Act 3:14-17 | KingComments | STEP | Peter uses the attention for this work of power to focus on the Worker of it, the Lord Jesus. With this in mind, this miracle has also happened. Unlike Simon the sorcerer who said of himself that he was a great man ( ), Peter rejects all honor (cf. ; cf. ) and gives all honor to the Lord Jesus (cf. ). People are immediately inclined to honor a visible person, a creature, and not the unseen God, the Creator. This is the essence of idolatry. Only God and the Son of God are entitled to be honored. As God honors the Son, we must honor Him. Peter therefore begins his third speech by removing a wrong impression. In Acts 2 he also starts his second speech with this. There it concerns the wrong impression that speaking in languages would be drunk talk. Here the wrong impression that needs to be taken away, is that they have made the man healthy. Peter points out that it is not by their power that the man can now walk. He adds that their piety is not the cause of the healing either. Their reverence for God does not give them any advantage with Him, as if He would give them a little honor that belongs to Him alone. He says that nothing in them has made any contribution to the healing. It is exclusively the work of Jesus Christ, about Whom he is going to speak next. He does this by pointing out the appreciation God has for Him. He calls God by the Name that reminds us of the promises He made to each of the patriarchs individually. Those promises have as a central theme that He would send His Son, the Christ, to fulfill all promises. Well, God has sent Him. Peter calls the Lord Jesus “His servant Jesus” (cf. ). This indicates that the Lord Jesus served God on earth. But what contrast there is between the appreciation that God has for His Son and the appreciation that the people have for Him. The people have not acknowledged Him as the Christ of God and have handed Him over to the authority of the government as a criminal. Pilate, the representative of that authority, testified several times that he found no guilt in Him and therefore judged that He had to be released. But the people were not open to reason. In blind hatred they denied their Messiah, the Christ of God, in front of the nations in the person of Pilate. They wanted nothing to have to do with Him and rejected Him. Was everything now lost? No, for God has raised up and glorified His Servant Jesus, Who served Him so perfectly ( ). As such, He is presented to the people by Peter again. It is remarkable how Peter accuses the people twice of their denial of the Lord Jesus, even though only a few weeks ago he himself denied Him three times. But he confessed his denial with shame and under tears and received forgiveness from the Lord for it. Thus, he is free for God to now confront the people with this sin. He does this so that the people will come to repentance and confession of their sin and be reconciled to God just as he was. He speaks of the Lord Jesus as “the Holy and Righteous One”. As “the Holy One” He lived on earth completely separated from the world and for God. He lived only for God. Therefore He was also “the Righteous One”. He always did everything completely in accordance with what is righteous for God and people. In spite of His life completely dedicated to God and people, from which only goodness and grace came to mankind, they preferred a murderer, someone who takes the life of others. They asked Pilate to ‘give’ them that man, while rejecting God’s Son, the great gift of God. They would rather live with a murderer than with the Prince of life. They killed the Origin and Giver of life and thus cut off every path to life for themselves. With even more emphasis than in Acts 2, Peter sets before their hearts and consciences the people’s dealings with the Son of God. He also shows that God has His own plan and that He triumphs over man’s hatred and evil deeds. Not man, but God has the last word and that in a way that makes man silent. God has raised up His Son from the dead and presents Him to them again. Not only has God acted with Him in a very different way than they did, but He has also undone their deed and even attached special consequences to it. That is a great grace and a proof of God’s perfect goodness. Peter declares that he and John are witnesses of Him. He openly and unconditionally joins God in his assessment of the Lord Jesus. After Peter has thus presented to the people their sin and told them what God has done to His Son, he points to the man who has been healed. They see him, they know him. They know how he was and see how he is now. The change in his situation is the result of faith in the Name of the Lord Jesus. What they see and to which Peter draws attention, is brought into direct connection with heaven and Him Who is glorified there. They can look directly upward from the healed man, for there is He Who has worked out what they see. Faith is the mighty principle by which the glorified Christ makes Himself known on earth. Through faith in the Lord Jesus the man has received “perfect health”. Christ does not do a half job. They all stand there and they all see that the man is completely healed through the Name of Jesus Christ Whom they have denied and murdered.

‏ Acts 3:14-17

Peter Preaches Christ

Peter uses the attention for this work of power to focus on the Worker of it, the Lord Jesus. With this in mind, this miracle has also happened. Unlike Simon the sorcerer who said of himself that he was a great man (Acts 8:9), Peter rejects all honor (cf. Acts 10:26; cf. Acts 14:13-16) and gives all honor to the Lord Jesus (cf. Rev 19:9-10). People are immediately inclined to honor a visible person, a creature, and not the unseen God, the Creator. This is the essence of idolatry. Only God and the Son of God are entitled to be honored. As God honors the Son, we must honor Him.

Peter therefore begins his third speech by removing a wrong impression. In Acts 2 he also starts his second speech with this. There it concerns the wrong impression that speaking in languages would be drunk talk. Here the wrong impression that needs to be taken away, is that they have made the man healthy. Peter points out that it is not by their power that the man can now walk.

He adds that their piety is not the cause of the healing either. Their reverence for God does not give them any advantage with Him, as if He would give them a little honor that belongs to Him alone. He says that nothing in them has made any contribution to the healing. It is exclusively the work of Jesus Christ, about Whom he is going to speak next.

He does this by pointing out the appreciation God has for Him. He calls God by the Name that reminds us of the promises He made to each of the patriarchs individually. Those promises have as a central theme that He would send His Son, the Christ, to fulfill all promises. Well, God has sent Him. Peter calls the Lord Jesus “His servant Jesus” (cf. Isa 42:1). This indicates that the Lord Jesus served God on earth.

But what contrast there is between the appreciation that God has for His Son and the appreciation that the people have for Him. The people have not acknowledged Him as the Christ of God and have handed Him over to the authority of the government as a criminal. Pilate, the representative of that authority, testified several times that he found no guilt in Him and therefore judged that He had to be released. But the people were not open to reason. In blind hatred they denied their Messiah, the Christ of God, in front of the nations in the person of Pilate. They wanted nothing to have to do with Him and rejected Him.

Was everything now lost? No, for God has raised up and glorified His Servant Jesus, Who served Him so perfectly (Isa 52:13). As such, He is presented to the people by Peter again.

It is remarkable how Peter accuses the people twice of their denial of the Lord Jesus, even though only a few weeks ago he himself denied Him three times. But he confessed his denial with shame and under tears and received forgiveness from the Lord for it. Thus, he is free for God to now confront the people with this sin. He does this so that the people will come to repentance and confession of their sin and be reconciled to God just as he was.

He speaks of the Lord Jesus as “the Holy and Righteous One”. As “the Holy One” He lived on earth completely separated from the world and for God. He lived only for God. Therefore He was also “the Righteous One”. He always did everything completely in accordance with what is righteous for God and people.

In spite of His life completely dedicated to God and people, from which only goodness and grace came to mankind, they preferred a murderer, someone who takes the life of others. They asked Pilate to ‘give’ them that man, while rejecting God’s Son, the great gift of God. They would rather live with a murderer than with the Prince of life. They killed the Origin and Giver of life and thus cut off every path to life for themselves.

With even more emphasis than in Acts 2, Peter sets before their hearts and consciences the people’s dealings with the Son of God. He also shows that God has His own plan and that He triumphs over man’s hatred and evil deeds. Not man, but God has the last word and that in a way that makes man silent.

God has raised up His Son from the dead and presents Him to them again. Not only has God acted with Him in a very different way than they did, but He has also undone their deed and even attached special consequences to it. That is a great grace and a proof of God’s perfect goodness. Peter declares that he and John are witnesses of Him. He openly and unconditionally joins God in his assessment of the Lord Jesus.

After Peter has thus presented to the people their sin and told them what God has done to His Son, he points to the man who has been healed. They see him, they know him. They know how he was and see how he is now. The change in his situation is the result of faith in the Name of the Lord Jesus. What they see and to which Peter draws attention, is brought into direct connection with heaven and Him Who is glorified there. They can look directly upward from the healed man, for there is He Who has worked out what they see.

Faith is the mighty principle by which the glorified Christ makes Himself known on earth. Through faith in the Lord Jesus the man has received “perfect health”. Christ does not do a half job. They all stand there and they all see that the man is completely healed through the Name of Jesus Christ Whom they have denied and murdered.

Call to Repentance and Return

The accusations are fixed. The judgment of God is deserved. Then Peter points to a way out. Led by the Holy Spirit, he can tell the people that they have done their terrible deed “in ignorance” (cf. 1Cor 2:8) and therefore he can call them to repentance and return. Peter can say this based on the intercession of the Lord Jesus on the cross: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Lk 23:34a). On this basis mercy was also shown to Paul (1Tim 1:13).

Their sin is seen as manslayer, not murder. Someone guilty of manslayer under the law could be killed by the avenger of blood. If the manslayer managed to reach a city of refuge in time, he was safe there (Num 35:9-34). In this way, the people could still take refuge in the Lord Jesus and thus escape judgment. Instead of judgment, they will receive the promised blessing, as Peter will say in a moment. First he speaks about God’s counsel. What they have done with Christ in their wickedness has been used by God to fulfill what He has spoken about through all the prophets. All the prophets have spoken about His Christ suffering.

Here again we see both sides that we also saw in the previous chapter (Acts 2:22-23). On the one hand, we see how man reveals his utter depravity by rejecting God’s goodness revealed in Christ. On the other hand, we discover that God has known this in advance and included it in His plans and even used it to fulfill His plans. We, creatures, cannot bring those two sides together, but that is what God is God for, while we are and remain creatures with the limitations that come with it, as in our comprehension. Through their sinful act, God has fulfilled His purpose regarding the suffering of Christ.

That they are fully guilty of their sins is also shown by Peter’s call to the people to repent and return. He has made it clear to them of what they are guilty. This should lead them to repentance, to the acknowledgment that they have sinned. Return or conversion is inextricably linked to this acknowledgment and confession. Conversion is a change of thinking about God and the Lord Jesus. Repentance is an inner conviction of one’s own guilt, insight and recognition that I have sinned.

Conversion is a turning around in my judgment of what God has said. First there was rejection of what He said in His Word and of what He gave in Christ. Those who have come to repentance, to acknowledgment and confession of their sins, will believe God on His Word and accept His gift in Christ. He who repents and returns can know that his sins have been erased. Everything that stood between him and God has been wiped away. The barrier has been removed. This has cleared the way for a life of refreshment that comes “from the presence of the Lord”.

What can be applied to the individual applies here first and foremost to the whole people, for it is to them that Peter speaks. By “times of refreshing” he therefore means the time of the millennial realm of peace where all the blessings of God on earth will be enjoyed by His people. Then the face of the Lord will no longer be turned against them in wrath (Psa 34:16), but His face will shine like the sun (Mt 17:2). His people will be able to bask in the warmth of His rays and enjoy the full blessing of life according to His promise in the realm of peace (Pro 16:15).

The return of Christ Jesus to fulfill this depends – and still depends – on the conversion of the Jews. Peter makes it clear that God desires to send His Christ, of Whom he says He is “the Christ appointed” for them. Here we are made aware of God’s great love for His people.

The first sending of Christ to His people has not been a mistake. God is once again offering this Christ appointed for them, Who is none other than the “Jesus” rejected by them. What a persistent grace of God, Who does so in spite of their rejection of His Christ! He can do so, once again, based on the intercession of the Lord Jesus on the cross.

We see how God does everything possible to bring the nation to repentance in order to be able to give them the promised blessings. Only when they also reject a glorified Lord, just as they rejected Him in His humiliation, does God’s judgment come on the people. In order to prevent this, God is still looking, as it were, also still at this moment for a possibility to send His Son to bring about the period of the restoration of all things.

Christ has been taken up into heaven. Rejected by the earth, heaven had to receive Him. Heaven did not do so reluctantly, but – seen from the purpose for which He had come to earth, namely, to establish the kingdom of God there – did so prematurely.

The original goal, however, will be reached. The moment of the restoration of all things points to the millennial realm of peace. During the kingdom of peace, everything in creation will be restored to the situation God had in mind when He created heaven and earth. God has always spoken about that situation through the mouth of His prophets. He has been pointing forward to that.

When His Son came, that time could have come if Israel would have accepted Him. But He was rejected. That does not mean, however, that God’s plan is cancelled now. Through the mouth of Peter, God offers to fulfill His plan. That will happen when the people as a nation repent. We know that the people did not do this. Yet even that does not mean that God can no longer fulfill His plan. It has been postponed once more and will be fulfilled in the end time.