Beloved, I am pleased to share with you today the above theme from Acts 3:13. Indeed, what Peter presents in the rest of his speech was of paramount importance to the people. For his acceptance or refusal depended on his blessing or ruin. And he chose ruin, because man does not know how to do anything else if God leaves him to his responsibility. For by virtue of this prayer, God through the mouth of Peter, offers them to repent so that the Lord may return from heaven and bring them the blessings they had deprived themselves of by putting Him to death: “And now, brethren, I know that you and your leaders have acted out of ignorance. But in this way God fulfilled what He had announced in advance through the mouths of all His prophets, that His Christ was to suffer.”
Indeed, they bear full responsibility for their unspeakable act. They delivered him, not so that God might fulfill his purposes of grace through the death of his Son, but to satisfy their hatred against him, against God whose manifestation he was in grace, because they could no longer bear him in their midst. At the same time, by his death, he was fulfilling God’s purposes for the salvation of sinners. Men have nothing to do with this. God chose the moment when their hatred, when their sin, was at its peak to manifest His perfect love that wanted to save them. That is why Jesus had to suffer from God the judgment due to sin.
If, then, the Jews had repented and converted, the Lord would have come down from heaven to establish His reign, what Peter calls “the times of refreshment before the Lord, of which all the prophets had spoken.” And Peter again quotes to them Moses, the most revered of the prophets, who had spoken of Jesus, as well as of the consequences that threatened the indifferent: “Moses already said: The Lord, your God, will raise up a prophet like me from among your brethren; you will listen to him in everything he tells you, and whoever does not listen to this prophet will be exterminated from the midst of the people (Dt 18:15-19). And he adds:”All the prophets who have spoken successively, since Samuel, have also announced those days.”
It was therefore necessary to be blinded by the spirit of disbelief not to understand. For the prophets had foresaold the coming of Christ and the blessings that would come with it; but we had to receive it. And it was to them that these prophecies were addressed. Peter said to them,”You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God dealt with our fathers, saying to Abraham: All the families of the earth will be blessed in your seed. It is to you first that God, having raised up His servant, sent Him to bless you, turning each of you away from His iniquities. Indeed, everything in this speech was apt to touch the hearts of the people and open their eyes.
For God had made a covenant with Abraham; it relied on God’s faithfulness to accomplish it. This faithful God had sent his Anointed for this; but he could do nothing as long as the Jews remained in their unbelief; they had to repent. That is why the Lord had exhorted them to turn away from their wickedness. God had sent John the baptizer before Him, who had said to them, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Mt 3:2); but in vain. Instead of listening to him, they killed him. And the Messiah could not establish on sinners the reign of justice, for it would have caused them all to perish. Speaking of the millennial reign, it is said:”Every morning I will annihilate all the wicked of the land, in order to exterminate from the city of the Lord All those who commit iniquity(Ps 101:8).
Even today we would like a God who satisfies the desires of men, spares them the consequences of sin, transforms this world into a paradise, according to their will. If this were so, men would believe in him; but this God they would like is not the one Jesus came to reveal: a God who is love, at the same time just and holy, whose eyes are too pure to see evil. So to maintain what God is, in the midst of a defiled and lost world, it was necessary the cross where God’s righteousness against sin was satisfied, his holiness maintained by the judgment that the Lord suffered, so that God’s love could be known to sinners.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
- Beloved Son:
Mt 3:17 And behold, a voice made these words heard from heaven: This is my beloved Son, in whom I have placed all my affection. Mt 12:18 This is my servant whom I have chosen, My beloved in whom my soul has taken pleasure. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim righteousness to the nations. Mk 1:11 And a voice made these words heard from heaven: You are my beloved Son, in you I have put all my affection. Eph 1:6 to praise the glory of His grace which He has granted us in His beloved. Col 1:13 who delivered us from the power of darkness and carried us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. Heb 5:5 Nor did Christ take the glory of becoming a high priest, but he took it from the one who said to him: You are my Son, I have begotten you today! 2 Pet 1:17 For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when the magnificent glory made him hear a voice that said: This is my beloved Son, in whom I have placed all my affection.
- Glorified Christ
-Seen at the time of the transfiguration: Mk 9:2-3 Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him, and led them alone to the sidelines on a high mountain. He was transfigured before them; 3 his clothes became resplendent, and of such whiteness that there is no fuller on earth who can whiten in this way.
-Described by himself: Jn 1:51 And he said to him: Truely, in truth, you will henceforth see the open heaven and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
-Appeared during Paul’s conversation: Acts 9:4-5 He fell to the ground, and he heard a voice that said to him: Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? 5 He answered: Who are you, Lord? And the Lord said: I am Jesus whom you persecute. It would be hard for you to rebel against the prods.
-Described by John: Rev 1:13-16 and, in the midst of the seven candlesticks, someone who looked like a son of a man, dressed in a long robe, and having a golden belt on his chest. 4 His head and hair were white as white wool, like snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire; 5 his feet were like burning brass, as if he had been set ablaze in a furnace; and his voice was like the sound of great waters. 6 He had seven stars in his right hand. From his mouth came out a sharp, two-edged sword; and his face was like the sun when it shines in its strength. (Rev 14:14 I looked, and behold, there was a white cloud, and on the cloud sat someone who looked like a son of a man, having on his head a crown of gold, and in his hand a sharp sickle. Rev 19:11-12 Then I saw the open sky, and behold, a white horse appeared. The one who mounted it is called Faithful and True, and he judges and fights with justice. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire; on his head were several tiaras; he had a written name, which no one knows except himself;
- Pontius Pilate Roman governor of Judea:
Mt 27:2, 13, 24 After bound him, they took him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate, the governor. 13 Then Pilate said to him: Do you not hear how many things they accuse you of? 24 Pilate, seeing that he gained nothing, but that the tumult was increasing, took water, washed his hands in the presence of the crowd, and said: I am innocent of the blood of this righteous. It’s up to you. Mk 15:2: 15 Pilate asked him: Are you the king of the Jews? Jesus answered him: You say it. 15 Pilate, wanting to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and, after having Jesus beaten with rods, he delivered him to be crucified. Lk 3:1 The fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, -when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the territory of Trachonite, Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene; Lk 13:1 At the same time, some people who were there were telling Jesus what had happened to the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with that of their sacrifices. Lk 2:4, 12 Joseph also ascended from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Go to Judea, to the city of David, called Bethlehem, because he was of David’s house and family, 12 And here is what sign you will recognize him: you will find a child swaddled and lying in a manger. Jn 18:35 Pilate answered: Am I a Jew? Your nation and the chief priests have delivered you to me: what have you done? Jn 19:1, 8, 22 Then Pilate took Jesus, and made him beat with rods. 8 When Pilate heard this word, his fear increased. 22 Pilate replied: What I have written, I have written.
The sovereign who sought to flee from responsibility during christ’s trial:
+by putting it in the hands of the Jewish authorities: Jn 18:31 On what Pilate said to them: Take it yourselves, and judge it according to your law. The Jews said to him: We are not allowed to put anyone to death.
Sending it to Herod: Lk 23:7 and, having learned that he was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him back to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem in those days.
+proposing to impose a minimal penalty on him: Lk 23:22 Pilate said to them for the third time: What harm has he done? I have found nothing in him that deserves death. So, I will release him, after having him beat with yards.
Drawing attention to Barabbas: Mt 27:17 As they were assembled, Pilate said to them: Which one do you want me to release you, Barabbas, or Jesus, who is called Christ?
+by conducting a hypocritical ceremony: Mt 27:24 Pilate, seeing that he gained nothing, but that the tumult was increasing, took water, washed his hands in the presence of the crowd, and said: I am innocent of the blood of this righteous. It’s up to you.
- Deny Christ:
Mt 10:33 but whoever denies me before men, I will also deny it before my Father who is in heaven. Mt 26:34, 69, 70 Jesus said to him: I tell you in truth, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. 69 However, Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A maid approached him, and said: You too were with Jesus the Galilean. 70 But he denied it before all, saying: I don’t know what you mean. Mk 8:38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in the midst of this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of man will also be ashamed of him, when he comes in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels. Acts 3:14 You have denied the Holy and the Just, and you have asked to be granted the grace of a murderer. 2 Tim 2:12 if we persevere, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He too will deny us; 2 P 2:1 There have been false prophets among the people, and there will likewise be false teachers among you, who will introduce pernicious sects, and who, denying the master who redeemed them, will draw upon them a sudden ruin. 1 Jn 2:22 Who is a liar, if not one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This one is the antichrist, who denies the Father and the Son.
- Christ without sin
Isa 53:9 His tomb was placed among the wicked, His tomb with the rich, though he would not have committed violence and there would be no fraud in his mouth. John 8:46 Who of you will convince me of sin? If I tell the truth, why don’t you believe me? 2 Co 5:21 He who has not known sin, he has made it sin for us, so that we may become in him righteousness of God. Heb 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses; on the contrary, he has been tempted like us in all things, without committing sin. Heb 7:26 It was appropriate for us, in fact, to have a high priest like him, holy, innocent, spotless, separated from sinners, and higher than heaven;1 Peter 1:19 but by the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without blemish;1 Peter 2:22 He who has not committed sin, and in whose mouth there has been no fraud.
From all the above, we note that what Peter presents in the rest of his speech was of paramount importance to the people. For his acceptance or refusal depended on his blessing or ruin. For he said to them well: “Repent and convert, that your sins may be blotted out,” that “times of refreshment may come… and that he sends Jesus Christ…” But the refusal of this call was consummated by the murder of Stephen, resulting in the rejection of the Jews until they said: “Blessed be he who comes in the name of the Lord” (Mt 23:39). From then on the Gospel was proclaimed to all, first to the Jews and then to the Greeks. And individually, every Jew could receive the Lord and be saved, for if he believed, he was no longer part of his people whom God had set aside; but it belonged to the Church whom the Lord would come to seek before resuming his relations with Israel and establishing his reign on earth. Our prayers sustain you all in your efforts to be part of His Church.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite anyone who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me as follows:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I acknowledge that I have sinned against you and ask forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as my Lord and personal Savior. I acknowledge that you died on the cross of Calvary and that you rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me each day to eternal life you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal to me and strengthen my heart and my faith so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me in your divine family so that I too can contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
To you all worship, power, and glory, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you in a while on “John and Peter arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.