The In-Between Years - Part 19

The In-Between Years — Part 19

We are delving deep into the second sermon of Peter in Acts 3. If you recall, he preaches it just after the second miracle recorded in Luke’s second volume, the first being Pentecost. A lame man had just been healed and the ruckus drew a crowd. Here’s the first half of that sermon from last week…

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.  Acts 3:11–16 (ESV)

Peter, catering to an exclusively Jewish audience, makes a connection between something in the OT and the life and person of Jesus. He connects the spectacular works of God surrounding Moses and the burning bush and the Exodus to the even more spectacular way he free us all from the bondage of sin and death through Jesus. Peter and the early church saw a link between the old Exodus lead by Moses and the new exodus led by Jesus, the one who lived the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died, and came back from the dead to offer us a place in his kingdom. That same Jesus, Peter proclaimed, is the one who made the lame man walk.

Now, as Peter continues his message to an exclusively Jewish audience, he draws even more inspiration from the OT, particularly the prophets. Prophets were the mouthpieces of God. Folks like Isaiah and Ezekiel and Daniel. He didn’t just speak to them, he spoke through them.

Let’s pick back up in verse 17…

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.  Acts 3:17–18 (ESV)

It had been only weeks since the miracle-working rabbi from Nazareth was nailed to a cross. Even though Jesus technically died at the hands of the Romans, the Jews were ultimately responsible for his death. Look in Matthew 27…

24 So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” 25 And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” 26 Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.  Matthew 27:24–26 (ESV)

Peter minces no words about this in his first message…

36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”  Acts 2:36 (ESV)

And this message. Back in verse 15…

15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.  Acts 3:15 (ESV)

For the last 2,000 years, some have used this tragic truth as an excuse to hate and persecute the Jews, such as what happened with the holocaust and what you see happening in our nation right now. Hating the Jews is sinful and wicked in God’s eyes. You go against his very heart when you do that. They have always been and will always be his special, covenant people. By the way, the predominately Gentile church of today — and certainly the church of the United States — is not “spiritual Israel.”

Peter is careful to acknowledge in verse 17 the Jews killed the author of life out of ignorance. As did Paul…

8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.  1 Corinthians 2:8 (ESV)

As did Jesus…

34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.  Luke 23:34 (ESV)

If Jesus forgave them, we certainly have to.

God actually wove the Jews’ rejection of him into his plan, a plan he revealed through his prophets. They foretold, preaches Peter, of a Suffering Messiah. Jesus was and is the fulfillment of those prophecies.

If that’s true, and it certainly is as the miracle of Pentecost and the miracle of the lame man attests, then there’s only one thing to do…

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,  Acts 3:19–20 (ESV)

We’ve heard Peter preach this before…

38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Acts 2:38 (ESV)

Repent, turn back, and have your sins forgiven. Note how Peter phrases that idea here: have your sins blotted out. That too is powerful OT imagery that would have fired up their minds and grabbed their hearts…

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.  Psalm 51:1 (ESV)

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

Blot out means to wipe away, as if your sins are recorded and somehow erased! 

**Board illustration** 

God keeps records. He keeps a record of our deeds — good and bad. That would have to fill volumes even for just one person. He’ll use those records to bring judgment on the Last Day. The good deeds aren’t enough to save a single person. The bad deeds are more than enough to condemn every person.

List deeds. These are blotted out when we repent.

The opposite truth is given by Jesus in…

5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.  Revelation 3:5 (ESV)

** There is another record, a book, that lists all of God’s people. Those who’ve had their sins blotted out never ever have to worry about having their names blotted out!

Having your sins forgiven like that brings a time of refreshing, a relaxation, because if all is well between you and the Lord, all is well. This is accomplished in, by, and through 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.  Acts 3:21 (ESV)

Jesus came from heaven to give himself as a sacrifice for many, to make the payment needed for forgiveness — the suffering servant spoken of through the prophets. That same Jesus went back to heaven for a time. But one day he will return to restore all things. To set all things back to rights, to the way they were in the beginning. This theme recurs over and over again in the Bible. I’ve almost decided to include Rev 21:1-5 along with Rom 10.13 at the end of every message.

The prophets foretold this time of restoration as well.  Speaking of prophets, according to Scripture Moses is the greatest of them all…

10 And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, 11 none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, 12 and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.  Deuteronomy 34:10–12 (ESV)

Peter, in his message, connects Jesus to one of Moses’ foretellings…

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.’  Acts 3:22–23 (ESV)

That’s from…

15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—  Deuteronomy 18:15 (ESV)

18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19 And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.  Deuteronomy 18:18–19 (ESV)

This points back what we looked at last week. Moses was Israel’s greatest prophet and mighty deliver, the one through whom the Exodus happened. Jesus is a greater prophet than Moses and a greater deliverer. The writer of Hebrews wrote…

1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.  Hebrews 1:1–2 (ESV)

By the way, prophet is one of three OT offices with priest and king being the other two. Prophet. Priest. King. A prophet spoke for God. Jesus, the prophet above all prophets, actually spoke as God come in the flesh. A priest made sacrifices to redeem the people from their daily sins. Jesus, the great high priest, sacrificed himself to redeem from all sin. A king ruled over the people of God. Jesus, the King of Kings, will set up his throne on a redeemed earth one day to rule over God’s forever family.

See how all the boxes are being checked in the minds of these Jews raised, steeped, and immersed in the OT Scriptures? Peter has one last connection to make, and it involves the most significant OT figure next to — or at least equal to — Moses…

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.”  Acts 3:24–26 (ESV)

Abraham is the father of Israel. Peter takes them back to the covenant God made with Abraham in Genesis 12…

1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”  Genesis 12:1–3 (ESV)

God promises Abraham (Abram) land, seed, and blessing, so much so, that all the families of the earth of all time would be blessed through him. How could that happen? Well, Jesus — the prophet even greater than Moses — is a descendant of Abraham. The blessing of forgiveness and restoration comes through him.

The good news of the gospel through Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. They, as Jews and direct descendants of Abraham and the prophets, are the objects of that promise. But note what Peter says in verse 26: Jesus, the servant of God, was sent to them, the Jews, “first.” Now look at what Paul wrote to the Christians at Rome…

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  Romans 1:16 (ESV)

That’s where we come in, and it’s the supreme fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. Through Jesus truly all the families of the earth are blessed, both Jew and Gentile. Could there be any better a blessing than the offer to become part of God’s forever family? We’ve been grafted in!

So that is the second sermon of Peter preached to a Jewish audience brought together by a miracle and held captive by his wrapping up the mighty works of God in Jesus: : the prophet of prophets, the priest of priests, the king of kings.

It’s time to have an altar call, ya’ll. But before the ushers can even get in line, the same folks who gave Jesus fits in the gospels arrive on the scene, the religious leaders. To say they ain’t happy is an understatement. We’ll see what happens with that next time.

Conclusion: One last thing. If you examine Peter’s message in Acts 3 carefully, you discover he refers to Jesus in seven ways. He calls him…

1. Servant

28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  Matthew 20:28 (ESV)

In God’s kingdom, the least are the greatest, the last first, and the servants lead. Watch out for those who want to lead but don’t serve. Aren’t humble.

Jesus the servant. How mind blowing that is when you consider that he is God come to us in the flesh.

Which ties into the next title…

2. Holy One

This “means that Jesus is infinitely and absolutely holy, fully and perfectly divine. He is transcendent and majestic. He came down from above to save sinners, yet He is set apart from sinners in that He is completely sinless, without any moral blemish, perfect in all of His ways.” Which ties into the next title…

3. Righteous One

Jesus is righteous in that he fulfills all the righteous requirements of the Law. He has kept them all both in practice and principle down to every jot and tittle, or for us the crossing of every “t” and dotting of every “i.”. He’s also the…

4. Author of Life

John the apostle began his gospel with this…

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  John 1:1–5 (ESV)

Jesus said he’d come to give us life and to give it to us more abundantly. If you know the author life, you don’t have to fear death. He’s also the…

5. Prophet

Like Moses but greater. He speaks not just for God but as God! Jesus is the…

6. Christ (Messiah)

The anointed one spoken of by all the prophets, the One whom the entire OT points to from Genesis to Malachi. Finally, he’s…

7. The offspring of Abraham

The fulfillment of God’s promise to bless all the families of the earth!

Seven titles for Jesus. Seven in the Bible represents completion, wholeness, perfection. In Jesus you have all you need.

Take God up on his offer to save all those who call on his name, to come to him through Jesus.