A man unafraid to change the world...

Acts 3:12-26

English Standard Version (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. 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 back, 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.”

      I read this passage while in an Ethiopian church. The sermon was in Amharic and the pastor was preaching on Peter healing the lame man. I kept reading and this passage spoke to me. One of the first sermons we hear from Peter and he doesn't sugar coat it. Lt. Dan, our fearless leader in Ethiopia, said something very profound. "Christians today are afraid to change the world." How true it is that I am afraid to step on toes, to speak the truth boldly, to not say things in the most politically correct manner. 

"as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?"

All to often I struggle with using my own piety as a way to justify behavior or look good in front of my peers. Peter does something more miraculous than I have ever seen in my life and he is giving glory to God. He uses this as an opportunity to point people to the cross. How often do I fail to point people to the cross? 

"you denied the Holy and Righteous One"

Peter denied Jesus three times and his soul suffered for it. Here he uses the same language to show us our denial of Christ. How often do I deny Christ by merely not referring to Him in day to day life?

"you killed the Author of life"

There is a verse in Matthew 27:25 that says, "And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” Here once again Peter is reminding us that Jesus blood is on our hands. Not only did we deny/ignore/not give glory, we also actively participated in his death. Our sin actively participates to nail him to a cross or pull out his beard or stick a crown of thorns in his scalp. 

"what God foretold...He thus fulfilled"

We do not have a God who doesn't know what is going on. He understands our sin, the cries of our hearts, our anguish and pain. God saw His son crucified and understood the consequences of it. God has a plan for hope and mankind's future.