this man was healed of his lameness in this remarkable way, those
who were students of the Scriptures might well have said, “This is a messianic
miracle. We have never seenanything like this. Jesus must be the messiah.”
That was the way in which they should have responded.
Well, he was placeddaily at the gate, because that was where he might expect
to get more money. I have heard stories — in fact, W.H. Davies a poet, has
told the story of a friend of his who was a beggar, who told him that whenever
he went to a new city, he would always look for a church with a spire and a
cross upon it, because if he found the church with the spire and the cross, and
if he locatedhimself in the area, he always did better than if he were
somewhere else, because, generallyspeaking,nearthe temple or near a
church where there had been some truth from God preached, the people
tended to give more. So he was there, and he was put there daily, because that
was the best place for him to getsome money. Well, Peter and John approach,
and he of course, expectto — expectedto getsomething for the — for — from
them, particularly because whenPeterapproachedthem, he stopped and he
fixed his eyes upon him. In the Greek text, there’s a great dealof stress upon
that. He fixed his eyes upon him, and that man thought, “Well, I’m going to
get something now,” particularly when Peter said, “Look on us,” and he
looked, expecting to getsomething.

81. And then Petermust have disappointed him with his first words, “Silver and
gold have I none.” I can imagine he’d — what a let down. He thought he was
going to get something. The first thing Petersays is, “Silver and gold have I
none, but such as I have I give thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
rise up and walk.” Whata tremendous gift that was. And so Peter reached
out. “He took him by the right hand. He lifted him up, and immediately his
feet and his ankle bones receivedstrength.” Now, you’ll notice of course, Peter
really did have something. He had something more important than money,
and do you notice too, that there was no “if” or “but” about it. As a matter of
fact, there is no process aboutthis healing, though there is a healing or two in
which, in the New Testament, we do have some process in the healing. But
here there is no process,and will you reflect for a moment upon this miracle,
because it’s not like healing miracles that are often claimed in Charismatic
churches today.
Think about this for a moment. The New Testamentspeaksofthe gift of
miracles, and the gift of healing, but here is a man who was lame from his
mother’s womb. Now therefore, he had never learnedto walk. He didn’t know
what it was to walk at all. Children must learn to walk. If you’ve ever watched
a little child begin to toddle, you’ll understand that they have to learn to walk.
They do not sit in a highchair and say — I know it’s not true, because my
grandchild — children never did this. They never satin the chair and said,
“You know, I’ve reflectedupon this walking. It’s not difficult. All you need to
do, is to put your foot out, transfer your weight to that foot, then put the other
foot out, transfer your weight to that foot, and walking is easy.” You cansee
the little child raising the high chair, and sliding down, and walking. Why of
course, how silly. You have to learn to walk. As a matter of fact, adults who
have walked, and who’ve been on the bed for a lengthy period of time will tell
you –as I’ve often had them tell me, “I practically had to learn to walk over
again.”

82. Now, here is a man who has never walkedin his life, has been lame from his
mother’s womb, and Petersays, “Rise up and walk.” He takes him by his
right hand. He lifts him up. His feet, his ankle bones receive strength, and the
man stoodup with a walked, and entered into the Temple, walking, and
leaping, and praising God. That is a divine miracle, and I will guarantee you
that that has never occurredin the halls of the charismatic movement. This is
the kind of healing miracle that the Lord Jesus performs, and in this case,
through his apostles.This was designedto let people know that Jesus was the
messiah. “The lame shall be healed and leapas a deer.” And here is the
messianic miracle.
Thomas Aquinas once had a talk with Pope Innocent II — so it is said — and
he happened to walk in when the Pope was the fore — at his desk, or
somewhere — place where he had a lot of money around, and the coins were
there, and he lookedup and he said to Thomas, “Thomas, the church can no
longersay ‘silver and gold have I none..” And Thomas Aquinas is supposed to
have replied, “Well your honor, it cannot sayany longereither, ‘Rise up and
walk’.” And he was talking about the fact, that the Church had lost its power.
Well, the church has losta greatdeal of its spiritual power, because it’s lostits
interest in the Word of God.
Now, I want you to notice before we pass on to the sermon, that it’s evident
that our Lord is continuing his work. Luke had said that he wrote the gospel,
because he wanted to tell us what Jesus beganto do and teach. Stress rests
upon that “beganto do and teach,” because in the history of the church in the
Book ofActs, he continues to do and teach. And let me saythis too; that in the
twentieth century, in 1984 whenspiritual things happen, the Lord Jesus is
continuing to do and teachthrough his servants. That’s the messageofthe
Book ofActs, and we should never lose it. Also, we have something new, and
that is that our Lord is now teaching through individuals, through his
Church. He had said, “Stay in Jerusalem. You shall receive powerafter that
the Holy Ghosthas come upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me in

83. Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the uttermost parts of the earth.” They are
fulfilling that word of our Lord by being witnesses to him in Jerusalem.
Notice also, that the church has, as its gift to lame humanity not simply help
like alms, like help for the poor. You know, people seemto think that
Christianity is bound up in the giving of gifts to the poor. Strange, isn’t it?
Now, that could only happen — people could only be convincedof that — in a
societyin which the Word of God is no longerbeing read. If the Word of God
were being read, that kind of line would not play at all, but it does play
because people no longerread the Scriptures. There is nothing wrong, of
course, in helping the poor, and the church’s ministry will be most helpful to
the poor, when it deals with their most severproblem, which is their lack of
spiritual life. To give the — to — for the church to engage in the gifts of gifts
to the physical needs of men has some value, but the value that the church can
communicate to societymostfully, is the gift of life, spiritual life. And in time,
we shall see that that is true.
Mr. Havner said, “A lot of our uplifting these days, is mostly soapand soup,
but very little salvation.” Whatthe church usually gets today when it comes to
church, is a fix, and they listen to a little talk of fifteen or twenty minutes, an
ethical kind of talk. They get their little fix — and incidentally, this is true of a
lot of evangelicalchurches, too. Theypreachto the everyday things of life, and
often forgetthe ultimate realities which are far more significant, but
particularly in our liberal churches, they get a fix, and then they go out and
they have to come back next week for the same kind of thing. A joint of liberal
theologyis worthless in the ultimate realities of life.
Well, this is all designedto be a sign of the fact, that the Lord Jesus does more
than give alms. He gives life. This lame man is so much better off than if Peter
and John had conferredan estate upon him. He now has life for his lame
bones. Well, this is the occasionfor preaching, and of course, I admire Peter

84. because remember, he is in a very volatile atmosphere. People have turned
againstour Lord Jesus Christ. He is regardedas a blasphemer. The
authorities have put him to death. The name of Jesus Christis very, very bad
at this time. “It would be wise,” someonemight say, “that Petershould preach
the gospel, but not identify too closelywith Jesus ofNazareth. Peter, why
don’t you preach the prophecies of the Old Testament, and that they will be
fulfilled in a man who will come and do the things that Jesus has done, but
avoid the direct connectionwith him.” I cansee many people would give good,
sound advice like that. We might think it was good, sound advice. So what do
we expect Peterto preach? Will he further inflame the passions ofthe people
by saying, “Look, you have been guilty of the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth
who is the messiah.”
John Ruskin once said about a preacher’s opportunity that, “It was half an
hour to raise the dead in.” That’s a goodpicture of what preaching is, “half an
hour to raise the dead in.” I know what you are thinking. It’s forty-five
minutes to “raise the dead in” in Believers Chapel, but then it takes longer
with some who are in this audience. “Forty-five minutes to raise the dead in.”
Now, we don’t want to lose an opportunity, when we have such an
opportunity, and so Peterwill respond, and he will not hedge in any way. He
will speak directly to the situation. Peternow is a man filled with the Holy
Spirit, and he will preachthe truth as he finds it in the Word of God.
I don’t know that I do that. I would like to do that. I have a Catholic friend,
and when she hears this message, she’llrecognize who she is. She lives in
Buffalo. She writes me from time to time. She urges me to keeppreaching the
Word of God as it is written. She’s still in the Roman Catholic Church. She is
a believer; has trusted in our Lord Jesus Christ, and writes me from time to
time to encourage me to continue to preach the Word as it is written. Now I
say, I don’t know that I do that. I’m probably just like anyone else filled with
fear from time to time, but I do admire those who preach boldly. And here is
Peterin the midst of these Jewishmen who have crucified our Lord Jesus

85. Christ. They have rejectedhim, and he will tell them that the messianic signs
are being performed, because the Messiahhas come, and the reasonthat the
kingdom has not come at this point, is that the nation has rejectedthe king. In
some ways, the boldness of Peterin such a situation, is almost a greater
miracle than the miracle that he performed, because it took a greatdeal of
spiritual courage to do what he did in the temple area.
Let’s listen to what he says. He says first of all, “Why are you marveling at
what has happened? Why are you also looking upon us so earnestly as if we,
by our power, have performed this miracle? You shouldn’t be surprised and
astounded as you are, because Jesusis the Messiah, andthe Messiahwhenhe
came will unstop the ears of the deaf. He will enable the tongues of the dumb
to speak. He will also heal the lame. He will healthe lepers, and the gospel
shall be preached to the poor. These are things that our Scriptures have said
that he would do, so why should you be so surprised? Look at your past
history and your prophecies, and look at the goalof history, and you will
understand what is happening now, and you will also understand why the
kingdom of God did not come with him. We have rejectedthe king.”
Now having saidthat, he launches into a brief treatment of the greatacts of
God. These things will be further developed in the Acts, and because oftime
this morning, we’ll save a goodbit of that for later messages.
But you’ll remember that the writer of the Epistle of the Hebrews says that,
“Godspoke through the prophets to the people in ancient times, but he has in
these last days spokenunto us in such a person as his Son.” And so Peterwill
sum up God’s messagein the Son. Listen to what he says, and he relates it to
the ancientcovenants, the ancient promises which Godis so diligent to
perform. “The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the Godof our
fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus, whomyou delivered up, and denied him
in the presence ofPilate, when he was determined to let him go. But you

86. denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be grantedunto
you, and killed the Prince of life.”
Bengle, the greatGerman commentator calls that, “the magnificent
antithesis.” Think of it. How can you kill the Prince of life? Well, you canput
him to death physically if it is the divine will that he die, and die as the
redeemer, but we read, “Whom God has raised from the dead, whereofwe are
witnesses.And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong,
whom ye see and know. Yea, the faith which is by him hath given him that
perfect soundness in the presence ofyou all.” The faith is the faith of Peter.
The name which is responsible for the healing, is the name of our Lord, or all
that he is. So the magnificent antithesis is overruled in the mighty powerof
God.
Now, that is what happened — has happened, but Peterwill make his appeal
now, and he will say in Verse 17, “And now brethren, I know that through
ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.” But ignorance is no excuse.
Ultimately, ignorance will enable them to have a time in which they may
reverse their decisions, but ignorance is no excuse. Ignorance is no excuse in
our law either. When the policeman pulls you over after you’ve had your foot
too heavily on the accelerator, and you say, “I didn’t look at my accelerator. I
didn’t notice I was going eighty-five in a thirty-five mile speed— speedzone.”
Why, he will say, “Ignorance is no excuse.”Well, ignorance is no excuse in
biblical things either, but it is such an excuse that it gains us some time. So
Petersays, “I know that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.
But those things, which God before had showed by the mouth of all his
prophets, that messiahshould suffer, he hath so fulfilled.” In other words, the
prophecies have been fulfilled. The messianic king has come. He has suffered
as the redeemer. Now, not only that. He goes onand says, “Repentye
therefore.”

87. Do you remember that the first messageofour Lord was, “Repent, for the
kingdom of the heavens is at hand.” The last messageofour Lord was, “Stay
in Jerusalemuntil the Holy Spirit comes. Repentanceand forgiveness shallbe
preached.” “Repent,” orin other words, “reverse the verdict of PassoverEve
when you, as a nation, crucified your redeemer, making him the Lamb of God
who takethaway the sin of the world, but condemning you because ofyour
crucifixion of our Lord. Reverse the verdict of PassoverEve, and if you do,”
Petersays, “then some significant things will take place. First of all, the times
of refreshing shall come from the presence ofthe Lord.”
I related that to the experience of Exodus, when they came out of the bondage
of Egypt, came into the land, and they were no longerunder bondage to
Egypt. They lived in the freedom of the superintendents and kingship of the
Lord Jehovahhimself. “Times of refreshing shall come from the presence of
the Lord. And he shall send Jesus Christ, which was before preachedunto you
whom the heaven must receive until the times of the restitution of all things,
which God hath spokenby the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world
began.” So times of refreshing, the secondadvent, the restitution of all things,
and as we said when the disciples said, “Wilt thou at this time restore the
kingdom to Israel,” ah, he uses the same root, and he says, “the restitution of
all things.” This is when the kingdom is restoredto Israel, and this also is the
“time when all the families of the earth shall be blessedin the seedof
Abraham,” as he will go on to say.
So repent. Repentance is the message thatis needed by those who have
crucified our Lord Jesus Christ. Repent. There are some people who think
that we ought not to even preach “repent,” but repentance is setout in the
New Testamentas a biblical doctrine. It’s set out in the New Testamentlong
after our Lord’s crucifixion, as the preaching of the apostles. Peterpreached
repentance. Paulpreached repentance. Evenwhen Peterspeaks in his last
epistle, he’s still talking about repentance. Repentance is perfectly

88. appropriate for us, and particularly for those who have rejectedthe message
of the Lord Jesus Christ for a period of time.
When George Whitfield came to this country and preached the gospel, he
preached“repent.” In fact, there was a — a ser — or — or rather, a poem
that was written about Mr. Whitfield by John GreenleafWhittier, and it
reads this way. “Lo, by the merrimack Whitefield stands; In the temple that
never was made by hands; Curtains of azure and crystalwall, and dome of
sunshine over all; Calledin his youth to sound and gauge, the moral lapse of
his razen age;And sharp as truth the contrastdraw, of human frailty and
perfect law; Possessedby the one dread thought that lent, its goadto his fiery
temperament; Up and down the world he went, while John the Baptist crying,
‘Repent’.”
He was the greatestevangelistthat ever came to the United States ofAmerica;
magnificent response. DavidGarrick, the greatactorsaid that, “Mr.
Whitefield could melt an audience by simply pronouncing the word
‘Mesopotamia’.”And he said he would give a hundred guineas if he could say,
“Oh,” like Mr. Whitefield. He was a greatman. He preachedthat men should
repent, and that’s what we should do if we have rejectedthe Lord Jesus
Christ, and have had a false verdict concerning him. That is our
responsibility, to repent; that is, to change our minds concerning him, and by
the grace ofGod, rely upon the power of the Holy Spirit to change our actions
with reference to him as well.
Repent; times of refreshing. A new Exodus is going to come. Times of
restitution; a new inheritance. They will have the kingdom restoredto them.
They will enter into the land, just as they entered into the land of Canaanin
specialblessing. Some say, “Is this a re-offer of the kingdom to Israel?” Why
of course it is a re-offer of the kingdom to Israel, and that kingdom is still
offered to Israeltoday. The Apostle Paul in Romans Chapter 11 in Verse 23

89. says these words, “And they also” — he’s talking about Israel — “if they
abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in
again.” There is only one thing that stands betweenthe nation’s entrance into
its spiritual blessings as a nation, and that one thing is to reverse their attitude
to the Lord Jesus Christ. When that happens, these magnificent blessings shall
take place. Now, the things that will happen are the things that the prophets
have written about. If you want to know what the future is like, read the past,
and the messagesofthe prophets.
Now finally, he concludes by saying, “Look” — the twenty-fifth verse, “you
are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with
our fathers, saying unto Abraham; And in thy seedshall all the kindreds of
the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent
him to bless you, in turning awayevery one of you from his iniquities.”
In other words, the Lord Jesus came to Israel, because to Israelthe promises
were given, and Israelis the clue to worldwide blessing. Listen to what Paul
will saylong after this. “Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the
circumcision, for the truth of God to confirm the promises made unto the
fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.” That’s the
order: our Lord came for the nation, he came to confirm the promises for
them. He also came and made it possible for the Gentiles as a group, to enter
into relationship with him, because they too were included in the Abrahamic
Promises. Israelis the key to the future worldwide blessing, and Peteris
preaching that in his first lengthy messagefollowing the Day of Pentecost.
Well, let me close, forour time is up. One cansee, that this incident illustrates
that there is not only spiritual life for this — should I say, spiritual life for this
lame man, because that’s what the physical experience is designed to
represent. But there is spiritual life for Israel if they will turn, and there is
spiritual life for all in Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ is able to cancelour

90. disabilities. He is able to communicate ability. He is able to create worship,
and while we do not expect to have any kind of physical leaping like the lame
man who had never walkedin his life, there should be the leap of spiritual joy
when we have come to know that we are truly the Lord’s through faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ.
There is no powerin the term “Baptist.” There is no power in Methodism.
There is no powerin Episcopalianism. There is no powerin Believers Chapel
as a church. The power rests in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We preach
him, and we preachsalvation through him. He breaks the powerof cancelsin.
He sets the prisoner free. We do not. He does. Even an upright life without
acknowledgmentof Christ, leaves a man only a scoundrel in the sight of God.
May God help us as we reflectupon this incident, to realize that life comes
ultimately through the messianic king, and the death that he has
accomplished.
But let us not close without reminding you that Peteralso said to them, citing
the prophecy concerning the prophet from Deuteronomy. In the twenty-third
verse, “It shall come to pass that every soul which will not hear the prophet,
shall be destroyed from among the people.” Individual salvation has always
restedupon the relationship to Christ, and whether Jew or Gentile, our
individual responsibility is the personalrelationship with the Lord Jesus
Christ. Israelindividually is just like a Gentile individually. They have the
greatpromises that have to do with the nation, and he will ultimately so work,
that the nation, as a nation as a whole shall come to the Lord in the future. In
the meantime, if men do not believe in Christ, they are lost. Callthat narrow
if you will, but it is the narrowness ofthe Word of God.
We are living in days in which there are strange things happening. General
Boothof the Salvation Army, at the turn of the century said, “The chief
danger of the twentieth century will be religion without the Holy Spirit,

91. Christianity without Christ.” Isn’t that striking? We have a building to the
south of us there. You’ve talked to those people. They say, “We’re
Christians.” There’s no Christ. “Christianity without Christ.” That’s true of
many of our well-knowndenominational churches; Christianity, but no
Christ. “Forgivenesswithoutrepentance. Salvationwithout regeneration.
Politics without God.” Isn’t it interesting, that the Generalshould say that.
“Politics without God, and heaven without hell.”
Well, GeneralWilliam Boothwas not a prophet, but he certainly gave a good
insight into the generations that have come since him. We’re living in those
days. If you’re here, and you have never believed in Jesus Christ, you’re lost.
You’re headedfor a Christless eternity. “You shall be destroyed,” as Peter
says, “from among the people.” But by virtue of the blood that was shed, the
offer of a spiritual salvation, far more valuable than anything that might be
done for you in a physical way, is offered to you through the blood that was
shed.
May God in his wonderful grace so move upon your heart, that you recognize
your lost condition, and that by his grace — for repentance is a gift, as we
shall read in the fifth chapter of this book. MayGod give you the grace of
repentance, so that you reverse the decision and flow of your life at this point,
and turn to him through whom you may have the forgiveness of sins. We
invite you. We urge you. We appeal to you, as an ambassadorof the Lord
Jesus. Come. Turn. You shall be turned by the grace ofGod if you
acknowledge yourcondition and give yourself to him who died for sinners.
Shall we stand for the benediction.
[Prayer] Father, e are so grateful to Thee for these magnificent messages.We
considerit one of the greatestofthe blessings of life to have the Word of God,
and O Father, if there are some here who have never believed, we ask, Lord,
give … [End of tape]

92. Verse 26
Acts 3:26. ὑμῖν πρῶτον— ὑμῖν: again emphatic. In the words of St. Peterwe
may againnote his agreementwith St. Paul, Acts 13:46, Romans 1:16 (Acts
10:11), although no doubt St. Petershared the views of his nation in so far
that Gentiles could only participate in the blessings ofthe Messianic kingdom
through acceptanceofJudaism.— ἀναστήσας, cf. Acts 3:22, τὸν παῖδα, “his
servant,” R.V., see above on Acts 3:13. ἀπέστειλεν also shows that ἀνασ. here
refers not to the Resurrectionbut to the Incarnation.— εὐλογοῦντα:as in the
act of blessing, presentparticiple; the present participle expressing that the
Christ is still continuing His work of blessing on repentance, but see also
Burton, N. T. Moods and Tenses, p. 171.— ἐν τῷ: this use of ἐν governing the
dative with the infinitive is most commonly temporal, but it is used to express
other relations, such as manner, means, as here (cf. Acts 4:30, where the
attempt to give a temporal sense is very far-fetched, Hackett, in loco);see
Burton, u. s., p. 162, and Blass, Grammatik des N. G., p. 232. This formula of
ἐν with the dative of the article and the infinitive is very common in St. Luke,
both in his Gospeland in the Acts, and is characteristicofhim as compared
with the number of times the same formula is used by other writers in the
N.T., Friedrich, Das Lucasevangelium, p. 37, and also Zeller, of the Apostles,
ii., p. 196, ., also in the LXX the same constructionis found, cf. Genesis 19:16;
Genesis 34:15, etc.— ἀποστρέφειν:probably intransitive (Blass, Grimm, and
so often in LXX, although the English A. and R.V. may be understood in
either sense). Vulgate renders “ut convertatse unusquisque,” but the use of
the verb elsewherein Luke 23:14 (cf. also Romans 11:26, Isaiah59:20)makes
for the transitive sense (so Weiss, in loco). The argument from Acts 3:19 (as
Alford points out) does not decide the matter either way (see also
Holtzmann).— πονηριῶν, cf. Luke 11:39, and adjective πονηρός frequent both
in the Gospeland in the Acts; in LXX both words are very common. The
word may denote miseries as well as iniquities, as Bengelnotes, but the latter

93. sense is demanded by the context. πρῶτον according to Jüngst does not mark
the factthat the Jews were to be converted first and the Gentiles afterwards,
but as belonging to the whole clause, andas referring to the first and past
sending of Jesus in contrastto the second(Acts 3:20) and future sending in
glory. But to support this view Jüngst has no hesitation in regarding 25b as an
interpolation, and so nothing is left but a reference to the διαθήκη ofGod with
the fathers, i.e., circumcision, which is quite in place before a Jewishaudience.
St. Peter’s Discourses.—More recentGerman criticism has departed far from
the standpoint of the early Tübrigen school, who could only see in these
discourses the free compositionof a later age, whilst Dr. McGiffert, in spite of
his denial of the Lucan authorship of Acts, inclines to the belief that the
discourses in question representan early type of Christian teaching, derived
from primitive documents, and that they breathe the spirit of St. Peterand of
primitive JewishChristianity. Feine sees in the contents of the addresses a
proof that we have in them a truthful recordof the primitive Apostolic
teaching. Just the very points which were of central interest in this early
period of the Church’s life are those emphasisedhere, e.g., the proof that
Jesus ofNazareth, the Crucified One, is the Messiah, a proof attestedby His
Resurrection, the appealto Israel, the chosenpeople, to repent for the
remissionof sins in His name. Nor is there anything againstthe speechesin
the factof their similarity; in their first and early preaching, as Feine urges,
the Apostles’thoughts would naturally move in the same circle, they would
recur againand again to the same facts, and their addresses couldscarcelybe
otherwise than similar. Moreoverwe have an appeal to the facts of the life of
Jesus as to things well known in the immediate past: “Jesus ofNazareth” had
been working in the midst of them, and Peter’s hearers were witnesseswith
him of His signs and wonders, “as ye yourselves know,” Acts 2:23; we become
conscious in such words and in their context of all the moral indignation and
the deep pain of the Apostles at the crucifixion of their Master, just as in Acts
3:13 we seemto listen to another personalreminiscence of the Passionhistory
(see Beyschlag,Neutest. Theol.,i., pp. 304, 305;Scharfe, Die Petrinische
Strömung, 2 c., pp. 184, 185).

94. The fact that no reference is made to, or at all events that no stress is laid
upon, the doctrinal significance ofthe death of Christ, as by St. Paul, is again
an intimation that we are dealing with the earliestdays of Apostolic
teaching—the death of the Cross was in itself the factof all others which was
the insuperable offence to the Jew, and it could not help him to proclaim that
Christ died for his sins if he had no belief in Jesus as the Christ. The first and
necessarystepwas to prove to the Jew that the suffering of the Messiahwas in
accordancewith the counsels of God and with the voices of the prophets
(Lechler, Das Apostolische Zeitalter, pp. 230, 231). Butthe historicalfact
accepted, its inner and spiritual significance would be imparted, and there
was nothing strange in the fact that disciples who had themselves found it so
difficult to overcome their repugnance to the mention of their Master’s
sufferings, should first direct their main efforts to remove the like prejudice
from the minds of their countrymen. But we cannot adduce from this method
that the Apostles had never heard such words as those of Christ (Matthew
20:28, Mark 10:45, cf. 1 Peter1:18) (cf. the striking passagein Beyschlag, u.
s., pp. 306, 307), or that they were entirely ignorant of the atoning significance
of His Death. St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 15:1-3, speaks ofthe tradition which he
had received, a tradition in which he was at one with the Twelve, Acts 3:11,
viz., that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures (Feine, Die
vorkanonische Ueberlieferung des Lukas; see p. 230).
When we pass to the considerationofSt. Peter’s Christology, we againsee
how he starts from the actual experience ofhis hearers before him: “Jesus of
Nazareth, a man,” etc.—plainly and fearlesslySt. Peteremphasises the
manhood of his Lord—the title which is never found in any of the Epistles
leads us back to the Passionand the Cross, to the early records of the
Saviour’s life on earth, Acts 24:9; Acts 22:8. And yet the Crucified Nazarene
was by a startling paradox the Prince or Author of Life (see note on ἀρχηγός);
by a divine law which the Jews couldnot discern He could not save Himself—
and yet—anotherparadox—there was no other Name given amongstmen
whereby they must be saved.

95. St. Paul could write of Him, Who took upon Him the form of a servant, Who
humbled Himself, and became obedient to the death of the Cross, Philippians
2:6; and St. Peter, in one familiar word, which so far as we know St. Paul
never used, brings before his hearers the same sublime picture of obedience,
humility, death and glory; Jesus is the ideal, the glorified “Servant” ofGod
(see note on Acts 3:13). But almost in the same breath St. Peterspeaks ofthe
Servant as the Holy and Righteous One, Acts 3:14; holy, in that He was
consecratedto the service of Jehovah( ἅγιος, Acts 4:27; Acts 4:30, see note,
and Acts 2:27); righteous, in that He was also the impersonation of
righteousness, a righteousnesswhichthe Law had proclaimed, and which
Prophets and Kings had desired to see, but had not seen(Isaiah 53:11). But
whilst we note these titles, steepedeachand all of them in O.T. imagery, whilst
we may see in them the germs of the later and the deeper theologyof St. Paul
and St. John (see Dr. Lock, “Christologyofthe EarlierChapters of the Acts,”
Expositor, iv. (fourth series), p. 178 ff.), they carry us far beyond the
conceptionof a mere humanitarian Christ. It is not only that Jesus of
Nazarethis set before us as “the very soul and end of JewishProphecy,” as
Himself the Prophet to whom the true Israelwould hearken, but that He is
associatedby St. Petereven in his earliestutterances, as none other is
associated, withJehovahin His Majestyin the work of salvation, Acts 2:34;
the salvationwhich was for all who calledupon Jehovah’s Name, Acts 2:21,
was also for all in the Name, in the power of Jesus Christ, Acts 4:12 (see notes,
l. c, and cf. the force of the expressionἐπικαλεῖσθαι τὸ ὄνομα in 1 Corinthians
1:2, Schmid, Biblische Theologie, p. 407);the Spirit which Joelhad foretold
would be poured forth by Jehovahhad been poured forth by Jesus raisedto
the right hand of God, Acts 2:18; Acts 2:33 (see further notes in chap. Acts
10:36;Acts 10:42-43).
One other matter must be briefly noticed—the correspondence inthought and
word betweenthe St. Peterof the early chapters of the Acts and the St. Peter
of the First Epistle which bears his name. A few points may be selected. St.
Peterhad spokenof Christ as the Prince of Life; quite in harmony with this is

96. the thought expressedin 1 Peter1:3, of Christians as “begottenagain” by the
resurrectionof Jesus Christ from the dead. St. Peter had spokenof Christ as
the Holy and Righteous One, so in the First Epistle he sets forth this aspectof
Christ’s peculiar dignity, His sinlessness. As in Acts, so also in 1 Pet. the
thought of the sufferings of Christ is prominent, but also that of the glory
which should follow, chap. 1, Acts 3:11. As in Acts, so also in 1 Pet. these
sufferings are described as undeserved, but also as foreordained by God and
in accordancewith the voices ofthe Prophets, 1 Peter1:11; 1 Peter2:22-25.
As in Acts, so in 1 Pet. it is the specialtask of the Apostles to be witnessesof
the sufferings and also of the resurrection of Christ, chap. Acts 5:1. As in
Acts, so in 1 Pet. we have the clearesttestimony to the δόξα of Christ, 1 Peter
1:21; 1 Peter4:11. As in Acts stress is laid not only upon the facts of the life of
Christ, but also upon His teaching, Acts 10:34 ff., so also in 1 Pet., while
allusions are made to the scenes ofour Lord’s Passionwith all the force of an
eye-witness, we have stress laid upon the word of Christ, the Gospelor
teaching, Acts 1:12; Acts 1:23; Acts 1:25, Acts 2:2; Acts 2:8, Acts 3:19, Acts
4:6. As in Acts, so in 1 Pet. we have a reference to the agencyof Christ in the
realm of the dead, 1 Peter3:19; 1 Peter4:6. As in Acts, Acts 10:42, so in 1 Pet.
Christ is Himself the judge of quick and dead, Acts 4:6, or in His unity with
the Fathershares with Him that divine prerogative, cf. Acts 1:17. As in Acts,
so in 1 Pet. the communication of the Holy Spirit is speciallyattributed to the
exalted Christ, cf. Acts 2:33, 1 Peter1:11-12. As in Acts, so in 1 Pet. Christ is
the living corner-stone on which God’s spiritual house is built, Acts 4:12 and 1
Peter2:4-10. As in Acts, so in 1 Pet. not only the details but the whole scope of
salvationis regarded in the light and as a fulfilment of O.T. prophecy, cf. Acts
3:18-25, 1 Peter 2:22-23;1 Peter1:10-12. But this correspondenceextends to
words, amongstwhich we may note πρόγνωσις, Acts 2:23, 1 Peter1:2, a word
found nowhere else in the N.T., and used in eachpassagein the same sense;
ἀπροσωπολήμπτως, 1 Peter1:17, and only here in N.T., but cf. Acts 10:34,
οὐκ ἐστιν προσωπολήμπτης. ξύλονtwice used by St. Peterin Acts 5:30; Acts
10:39 (once by St. Paul), and again in 1 Peter2:24; ἀθέμιτος only in the
Cornelius history, Acts 10:28, by St. Peter, and in 1 Peter4:3; μάρτυς with the
genitive of that to which testimony is rendered, most frequently in N.T. used
by St. Peter, cf. Acts 1:22; Acts 6:13; Acts 10:39, and 1 Peter5:1; and further,

97. in Acts 4:11 = 1 Peter 2:7, Acts 10:42 = 1 Peter4:5, the verbal correspondence
is very close.
See on the whole subject Nösgen, Apostelgeschichte, p. 48; Lechler, Das Apost.
Zeitalter, p. 428 ff.; Scharfe, Die Petrinische Strömung, 2 c., p. 122 ff.; Lumby,
Expositor, iv. (first series), pp. 118, 123;and also Schmid, Biblische Theologie,
p. 389 ff. On the striking connectionbetweenthe Didache 1, and the language
of St. Peter’s sermons, and the phraseologyofthe early chapters of Acts, see
Gore, Church and the Ministry, p. 416. The Expositor's Greek Testament
Paul E. Kretzmann
v. 26. Unto you first God, having raisedup His Son Jesus, sentHim to bless
you, in turning a wayevery one of you from his iniquities.
That Jesus of Nazarethwas indeed the Messiahappointedto the Jews, and
that the prophecies were fulfilled in Him, Peterbrings out in the last part of
his discourse. Moseshad made a clearstatement in one of his last prophecies
to the Israelites in the wilderness, one that did not refer to a mere human
prophet, but to One whose words would demand absolute obedience. Moses
had spokenof this Prophet that was to come as being like unto himself. As
Moses was the mediator betweenGod and the people, both in conveying God's
messages to them and in standing betweenthe dead and the living, so Jesus is
the true Mediator betweenGod and sinful mankind; as Moseswas the
deliverer of his people when he led them out of the house of Egypt's bondage,
so Jesus had delivered all men from the bondage of sin, death, and damnation.
The Prophet, therefore, whom Moses hadin mind canbe no one else than
Jesus Christ. This greatestProphetof all the Jews must obey, as the prophecy
of Moses demanded, Deu_18:15-19, in all His teaching to them. The penalty of
disobedience, as Moseshad said, was that it would be required of every such

98. defiant person, usually by the sentence ofdeath, Exo_12:15-19;Lev_17:4-9.
Peterhere gives a transcription and explanation of the words of Moses by
saying that every soulthat was guilty of willfully disobeying this greatProphet
should be utterly destroyedfrom the people, should be punished with eternal
condemnation. And Moses does notstand alone with his testimony, but his
prophecy is secondedand corroboratedby that of all the prophets of old,
beginning with Samuel, as the founder of the schools ofthe prophets. As many
as spoke prophecies made proclamationof these days, the days of Christ and
the Messianickingdomwith all their promises of salvation. All the comfort of
these prophecies and promises, as Peterfinally assuredhis hearers, was
intended for them, and should be a source of rejoicing to them. The Jews were
proud of their descentand of their nation, and in a way they had reasons to
be. For they were children of the prophets and of the covenant which God had
setforth and establishedwith their fathers. They were heirs, above all, of the
promise which God made to Abraham, Gen_12:3;Gen_18:18;Gen_22:18,to
Isaac, Gen_26:4, and to Jacob, Gen_28:14, in which He statedthat all families,
kindreds, generations, orpeoples should be blessedin their Seed, in their
greatDescendant, JesusofNazareth. In Jesus Christthe blessing of full
salvation, of complete redemption, has come to all people in the entire world,
not only to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles. But the Jews had been granted
the first opportunity of enjoying the blessings ofthe risen Lord, just as Jesus
had spent the time of His ministry exclusively in their midst. God, having
raisedup His Child, His Son, from the dead, and thus sealedthe acceptanceof
the redemption made by Him, sent Him to bless, to bring the blessings ofthis
redemption to, the Jews, through the work of the apostles. All the blessings
and benefits of the Savior would be transmitted to them in and by conversion,
in this, that He turns everyone from his iniquities. That is the will of God with
regard to every sinner, that he turn from all his evil ways and transgressions
and acceptthe blessings ofChrist and His atonement.
Summary.Peter heals a lame man at the gate of the Temple, whereupon the
astonishment of the people gives him occasionto speak to them of Jesus
Christ, the Messiah, andHis atonement.

99. Times of Refreshing
Acts 3:17-26
P. G. Mathew | Sunday, June 14, 1998
Copyright © 1998, P. G. Mathew
The Healing of a Crippled Man
The third chapter of the book of Acts speaks ofthe miraculous healing of a
lame man. In Acts 3:1-10 we read about the miracle itself; in Acts 3:11-16 we
find an explanation of the miracle; and in Acts 3:17-26 we find an exhortation
for those who witnessedthis mighty demonstration of the power of God to be
saved.
Only a few days before this miraculous healing of a lame man, the high priest
Caiaphas and people of Jerusalemwere rejoicing because they had disposed
of Jesus of Nazareth, who had claimed to be the Christ, the Son of God. Now,
however, they were troubled because they heard that this Jesus was no longer
dead but alive and that he, through his unschooledapostles, hadgiven perfect,
instant, and public healing to a forty-year-old congenitalcripple who used to
sit and beg at the gate calledBeautiful at the entrance to the temple.
When the crippled man was healed, he began to walk, leap and praise God in
the sight of all the people. A crowd gatheredto find out what was happening,
and Peterbeganto address the crowd, saying, in effect, “Do not look at us as if
our piety and powerperformed this miracle. It did not! No, this is a
demonstration to all that the God of Abraham, the covenantGod of our

100. fathers, reversedyour verdict concerning his servantJesus. You condemned
and disownedJesus and handed him over to be killed–he who was the
Suffering Servant, the Holy One, the Righteous One, the Author of life, the
Prophet that Moses prophesiedabout, the Christ of God, Jesus ofNazareth,
the Saviorof the world. But the God of your fathers, the God of the covenant,
reversedyour verdict and by his incomparably greatpower raisedJesus from
the dead and glorified him. This same Jesus ascendedinto the heavens and is
now seatedat the right hand of God the Father. In other words, God has
made this Jesus, whomyou crucified, both Lord and Christ, and we are
witnesses ofthese facts.”
Petercontinued to speak to the crowd, saying, in essence,“If you ask if we
healed this crippled man, we must saythat we did not. But this Jesus, who is
alive again, this Jesus, who is Lord of all, this Jesus, who rules and reigns with
all authority in heaven and on earth, is the one who healed this cripple on the
basis of his faith in him. Yes, this is the same Jesus who, before he died on the
cross, healeda paralyzed man by telling him, ‘Get up, take your mat and go
home.’ That man went home praising God as we read in Luke 5. This same
Jesus is continuing to heal through us his apostles.”
When Peter said, “In the name of Jesus ofNazareth, rise up and walk,” the
crippled man was fully healedand began to walk. “In view of these facts,”
Peterwas asking, “whatshould you do–you, who committed the most horrible
sin of murdering the Christ, the Lord, the Son of God? What must you do?”
And then he said, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be
wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. . . .”
This passagetells us that through the gospelGod offers to all in Jesus Christ
times of refreshing. Let us, then, examine three points from this text:
recognitionof our own ignorance, our need to repent, and the meaning of
refreshment and reconstitution of all things at the return of Christ.

101. Ignorant of God
In Acts 3:17 Petersaid, “Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance,
as did your leaders.” In other words, Peterwas saying that the Jewishcrowd
and leaders committed the horrible crime of killing Jesus Christ because of
ignorance.
There are some people who claim to be far too intellectually sophisticatedto
believe in the Bible or in miracles or that Jesus Christ is very God and very
man. They saythey are far too knowledgeable to believe in God and his word.
Such claims are not true, though. The realreasonmany people do not believe
is that they are ignorant of God. They are blind to his reality and prejudiced
againsthim, and thus they suppress the truth of God rather than
acknowledging it and embracing it.
Paul describes this state of mind in Ephesians 4:17, “So I tell you this, and
insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the
futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and
separatedfrom the life of God because ofthe ignorance that is in them due to
the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given
themselves over to sensualityso as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a
continual lust for more.” In 1 Corinthians 2:8 he writes, “None of the rulers of
this age understood[this wisdom], for if they had, they would not have
crucified the Lord of glory.” In Romans 8 Paul explains that the sinful mind,
meaning the mind of an unbeliever, is hostile to God. It is biasedand
prejudiced against God. “It does not submit to God’s law, nor canit do so”
(Rom. 8:7).
It is impossible for an unbeliever to understand God. Therefore, intellectual
sophisticationis not the real reasonthat people do not believe in Jesus Christ.

102. Rather, it is sheerignorance, prejudice, and enmity againstthe true and living
God. It is sheerblindness and hardness of heart.
Jesus referredto men’s ignorance of God when he prayed, “Father, forgive
them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Even the
brilliant Saul of Tarsus, a highly educatedRoman citizen, said that he was
blind and ignorant until God in his mercy poured out upon him a spirit of
grace, supplication, and repentance. In 1 Timothy 1:13-16 Paulwrote, “Even
though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutorand a violent man, I was
shown mercy because I actedin ignorance and unbelief. The grace ofour
Lord was poured out on me abundantly along with the faith and love that are
in Christ Jesus.”And then he said, “Here is a trustworthy saying that
deserves full acceptance:Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners–of
whom I am the worst. But for that very reasonI was shownmercy so that in
me, the worstof sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as
an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternallife.”
What is man’s problem? Ignorance, enmity, prejudice, blindness, and
hardness of heart. Saul of Tarsus was brilliant, but he hated Jesus ofNazareth
and his followers until his eyes were opened supernaturally. Dr. Martyn
Lloyd-Jones says that all people are naturally ignorant, first and foremost, of
God–the true and living God, holy, righteous God–the God who is one existing
in three persons. Jesus himself said the same thing in reference to God the
Father in his high priestly prayer in John 17:25: “The world does not know
you.”
Thus, Petersaid, these people actedin ignorance–ignorance ofthe triune God,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit–and more specifically, ignorance of
the deity of Jesus Christ and his perfect humanity.

103. The Ignorance of Man
These people also actedin ignorance of themselves as human beings. Man is
ignorant of his true self. He pretends he is okayand, in fact, thinks he is not
just okaybut ascending and evolving. He is thoroughly saturatedwith self-
esteemand laughs at God’s view of man as found in the Scriptures. He doesn’t
understand that he is a fallen creature, a civilized beast, perversely corrupt in
his mind, desire, will, and emotion.
Man is also ignorant of his destiny as a man. The Bible teaches that it is
appointed for man once to die and then comes the judgment. As responsible
beings, all people must stand before God, but man is ignorant of that until
God reveals it to him.
Man is also ignorant of Scriptures. In Matthew 22:29 Jesus said, “You are in
error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.” Man is
ignorant of the Scriptures and the powerof God by which he createdthe
whole universe and maintains it, and by which he raised his own Son from the
dead. That is why he does not believe in miracles.
Man is also ignorant of the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. He looks atthe cross
and mocks the one who is hanging upon it. He sees only a man–a weak
person–being crucified, but that is an ignorant view. He does not understand
this is God/man crucified for us in our place that he may redeem us. Christ
died for our sins, but man is ignorant of that.
Finally, man is ignorant of the blessings of salvation–the forgiveness ofsins,
the refreshing that comes from the presence ofGod, the reconciliationwith
God and the communion with the Holy Spirit. When man comes to experience
such communion with God–Goddwelling with man and man dwelling with

104. God–he is experiencing true life and joy. But man is ignorant of all of this,
although he will not admit it as he hides behind his power and degrees.
Inexcusable Ignorance
Peterwas telling the crowd, “You ought to have known, but you are ignorant
of the most important facts concerning Jesus Christ.” But we must note here
that even though man is ignorant, he is still culpable for his sin. Ignorance is
not an excuse, in other words. Peterwas saying, “In view of the facts of Jesus’
resurrection, ascension, and enthronement, all of which we witnessed, if you
repent, you shall receive full pardon. However, if you do not repent, you shall
be eternally condemned. Why? The plea of ignorance is no longera valid
excuse. Godraised his Son, Jesus Christour Lord, from the dead–a fact you
can verify by observing his empty tomb. You condemned and killed him but
God reversedyour judgment, raising him and glorifying him, and you must
now deal with the risen Lord Jesus Christ.” There is no excuse for ignorance
once the gospelis declaredto you.
You Must Repent
What is the secondthing Petertold the crowd they must do in view of the
miraculous healing of the crippled man? “Repent, then, and turn to God,”
Petersaid. In other words, “Change your thinking completelyabout God.”
What is repentance? It is a change, first in our minds. We must think about
God correctly. When you speak to a Moslemabout God, he will be unhappy
because the God of the Bible is triune. If you speak to a Jew, he will also be
unhappy because the God of the Christian is triune. But the true God is
triune–one in essencein three persons, and we must line up our thinking with
that revelation. We cannotcome to God and say, “I believe in one God,
period.” We must affirm the deity of Jesus Christ, the deity of the Holy Spirit,
and the deity of God the Father.

105. Peterwas telling the crowd, “You must change your thinking completely
about God, about Jesus, aboutyourself, and about the world. You must
acknowledge Jesus to be Lord and Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the
world, and God to be the Fatherof the Lord Jesus Christ, infinite personal
God, true and living God, self-existing and self-sufficientGod. You must
change your thinking until it aligns with the way God has revealedhimself in
his holy word. If you do not, you will be demonstrating your ignorance even
while you are pretending to be intellectual, scholarly, educated, and evolved.
Additionally, you must acknowledge thatyou are not okay. In fact, you are a
wickedsinner, deserving of God’s just wrath for your sin–the sin of
disobedience to his holy commandments. You must acknowledge itand
change your thinking, desires, will, and decisions. Turn around! Change from
being self-centeredand self-anchoredto God-centered, Christ-centered, and
Bible-centered. In deep sorrow turn from sin once and for all and, in faith,
turn to God. Confess your sins and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Surrender to him and live a new life to please this Lord Jesus Christ.”
Repentance Is a Gift from God
How can a personrepent? How can a sinner whose mind is at enmity toward
God ever come to confess JesusChrist is Lord? He cannotunless God helps
him because repentance is a sheerimpossibility unless God in mercy pours out
a spirit of supplication and grace upon us–a grace whichwill transform and
regenerate us and change us in our thinking, our will, our desires, and our
hearts once and for all.
We read about this outpouring in Zechariah12:10 where God said, “And I
will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalema spirit
of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced,
and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and grieve
bitterly for him as one grieves for a first-born son.” These people crucifiedthe

106. Lord Jesus Christ in ignorance and defiance, but God in his infinite mercy
poured out in greatabundance upon them a spirit of grace and supplication.
We need this spirit as well. Whenever we realize the enormity of the sin we
commit againstGod, may we, like these people, cry out, “O God, have mercy
upon us! Have mercy upon us!” That is repentance, whichGod alone can
grant.
The PresentMinistry of Jesus
The Lord Jesus, who is seatedon the right hand of God, is now engagedin
building his church. How do you think he does that? By raising from the dead
one sinner at a time and granting him repentance and faith in Christ.
In Ephesians 2:4-5 we read, “But because ofhis greatlove for us, God, who is
rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ.” Additionally, Paul writes, “God
raisedus up with Christ and seatedus with him in the heavenly realms in
Christ Jesus”(v. 6). Isn’t that wonderful? This Jesus Christwho is Lord is
seatedon the right hand of God the Father. He is ruling and reigning and
saving his people, one at a time, by granting to eachone a spirit of repentance,
grace, and supplication so that they cry out to God, saying, “O God, I am a
wickedsinner. Have mercy upon me!”
Jesus is building his church. How? By working powerfully in the world
through his ministers of the gospelwho act in his name. He who has received
all authority in heaven and on earth is now saving and making alive those who
are dead in trespassesandsins. Just as he healed this crippled man, so will he
grant repentance and faith to every sinner of his eternalelection.

107. We find a beautiful statementof this plan and purpose of God in Acts 3:26.
Peterdeclared, “When God raisedup his servant,” meaning the Lord Jesus
Christ, “he sent him first to you to bless you by turning eachof you from your
wickedways.” You see, we cannot turn ourselves from our own wickedness,
but here is a Saviorwho calls us to turn from it. The present ministry of Jesus,
the seedof Abraham and servant of God, is to bless his people and save them
by turning them from their wickedways.
The Lord Jesus blessesa sinner by separating him from his sin and adding
him to his church. The angelsaid his name would be Jesus, “becausehe will
save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). Jesus makes a sinner glorious.
He makes him a personwithout spot or wrinkle, purging him from all sin and
wickednessand making him glorious, so that he will be fit to be a bride of
Jesus Christ, the glorious one. He does such a marvelous work in us so that
when we shall see him, we shall be like him, conformedto his image.
The Grace ofGod
We must realize one thing: we cannotturn ourselves from our sin. But that
which is impossible for us to do Jesus Christdoes through his grace. He alone
can turn a sinner from his wickednessandthen the sinner is able to turn. That
is why the Bible says, “Turn us, O Lord, that we may be turned.” But God
must act first.
We read about this work of the Lord Jesus in Titus 2:11-12, “Forthe grace of
God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to
ungodliness and worldly passions, andto live self-controlled, upright and
godly lives in this present age. . . .” That is salvation. Through his grace God
does such a work within us that we will delightfully say “No” to ungodliness
and wickednessandwith great joy begin to live self-controlled, righteous and
godly lives in this present age, shining as lights in this world. In Ephesians 5:8

108. Paul says, “You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.”
Why? God has acted.
We see an example of this in the life of Saul of Tarsus–blind, ignorant Saul of
Tarsus. Godpoured out his grace upon him, and he became a battle-scarred
veteran of the cross, anapostle of the gospelof Christ. Paul was a blasphemer
and a violent man, but he became an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.
What Is Refreshment?
The third point we must consideris the issue of refreshing. In Acts 3:19 Peter
told the crowd, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be
wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” What does it
mean to be refreshed? It means the satisfying comfort one receives in the
midst of overwhelming weariness, misery, hunger, thirst, loneliness, darkness
and restlessness. Only Godcan give us such true refreshment.
Sinners need God’s refreshment. A sinner is one who is wearyand miserable.
He is like one dying in the oppressive heat of the Sahara desert. Thirsty and
tired, he knows no comfort. He is a slave to the world, the flesh, and the devil.
He tries to relieve his distress by drinking againand againfrom the salt water
of drugs, sex, and entertainment. He looks to the power of the world as a
panacea for his misery. He is full of stress, strain, and neurosis. He is tired of
the rat-race and oppressedby an iron girder of guilt that presses him down.
What does the gospeloffersuch people? Refreshment. In Exodus 1 and 2 we
see a picture of the misery that the Israelites were experiencing. God, in his
infinite grace, came down, and in the burning bush spoke to Moses.In Exodus
3:7 we read, “The Lord said, ‘I have indeed seenthe misery of my people in
Egypt. I have heard them crying out because oftheir slave drivers, and I am
concernedabout their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the

109. hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of the land into a goodand
spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.'” This is true refreshment–
deliverance from weariness,misery, suffering, and oppression.
God performed what he promised and brought refreshment to his people by
bringing them into the promised land. In Joshua 21:43-45 we read, “So the
Lord gave Israelall the land he had sworn to give their forefathers, and they
took possessionofit and settledthere. The Lord gave them rest on every side,
just as he had sworn to their forefathers. . . Not one of all the Lord’s good
promises to the house of Israelfailed; every one was fulfilled.”
Refreshedby Christ
Sinners find true refreshment in Jesus Christ alone. In John 10:10 he said,
“The thief comes only to stealand kill and destroy; I have come that they may
have life and have it to the full,” meaning abundant life. Jesus Christ wants to
refresh sinners.
A sinner is like the man we read about in Luke 8 who was filled with a legion
of demons–violent, crazy, chained, lonely, naked, hungry, wandering, restless,
and miserable–destroying himselfand the societyaround him. Jesus Christ
himself searchedforhim and delivered him, and in Luke 8:35 we read of him
sitting at the feet of Jesus, dressedand in his right mind. He was now able to
go home to his family and declare to all what God has done for him in Jesus
Christ. What transformation! What change!What refreshment! What
salvation!What peace for him and for his entire family! This is refreshment
from Jesus Christ.
A sinner is also like the prodigal son in the far country–lonely, naked, needy,
and hungry. But when he came home, he receivedtotal forgiveness, andin
Luke 15:22-32 we find him with his family, clothed and full of dignity. No

110. longerhungry and lonely, he is eating and drinking, singing and dancing, and
basking in the love of his father. There is joy instead of gloom. That is
refreshment!
Through Jesus Christ we receive greatrelief, rest, and peace. Didn’t Jesus
say, “Come to me, all you who are wearyand burdened, and I will give you
rest” (Matt. 11:28)? The burden of the pilgrim falls off at the cross, and he is
refreshed. No longeroppressedby the heat, he is breathing fresh, coolair ; no
longerparched with thirst, he is drinking the cool, refreshing waterof life
which only Jesus Christ gives.
Times of Refreshing
We experience greatrefreshment when we are savedby Christ. “Repent, then,
and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out,” Petertold the crowd. In
ancient times people wrote on papyrus, but the ink did not have acid in it, so
what was written would merely lie on the surface of the papyrus. If one wiped
the papyrus with a damp cloth, all traces of writing would come off. In the
same way, Peterwas saying, when we repent and turn to God, the record of
our sin is wiped so cleanby the blood of Jesus Christso that if anyone looks,
he will find nothing. We find such greatrefreshment in Jesus Christthrough
all aspects ofour salvation, including adoption, forgiveness, justification,
answeredprayer, and fellowship with God and man.
We also experience greatrefreshmentfrom the Holy Scriptures, if we are
Christians. We can now read God’s word and be refreshed by it. I have
always been inspired by my mother who, whenever she found a little time,
would open her Bible and read. Then she would resume her work, singing and
praising, encouragedand refreshedby God’s word. Why? The Scripture is for
our comfort, encouragement, and hope, and she was refreshedby it.

111. We also canexperience greatrefreshment from the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2:38
Petertold another crowd, “Repentand be baptized, every one of you, in the
name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness ofyour sins. And you will receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit.” Baptism in the Holy Spirit is refreshing, as we see in
the example of Peter. He denied Jesus Christthree times, but on the day of
Pentecosthe was refreshedby the outpouring of the Spirit of the living God
and became bold, confident, and powerful. He who was unschoolednow
boldly declared to the leaders of the Jews that they were ignorant of God. And
as we read Peter’s sermons, we marvel at the full understanding of the gospel
God gave him.
What about the gifts of the Spirit? Do they refresh us? Certainly! Prophecyis
designedfor the comfort and edification of the church. That is refreshment.
And the Bible says that he who speaks ina tongue edifies himself, meaning he
is refreshed and strengthened. Additionally, God refreshes us through his gifts
of pastors and teachers. We may come to them confused, restless, and
bewildered, but when they minister to us from the word, we will receive
refreshment and comfort.
Peterhad been filled with the Holy Spirit before he spoke to the authorities,
but in Acts 4 he was filled again. Christians do not need to worry what rulers
and authorities will do to them. If God puts us in those situations, the Spirit of
God will put into our mouths what we should speak to them. Again, that is
refreshment.
In Ephesians 5:18 we read, “Be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another
with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to
the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Fatherfor everything in the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This is another form of refreshment. In fact, our
whole salvation is refreshment.

112. So Peter told the crowdto repent and turn to God, “so that your sins may be
wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” That is what
happened to me and that is happened to you. Our souls have been truly
refreshedby Jesus Christ.
Jesus Wants to RefreshUs
Let me ask you: Are you hungry and thirsty, wearyand miserable? If so,
Jesus wants to refresh you. Didn’t he say, “Come unto me and I will give you
rest”? The Lord Jesus Christ is offering us refreshment through the total
wiping out of all our sins. He is offering us refreshment through the
outpouring of the Spirit of the living God upon us. And when we experience
these things, we will begin to discoverthat the Holy Scripture is sweeterthan
honey and more precious than gold, bringing joy to our hearts and
refreshment to our souls.
If this does not make any sense to you, you need to cry out to God for
salvation. But if you want refreshment from the living God, he will refresh
you–with the living water and the living bread of his Son, Jesus Christour
Lord.
May God have mercy on us! God sent his Son, not to condemn us, but to bless
us, and that is what he will do until he comes again. Whatis that blessing? It is
separating us from our wickednessandbringing us to vital, nourishing,
edifying fellowship with the true and living God–the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. Therefore, may we all trust in Christ today and experience times of
refreshing from the presence of the Lord. Amen.
Copyright © 1998, P. G. Mathew

113. Acts 3:26
Unto you first God, having raisedup his Son Jesus, senthim to bless you, in
turning
awayevery one of you from his iniquities.
[Unto you first] The gospelwas first to the Jews (John1:11; Matthew 10:6;
Matthew
15:24;Romans 1:16).
[turning awayevery one of you from his iniquities] This was the chief purpose
of the
coming of Christ and of all gospelpreaching (John 3:16; 1 Cor. 1:21).
Clarke:Unto you first, God, having raised up—As you are the children of the
prophets, and of the covenant, the first offers of salvation belong to you, and
God thus
makes them to you. The greatmission of Jesus Christ is directed first to you,
that you
may be saved from your sins. God designs to bless you, but it is by turning
eachof you
awayfrom his iniquities. The salvationpromised in the covenantis a salvation
from SIN,
not from the Romans; and no man canhave his sin blotted out who does not
turn away
from it.
1. We may learn from this that neither political nor ecclesiasticalprivileges
can

114. benefit the soul, merely consideredin themselves:a man may have Abraham
for
his father, according to the flesh; and have Satanfor his father, according to
the
spirit. A man may be a member of the visible Church of Christ, without any
title to
the Church triumphant. In short, if a man be not turned awayfrom his
iniquities,
34 Grace Communion International , Worldwide Church of God,
www.wcg.org/lit/bible/acts Bible Study
34
even the death of Christ profits him nothing. His name shall be calledJesus,
for he
shall Save his people From their Sins.
2. If Christ be the substance and sum of all that the prophets have written, is
it not the
duty and interest of every Christian, in reading the Scriptures, to searchfor
the
testimony they bear to this Christ, and the salvationprocured by his death?
JNTC:nYou are the sons of the prophets and of the covenantwith …
Avraham. The
point is that for this very reasonit is to you first that God sentYeshua the
Messiah. The
Gospelis ―to the Jew first‖ (Ro 1:16, KJV). And it is with the Gospelof
Yeshua that the

115. promise of v. 25 is fulfilled; for that promise was made to Avraham and his
son Yitzchak;
and Yeshua is himself, in a midrashic sense, the promised seedwho brings the
blessing
(Ga 3:16&N). The blessing consists in turning eachone of you from your evil
ways.
On the one hand, you must turn (v. 19); on the other hand, God does the
turning.
Compare Lamentations 5:21, ―Turn us to you, Adonai and we shall be
turned‖; and see
Paragraph2 of 2:22–23 above. Unlike more self-defensive audiences today,
the people do
not seemto objectto being told that their ways are evil; apparently they
acceptthis
assessmentofthemselves and continue listening to Kefa and Yochanan (4:1).
35
Peternoted that the covenantpromised to Abraham applied to all the families
of the
earth. The servantMessiahwas for all, only being sent to Israel―first‖ (v.
26). The
worldwide mission was alreadyimplicit in Peter's message;only later,
however, would
he fully assimilate its meaning (see 10:1–11:18).
[Iniquities] poneria, Greek 4189, pon-ay-ree'-ah;from Greek 4190 (poneros);
depravity,
i.e. (special) malice;plural (concrete)plots, sins :- iniquity, wickedness.

116. 35Stern, D. H. (1996, c1992). Jewish New TestamentCommentary : A
companion volume to the Jewish
New Testament(electronic ed.) (Ac 3:25). Clarksville:JewishNew Testament
Publications.
35
Notes on Restitution – There may be a relationship betweenRestitution of All
Things and the Year of Jubilee:
21] ―Until‖ - until the times of the Restitution of all things.
Lev 25:8-55;27:16-25.
(Cf. Num 36:4, daughters of Zelophehad.)
The conceptof a Sabbaticalyear, a week of years (i.e., 7 years) like a decade
being 10
years (Lev 25:1-7). The Babylonian captivity was due to the failure to keepthe
Sabbaticalyear (2 Chr 36:21). For 490 years Israelfailed to keepLev 25!
Thus, God used
Nebuchadnezzaras his mechanism of judgment and took them slaves into
captivity for 70
years to the very day.
The Jubilee Year
Lev 25:8-55. When is the Jubilee Year? The rabbis can‘t agree on the
formulas to figure
it out!
Restitution of all things:
1) All debtors forgiven;
2) Slaves releasedfrom bondage;

117. 3) Liberty to all captives;
4) All families reunited;
5) Land reverts to original owners.
Lev 25:47-55 discussesthe role of the Goel, and the kinsmanredeemer.
Num 36:3-6 - the daughters of Zelophehad. The Jubilee Year issue triggers the
problem
with the inheritance of the land. This exceptionto the rule, is presentin Jesus‘
lineage
through Mary.
The Jubilee yearis very important to God. The Sabbaticalyearwas so
important the God
put Israelinto slaveryfor 70 years for not obeying the law. Godcares about
this piece of
land as it is all tied up in the covenantwith Abraham.
(Yobel) a ram‘s horn. It became synonym for the year and for this special
kind of
trumpet.
The Trump - Isa 27:12-13;Joel2:15-16;Isa 26:19-21;1 Thess 4; 1 Cor15.
There is
going to be a trumpet which is going to cause some interesting things to occur.
There is a
major commandment upon Israelby God that relates to trumpets, but it is a
different
word, the Yobel, the Jubilee trumpet.
The Jubilee yearstarts in the seventhmonth. The Ecclesiasticalyearstarts
with Passover

118. (the 14th of Nisanis Passover, a MosaicFeast), and Nisanis the first month.
In the 7th
month of the Ecclesiasticalyear, Tishri is the 1stmonth of the Civil year.
36
The Sabbaticalyearwould be the first of Tishri, RoshHaShannah. After the
7th
Sabbaticalyear (7 X 7 years)plus one, is the Jubilee year. The Jubilee year
would begin
on Yom Kippur, the 10thof Tishri.
EcclesiasticalYearCivil Year
1. Nisan 1. Tishri
2. Iyar 2. Heshvan
3. Sivan 3. Kislev
4. Tammuz 4. Tevet
5. Av 5. Shevat
6. Elul 6. Adar
7. Tishri 7. Nisan
8. Heshvan 8. Iyar
9. Kislev 9. Sivan
10. Tevet10. Tammuz
11. Shevat11. Av
12. Adar 12. Elul
Why does the Jubilee Year start on Yom Kippur, 10 days AFTER the
beginning of the

119. year?
The Sabbaticalyearand the Jubilee yearmake no sense until the Israelites are
in the land,
ie. Joshua. Fora complete study of the book of Joshua, do see our
Expositional
Commentary series on Joshua. The Jubilee year is tied to Joshua‘s conquestof
the land.
Jesus openedhis ministry in Luke 4:16-20, quoting from Isa 61:1-2. Note that
Jesus
stopped at a comma. Jesus uses some examples that getthe crowd upset, Luke
4:25-27.
He is teaching them the doctrine of election. Eachexample He uses is a
Gentile. It
appears that this was about the 29th or 30th Jubilee (roughly about 1500
years since
Joshua conqueredCanaan).
We are about to enter the 70th Jubilee. Is this significantprophetically? 40 is
the number
of testing, the Church has been on the earth approximately 40 Jubilee years.
70 is the
number of fulfillment, Jesus openedhis ministry at about the 30th Jubilee
year. That puts
us about the 70th Jubilee year! However, we are not sure which year will be
the Jubilee
year. The rabbis have lost count as to which Jubilee we are at. You will see
charts, none

120. of them agree, as to when the Jubilee year is. It becomes very technicalwith
part of the
problem being do you count the 50th year as part of the next seven.... In any
case we
should be approaching the 70th Jubilee...
See Rom 8:19-22. There is more to Redemption than just you and I. The
Redemption is
what the Bible is all about. The whole creationwas subjectto the curse and
the bondage
of corruption, so it is not surprising that God would link a prophetic horizon
to the land
MichaelFronczak
Acts 3:26
Unto you first God, having raisedup his
Son Jesus, senthim to bless you, in
turning awayevery one of you from his
iniquities.
After all, the Jews were the first in privilege, and it
was through the Jews that the Messiahcame, “for
all the families of the earth.”
Preaching

121. DEFINITION
The word “preach” is found in many places in the
New Testament(KJV); however, it has been
translated from severaldifferent Greek words. For
example, in 1 Cor. 1:17, the phrase “preachthe
Gospel” comes fromευαγγελιζω (euangelidzo);
while in 1:18 we see the phrase “the preaching of
the cross”, whichis
‘ο λογος γαρ ‘ο του σταυρου. You can see that
the translators took some liberties with their use of
the word “preach”.
The Greek verb κηρυσσω (keiruso)was
commonly used in ancient times to refer to public
proclamation or public teaching, and there are
many NT verses where it is found. A complete
listing can be found in a Greek concordance.
The noun κηρυξ (keirux) refers to the
“proclaimer;publisher; messenger”who is making
the proclamation. Thus,
1 Tim. 2:7, “Whereunto I (Paul) am ordained a
preacher(keirux), and an apostle, (I speak the
truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacherof the
Gentiles in faith and truth.” (Likewise in 2 Tim.

122. 1:11)
In 2 Pet. 2:5, Abraham is called a “preacher
(keirux) of righteousness”.
The word keirux was usedin severalways in
ancient times. The keirux was a “publisher”, or
"herald", in the sense that he would broadcast
important news to townspeople. The person
making official proclamations or announcements
to the public was calledkeirux, a sortof town
cryer.
A man assignedto carry messagesbetween
enemies on a battlefield was also calledkeirux.
The messageofthe keirux is the κηρυγµα
(keirugma). The keirugma is what was given to
the keirux to proclaim. The originator of the
messagemay have been a battlefield officeror a
public official.
In the Bible, the keirux is the preacher, the
keirugma is his message, and keiruso is the act of
preaching.
The English word "preaching" would be correctif
it were used in its primary etymologicalsense of
"proclaiming before the public", the meaning

123. which is derived from the Latin, praedicere.
However, the modern use of "delivering a moral
discourse or religious messageofany kind and in
any manner" does not give the meaning of
keirugma. There is no finger-pointing or arm
waving in keirugma.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCESUSING KEIRUGMA
In Matt. 12:41 and Luke 11:32, Jonah's messageto
the Ninevites is calledkeirugma . Jonah's job was
to proclaim God's messageofsalvationin the
Assyrian capital.
1 Cor. 1:17-22, "ForChrist sentme not to baptize,
but to preach the gospel(euangelidzw):not
with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ
should be made of none effect.
For the preaching (logos)of the cross is to
them that perish foolishness;but unto us
which are savedit is the power of God.
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of
the wise, and will bring to nothing the
understanding of the prudent.
Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where
is the disputer of this world? hath not God

124. made foolish the wisdom of this world?
[Note:to "stopthe mouths" of those who are
opposed(Titus 1:9-11), the Lord employs
preachers to bring an unusual message.]
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For after that in the wisdom of God the world
by wisdom knew not God, it pleasedGod by
the foolishness (morias)of preaching
(keirugma) to save them that believe.
For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks
seek afterwisdom:
But we preach (keiruso)Christ crucified, unto
the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the
Greeks foolishness;
But unto them which are called, both Jews and
Greeks, Christthe power of God, and the
wisdom of God.
1 Cor. 2:1-10
Titus 1:3
PRINCIPLES OF KEIRUGMA
1. The emphasis of keirugma is on the message.
Someone in authority, who has something to

125. communicate, gives the messageto a
messenger, the keirux, preacher, who passes
the information on to someone else, usually in
a public setting. It is expectedthat there will
be attentive hearers who will be receptive to
the messageandwho expect to derive some
benefit from the message.
2. The messengerdoes not proclaim his own
viewpoint, his own political opinions, his own
grievances. The messageis another person's
communication. The public proclamation is
not the platform for him to expound his own
theories, to support his side in a debate, talk
about his own projects, or getthings off his
chest. The keirux does not callthe people
togetherfor an important proclamation, then,
instead, lecture them on some private matter
not associatedwith the realmessage.
3. The Bible teachergets his keirugma from
God Himself, as revealedin the Word of God.
Correctpreaching is done by making the message
clearto the people who are listening to the
proclamation. Public teaching protects the privacy

126. of the believer. Confining himself to the message,
the preacherdoes not unduly influence the
listeners with personality dynamics or bullying
techniques. The listener can acceptorreject the
messagein private.
Propitiation
Propitiation is the work of the Lord Jesus Christ
by which He appeases the wrath of God and
conciliates Him who would otherwise be offended
by our sin and would demand that we pay the
penalty for it.
Propitiation is translated from the Greek
'ιλαστεριον(hilasterion), meaning "that which
expiates or propitiates" or "the gift which procures
propitiation". The word is also used in the New
Testamentfor the place of propitiation, the "mercy
seat". Heb. 9:5. There is frequent similar use of
hilasterion in the Septuagint. Ex. 25:18 ff. The
mercy seatwas sprinkled with atoning blood on
the Dayof Atonement (Lev. 16:14), representing
that the righteous sentence ofthe Law had been
executed, changing a judgment seatinto a mercy
seat(Heb. 9:11-15;compare with "throne of

127. grace" in Heb. 4:14-16;place of communion, Ex.
25:21-22).
Another Greek word, 'ιλασµος (hilasmos), is
used for Christ as our propitiation. 1 John 2:2;
4:10, and for "atonement" in the Septuagint (Lev.
25:9). The thought in the Old Testamentsacrifices
and in the New Testamentfulfillment is that Christ
completely satisfiedthe just demands of a holy
God for judgment on sin by His death on the
Cross.
God, foreseeingthe Cross, is declaredrighteous in
forgiving sins in the Old Testamentperiod as well
as in justifying sinners under the New Covenant
(Rom. 3:25,26;cf. Ex. 29:33, note). Propitiation
is not the placating of a vengeful God but, rather,
it is the satisfying the righteousness ofa holy God,
thereby making it possible for Him to show mercy
without compromising His righteousness or
justice.
The Hebrew kaphar, means "to propitiate, to
atone for sin".. According to scripture, the
sacrifice ofthe Law only coveredthe offeror's sin
and secureddivine forgiveness. The Old

128. Testamentsacrificesneverremoved man's sin. "It
is not possible...", Heb. 10:4. The Israelite's
offering implied confessionof sin in anticipation
of Christ's sacrifice which did, finally, "put away"
the sins "done previously in the forbearance of
God". Rom. 3:25; Heb. 9:15,26. The word
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"atonement" does not occurin the New Testament;
the word in Rom. 5:11 is "reconciliation".
The beginning of the subject of Propitiation is
found far back in the Bible, back to the designing
of the Tabernacle in the wilderness, the tent which
God had the people of Israelset up which would
be the centerof His presence on earth.
The Tabernacle occupiesa large portion of
Scripture, sixteen chapters in the book of Exodus
and the whole book of Leviticus. Every feature of
the Tabernacle,ofthe worship carried out there, of
the priestly life and duties, of the vestments of the
priests, the sacrifices, the feastdays--every part of
it was vitally important and designedby the Lord
for eternalpurposes. It is very important for the

129. Church Age believer to have a goodworking
knowledge ofthe Levitical systemin order to
appreciate fully the work of Christ and the plan of
God as they have been instituted in the world.
There was greatstress on the blueprint of the
Tabernacle.
Exodus 25:8,9 "And let them make me a
sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
According to all that I show thee, after the pattern
of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the
instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it."
The pattern was given to Moses onMt. Sinai,
along with The Law. READ Hebrews 8:1–6. The
Tabernacle was a symbolicalexpressionof
spiritual truth.
The congregationofthe Jews did not go beyond
the courtyard of the tabernacle. Theymade
offerings only at the brazen altar; and only the
priests were allowedto go anyplace else in the
Tabernacle. The Tabernacle wasthe dwelling
place of God on earth, and God was
unapproachable by sinful men. The main lessons
being taught had to do with the perfectionof God

130. and the sinfulness of man.
THE FURNITURE OF THE TABERNACLE
BRAZEN ALTAR -- this altar was the beginning of a
person's approach to God. Animal sacrifices made
there taught that substitutionary sacrifice is the
first step towardfellowship with God. When a
person passedoutside the gate of the Tabernacle,
the only thing that he could see was the smoke
rising from the burnt offerings, and through the
one gate could be seenthe altar of sacrifice and the
blood being shed. Everything else was hidden
from view by the curtain of the fence. This was a
continuous reminder of "the Lamb of God that
takes awaythe sin of the world." The only thing
the unbeliever can ever see is the Gospel, the good
news of Christ's substitutionary sacrifice for us.
A description of the brazen altar is found in
Ex. 27:1–8 and Ex. 38:17.
THE LAVER -- Here the priests cleanedtheir hands
and arms before performing any service or actof
worship (Ex. 30:17). It was placedbetweenthe
brazen altar and the tent of worship (the Holy
Place). This cleansing symbolized the spiritual

131. cleansing which is essentialto both worship and
service.
THE CANDLESTICKS -- These illustrated the need
for illumination, the Light of the World. See
Ex. 25:31–40;37:17–34.
THE TABLE OF BREAD -- An illustration of the
need for spiritual food. See Ex. 25:23–30;37:10–
16.
THE ALTAR OF INCENSE -- From Ex. 30:1–10, this
piece of Tabernacle furniture illustrated the need
for acceptable worshipand prayer. No animals
were offered on this altar. The offering was an
incense offering, indicating that which is pleasing
to God, Divine Good (gold, silver, and precious
stones). The fire for the altar of incense came
from the brazen altar, indicating that worship can
only come after salvation. No strange fire was
allowed;and Nadaband Abihu died for
disobeying this rule.
THE VEIL -- the Veil symbolized the barrier
betweenGod and man; only the High Priest could
enter the Holy of Holies, and that only once a year
on the day of atonement, to offer the blood on the

132. Mercy Seatof the Ark of the Covenant.
THE ARK OF THE COVENANT -- the Ark of the
Covenantwas locatedin the Holy of Holies of the
Tabernacle. It was made of acacia woodand
overlaid with gold. Its dimensions were 50 inches
long by 30 inches wide by 30 inches deep. The
Ark was a picture of Christ bearing our sins, the
box part representing Christ. The woodillustrated
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the humanity of Christ, the gold representedHis
deity.
Inside the Ark were three objects representing sin
(Num. 17:8,10;Heb. 9:4). The Tables of the Law
representedsin in the sense of violation or
transgressionof God's order. The Pot of Manna
representedrejectionof God's provision. And
Aaron's Rod representedrevolt againstGod's
authority.
Over the top of the box was a lid of solid gold, the
Mercy Seat(or throne). Over eachend of the
Mercy Seatwas a gold cherub, the highest ranking
angel. The first cherub representedthe absolute

133. RighteousnessofGod, and the secondcherub
representedthe Justice ofGod. Togetherthey
representedthe Holiness of God. The cherubs
facedtoward eachother, wings outstretched
towards eachother, and lookeddownat the Mercy
Seat. "Righteousness"looks downand condemns
(Rom. 3:23). "Justice"looks downand assesses a
penalty.
Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the High
Priestwent into the Holy of Holies twice;once to
make atonement for his own sins, and then to do
so for the people. He sprinkled blood from the
sacrifice onthe Ark, on the top of the MercySeat,
betweenthe cherubs. This was a graphic
illustration of God's grace provision for sin.
"Righteousness" looks atthe blood of the animal,
which represents the spiritual death of Christ on
the Cross, His substitutionary atonement, and is
satisfied. "Justice"looks atthe blood and is
satisfiedthat the penalty paid for sin was
sufficient, teaching that Christ was judged and
paid the penalty for us.
Therefore, the Ark speaks ofRedemption - Christ

134. paid for our sins, paid our ransom, to purchase us
from the slave marketof sin.
So we have in the Ark and the MercySeata
picture of God's satisfactionwith the Work of
Jesus Christ knownas Propitiation.
Now, the Hebrew word for MercySeatis
kapporeth. The Greek word used in the
Septuagint translation of the Old Testamentis
hilasterion. This same Greek wordis found in the
New Testamentin Rom. 3:25; Heb. 9:5;
1 John 2:2; and 4:10. and is translated "mercy
seat" or"place of propitiation". So there is a direct
relationship betweenthe MercySeatin the
Tabernacle and the doctrine of Propitiation.
BecauseofPropitiation, God is free to love the
believer without compromising either His
RighteousnessorJustice. The thought in the Old
Testamentsacrificesand in the New Testament
fulfillment is that Christ completely satisfiedthe
just demands of a holy God for judgment of sin.
Propitiation is not the placating of a vengeful God;
but it is, rather, the satisfying of the righteousness
of a holy God making it possible for Him to show

135. mercy without compromise. Propitiation
demonstrates the consistencyofGod's characterin
saving the worstsinners. Propitiation reconciles
man to God. This means that sin is no longer the
issuedbetweenman and God. The only issue,
both for the Old Testamentand New Testament
believers, is "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
thou shalt be saved."
Prophets and Prophesying
by Rev. Mark Perkins, Pastor, DenverBible
Church, 326 E. Colorado Ave., Denver, CO.
80210
In order to understand a book of the Bible written
by a prophet, we must first come to an
understanding of the message and role of the
prophet.
The purpose of prophecy was to communicate the
messageofGod to the people of Israel.
• The prophet receivedhis inspiration from God
the Holy Spirit.
• The prophet communicated in the written
mode, and indeed the Old Testamentcanonof
Scripture was written entirely by men with

136. either the gift or office of prophecy.
• Prophets were responsible for the
communication of the ritual plan of God. All
of the information concerning the system of
feasts, sacrifices,and the tabernacle/temple
was communicated through prophets.
• Prophets were also responsible for the spoken
communication, which interpreted the
symbology of the ritual system.
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SectionI, Lesson9 a Grace Notes study
- The priests did not hold this responsibility.
Their job was to go through the ritual system
exactly as prescribed.
Scripture tells the Levites to do, do, do,
hundreds of times. But they do not ever tell
them to interpret.
The prophets communicated the ritual plan of
God, and they interpreted it as well. They
were the ones who told the people what it all
meant.
Prophecywould also fill in the gaps left by the
ritual system.

137. • Whereas the ritual system communicated truth
about God and His plan for Israel, the prophet
would communicate something more
pertinent.
• The messagewas pertinent for the person or
people for whom it was intended.
• The messagewas appropriate to the time in
which it was spoken.
• Whereas the ritual system was not behavior
specific, prophecy was.
The nature of prophecy is twofold.
1. To interpret historical trends, and to tell the
people where those trends are leading. This is
called'forthtelling'.
It is important to understand that events in this
categorydo not have to come to pass.
Many of the future events relatedare
contingent upon the fulfillment of some
condition.
The future of these events which are forthtold
is still dependent upon human volition.
2. To relate with perfect accuracycertainfuture
events which relate to the nation of Israel.

138. This is called'foretelling'.
The predicted events still remain pertinent to
the time in which they were predicted.
In other words, there is always a message for
the presenttime in the prediction of the future.
Even though the events predicted may not
come to pass for hundreds, or even thousands
of years, they have some impact, some bearing
on the people to whom they were predicted.
Our understanding of the events of the
tribulation and millennium have an impact on
how we conduct our lives today.
Understanding the tribulation gives us an idea
of the consequences ofgiving in to the cosmic
system, for the tribulation reveals the cosmic
system in its unrestrained state.
Understanding the millennium gives us an
idea of the consequences ofliving according
to the laws of Divine establishment, for the
millennium reveals the kingdom of God in its
full glory.
There is a difference betweenthe gift of prophet
and the office of prophet.

139. • The office of prophet was an appointed post in
the nation of Israel.
Those who servedin the office of prophet
functioned exclusively in the communication
of prophetic information.
There are two categoriesofOld Testament
writings written by those who had the office of
prophet. All together, this part is called"The
Prophets".
The “former” prophets wrote the books of
Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings.
The “latter” prophets wrote the books of
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the minor
prophets.
The one in the office of prophet did not hold
another job, but instead, prophecy was his job.
• The gift of prophecy was an ability given by
God to prophesy to one who did not hold the
office of prophet.
When God had something to sayto His
people, but the office of prophet was vacantor
spiritually bankrupt He gave to a few people
the gift of prophet.

140. These people receiveddirect revelationfrom
God, which led to their communication to the
people.
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There are three parts to the Old Testament
written by those with the gift of prophecy. All
together, this was called "The Writings".
The prophetical books include Psalms,
Proverbs, and Job.
The Megalith included those books which
were read at the feasts. The Song of Solomon
was read at Passover. Ruth was read at
Pentecost. Lamentations and Ecclesiastes
were read during Tabernacles. Estherwas
read at Purim.
The historical books include Daniel, EzraNehemiah, and Chronicles.
• Moses hadboth the gift and the office of
prophet. He wrote the Pentateuch, which
containedthe first five books ofthe Bible,
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy,
and Numbers. He had both because his role in
life changedfrom time to time.

141. • Elisha and Elijah held the office of prophet,
but did not write. The important parts of their
ministries are recordedby other writers of
Scripture.
The nature of prophetic inspiration
• The prophet was inspired according to the
standard of verbal plenary inspiration.
• The prophet was always aware ofhis
inspiration.
The Word of the Lord came to him (many
times).
God's hand touched his mouth, Jer1:9.
He was standing in God's counsel, Jer23:22.
• The inspiration always came by the Spirit,
Num 24:2; 11:29; 1 Sam 10:6,10;19:20,23;1
Ki 22:24; Joel2:28-29, Hosea 9:7, "The days
of punishment are coming, the days of
reckoning are at hand. Let Israelknow this.
Becauseyour sins are so many and your
hostility so great, the prophet is considereda
fool, the inspired man a maniac."
• The intermediate means were many.
Life experience, Hosea.

142. A visible symbol, Amos 7:7.
A dream (the subconscious mind, while
asleep), Jer31:26.
A vision (the conscious mind, while awake),
Zechariah.
Directteaching from God, Isaiah6.
The interpretation of historical trends from
Bible Truth in the right lobe of the soul.
From training, 1 Sam 10:5, "After that you
will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a
Philistine outpost. As you approachthe town,
you will meet a processionofprophets coming
down from the high place with lyres,
tambourines, flutes and harps being played
before them, and they will be prophesying."
• The exhale of the prophet.
He explained the meaning of the ritual system.
He used the parable, or allegory. Hosea 6:4,
"What canI do with you, Ephraim? What can
I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the
morning mist, like the early dew that
disappears."
He actedhis messageoutin order to

143. graphically illustrate it.
He foretold certain future events, all of which
had a relevant messageduring his day.
These prophecies now stand in two categories:
Those whichhave been fulfilled - for example,
more than 300 relatedto the life of Christ.
Those whichhave yet to be fulfilled - for
example, the book of Revelation, and parts of
Daniel, Ezekiel, and other prophets.
Summary
• The Old Testamentprophet was the rough
equivalent of the New Testamentpastor.
• He interpreted God's Word, he exhorted the
people, he observedand interpreted historical
trends.
• He was, however, different in a few ways:
He had a lesserunderstanding of the full
revelation of God, Mat 13:17, "ForI tell you
the truth, many prophets and righteous men
longed to see whatyou see but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear but did not hear it."
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144. This is because ofthe age in which he lived.
This is because he lived before the incarnation
of Christ.
He did not have the gift inside of himself, as
those with the gift of pastordo.
He did not have the full-time availability of
the powerof the Spirit, but instead he only had
it for the purpose of prophecy.
He had the power to foretell certain future
events.
• The Old Testamentprophet was the one who
brought the Word to the people, the one who
made it clearto them. The priests did nothing
of the sort.
• The Old Testamentprophet had the
supernatural ability to foretell certain future
events.
Refreshment
By Dr. Randall E. Radic, Pastor
First CongregationalChurch
100 N. Acacia Avenue
Ripon, California 95336
THE MINISTRYOF REFRESHMENT

145. In the papyri, the term ANAPAUO is found as "an
agricultural term, e.g., ofgiving land restby
sowing light crops upon it. In inscriptions it is
found on gravestonesofChristians, followedby
the date of death (Moulton and Milligan)."
Romans 15:32 says, "So that by God's will I may
come to you with joy and togetherwith you be
refreshed." And here, Paul implies that true
refreshment comes from one saint to another as
they enjoy eachother's company.
In I Corinthians 16: 17,18, Paulcites by name
three spiritually mature believers whose company,
virtue-love and faith recently 'refreshed'his soul.
And the ramification is that believers occasionally
require 'refreshment.' "I was glad when Stephanas,
Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they
have supplied what was lacking from you. For
they refreshedmy spirit and yours also. Such men
deserve recognition."
Our Lord used the term in Matthew 11:28, where
the connotationis to give rest from effort: "Come
to me, all you who are wearyand burdened, and I
will give you rest." And this is a remarkable

146. statement-- that there is refreshment and restin
this Persononly; only here may true ease be
discovered.
Paul will againuse the term in Philemon 20, which
says, "I do wish, brother, that I may have some
benefit from you in the Lord; refreshmy heart in
Christ." And the inference here is that Philemon's
grace attitude, faith in God, trust in God's
promises, virtue-love, and modus operandi and
modus vivendi (method of operationand manner
of life) are all images and expressions of love for
Christ, and the characterofChrist being expressed
in Philemon, so that by associating with Philemon,
Paul experiences thesame refreshmentthat he
would have found with Christ Himself. This verse
details the importance, then, of growing to
spiritual maturity and of associating with such
mature believers.
In II Corinthians 7:13, Paul confirms that the
spirits of believers are 'refreshed' by other
believers. "By all this we are encouraged. In
addition to our own encouragement, we were
especiallydelighted to see how happy Titus was,

147. because his spirit has been refreshed by all of
you."
Physicalrefreshment is found through sleepand
physical rest, according to Matthew 26:45, which
states, "Thenhe returned to the disciples and said
to them, 'Are you still sleeping and resting? Look,
the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed
into the hands of sinners."
This need for physical restis also stated in Mark
6:31 and Mark 14:41. And Luke 12:19 asserts that
food, drink, sleepand recreationare all forms of
physical refreshment, and that they are legitimate
as long as they do not take priority over God and
knowledge ofHis Word. "And I'll say to myself,
'You have plenty of goodthings laid up for many
years. Take life easy;eat, drink and be merry.'"
I Peter4:14 uses the term ANAPAUO for the
rest/refreshmentthat belongs to the saint/believer
that suffers for the name of Christ. This is indeed
an extraordinary statement, that spiritual
The Acts of the Apostles Page 10
SectionI, Lesson9 a Grace Notes study
'refreshment' may be found in suffering and

148. persecution. Only the very, very spiritually mature
believer could produce this type of attitude and
happiness -- more and more happiness and rest
found in more and more suffering for Christ. "If
you are insulted because ofthe name of Christ,
you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God
rests on you."
In Revelation6:11 dwells an unique insinuation:
that the 'righteous indignation,' or 'righteous
demand for vengeancefrom the PerfectJustice of
God' by the martyred saints of the Tribulation, can
only find rest/refreshmentin the Perfect
Righteousnessand Faithfulness of God. "Then
eachof them (the martyred saints) was given a
white robe, and they were told to wait a little
longer(rest), until the number of their fellow
https://www.gracenotes.info/acts/acts109.pdf
All the Prophets ProclaimedThese Days
Resource by John Piper Scripture: Acts 3:17–26 Topic: Bible Prophecy

149. In Acts 3, Peterand John heal a lame man at the gate of the temple in
Jerusalem. He follows them into the temple walking and leaping and praising
God, and the people are filled with wonder and amazement. So Peterseizes
the opportunity to preach the gospel. "Don'tthink we did this by our own
power. The Jesus that you put to death was the Author of life, and God raised
him from the dead; and it is by faith in his name that this man was healed."
And now, brethren, I know that you actedin ignorance, as did also your
rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ
should suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn again, that your
sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence
of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom
heaven must receive until the time for establishing all that God spoke by the
mouth of his holy prophets from the old.
Moses said, "The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet from your
brethren as he raisedme up. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you.
And it shall be that every soul that does not listen to that prophet shall be
destroyedfrom the people." And all the prophets who have spoken, from
Samuel and those who came afterwards, also proclaimedthese days. You are
the sons of the prophets and of the covenantwhich God gave to your fathers,
saying to Abraham, "And in your posterity shall all the families of the earth
be blessed." God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless
you in turning every one of you from your wickedness.
The text is takenfrom verse 24: "All the prophets . . . proclaimed these days."
I have four questions to answerconcerning this text.
What days did all the prophets proclaim?
In what sense did all the prophets proclaim these days?

150. How can a man proclaim what will take place centuries later?
What should the response of Peter's listeners in Jerusalemand my listeners in
Minneapolis be to these things?
What Are "These Days"?
1) First, then, when Petersays, "All the prophets proclaimed these days,"
what days does he mean? The preceding five verses (19–23)referto three
different periods of time.
The Days of Jesus'Earthly Life
Taking them in their historical order, the first is seenin verse 22. Peterquotes
Deuteronomy 18:15 where Moses prophesied, "The Lord Godwill raise up for
you a prophet from your brethren as he raisedme up. You shall listen to him
in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soulthat does not listen to
that prophet shall be destroyed from the people." The days referred to here
are the days of Jesus'earthly life and ministry. When Jesus was born in
Bethlehem of Judea, the word of Moses beganits final fulfillment. Godwas
raising up a new prophet whose word had all the authority of God. And so
this first period of time probably extends from Jesus'birth to his ascensionto
the Father's right hand. In verse 26, Peterlooks on the fulfillment of Moses'
prophecy as something that is past and over: "Godhaving raisedup his
servant (as Moses saidhe would) senthim to you (Jews)first, to bless you in
turning every one of you from your wickedness."The earthly life and ministry
of Jesus was the sending of the great Prophet proclaimed by Moses.Now that
period is over. Jesus has returned to the Father.
The Days of the Church

151. The secondperiod of time is referred to in verse 19:"Repent and turn again
that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the
presence ofthe Lord." The Prophet has come and gone, but he has
commissionedhis apostles to preach the goodnews of the forgiveness he
purchased. And he has promised to give his Spirit for the refreshment of all
who believe. The "times of refreshing," therefore, are the era beginning with
Pentecost, the period of the church, the period in which forgiveness ofsins is
preachedon the basis of Jesus'deathand resurrection, and the period in
which the refreshing cleansing ofthe Holy Spirit comes to all who believe in
Christ.
The reasonI think the "times of refreshment" in verse 19 refer to the
outpouring of God's Spirit is because Acts 2:38 and Acts 3:19 are so similar.
3:19 says, "Repentand turn again, that your sins may be blotted out and that
times of refreshing may come from the presence ofthe Lord." 2:38 says,
"Repentand be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness ofyour sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." In
the one, Petersays, "Repent, be forgiven, and receive the gift of the Spirit." In
the other, he says, "Repent, be forgiven, and experience times of refreshing."
Therefore, I conclude that the "times of refreshing" are the age of the Spirit
when the gospelis preached and men and women receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit by turning from sin and trusting in Jesus. This era extends from
Pentecostto the return of Christ in glory.
The Days of Consummation
The third period of time Peterrefers to is mentioned in verses 20 and 21. The
final hope that Peterholds out to his listeners is "that God may (now again)
send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whomheaven must receive until the
time for establishing all that God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets
from of old." Here is a period of time which is yet future. It will have its

152. beginning when God sends Christ to earth the secondtime. This will be the
time for establishing, or bringing to final consummation, all that God spoke
through his prophets. Christ will reign as king supreme on earth and of his
kingdom there will be no end to all eternity. This period, then, begins at the
secondcoming of Christ, includes what is commonly knownas the
millennium, and extends forever into the future.
Surely when Petersaid that all the prophets proclaim "these days," he did not
mean to exclude any of these three periods of time: neither the earthly
ministry of Christ, nor the times of gospelrefreshing, nor the final
consummation after Christ's return. The earthly prophetic ministry of Jesus
was proclaimed by Moses (v. 22). The final age of consummation was
proclaimed, v. 21 says, by the holy prophets from of old. And the "times of
refreshing" that come through the forgiveness ofsins and the outpouring of
the Holy Spirit were proclaimed by the Old Testamentprophet Joel. We can
see this in Acts 2:16. On the day of Pentecost,the disciples receivedthe Holy
Spirit and spoke in other tongues. So Petersays in verses 16, 17, "This is what
was spokenby the prophet Joel:'And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your
daughters will prophesy and your young men will see visions and your old
men will dream dreams.'"
Therefore, all the days from the coming of Christ, through his earthly life,
through the times of refreshing by the Holy Spirit, and unto eternity in the age
of consummation—all these days were proclaimed beforehand by the
prophets.
There is something tremendously important to gethold of here for
understanding the biblical teaching about prophecy and fulfillment. We often
think of prophecy as relating to what is yet future or to what is now beginning
to happen in the world. And we easily forgetthat what is past for us was

153. future for the prophets. What we need to remember is that with the coming of
Jesus Christ into the world the days of fulfillment, proclaimed by all the
prophets, began. And ever since the first Christmas we have been living in
those days. The "lastdays" foretold by the prophets are not the 1980's.The
last days beganin 1 AD.
This was the uniform New Testamentwitness. Paulsaid in 1 Corinthians
10:11 that the Old Testamentevents happened "to them by way of an
example, and they were written down for our instruction upon whom the end
of the ages has come." ForPaul, the end of the ages was not2000 years hence.
At leastthe beginning of the end was already present, because the long
awaitedMessiahhad come. So the writer to the Hebrews (1:1, 2) says, "In
many and various ways God spoke ofold to our fathers by the prophets, but
in these last days he has spokento us by a Son." When God sent his Son into
the world, the last days began.
It is a greatprivilege to live in the last days, because Joelprophesied, "In the
last days . . . God will pour out his Spirit upon all flesh." All the prophets
lookedforward to the day when the Messiah, the Son of David, the king of
Israel, would come, for that would be a day of greatblessing for God's people.
And now he has come, his kingdom has been inaugurated, we live in an age of
fulfillment. And what we anticipate in the future at Christ's secondcoming is
not something completely new, but rather the consummation of the blessings
we already enjoy, because the promises have begun to be fulfilled in our lives.
Christmas cut history into two ages:the age of promise and the age of
fulfillment. So when Petersays in Acts 3:24, "All the prophets proclaimed
these days," we see that he means, "these last days" (Hebrews 1:2) in which
God has spokento us by a Son, the days from the first Christmas to the time
of consummation yet to come.

154. How Did All the Prophets ProclaimThem?
2) The secondquestion to answerconcerning our text in Acts 3:24 was this: In
what sense did all the prophets proclaim these days? I'm not sure what the
answeris to that question. On the one hand, there are numerous prophets in
the Old Testamentwhich clearly and explicitly proclaim these days: Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Joel, Micah, Zechariah, Malachi—theyall contain
clearreferences to the days of the Messiah. But on the other hand, there are
other prophets, for example Jonah, who seemto deliver a word from God
which relates only to their own situation. For Jonahit was a warning to the
people of Nineveh to repent lestthey be judged. But in what sense canit be
said that Jonah"proclaimedthese days"—the days after Messiahhas come?
There may be a clue in the way Jesus uses the prophet Jonahin his own
teaching. In Luke 11:29ff. Jesus says, "This generationis an evil generation;it
seeks a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the signof Jonah. Foras
Jonahbecame a sign to the men of Nineveh, so will the Son of man be to this
generation. . . The men of Nineveh will arise at the judgment with this
generationand condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and
behold something greaterthan Jonahis here." Jesus pictures the life and
ministry of Jonah as a kind of inferior foreshadowing ofhis own superior life
and ministry. Could it be that when Peter says, "All the prophets proclaimed
these days," he meant that some refer to these days explicitly, but others, by
the waythey describe the intentions of God and the conditions in history, only
give implicit witness that God is going to do something greater, something
more in the future? If so, then in this way all the prophets, whether explicitly
through predictions or implicitly through foreshadowings—allofthem
proclaim these days of fulfillment.
How Can a Man Proclaimthe Future?
3) The third question to answerabout our text is perhaps the most important
and the one with the most impact on our faith: How cana man proclaim what

155. will take place centuries later? There are two ways to answerthis question
and both are true, but the first can be misleading if the secondis not added.
The first wayto answerthe question is this: it is not merely men who speak in
the Old Testamentprophecies but God speaking through men, and God
knows all things, even what will happen centuries from now. Peterwrites in
his secondletter(1:20, 21): "Firstof all you must understand this, that no
prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, because no
prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit
spoke from God." Or as Paul put it in 2 Timothy 3:16, "All scripture is
inspired by God." It is a grand and wonderful doctrine of the Christian
church that in the writings of the Bible we do not hear the mere voices of men
but we also hear God. The words of our text put it most forcefully: Acts 3:21,
"Heavenmust receive Jesus until the time for establishing all that Godspoke
by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old." How can a man proclaim
what will take place centuries later? A mere man can't. But men moved by the
Spirit of Godcan.
This is assuming, of course, that God does know the future. But I have a book
in my library written by a man in this city which argues that God does not
know the future with certainty. And I was at a meeting of the Evangelical
TheologicalSocietytwo years ago when a notable theologiansuggestedthat
perhaps the traditional doctrine of God's omniscience should not include
God's knowledge ofall future events.
I have to admit that I would be hard put to worship a God who did not know
what was coming next in the world. In fact, I find such a God impossible even
to imagine in any coherentway. And I am grateful that Scripture does not
require me to imagine or worship him, because it declares that the only true
God is a God who "declares fromancient times things not yet done." Isaiah
46:9, 10:"I am God and there is no other; I am God and there is none like me,

156. declaring the end from the beginning and from ancienttimes things not yet
done, saying, 'My counselshall stand, and I will accomplishall my purpose."'
God would not be God if he could not declare from ancient times things not
yet done. Therefore, if Godinspires a prophet, he can proclaim what will take
place centuries later.
But if we stopped there and merely said that the reasonprophets canproclaim
the latter days is that they are inspired by God who can foresee whatwill
happen, we would be left with a misleading view of God and only half the
biblical teaching. So the secondwayof answering our question must be added,
namely: God does not merely know history in advance, he makes history; he
creates history.
If we didn't say this, we might be tempted to think of God as one who creates
the world, establishes certainlaws, andthen withdraws and watches and
knows and predicts but does not rule or controlor move history. But that
would be very wrong. The text we just read in Isaiah46:10 explains how God
can predict the future: it's because he says, "My counselshall stand and I will
accomplishall my purpose." God knows whatwill happen because he
accomplishes whatwill happen. He does not merely watch the world; he
shapes the world.
The first two verses of our text, Acts 3:17, 18, show that in Peter's view the
fulfillment of prophecy was not due so much to God's foreknowledgeof
history as to his actionin history. He says to those who crucified Jesus, "Now,
brethren, I know that you actedin ignorance as did also your rulers. But what
God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer, he
thus fulfilled." What God foretold God fulfilled. Godknows the future
because he plans the future. Peteruses these very words in Acts 2:23. He says
to the men of Israelthat Jesus was "deliveredup according to the definite
plan and foreknowledgeofGod."

157. So the really final and ultimate answerto the question, how a man can
proclaim what will take place centuries later, is that the prophets were
inspired by God to proclaim what God himself intended to do. "My counsel
shall stand; I will accomplishmy purpose."
What Should Be Our Response?
4) And that brings us to our fourth and final question: What should the
response ofPeter's listeners in Jerusalemand my listeners in Minneapolis be
to these things? The response Peterwants (and who am I to want anything
different?) is plain in verse 19 of our text: "Repenttherefore, and turn again,
that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the
presence ofthe Lord." Repent means stop banking your hope for happiness
on your own achievements and the pleasures of sin, and turn to Christ and
bank your hope on his promises. Stop following all the recommendations of
the world, and turn and start following the commandments of Christ.
There are two grand incentives for this personalrevolution to happen. One is
that we live in the days of fulfillment. The first Christmas is history. The
Messiahhas come. He has died for our sins and purchased our redemption, so
that times of refreshing might come to all who trust him. He will give the Holy
Spirit to all who turn from their sin and ask him. Repent therefore, that your
sins may be blotted out and that times of refreshing may come to your heart
and your family and all your relationships.
And now, finally, there is one other incentive to repent in this text. The God
who is calling us to repent is a God of awesome power. He is the Lord of
history: his counselstands; it cannot be thwarted. He proclaims the future
because he makes the future. And this power should cause us to turn from our
sins and flee to Christ for two reasons. If we don't turn, we remain in our sins

158. and God's infinite poweris againstus and there will be no escape from
destruction. "Whoeverdoes not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from
the people" (3:23). But if we do repent and turn to Christ, then all the divine
powerthat governs every detail of history will not be againstus but for us.
And if God is for us, who can be againstus!
What a greattime of year to turn from the lordship of selfand sin to the
saving lordship of Jesus. Perhaps onthis first Sunday of Advent that candle
was lit just for you.
The Miracle of SalvationActs 3:1-26
This entry was postedin Acts (Rayburn) on October11, 2015 by Rev. Dr.
Robert S. Rayburn.
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159. Acts 3:1-26
Chapter 3 is a record of the next great event that Luke saw fit to record in his
early church history. And there are some striking similarities to the first. As
with Pentecost, Luke first supplies a straightforwardnarrative of the
miraculous event itself. That is followedby a sermon delivered by Peterin
which he interpreted the event in much the same wayas he interpreted
Pentecost, arguing that this too was the work of the glorified Jesus Christ, the
very Jesus whom these people had put to death. At the conclusionof his
sermon Petercalledupon his audience to repent, as he had before. In 2:43
Luke said that many “wonders and signs” were being done by the apostles.
Luke now gives us one particularly dramatic example.
Text Comment
v.1 The ninth hour was 3:00 p.m., the time of the service of prayer that
accompaniedthe evening sacrifice. The mention of John’s presence is an
eyewitness touch, since he does not figure significantly in the following
narrative and does not speak.
v.2 The man was congenitallylame, literally “lame from his mother’s
womb,” and, as we learn in 4:22, at this time he was overforty years of age.
He was carried there at that time to catch the crowd leaving the temple after
the evening sacrifice, all the more as they would be well disposedafter
worship to give to a beggar.
v.6 The emphatic point of Peter’s declarationwill be the main point of the
sermon that will follow: the healing was the work of the ascendedJesus
Christ.

160. v.7 Luke, the medical doctor, is interestedin precisely how it was that the
man was healed. His “feetand ankles were made strong.”
v.8 The man knew very well that Godhad done this for him. He was
praising God, not Peter, for the extraordinary gift that had been given to him.
v.10 Another eyewitness touch:the astonishmentof the crowd. They were
baffled to see this man who for decades hadbeen unable to walk now leaping
and dancing.
v.11 Solomon’s colonnade was a coveredportico that ran the length of the
easternportion of the outer court of the temple, that court knownas the
Court of the Gentiles and that side that faced the Mount of Olives. Jesus had
taught there and we will read in Acts 5:12 that it became a favorite meeting
place of the Christians.
v.15 Peteremphasized the horrendous nature of their crime by saying that
they had killed the Author of Life. They murdered the very one who came to
bring life to the spiritually dead. Thankfully, God raisedhim from the dead!
Their crime was not the last word.
v.16 The main point: it was Jesus who healed this man, the Jesus who was
the servantof God but the very Jesus whomthese Jews had conspired to kill,
had gone so far as to demand his executionwhen the Roman governorwas
disposedto release him. By referring to Jesus as the servant of the God of
Abraham, Isaac, and JacobPeterdeclaredthat Jesus was not the founder of
some new religion, but the fulfillment of God’s plan for Israeland the whole
world.

161. v.17 Peterdidn’t mean that the people weren’t blameworthy. We have
already heard him describe the greatevil of what they had done and soonhe
will callon them to repent. In v. 26 he will refer againto their “wickedness.”
But they had not sinned in that way the OT refers to as “with a high hand.”
They had not sinned in full awarenessthatthey were rejecting Godand
defying his will. It was ignorance ofa kind, but no excuse.
v.18 As Peter had said in his Pentecostsermon, the sinful rejectionof Jesus
by the people had, in fact, fulfilled the purpose of God. Jesus came to suffer
and die because the salvationof the world required nothing less.
v.19 The image of our sins being blotted out, literally wiped away or erased,
came from the washing of papyri to remove the ink so that it could be used
againas a writing surface. Ink in those days did not contain acid and so it
didn’t sink into the papyri as ink sinks into paper nowadays. So it was
possible simply to wipe the ink off the paper. [Bock, 174;Stott, 93]Our sins
can be wiped away, even this greatestofsins, the killing of the Author of Life.
Wiped awayas if they had never been!
v.24 Samuel prophesied the coming of Jesus by prophesying the eternal
kingdom of David and God’s intention to bless his people through the house of
David. Jesus was David’s descendant, a point often emphasized in the gospels.
v.26 The gist of all of that is that Jesus and his suffering and death were the
fulfillment of the many ancient prophecies that had been made of the coming
one who would bring salvation to Israeland the whole world. For example,
Jesus was the prophet that long before Moses hadsaid would come and that
God’s people would have to obey or else – a particularly important thing to
say to this congregationofJews. His point was that it was possible, with the

162. various threads found in the prophets, “to weave a biblical tapestry which
forms a thorough portrait of Christ.” Think of such ancient prophesies as that
of a coming descendantof David, or the servant of the Lord who would suffer
and die for sinners, or that the stone the builders rejectedwould become the
capstone, orthat David’s son would die but not be subject to decay, or that he
would be exalted to God’s right hand, or that through him the Spirit would be
poured out, and so on. [Stott, 94-95]In other words, Peterwas saying, take
those prophets togetherand what you find is the history of Jesus Christas it
unfolded before your very eyes.
The blessings that come from repentance and faith in Jesus, Petersaid, are:1)
the forgiveness ofsins, 2) spiritual renewaland refreshment from the Holy
Spirit, and 3) a share in the restorationof all things at the end of history.
The “to you first” suggests the future ministry to the Gentile world. But there
was no need to distract his audience at this point with the thought of their
sharing the gospelwith the world, an often unwelcome thought, as we will see.
You remember that at the outset of this secondvolume, Luke wrote that he
would record in his secondvolume what Jesus continued to do in the world
after ascending to heaven. This was the great point of Peter’s Pentecost
sermon, namely that the descentof the Holy Spirit, accompaniedby a great
sign miracle of tongues or languages, wasthe work of no other but Jesus of
Nazareth. The exaltedJesus was still at work in the world, though now not
visibly and immediately, but through his disciples empoweredby the Holy
Spirit.
That this is Luke’s greattheme and emphasis is demonstrated in Peter’s
secondsermon. Another astonishing thing had happened and Peter took the

163. occasionto declare to his audience that this too, the healing of the congenitally
lame man, was the work of Jesus of Nazareth.
Now Peterhad already said in his Pentecostsermon(2:43) that the miracles of
Jesus’public ministry were signs. Luke then said that the miracles the
apostles were performing in Jesus’name were likewise signs. Thatis, these
works of Jesus’supernatural power, these astonishing displays of his
authority over nature itself, were not performed for the entertainment of the
masses. Theyweren’teven performed primarily for the wonderful benefits
they bestowedon the afflicted who were healed, delivered from a lifetime of
disability as was this man. In a way, that was a side benefit, not their true
purpose. They were signs. They pointed to something else.
That his miracles were pictures of salvation, you remember, was a great
emphasis of the Lord during the days of his public ministry. Jesus often made
a point of identifying a miracle he had performed with the reality that it
signified. Remember the paralyzed man who was let down through the roof by
his friends, the accountof which miracle we are given in Luke’s Gospel(5:17-
26). That accountand this have many similarities. In the case of the man let
down through the roof, Jesus made an explicit connection betweenhis healing
of the man’s body and the forgiveness ofhis sins. Being delivered from illness
was a picture of being delivered from the guilt and the power of sin and
miraculous healing was a demonstration that Jesus had authority to grant
both. We find Peterdrawing that same connectionbetweenhealing and
forgiveness here. After all, in his sermon Peterdidn’t talk about how to be
healed from bodily afflictions, but how to receive the forgiveness ofsins,
which is the main thing, the thing of eternal importance.
In a similar way in Luke 5 and often in the case ofothers of his miracles, the
Lord drew attention to the importance of faith on the part of the one being
healed or those who brought the person to Jesus in hopes of his being healed.

164. In Luke 5 we read that “whenJesus saw their faith” – presumably both the
faith of the man and the faith of the men who brought him to Jesus – he said
to the man, “Your sins are forgiven you.” In that way too Jesus made his
miracles a picture of salvation: forgiveness,deliverance grantedto those who
believe in his power to save.
In many ways the Lord’s miracles were pictures or illustrations of salvation.
And here too, in Acts, the Lord’s miracles, now performed not visibly and
directly but by his apostles in his name, not only continued to authenticate the
apostles as the Lord’s ambassadors and spokesmenbut powerfully and
beautifully to depict the nature of salvation.
You have here a man who was powerlessand hopeless. He had to be carried to
the gate so that he could beg for alms. He’d done that for years. This man
couldn’t fix his problem. In fact, no mere man could fix it. Still today, modern
medicine would not have been able to fix his problem. Perhaps they could
have given him braces or a wheelchair, but they couldn’t have fixed his
problem. Forty years of paralysis was the proof of that! And yet see a lame
man leaping and dancing. That is the human predicament – we are incapable
of solving our fundamental problem, our estrangementfrom God – and this is
the glorious declaration:what we are incapable of doing, Jesus Christ can do
and is willing to do.
But there is more here than simply the demonstration and illustration of that
fact. We learn some important things here about how Christ Jesus saves
sinners.
First, the gospelis a command.
We often don’t think of it this way, but Peter didn’t say to this poor man,
“Would you like to be healed?” He didn’t even say, “If you wish, I can help

165. you with your feet.” He said, “Look at us. Forgetthe others passing by whose
alms you may be losing. There is more to you than your feetand you’ve gota
greaterproblem than your paralysis. In the name of Jesus of Nazarethrise up
and walk!” There is a divine summons in the gospelofJesus Christ. Men and
women, boys and girls, are not invited to believe in Jesus if they wish. They
are commanded to believe. As one of the English Puritans put it:
“It is the duty of all the sons and daughters of Adam, who hear the gospel
preached, and Christ offered to them, to believe in, or receive, Christ whether
they be prepared or not prepared.” [Giles Firmin (1670)in Packer, Questfor
Godliness, 173]
People may, of course, refuse to believe in Jesus Christ, but in doing so they
are disobeying God at the most critical point. Is this not what Petersaid
bluntly when quoting Moses in vv. 22 and 23? “Listen” in Deuteronomy, the
text Peterwas citing, does not refer to the mere act of hearing something that
is said. It is a synonym for “obey.”
“The Gospeldoes not say, ‘There is a Savior, if you wish to be saved,’but,
‘Sir, [or Madam] you have no right to go to hell – you can’t go there without
trampling on the Sonof God.” [Duncan, cited in Murray, Spurgeon v. Hyper-
Calvinism, 97]
The deliverance from sin and death was the work of the Sonof God. To refuse
to embrace that salvationis only exacerbating the sinful rebellion for which a
man or woman is already condemned. We hear from Peterhere both the
unashamed declarationof what God has done in Jesus Christ to save us from
sin and death and our absolute obligation to obey the summons to believe in
him and be saved.

166. Second, salvationis the work of God to which a man or woman’s response is
only an after-effect.
There is no question, obviously, as to whom this man owed his healing after so
many years of being unable to walk. It was Jesus Christwho did this for him.
It was Peterwho commanded him to get up; Peter who extended his hand to
the man to encourage him, but at that moment the man himself fully
understood that it wasn’tPeter who made his ankles strong. No mere man
could accomplishsuch a thing. Peterhimself emphasized that point when he
said, “In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise and walk.” Nothing could be
clearerthan that God had healed this man; that the man had stoodup only
because Godhad healedhim of his life-long paralysis. The man stood up, the
man walkedand jumped, but that was only his joyful response to what God
had said to this man and done for him. And so we read that the man praised
God, not Peter, and certainly not himself!
It is a beautiful picture of salvationwe are given here. With the command,
came the powerto obey; with the summons came the ability to respond to it.
Even Christians can often be mistakenon this point. Charles Spurgeon, the
greatestEnglishspeaking preacherof the 19th century, we might think of him
as the 19th century’s Billy Graham, though a man with a much more definite
theology, recollectedhis own error on this point when a young Christian.
“When I was coming to Christ [Spurgeon was convertedwhen he was sixteen
years of age], I thought I was doing it all myself, and though I sought the Lord
earnestly, I had no idea the Lord was seeking me. I do not think the young
convert is at first aware of this. I can recallthe very day and hour when first I
received[this truth] in my own soul – when [it was]…burned into my heart as
with a hot iron, and I can recollecthow I felt that I had grown[suddenly]
from a babe into a man…” [Autobiography, vol. I, 164]

167. Spurgeonhad realized, in other words, that salvation, just like this miraculous
healing, is the gift, the work, the power, the accomplishmentof God, however
much it produces a response in us. Indeed, what divine powerdoes is precisely
to illicit that response from us. The man walkedbecause he was told to and
because Godenabled him to. So our salvation;so anyone’s salvation!
In the third place, on the man or woman’s part salvationis receivedby faith.
Faith is the required response.
In some ways, it is striking, even unexpected that any role whatsoevershould
be given here to the man himself. After all, nothing is more obvious than that
he was helpless. He hadn’t gotout of bed that morning thinking he was going
to seek Godand receive healing. He wasn’t even looking at Peterand John in
any hope of being healed. He wanted money, whateverlittle money they might
be pleasedto give him. He had been helpless all his life. He was usedto being
helpless. But Peterdid not scruple to sayin v. 16 that, while the name of
Christ made the man to walk, it did so through faith placed in that name.
And, of course, this is everywhere the Bible’s teaching. The salvationof Jesus
Christ – forgiveness,the transformation of life, the promise of eternal life – is
receivedthrough faith, by placing one’s confidence in the goodnessand the
powerof Christ to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Some have
thought that the faith being referred to in v. 16 is Peter’s faith. In the similar
case ofthe paralyzed man let down through the roof in Luke 5, it was not only
the faith of the man himself but also the faith of the men who brought him to
Jesus that the Lord drew attention to as he performed the miraculous healing.
We read there, “when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, ‘Your sins are
forgiven.’” But to say here, as Peterdoes in v. 16, that the man was healed“by
faith in Jesus’name” certainly strongly suggests thatthe man himself had
believed in Jesus’name.

168. I think the reference here is to faith on the part of the man himself. I think
that’s the natural meaning of the words. Perhaps that is why Peterstressed
that the man had to look at him, he wanted the man’s attention, he wanted his
concentrationon what he was about to say. There was something in Peter’s
expression, something in his commanding voice, that made the man realize in
that instant that the name of Jesus of Nazareth – someone about whom no
doubt he had heard a greatdeal – was powerful to save him. And at the first
dawning of that faith in his heart, at the first tentative exercise ofthat faith in
Jesus, the man was healed.
We see suchsudden belief in a number of instances in the Bible: think of
Zacchaeus orthe Philippian jailer of whom we will read in Acts 16, a man
who up to that point had probably never so much as heard of Jesus of
Nazareth. But whether sudden or more gradual, whether a response to a
single command or to extensive teaching and explanation, this salvation, this
change, this transformation of life, this forgiveness ofsins, this entrance into
eternal life is always the result of a man or woman placing his or her
confidence in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Peterhere mentioned
repentance as well, as he did in his Pentecostsermon. In Acts faith and
repentance are virtual synonyms though they lay stress ondifferent aspects of
a believing and an obedient response to the gospelsummons. Faith is the
credit one places in the promise and work of God. Repentance is turning away
from sin to the will of God, and it is the way of thinking about one’s life that
invariably follows upon placing his or her confidence in the Lord Jesus and
his powerto save. No doubt the man repented too. Those who joyfully praise
God for his grace to them always wantalso to live to his praise!
But the main thing is to notice that this man believed and Christ savedhim.
And, then finally, God’s work of salvationdoes not leave us where we were. It
changes our lives rootand branch.

169. This man was a beggar. I think we canbe sure that he never beggedagain. He
left his former life behind him that day! He had been helpless even to move
himself around. Now multitudes were standing agape watching him try out his
legs and feet, walking, jumping, perhaps clicking his heels, if you can click
heels in sandals! Able for the first time in his life to walk and leap he couldn’t
stop doing both. He was making up for forty years of sitting still!
But more important than that, see this man praising God at the top of his
lungs. He knew now how gracious Godwas and how powerful. And his heart
was so full of God’s goodness to him that he couldn’t shut up about it. And
everywhere in the Bible salvationis this way. It changes a man or woman,
changes him or her profoundly. It makes him or her a worshipper of God and
changes so much more. Again and againin his letters the Apostle Paul
reminds his Christian friends of the life they used to live – how unworthy and
how unpleasant it was – and what a difference Christ had made in them. They
now live in a very different way, doing very different things, for very different
reasons.
Any Christian who has come to Christ in the middle of his or her life often
recalls what a tremendous revolution occurred when first he or she came to
Christ. As Paul saidit, no doubt thinking of his own experience, “All things
became new!” Patrick of Ireland, the Patrick of Saint Patrick’s Day, recalled
that change in his own case. He had been spiritually in a condition like this
man had been in physically. As he put it:
“Believe me, I didn’t go to Ireland willingly that first time [he had as a
teenagerbeencaptured and carried off by slavers to Ireland] – I didn’t go
willingly to Ireland that first time, I almost died there. But it turned out to be
goodfor me in the end, because Godused the time to shape and mold me into
something better. He made me into what I am now – someone very different
from what I once was, someone who cancare about others and work to help

170. them. Before I was a slave, I didn’t even care about myself.” [Cited in
Freeman, St. Patrick of Ireland, 184]
And so it has always been. When Christ transforms a life he or she does all
manner of things never done before and ceasesto do what formerly was done
without thought. Justlike this man who never beggedagainbut who praised
God for the rest of his life! And, as with this man, so with others, the changes
are visible enough to force themselves upon the notice of people who knew the
person both before and after.
In all of these ways and others, this miracle – as Peterexplained in his sermon
– was a sign of spiritual reality and of the salvationof God. That is its great
importance, its greatpoint, the principal reasonwhy it was done. The great
thing was not the man’s physical healing. Disabledpeople go to heaven in
greatnumbers, there to live in wholeness and joy forever. And healthy people
by the vast multitudes fail to find salvationbecause they will not give
obedience to the summons of God. What did Jesus famously say? “What does
it profit a man if he gain the whole world, but lose his soul?” The issue is
always salvationitself, or, as Peterput it here, the forgiveness ofsins and a
share in eternal life. But you can’t see those things with the eye. You can’t tell
by looking at people who is going to heaven and who is not.
And so God gave us pictures of salvation, often very dramatic pictures,
accounts ofthe most fabulous things that ever happened in the history of
mankind. In the ministry of Jesus before his death and in the ministry of Jesus
after his death and resurrection, his miracles served to make clearfor all time
what otherwise could not so easilybe seen:salvation is a work of God’s power
and grace, summoning helpless sinners to new and eternal life, drawing from
them faith and repentance, and changing them in a host of wonderful ways.

171. Now, the challenge of the text: can you see yourselfin that man? I have been a
Christian all my life, but I have no difficulty seeing myself in that man. I can
see myself lying on his mat, unable to move, unable to care for myself, unable
to live life as it was meant to be lived. And I can hear Petertell me, “Rise up
and walk!” Of course I was never paralyzed and was never miraculously
healed. But the greatpicture of salvationthat we find in this miracle, with
that I canidentify absolutely. I was helpless, Christsummoned me, granted
me faith to answerhis summons in obedience, and changedmy life. That is
salvationin the Bible; that is always salvationin the Bible. Can you identify
yourself, canyou see yourself in that man? Can you see yourselfleaping and
dancing for joy for the same reasons he did?
If you can, here is your summons: praise God as that man did. Praise him
every day of your life for what he has done for you. You have more than
enough reasons to praise him as hard and as happily as that man ever did.
And if you cannotyet see yourselfin that man, remember, this actually
happened! This is no fable. It isn’t written as a fable, it doesn’t read as a fable,
and it has no marks of a fable. It is a soberaccountof a fabulous thing that
people witnessedto their utter astonishment. This is serious history! And it
happened to make absolutely clearwhat Jesus and only Jesus cando for us.
So, if you can’t yet see Peterand yourself in this story, give him your
attention, strain to hearPeter’s summons for yourself: “Rise up and walk!”
CHARLES SIMEON
HOLINESS THE GREATEST BLESSING

172. Acts 3:26. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, senthim to
bless you, in turning awayevery one of you from his iniquities.
THE ground on which the Jews rejectedour blessedLord was, that, in their
estimation, he opposedMoses.The Apostle Petertherefore referred to Moses
and the prophets, to shew that Jesus was the very personwhose advent they
had all predicted: and that Moses, in particular, had required them to believe
in Him, as the only possible means of ever obtaining acceptance withGod: “A
prophet shall the Lord God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me:
Him shall ye hear, in all that he shall sayunto you. And it shall come to pass,
that every soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyedfrom
among the people.” Then, in my text, he tells them, that “God, having raised
up his Son Jesus, hadsent him to them first, in order to bless them, in turning
awayevery one of them from their iniquities.” In opening these words, I will
shew,
I. Why Christ was preachedfirst to the Jews—
This was done by a specialappointment of Almighty God,
1. Becausewith them primarily was the covenant made—
[To Abraham and his seedwere the promises given: and the covenantwas
renewedwith Isaac and with Jacob, his lineal descendants. Fromthese the
whole Jewishnation sprang;and consequently they were regardedas heirs of
the blessings whichhad been so limited. To them this privilege had been
confined for two thousand years. The law of Moses, whichforbad all
unnecessaryintercourse with the Gentiles, tended to confirm them in the idea
that the blessings belongedexclusively to them. Our Lord’s own declaration,

173. that he was “sentonly to the lost sheepof the house of Israel;” and his
directions to his Disciples, “notto go into the way of the Gentiles, or into any
city of the Samaritans, but only to the lostsheepof the house of Israel,” yet
further establishedthis sentiment in their minds; and that so strongly, that
they could not divest themselves of the idea, that they were to confine their
ministrations to the Jews. Hence we find, six years after the day of Pentecost,
the Apostle Peter neededrepeatedvisions, and an express revelationfrom
Heaven, to remove his prejudices, and to prevail on him to preach the Gospel
to Cornelius. And so strong was the same prejudice on the minds of all the
Apostles, that in full conclave, as it were, they called him to accountfor going
to a Gentile; and were with difficulty persuaded that, in so doing, he had not
sinned againstGod[Note: Acts 10:15-16;Acts 11:17-18.]. EvenSt. Paul, till
the Jews were incurably obstinate in their rejectionof his message, always
addressedhimself in the first instance to the Jews [Note:Acts 13:46.]: and in
this he conformed to that express command, to “preachthe Gospelunto all
nations, beginning at Jerusalem[Note:Luke 24:47.].” The reasonfor this
preference being shewnthem, is assignedby the Apostle in the verse before
my text: “Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenantwhich God
made with our fathers; and therefore unto you, first, has God sent his Sonto
bless you.
2. Becausethe offer of the Gospelto them, in the first instance, would shew
that Christianity could stand the test of the severestexamination—
[Had it been made to the Gentiles first, the hearers would naturally have said.
“These preachers are vile impostors and deceivers. TheirHead and Leader
has been put to death by the laws of his owncountry; and they come and
persuade us that he was a divine person, dying for the sins of men. If they
could bring any proof of what they say, why do they not persuade their own
people first, and establishtheir religion in the place where these transactions
came to pass? The reasonis obvious: they know that their assertions will not
stand the testof inquiry: and therefore they come to palm their falsehoods

174. upon us, who cannot so easilydetect them.” This would be a reasonable
ground for rejecting all they said. But, when they first of all addressed
themselves to the Jews, who knew all that had taken place, and therefore were
goodjudges of the question before them, it seems atleastthat the preachers of
this strange doctrine defied detection as impostors, and were persuadedof the
truth of their own assertions. Hadthey not fully believed that Jesus was the
Messiah, andthat they could prove it beyond contradiction, they would never
have thought of attempting to convince the very persons who had so lately put
him to death, and the very persons to whom their statements must of necessity
be so galling and offensive. As far as their judgment went, it is clearthey must
have thought their ground tenable againstthe whole world.]
3. Becausethe reception of it amongstthem would stamp its truth beyond
contradiction—
[Within fifty days of our Saviour’s crucifixion, thousands were, by one single
address, convertedto his religion; and from that day forward were multitudes
overpoweredby a convictionthat was irresistible. At last, even their most
bitter enemy, who had sought and laboured to extirpate Christianity,
embracedit, and became the most zealous, active, and successfulofall its
advocates.Could this religion, establishedas it was without human power,
and in the face of the most bitter persecution, be false? Had the powers of this
world been engagedin its favour, or had force been used for the propagation
of it, or had its doctrines sanctionedthe indulgence of our corrupt appetites, it
might possibly have succeeded, as the Mahometan delusion afterwards did.
But it opposedall the passions and prejudices of mankind, and yet prevailed
over them by the mere force of truth and the weight of evidence;and that not
only over the poor and ignorant, but over multitudes who were fully
competent to the task of examining its claims. The receptionof it therefore, by
them, was a public sealto its truth, and a recommendation of it to the very
ends of the earth,]

175. 4. Becausethe rejectionof it justified the Apostles in offering it to the
Gentiles—
[The Apostles, as we have seen, felt a backwardnessto go to the Gentiles:but
the obstinacyof the Jews compelledthem: and this was their apologyfor so
doing [Note: Acts 18:6; Acts 28:28.]. No doubt, if it had so pleasedGod, both
Jews and Gentiles might have grown to any extent upon the same stock. But
God, in his inscrutable wisdom, had determined otherwise:and therefore “the
Jews were brokenoff, that we Gentiles might be graffed in [Note:Romans
11:19.]:” and in this was God’s righteous dealing manifest. As many as would
walk in the steps of Abraham, were receivedto mercy: but when the proffered
mercy was rejectedand despised, the day of mercy closedupon them, and
they were left to reap the fruit of their impenitence and unbelief.]
Our next inquiry must be,
II. What was the blessing which he was sent to impart?
The Jews expecteda temporal Messiah, who should deliver them out of the
hands of all their enemies, and exalt them to a state of unrivalled powerupon
earth. And, no doubt, to those who could see nothing beyond the literal sense
of prophecy, the prophetic writings appeared strongly to justify this
expectation. But this was not God’s purpose respecting them: it was a
spiritual, and not a temporal kingdom, that Christ came to establish. Sin and
Satanwere the enemies that were to be subdued: and a kingdom of
righteousness was to be establishedthroughout the world. Holiness was the
blessing which Christ was sentto impart:
Holiness, I say, was that which Christ was sentto bestow—

176. [He was not only to “make reconciliationfor iniquity, but to make an end of
sin, and to bring in everlasting righteousness[Note:Daniel9:24.].” “He gave
himself for us, that he might redeem us, not merely from perdition, but from
all iniquity also, and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good
works [Note:Titus 2:14.].” In truth, his very name was intended to designate
this specialappointment: “He shall be calledJesus, for he shall save his people
from their sins [Note:Matthew 1:21.].” And the whole Scriptures bear witness
to this, as the great objectwhich he came to accomplish[Note:Ezekiel36:25-
27. Ephesians 5:25-27.]— — —]
And, as it was the end, so has it also invariably been the effect, of the Gospel—
[There canscarcelybe conceiveda more just representation of the Gospeland
its blessings than that which the miracle in the preceding contextaffords us. A
man was lame from his birth. By the Apostle Peterhe was healedin the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And immediately you find the use which be made of
the mercy vouchsafedunto him: “He, leaping up, stood, and walked, and
entered with them into the temple; walking, arid leaping, and praising God
[Note:ver. 8.].” Here you see a man previous to his receptionof the Gospel:
never has he stirred one stepin the ways of God. Here also you behold him as
soonas the word came with power to his soul: in the sight of all, he rises to
newness oflife. The House of God is the first place that he affects, in order
that he may honour his heavenly Benefactor;and there, with a joy unknown
before, he puts forth all his energies in the service of his God. Thus it was in
the day of Pentecost:and thus it will be, though in different degrees, inall who
truly believe in Christ.]
And what is blessedness, if this be not?

177. [If the healing of the man’s body was such a source of joy, what must the
healing of the soulbe? The truth is, that s n is the one source of all the misery
that is upon earth: and the restorationof men to a measure of their pristine
holiness in Paradise will restore them also, in the same proportion, to their
pristine happiness. Holiness, in so far as it is wrought in the soul, is the
commencementof heaven upon earth.]
See then here,
1. What Christianity really is—
[It is thought, by the generality, to be plan devised and executed for the
salvationof men from destruction. But this is a very low and contractedview
of Christianity. It is a plan for the remedying of all the evil which sin has
done: for restoring the Divine image to the soul, as well as for rescuing it from
perdition. I pray you, brethren, to view it in this light; and to remember, that
heaven itself would be no blessing to you, if sin had possessionofyour soul —
— —]
2. What is the blessing now offeredunto you—
[If Jesus was sent, in the first place, to the Jews, he is now sent to you: and the
blessing which he first offeredto them, he now offers to you. It is in this sense
that “men are to be blessedin him; and for this shall all nations call him
blessed[Note:Psalms 72:17.].” Do not, I entreatyou, suffer your minds to be
drawn aside by earthly vanities. What have they everdone for you? or what
can they do? If you were elevatedto the highest rank, and put into possession
of all that the world could give you, what would it all effectin a way of
permanent and solid happiness? You would soonbe forced to give the same

178. testimony respecting it as Solomon did, that it is all “vanity and vexation of
spirit.” But where did you ever find a person give such a testimony respecting
holiness? Where did you ever find a man who was not happy in proportion as
his in-dwelling sins were mortified, and all heavenly graceswere exercisedin
his soul? O that you could be prevailed upon to try what this blessedness is!
You would soonfind that “the peace flowing from religion passethall
understanding,” and that “its joys are unspeakable and glorified.”]
Author: Ray C. Stedman
In Acts, the action book of the New Testament, we are examining the first
miracle in this present age in which we live: The instantaneous healing of a
lame man who, waiting at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, had askedfor
money from Peterand John as they went up to pray. And, you remember,
Peterhad turned and said to him, "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I
have I give to you: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazarethrise up and walk,"
(Acts 3:6 KJV). And taking him by the hand he lifted him up, and the man's
feet and ankles receivedstrength, and he beganto leapand shout and walk
around the temple courts, praising God. Now, Dr. Luke tells us what followed
immediately, beginning in verse elevenof chapter three:
While he clung to Peterand John, all the people ran togetherto them in the
portico calledSolomon's, astounded. And when Petersaw it he addressedthe
people, "Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us,
as though by our own poweror piety we had made him walk?" (Acts 3:11-12
RSV)

179. I hope your imagination can capture this scene. This healed cripple, in his
unbounded joy, is holding onto Peterand John with both arms. They are
trying to getaway, but he will not let them go. The Greek is very strong -- it
means that he clung to them with greatstrength. The people around, seeing
this commotion, rush over to Solomon's porch of the temple, and, recognizing
the former lame man who sat at the Beautiful Gate, they are astonishedat
what has happened to him.
And when Peterlookedat their faces, he saw two things: He saw this
astonishment -- the fact that they were bug-eyed with amazement at what had
happened; and he saw a sense ofreverence for himself and John developing, a
mistakenhero worship. This told him that these people, like many today,
really did not believe in a God who could act in history. Even though this had
followedthe ministry of Jesus, in which they had seenmany miracles like this,
they are absolutely astonishedat this one. And it also told Peterthat they were
ready to substitute a false explanation. They were attributing it somehow to a
possessionofmagicalpowers on the part of Peterand John.
This provides the backgroundfor Peter's address which follows, the message
by which he explains what has happened here. The key to this messageis his
opening words: "Menof Israel..." There is a very definite Hebraic castto
what Peternow says, because he recognizes thatthese people to whom he is
speaking are all Israelites. And, in what he says, you need to underscore the
word "you." "Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this? You should know
better. You ought to know that Godis this kind of a God. He has acted in your
history many times like this. He breaks through suddenly and remarkably
and supernaturally, and you ought to know that. Why do you stare at us as
though we had done this? You Hebrewsoughtto know better than that. After
all, God has used many other men in your history in remarkable ways, and
you should be aware ofthis."

180. I do not think we will understand this passagefully unless we see that Peter
has in mind the backgroundof these people and that he assumes they know
the Scriptures and ought to have anticipatedsomething like this. Beginning
with Verse 13, you have the messagethatPeter gives, and it is a most
remarkable one. It falls very easily into three divisions, and in eachone of
these divisions Peter says something most startling. In the first division he
begins with a series of facts which could do nothing but arouse the guilt of
these people. Now, psychologists todaytell us that the worstthing you can do
in trying to help someone is to arouse a sense ofguilt within them, that if you
make them feel guilty you shut the door to any realhelp to them. But the
remarkable thing about this message is that Peter, without hesitation, moves
to a recital of facts which arouse the guilt of these people:
"The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the Godof our fathers,
glorified his servantJesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence
of Pilate, when he had decidedto release him. But you denied the Holy and
Righteous One, and askedfor a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the
Author of life, whom God raisedfrom the dead. To this we are witnesses."
(Acts 3:13-15 RSV)
We have seenbefore that Christianity always rests upon facts. And here is a
series ofunquestioned facts which Peter puts before these people, in which
they had been deeply and inextricably involved. Notice the contrasthe draws
betweenthe acts of God and the acts of men. He says, "God -- the very God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of your fathers, the God whom you have
worshipped -- God glorified his servant Jesus;but you delivered him up. God
glorified him; you delivered him to be crucified."
"And furthermore, the man to whom you delivered him -- Pilate -- who was a
pagan, Gentile ruler and who did not have the background of theologyor of
the understanding of God's activity that you have, was convincedof his

181. innocence and tried to release him. But you -- you denied him. You people,
who ought to have recognizedhim as One sent from God, denied him, but
Pilate tried to release him."
"And third, the One you denied was the Holy and Righteous One." Here he is
using terms that these Hebrewswouldhave understood, because they come
from the Old Testament. These are names applied to Messiah, and they
recognize his deity, his divine nature, the fact that the One who was coming
would be God himself. Petersays, "You denied the Holy and Righteous One
when he came. Instead, you askedfora murderer to be granted to you. In his
place you demanded that Barabbas be delivered up to you, and he was a
murderer. In other words, you denied the Giver of life, and askedthat a taker
of life be delivered up to you."
"Furthermore," he says, "you killed the Author of life." This is a word that is
better translated the "Pioneer"oflife -- the first One who had life. It is
speaking ofthe resurrectionof Jesus -- the first human being ever
resurrected. Others have been restoredto physical life, but Jesus was the first
ever to rise from the physical life of mankind to a higher level, to resurrected
life. "He is the Pioneerof that life, the first One -- and you killed him. But
God answeredyou by raising him from the dead."
All of these were facts, he says, that were attestedby witnesses -- "We are the
witnesses ofthis." This is striking because, once again, we see that Christian
faith always rests upon well-attested, well-documentedfacts. It is not a
religion of ideas, or mere sentimental hopes that men have had; it rests upon
facts -- the kind of facts which can be attestedto by witnesses,as in a court of
law. This is the way we prove what happens today -- by declaring certain facts
and bringing in certain witnesses to establishthem. This is exactlythe basis
upon which Christian faith always rests. These things happened, and these
people cannotdeny it.

182. As a result, Peter has so laid hold of their hearts that, as on the day of
Pentecost, they are cut to the heart by the conviction of guilt which these facts
arouse. In a sense, everysermon, every message,oughtto be a form of major
surgery like that, which cuts down through all the illusion, the fantasy, and
the dream worlds that we build around ourselves, cuts right through to
reality. To me, that is the joy of Christianity. The conventionalidea -- that
Jesus and the apostles were some misty-eyeddreamers who went about
speaking ofbeautiful worlds and fantastic ideas -- is exploded when you start
reading the Scriptures. There you discoverthat it is Jesus and the apostles
who are the hard-nosed realists, who are always injecting hard truths into a
world ruled by illusion. This is what is happening here.
Now, why would Peterdo a thing like that? Why start out with making these
people feelthis terrible load of guilt? Because,as psychologists correctlytell
us today, guilt is a destructive force in human lives. We cannotlive with guilt.
Every one of us has experiencedit. The fundamental characteristic offallen
man is that he feels guilty. There is not a person in the world who has ever
been free of guilt. It is a very disturbing, unhappy feeling, which we find
moves quickly to produce other emotions. Guilt promptly produces fear. If
you feelguilty, you soonwill begin to feel afraid. Remember when you were
little, and you did things that did not please your parents, and felt guilty about
it? You discoveredimmediately your reactionwas to hide, because youwere
afraid. So guilt always moves to fear, and fear is an unpleasant companion to
live with, too.
And it always moves to something else. It takes one of two courses. Feareither
moves a person to run and hide, to escape insome form, or it moves him to
hostility and resentment and bitterness and anger -- one or the other. If it
moves to escapism, it soonbecomes despair. Because ifyou hide from life, life
soonloses allits colorand all its flavor and all its meaning. This is what is
happening to a whole generationin our day, a generationof young people

183. who, feeling a deep sense of guilt and fear, have tried to escape by means of
drugs or sexor some other channel. This has resulted in a wide blanket of
despair which has settleddown upon humanity everywhere. And despair
becomes destructive of humanity. Life turns off and seems hardly worth the
living, and this results oftentimes in outright self-destruction. If guilt and fear
do not produce escapism, they produce hostility -- a feeling of resentment, of
bitterness. And bitterness produces violence. This is why this generationand
the world in which we live -- of all classes -- is a world either escaping orgiven
to violence. And violence is destructive of the humanness, the humanity of
individuals. So the result is always the same: this deep sense of guilt and fear,
working through channels of escapeand hostility, to end up always in
destruction in one form or another.
Why would Peterwant to awakenthis kind of force in these hearts? The
answeris that, before the guilt and fear which are awakenedby these words
can move on either to escape orhostility, Petermoves to his next point, which
is God's answerto guilt -- and the only answerthere is to guilt in the human
race. Peterdescribes a faith which lays hold of the grace ofGod:
"And his name [the name of Jesus], by faith in his name, has made this man
strong whom you see and know, and the faith which is through Jesus has
given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all." (Acts 3:16 RSV)
What does he mean? Well, he is demonstrating the reactionof God to the guilt
of man. Here is a lame man who is part of this guilty nation. Though he was
handicapped and incapacitatedin himself, yet he was part of this nation which
had rejectedits Messiahand had cried out, "Crucify him! Crucify him!"
when Pilate had wanted to let him go, (Luke 23:21, John 19:6). He was just as
guilty as anyone else in that crowd that day. Yet here he stands in perfect
health, restoredand made whole by God's power. "And," says Peter, "the
ground of his acceptance before God, the only thing that made God do this

184. wonderful thing in his life, was nothing of merit in himself but simply his faith
in the name of Jesus." This is what Peteris getting at. He says, "Godis
demonstrating for you people how he reacts to human guilt. He reacts in love
and grace, onthe basis of the name of Jesus, by faith in the name of Jesus.
That is what made this man whole. Don't look at us; we didn't do it. When we
spoke the name of Jesus, this man believed in the powerand authority and the
work of that name, and immediately there came flowing into his body the
strength his limbs lacked. This is why he now stands here in perfect health
before you, as a demonstration of God's answerto human guilt." And with
"Exhibit A" right there before their eyes, he goes on now to declare to them
what can be the result in their lives:
"And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your
rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ
should suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn again, [literally]
unto the blotting out of your sins, that times of refreshing may come from the
presence ofthe Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you,
Jesus, whomheaven must receive until the time for establishing all that God
spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old." (Acts 3:17-21 RSV)
Here Peteris declaring that God's answerto man's guilt, God's answerto
man's condemnation of his Son and rejection of the Lord of life, is a
forgiveness and a restorationwhich takes into accountman's ignorant
blindness. Peteris saying to these men, "As God sees whatyou did, he sees it
not as the deliberate actof a perverted and twisted will trying to strike back
againsthim; he sees it as the blundering actignorant minds that did not
realize what they were doing." I wonder if, in these words, we do not have an
echo of Peter's memory of those words he heard from Jesus on the cross:
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do..." (Luke 23:34).
Perhaps nowhere else in Scripture do we see more clearly how God sees man.
He sees him as ignorant, as blind and stupid, blundering along in his
darkness, not knowing what he is doing.

185. This is the problem today, is it not? Is this not what all the events of our time
are bringing sharply to a focus in our lives -- that we do not know what we are
doing in trying to run this world? We do not know what we are doing in
trying to run our own lives. How many people have said to me, "Oh, I had no
idea what I was doing! I look back now and all of a sudden I discoverthat all
my sincere efforts to do what I thought to be right were wrong, and I've
loused everything up!" Well, that is exactly what God expects of us. That is
what he has been trying to tell us all along. You see, it is only man's pride that
starts boasting about all his achievements while ignoring his weakness andhis
folly and his atrocious blunders that he makes in all areas of life. But God's
grace is revealedby the fact that he is ready to write it off on that basis and
say, "I know that you didn't mean to; you're just blind, stupid." Somebody
passedalong to me this week a very revealing clipping from Herb Caen's
column in the SanFrancisco Chronicle, in which he is recounting the
problems, the dilemmas, that this present generationfaces. Among other
things, he writes,
Our well-meaning generationis living and learning the hard way. Even the
Welfare State is a disaster. When you see the people jammed into buses being
jolted home after a hard day's work, you can understand their unreasonable
angerat people on relief. When we see yet another skyscraperrising we look
at it with foreboding. Once we were thrilled and delighted with our growing
skyline, eachnew building a cause for celebrationand selfcongratulations.
And now we see it for what it is: a rising menace that almostliterally scrapes
the skyout of existence. We sympathize sincerelyand generouslywith blacks,
the people trapped in ghettos, the starving and the hopeless. And yet
everything we try to do turns out ill-advised, insulting, condescending, orso
far wide of the mark as to be pointless. There are still those, nevertheless, who
wonder why our generationdrinks so much.

186. This is what Peteris saying. This is humanity -- ignorant, blind, stumbling
along, patting itself on the back, priding itself on its achievement, and yet
making the most atrocious blunders, all of which catchup with us soonerof
later. Notonly in the realm of politics and economics is this true, but even in
the realm of ecology-- so that every time we flush the toilet something terrible
happens to our ecology!"And yet," says Peter, "whatGod foretold by the
mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer, he thus fulfilled."
That is, by the means of human stupidity and ignorance, God's purposes were
nevertheless workedout. That is grace, is it not -- that through all the
blindness and the folly, the foolishness ofhuman life, God is still working out
his purposes?
And now Petergoes onto announce what they are: "Repenttherefore, and
turn again, unto the blotting out of your sins" -- and two greatthings will
happen: "times of refreshing will come from the face of the Father," and "he
will ultimately send Jesus Christ unto you to restore all the things which were
spokenby the mouth of God's holy prophets from of old." That is a
remarkable statement. Peteris looking down the course of the whole age, and
he says, "Here are the principles by which God is going to operate:Wherever
there is a turning back to him, there is immediately a dealing with the
problem of guilt. God blots out sins."
I do not know anything more difficult to getpeople to believe than that. It is
amazing how many Christians have heard all their lives that Godforgives
their sins, blots out their sins, deals with this great problem of guilt which is at
the rootof all human ill -- and yet they still do not believe it! They are still
trying in some way to work out some standing or merit before God, or to do
something in themselves which will make themselves acceptable to him. But
Petersays God arouses guilt only because he has the solution to it, and that is
the blotting out of sins in the name of Jesus. Faithin the name of Jesus blots
out your sins. "And from that," Petersays, "two things will happen: first,
there will come times of refreshing," i.e., periods in human history which will

187. be characterizedby relative peace and prosperity, times of order and joy and
happiness and relative contentment in society. We need only to look back
through history to see how true this is:
After the spiritual awakening ofthe Wesleys, Englandwas savedfrom the
disasterof revolution which the Frenchhad just gone through. The country
was turned around, and there emergeda period of relative prosperity and joy
and contentment. There were still many problems, granted, but it was a time
of refreshing. And there have been other such times in history. The Protestant
reformation in Germany under Martin Luther was sucha time. And other
times have been recorded. But these times of refreshing, seasons ofrefreshing,
come only when a people turns to God and seeksthe blotting out of sin.
"Furthermore," says Peter, "it will result, ultimately, in the return of Jesus
Christ." That is, only when God's people turn back to him, ultimately, is God
going to return his Sonagain from heaven. That is very, very significant. It
confirms what I have long suspectedfrom the Scriptures -- that when Jesus
Christ returns again, he is not coming back in a time of a low ebb of faith. He
is not coming when faith is almostburned out and God's people are going
through a time of barrenness, a spiritual desert. Rather, he is going to come
back at the height of an awakening, a time when God's people have returned
to him, and there has been a blotting out of sins, and there is a release ofthe
fullness of the powerof the Spirit. In the midst of that, Jesus Christ will
return. The world around will be barren and disconsolate, despairing;but
there will be a time of life and vitality on the part of the people of God. Peter
closes withthis appeal to act:
"Mosessaid, 'The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet from your
brethren as he raisedme up. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you.
And it shall be that every soul that does not listen to that prophet shall be
destroyedfrom the people.' And all the prophets who have spoken, from

188. Samuel and those who came afterwards, also proclaimedthese days. You are
the sons of the prophets and of the covenantwhich God gave to your fathers,
saying to Abraham, 'And in your posterity shall all the families of the earth be
blessed.'God, having raisedup his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you
in turning every one of you from your wickedness."(Acts 3:22-26 RSV)
Paul tells us that, historically, the gospelwas to go to the Jew first and then to
the Gentile. And that is the program which is followedin the book of Acts.
Soonit will turn to the Gentile world, for in Christ there is neither Jew nor
Gentile; they all come on the same ground. But Peter's argument is, "Look,
you are Jews. You know the prophets, you have been reading them. And your
own Scriptures urge you to believe in Jesus." Peterbrings it home with a
personalemphasis: "Godhas sent him to you to turn you from your
wickedness."
I wonder if Peterdid not learn all this knowledge ofthe Old Testament
application to the Christian life from what Jesus taught him during those
forty days after his resurrection, when he opened their minds to understand
the Scriptures and, "beginning with Mosesand all the prophets, he
interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself..."
(Luke 24:27 RSV). Peteris really recounting those words here. And he is
saying, "The final issue is this, and eachof you must settle it for himself: Will
you allow God to turn you from your wickedness?" Willyou begin at the
place where Godbegins -- not out at the periphery of life, clearing up a few
surface problems, but right at the heart, with your problem of guilt,with your
lack of acceptanceofyourself before God, with your sense of inadequacy and
inferiority -- and deal with that before Jesus Christand, in the name of Jesus,
believe that God loves you and receives you and makes you his own, and you
are privileged to live as his child, his son, in the midst of this present life? That
is where Peterleaves the issue. Perhaps you would like to answerthis question
Peterleaves with us: What are you doing with Jesus? Willyou allow God to
turn you from your wickedness -- in the name of Jesus?

189. Prayer
Our Father, thank you for these searching words. We see the truth of them,
and we know that all of Scripture stands behind this greatproclamation --
that you are eagerto deliver men and women from their sins. May there be
some who, right now, will turn in faith to the Lord Jesus and, receiving him,
begin that marvelous process ofbeing turned from wickedness, thatprocess
which restores humanity and makes possible the fulfillment of all the hopes
and dreams of every heart. We ask in Jesus'name, Amen.
CHARLES SIMEON
HOLINESS THE GREATEST BLESSING
Acts 3:26. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, senthim to
bless you, in turning awayevery one of you from his iniquities.
THE ground on which the Jews rejectedour blessedLord was, that, in their
estimation, he opposedMoses.The Apostle Petertherefore referred to Moses
and the prophets, to shew that Jesus was the very personwhose advent they
had all predicted: and that Moses, in particular, had required them to believe
in Him, as the only possible means of ever obtaining acceptance withGod: “A
prophet shall the Lord God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me:
Him shall ye hear, in all that he shall sayunto you. And it shall come to pass,
that every soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyedfrom
among the people.” Then, in my text, he tells them, that “God, having raised
up his Son Jesus, hadsent him to them first, in order to bless them, in turning

190. awayevery one of them from their iniquities.” In opening these words, I will
shew,
I. Why Christ was preachedfirst to the Jews—
This was done by a specialappointment of Almighty God,
1. Becausewith them primarily was the covenant made—
[To Abraham and his seedwere the promises given: and the covenantwas
renewedwith Isaac and with Jacob, his lineal descendants. Fromthese the
whole Jewishnation sprang;and consequently they were regardedas heirs of
the blessings whichhad been so limited. To them this privilege had been
confined for two thousand years. The law of Moses, whichforbad all
unnecessaryintercourse with the Gentiles, tended to confirm them in the idea
that the blessings belongedexclusively to them. Our Lord’s own declaration,
that he was “sentonly to the lost sheepof the house of Israel;” and his
directions to his Disciples, “notto go into the way of the Gentiles, or into any
city of the Samaritans, but only to the lostsheepof the house of Israel,” yet
further establishedthis sentiment in their minds; and that so strongly, that
they could not divest themselves of the idea, that they were to confine their
ministrations to the Jews. Hence we find, six years after the day of Pentecost,
the Apostle Peter neededrepeatedvisions, and an express revelationfrom
Heaven, to remove his prejudices, and to prevail on him to preach the Gospel
to Cornelius. And so strong was the same prejudice on the minds of all the
Apostles, that in full conclave, as it were, they called him to accountfor going
to a Gentile; and were with difficulty persuaded that, in so doing, he had not
sinned againstGod[Note: Acts 10:15-16;Acts 11:17-18.]. EvenSt. Paul, till
the Jews were incurably obstinate in their rejectionof his message, always
addressedhimself in the first instance to the Jews [Note:Acts 13:46.]: and in

191. this he conformed to that express command, to “preachthe Gospelunto all
nations, beginning at Jerusalem[Note:Luke 24:47.].” The reasonfor this
preference being shewnthem, is assignedby the Apostle in the verse before
my text: “Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenantwhich God
made with our fathers; and therefore unto you, first, has God sent his Sonto
bless you.
2. Becausethe offer of the Gospelto them, in the first instance, would shew
that Christianity could stand the test of the severestexamination—
[Had it been made to the Gentiles first, the hearers would naturally have said.
“These preachers are vile impostors and deceivers. TheirHead and Leader
has been put to death by the laws of his owncountry; and they come and
persuade us that he was a divine person, dying for the sins of men. If they
could bring any proof of what they say, why do they not persuade their own
people first, and establishtheir religion in the place where these transactions
came to pass? The reasonis obvious: they know that their assertions will not
stand the testof inquiry: and therefore they come to palm their falsehoods
upon us, who cannot so easilydetect them.” This would be a reasonable
ground for rejecting all they said. But, when they first of all addressed
themselves to the Jews, who knew all that had taken place, and therefore were
goodjudges of the question before them, it seems atleastthat the preachers of
this strange doctrine defied detectionas impostors, and were persuadedof the
truth of their own assertions. Hadthey not fully believed that Jesus was the
Messiah, andthat they could prove it beyond contradiction, they would never
have thought of attempting to convince the very persons who had so lately put
him to death, and the very persons to whom their statements must of necessity
be so galling and offensive. As far as their judgment went, it is clearthey must
have thought their ground tenable againstthe whole world.]

192. 3. Becausethe reception of it amongstthem would stamp its truth beyond
contradiction—
[Within fifty days of our Saviour’s crucifixion, thousands were, by one single
address, convertedto his religion; and from that day forward were multitudes
overpoweredby a convictionthat was irresistible. At last, even their most
bitter enemy, who had sought and laboured to extirpate Christianity,
embracedit, and became the most zealous, active, and successfulofall its
advocates.Could this religion, establishedas it was without human power,
and in the face of the most bitter persecution, be false? Had the powers of this
world been engagedin its favour, or had force been used for the propagation
of it, or had its doctrines sanctionedthe indulgence of our corrupt appetites, it
might possibly have succeeded, as the Mahometan delusion afterwards did.
But it opposedall the passions and prejudices of mankind, and yet prevailed
over them by the mere force of truth and the weight of evidence;and that not
only over the poor and ignorant, but over multitudes who were fully
competent to the task of examining its claims. The receptionof it therefore, by
them, was a public sealto its truth, and a recommendation of it to the very
ends of the earth,]
4. Becausethe rejectionof it justified the Apostles in offering it to the
Gentiles—
[The Apostles, as we have seen, felt a backwardnessto go to the Gentiles:but
the obstinacyof the Jews compelledthem: and this was their apologyfor so
doing [Note: Acts 18:6; Acts 28:28.]. No doubt, if it had so pleasedGod, both
Jews and Gentiles might have grown to any extent upon the same stock. But
God, in his inscrutable wisdom, had determined otherwise:and therefore “the
Jews were brokenoff, that we Gentiles might be graffed in [Note:Romans
11:19.]:” and in this was God’s righteous dealing manifest. As many as would
walk in the steps of Abraham, were receivedto mercy: but when the proffered

193. mercy was rejectedand despised, the day of mercy closedupon them, and
they were left to reap the fruit of their impenitence and unbelief.]
Our next inquiry must be,
II. What was the blessing which he was sent to impart?
The Jews expecteda temporal Messiah, who should deliver them out of the
hands of all their enemies, and exalt them to a state of unrivalled powerupon
earth. And, no doubt, to those who could see nothing beyond the literal sense
of prophecy, the prophetic writings appeared strongly to justify this
expectation. But this was not God’s purpose respecting them: it was a
spiritual, and not a temporal kingdom, that Christ came to establish. Sin and
Satanwere the enemies that were to be subdued: and a kingdom of
righteousness was to be establishedthroughout the world. Holiness was the
blessing which Christ was sentto impart:
Holiness, I say, was that which Christ was sentto bestow—
[He was not only to “make reconciliationfor iniquity, but to make an end of
sin, and to bring in everlasting righteousness[Note:Daniel9:24.].” “He gave
himself for us, that he might redeem us, not merely from perdition, but from
all iniquity also, and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good
works [Note:Titus 2:14.].” In truth, his very name was intended to designate
this specialappointment: “He shall be calledJesus, for he shall save his people
from their sins [Note:Matthew 1:21.].” And the whole Scriptures bear witness
to this, as the great objectwhich he came to accomplish[Note:Ezekiel36:25-
27. Ephesians 5:25-27.]— — —]

194. And, as it was the end, so has it also invariably been the effect, of the Gospel—
[There canscarcelybe conceiveda more just representationof the Gospeland
its blessings than that which the miracle in the preceding contextaffords us. A
man was lame from his birth. By the Apostle Peterhe was healedin the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And immediately you find the use which be made of
the mercy vouchsafedunto him: “He, leaping up, stood, and walked, and
entered with them into the temple; walking, arid leaping, and praising God
[Note:ver. 8.].” Here you see a man previous to his receptionof the Gospel:
never has he stirred one stepin the ways of God. Here also you behold him as
soonas the word came with power to his soul: in the sight of all, he rises to
newness oflife. The House of God is the first place that he affects, in order
that he may honour his heavenly Benefactor;and there, with a joy unknown
before, he puts forth all his energies in the service of his God. Thus it was in
the day of Pentecost:and thus it will be, though in different degrees, inall who
truly believe in Christ.]
And what is blessedness, if this be not?
[If the healing of the man’s body was such a source of joy, what must the
healing of the soulbe? The truth is, that s n is the one source of all the misery
that is upon earth: and the restorationof men to a measure of their pristine
holiness in Paradise will restore them also, in the same proportion, to their
pristine happiness. Holiness, in so far as it is wrought in the soul, is the
commencementof heaven upon earth.]
See then here,
1. What Christianity really is—

195. [It is thought, by the generality, to be plan devised and executed for the
salvationof men from destruction. But this is a very low and contractedview
of Christianity. It is a plan for the remedying of all the evil which sin has
done: for restoring the Divine image to the soul, as well as for rescuing it from
perdition. I pray you, brethren, to view it in this light; and to remember, that
heaven itself would be no blessing to you, if sin had possessionofyour soul —
— —]
2. What is the blessing now offeredunto you—
[If Jesus was sent, in the first place, to the Jews, he is now sent to you: and the
blessing which he first offeredto them, he now offers to you. It is in this sense
that “men are to be blessedin him; and for this shall all nations call him
blessed[Note:Psalms 72:17.].” Do not, I entreatyou, suffer your minds to be
drawn aside by earthly vanities. What have they everdone for you? or what
can they do? If you were elevatedto the highest rank, and put into possession
of all that the world could give you, what would it all effectin a way of
permanent and solid happiness? You would soonbe forced to give the same
testimony respecting it as Solomon did, that it is all “vanity and vexation of
spirit.” But where did you ever find a person give such a testimony respecting
holiness? Where did you ever find a man who was not happy in proportion as
his in-dwelling sins were mortified, and all heavenly graceswere exercisedin
his soul? O that you could be prevailed upon to try what this blessednessis!
You would soonfind that “the peace flowing from religion passethall
understanding,” and that “its joys are unspeakable and glorified.”]