Acts 3:11-26
11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's. 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. 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.
17 “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. 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. 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. 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.”
Reflection
As people marvel at the power of the apostles, Peter immediately redirects their gaze to Jesus Christ: everything is about Jesus, whom God has glorified by raising him from the dead. Peter insists that this miraculous healing is the work of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Acts 3:13). Even though they have failed to honor God’s Messiah and are filled with sin that deserves judgment, God nevertheless continues to call them back to himself for the ultimate refreshment (v. 20).
Moses spoke of the promised Messiah as one who would be “a prophet like me” (Deut. 18:15, 18; cf. Acts 3:22). Not only Moses but “all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him” had foretold the coming of Jesus in “these days” (v. 24). Peter makes it personal for his Jewish brothers and sisters, reminding them that “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’ ” (v. 25). Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s plan of salvation from the beginning. He is the fulfillment of the promises God made to Abraham and his offspring. Now the promised descendant has come, as Peter says, “to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness” (v. 26). He urges the crowd to respond by turning from sin so that they can receive “refreshing . . . from the presence of the Lord” (v. 20). Though they are guilty of killing the promised Messiah, God is not seeking to punish them, but instead he wants to bless and restore them. Marvelous grace!
2 Peter 1:1-11
1: Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Reflection
God has left nothing to chance. He knew he was calling messy sinners to himself, so he has “granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” by the “divine power” that comes through a genuine relationship with Jesus our Lord (2 Pet. 1:3). In Christ we have everything we need to live a life that honors God.
But how? How do we live such a life, given the tendency of our heart to wander toward sin and failure? Peter tells us it is through “his precious and very great promises” that believers become “partakers of the divine nature” (v. 4). As we receive, believe, and are changed by the abundant promises of God in the gospel, we begin transforming into the men and women we were created to be. As children of God, we are freed from the bondage of sin and are now able to glorify our Lord in all that pertains to life and godliness. Therefore, we must “make every effort” (v. 5) to live out the qualities that mark us as the people of God (vv. 8–9). We must remember the gospel (v. 9), and demonstrate the reality of our transformed hearts. What we do should flow from who we now are.
Psalm 119:123
123 My eyes long for your salvation and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise.
Take hold of God’s promises to you in the Bible, praying through them for the encouragement and growth of your faith.