Real Restoration: Acts: Peter Addresses the Temple Crowd

Peter and John healed a beggar outside the Temple gate. A crowd gathered in amazement, and Peter delivered a sermon on the spot —

The guilt of the crowd

(Act 3:12-26 ESV) 12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?  13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him.  14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,  15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.”

Again, Peter accuses the crowd — “you” — of denying Jesus and causing his crucifixion. Obviously, not everyone there at the Temple was also present when Jesus was tried. Nor were all personally guilty of demanding “Crucify him!” And yet Peter says “you killed the Author of life.”

To modern ears, this seems impossibly unfair. Guilt is personal. And as a rule, the scriptures speak in terms of personal guilt. But Peter’s point isn’t that the Jewish race is guilty of the blood of Jesus.

No, Peter’s point is that it happened. You know it happened. And now you must make the decision forced by those events. Either you agree with the crowd or you don’t! Were they right to cry for Jesus’ crucifixion? Or were they wrong? You can’t ignore the question. And your answer has eternal consequences.

The resurrection

Peter asserts that God glorified Jesus by raising him from the dead. The resurrection is the centerpiece of Peter’s sermon.

16 “And his name–by faith in his name–has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

Faith

Peter says the beggar was healed by “faith in his name” — but it was the faith of Peter and John, not the beggar, that made it possible. Faith empowers the believer to do good works. Faith changes the believer so that he can serve others.

17 “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers.

Peter then grants that his audience acted in ignorance. He even makes that concession for the Jewish rulers. They certainly knew they were putting Jesus to death and that Jesus claimed to be the Messiah!

God’s foreknowledge

18 “But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled.

Indeed, Peter says, it had to happen this way, because God intended that Jesus be crucified.

Repentance

19 “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out,  20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus,  21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.

Peter therefore demands repentance: “Prove you really acted in ignorance and do the right thing. If you refuse, you are no longer ignorant and you’ll suffer the consequences!”

Those who repent will have their sins forgiven. “Blotted out” refers to —

(Isa 43:25 ESV)  25 “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.

(Isa 44:22 ESV)  22 I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.

“Times of refreshing” translates an unusual word, found only in —

(Exo 8:15 ESV)  15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.

The thought seems to be “repent so that you may be free from fear of God’s wrath — or else suffer Pharaoh’s fate!”

The Second Coming

“That he may send the Christ” is certainly a reference to the Second Coming — following a time while Jesus remains in heaven.

Jesus is the Messiah

22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you.  23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’  24 And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days.

Peter now refers to familiar Messianic prophecies, beginning with Deuteronomy.

25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’  26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

Peter concludes by referring to God’s covenant with Abraham. Jesus fulfills that covenant! Peter hints that the nations will be brought into the Kingdom, but that the Jews must first be invited in. God’s goal is that “every one of you” turn away from “wickedness” so that God can bless them.

Summary

Again, this sermon is not like modern gospel sermons. Peter pulls no punches —

1. Either accept Jesus through repentance or else be guilty of his crucifixion.

2. Jesus is proven to be the Messiah by the resurrection.

3. Jesus has ascended to heaven.

4. God performs miracles by the power of faith in Jesus.

5. Faith in Jesus will produce forgiveness of sins.

6. If you don’t have faith, you’ll suffer the wrath of God — even though you acted in ignorance.

7. God sees the unconverted as wicked, and the solution is penitence and faith.

Notice how central to Peter’s preaching is the resurrection. The resurrection proves Jesus to the be the Messiah and favored of God. The resurrection proves the crucifixion to have been wrong.

Moreover, notice how Peter always alludes to the Ascension. The Ascension proves that Jesus is approve of God and now in heaven at God’s right hand.

Finally, Peter demands not a prayer or a baptism. He demands a radical change in worldview in the form of repentance — not merely no longer sinning but a change of loyalties and acceptance of a new reality — that God sees them as “wicked” unless they accept that Jesus is the Christ and Lord. Indeed, refusing to repent is to be wicked because refusing to repent is to participate in the crucifixion.

Now, this is not to minimize baptism so much as to return the focus to the Spirit’s focus. We include “repent” in our “five step” plan, but we fail to give the word its full scriptural significance. It’s about leaving your old life and choosing to enter into the Kingdom, where Jesus is the only King and loyalty is exclusively to Jesus. It’s about living the life Jesus spoke about in the parables and the Sermon the Mount.

This is much bigger than merely becoming more moral and attending church. It’s a call for a radical rethinking of the nature of life. Indeed, it’s a call to join Jesus on his cross so God can raise us up.