The Proclamation Of The Risen Christ
Text: Book of Acts 3:1-26
Our focus: Acts 3:1-8, 11-16, 18-21
We have just witnessed the first birthday of the Church Age and we will learn as we study the Book of Acts the function of the Church.
The Church is the tool of God to reach the lost and to hold back the evil of this world we live in!
1.) The church is to provide proper instruction:
Act 2:42 And they continued stedfastly "in the apostles' doctrine" and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
2.) There should be proper "fellowship":
Act 16:34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, "believing in God with all his house".
3.) There must be proper "Worship":
Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, "when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth": for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
4.) There must be proper "Service":
Act 5:42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, "they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ".
Act 8:4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad "went every where preaching the word".
The power to do all these things comes from the Power of the Holy Spirit!
Let's begin:
*****Act 3:1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
We can see that the Apostles and the Jewish converts to Christianity, continued in the regular practices of the Jewish religion.
It was common practice for the Jews to pray 3 times a day, at the third, the sixth, and the ninth hours.
We should clearly understand that the Church is the fulfillment of the Jewish religion "and not some new religion".
In fact Christianity is not a religion at all, "it is just the truth" of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ!
BUT, The Church is not and never will be a new Israel. These are two separate fulfillments of prophesy!
We have just seen in the Book of Ruth a "type" of Christ and His "Gentile Bride" which is the Church!
These are some of the things that were promised when the Messiah came and that Messiah is Jesus Christ! The word "Christ" is Greek for "Messiah" or "The Anointed One"!
The Bible tells us:
1Jn 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is "the Christ"? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
If Jesus the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Christ, cannot be accepted for what He is, "God in the flesh", then you are not a believer and therefore not saved!
This is the stumbling block of Christianity to the world!
Any man can be good some of the time but only God can be perfect!
Heb 5:9 And "being made perfect", he became the author of "eternal salvation" unto all them that obey him;
*****Act 3:2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
Act 3:3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
We have in this verse a man who has been lame from the day he was born and he was 40 years old at this time. We can see that he had someone who cared enough about him to bring him to a place where it was possible for him to get enough money to eat on.
At this time this was the welfare system of Israel.
Peter and John are often found together in Scripture:
They were in a fishing business together.
They prepared the last Passover before Jesus was crucified.
They ran to the tomb of Jesus together on that first Easter morning.
They were the first to minister to the Samaritans who were hated by the Jews.
They were now both filled with the Holy Spirit and working together to build God's Church!
That gate called Beautiful was probably the gate that led from the court of the Gentiles to the court of the women. A gate that Herod had added when he was rebuilding the Temple and had it hand made of Corinthian Brass.
An "alms" would be anything given for the poor. We now call it "Charity"!
*****Act 3:4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
Act 3:5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
Most of these beggars would not be focused on those going in and out of the Temple. They would hang their heads down because most of them were embarrassed for what they had to do to survive.
Being disabled is not satisfying at all!
Being disabled seems to take away from any purpose of life!
But this lamed one obeyed Peter when he was told to look at him and John. This man was expecting some money but he was about to get something much more valuable.
There should be no doubt that this beggar was not the only one at this gate of the Temple that day. It should be noticed that Holy Spirit led Peter to this particular beggar for a reason.
*****Act 3:6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
Miracles did not happen at random in the scriptures. Miracles occurred in three major periods:
In the days of Moses and Joshua.
In the days of Elijah and Elisha.
In the days of Jesus and His Apostles and there were very few outside this scope of time.
Miracles were always given to authenticate a message!
God enabled certain of His messengers to perform unusual miracles to substantiate a new message they were about to give!
When the Bible was completed in the form we have today, a completed work of God, then there is no need for miracles of this type.
I believe God still does miracles everyday but we have to to be paying attention to see them.
It's a miracle every time someone is saved.
It's a miracle every time someone is healed from a major sickness and there are still many that happen today but we have the entire message God has given to us and it does not need to be authenticated by miracles!
Jesus gave the Apostles and maybe a few more the gift of miracles but these ceased when the last Apostle, John died.
There is no truth to Apostolic powers in our day. All work is done by the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ.
God still does miracles but He does not still do them through a person.
AND, It can also be said that the church is so rich in "silver and gold" today that the church has forgotten about the Power of the Holy Ghost.
*****Act 3:7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
If we pay attention we can see a "type" of sinner being saved.
This man was born lame:
And everyone on this planet is unable to walk to please the Lord. When Adam "fell" he passed his lameness to all his descendants
Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
This man was very poor:
We as sinners are bankrupt before God. The wages of sin are only death!
Luk 7:41 There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.
Luk 7:42 And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?
Salvation was immediate for this once lame man:
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
The evidence of salvation was evident to those around him that knew him!
*****Act 3:8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
Now that this man could stand, he also took a stand on the Lord!
Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, "to stand".
*****Act 3:9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
Act 3:10 And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.
Act 3:11 And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering.
Now we see the purpose of the miracle!
This entire audience is made up of Jews. Jesus had said:
Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Jesus had told His disciples to begin in Jerusalem and God was gathering a large audience to hear His message to be preached by Peter.
Prophecy had said:
Isa 35:5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Isa 35:6 [Then shall the lame man leap as an hart], and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.
And Jesus said:
Mat 11:5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
Mat 11:6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
*****Act 3:12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, "Ye men of Israel", why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?
We know that at this time the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was presented only to Israel. Jesus had told the Apostles to begin in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem had rejected Jesus and after His Death, Burial, and Resurrection, they would now hear the Gospel to see if they would now believe.
The fact that the Gospel "will come to where we live" is proof of the Love of God!
Peter is very clear, that this miracle was not done by any power that he had.
The New Testament had not been written at this time and Peter was about to take the Old Testament and show them the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
*****Act 3:13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.
Peter was now not some dumb fisherman but he was mighty in the Word of God. Peter laid the groundwork for his sermon by associating Jesus with the God of Israel, the same God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Again Christianity is not some new religion but it is the fulfillment of Judaism. It was the same God who made a covenant with Israel who then also rejected the Son of God!
It was some of these very same Jews that had delivered Jesus to Pilate.
It was some of these very same Jews that had denied Jesus as their King.
Pilate had truly put some effort in trying to release Jesus!
Mat 27:24 When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.
Then all of Israel made this foolish statement:
Mat 27:25 Then answered all the people, and said, "His blood be on us, and on our children".
Israel has surely suffered because of this statement!
But God has not abandoned them as some think!
*****Act 3:14 But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;
Act 3:15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
It was some of these very same Jews that had received the guilty Barabbas in exchange for the sinless and guiltless Son of God named Jesus.
For the remainder of his days the Apostle Peter will never preach another sermon where he will not mention the "Resurrection of Jesus Christ"!
Peter here says he and John were witnesses to these things and there were some in this very audience who were also witnesses to these things.
*****Act 3:16 And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
In His Name:
It is the names of Our Savior that also describe Him to us!
His Son Jesus, The Holy One, The Just One, The Prince of Life, His Christ, The LORD, The Prophet, The WORD, The Light, The Lamb of God.
He is Shiloh!
He is the Rose of Sharon!
His name is Wonderful!
He is the Mighty Counselor!
He is the Mighty God!
He is the Everlasting Father!
He is the Prince of Peace!
And He is the King of Kings!
He is the Lord Jesus Christ the true Messiah!
And He is Our Precious Savior!
And He is the Fulfillment of "All" the Old Testament Prophecy about the Anointed One of God!
*****Act 3:17 And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.
Act 3:18 [But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled].
There are many things that we do through ignorance and do not totally understand the results that come from them.
Even Jesus said forgive them for they knew not what they were doing!
We will never understand all the plan of God, but we know God has a plan and he wants us to be involved in his plan and not have a plan of our own, which is a greater sin!
All the things that were fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ were told about in the same Old Testament that all these people had access to.
The apostle Paul put it this way:
1Ti 1:13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, [because I did it ignorantly in unbelief].
To be a unbeliever does not give anyone an excuse but an unbeliever cannot know the will of God!
An unbeliever relies on the laws of man and if the laws of man do not match up with the Word of God then they are ignorant of God's law.
It is our job to tell everyone "who cross our paths" the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
There is not one single book of the Old Testament that does not point to the Messiah!
It may be said that Israel's situation was something like that of the "man slayer" who killed his neighbor without prior malicious intent and fled to the nearest city of refuge.
*****Act 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, [when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord];
These Jews and the World of today need to realize that when they fight against Jesus they are fighting against the God of the Bible.
The resurrection of Christ Jesus was conclusive proof that He was approved of God!
The present power of Jesus was shown by His healing of this lame man.
The rejection of Jesus is an act of ignorance and God was ready, willing and waiting to forgive them of this sin.
To "repent" is a complete changing of the mind and is reflected in the heart!
To be "converted" is the physical act of turning from sin and Satan and then unto God!
It is this act that that will cause your sins to be blotted out in God's book of records!
Isa 44:22 I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; [for I have redeemed thee].
Salvation is only on an individual level but Peter was preaching for the national repentance of Israel.
Jesus Christ had suffered brutally and died on the cross but there will be a time in the future when He will return as King and King of Kings.
This will be the time of His refreshing And the time of His presence again in this world!
*****Act 3:20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
These are the things that God had shown by the mouth of all His prophets.
This is the message that God was giving to "whosoever" would listen and repent.
And Jesus will come again a Second Time!
Peter was saying this day that, "now is the time to turn and repent". Peter's message was that the Lord can return any day and the day of judgment was not the time that they could repent.
Psa 69:28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and "not be written with the righteous".
On the day of judgment or the day of death, every soul will be blotted out the book of the living "but it will be too late to be written in the book the righteous".
It will be too late!
Today then is surely the day to turn to the Lord!
This is the same message we need to hear today!
*****Act 3:21 Whom the heaven must receive [until the times of restitution of all things], which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
The last day of the Church Age all the Saints that are still alive will be taken up into Heaven.
All the souls that are in Heaven will be reunited in a "glorified body" along with those saints.
1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
There will then be a seven-year tribulation period proven by the Book of Daniel.
Dan 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
Dan 9:25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
Dan 9:26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
Dan 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
This period of seven years will be divided into parts of three and a half years apiece.
This last period is known as the Great Tribulation is also known as the time of Jacob's trouble:
Jer 30:7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: "it is even the time of Jacob's trouble"; [but he shall be saved out of it].
The Apostle Paul wrote:
Rom 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Rom 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Rom 11:27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
It is at the end of this time that God will restore all things for 1000 years:
Amo 9:11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:
This is the message of Peter to the Jews and this is the message to the Church today.
These things will not change!
The truth is the truth whether there are any believers!
Questions?
Let's Pray!
Text: Book of Acts 3:1-26
Our focus: Acts 3:1-8, 11-16, 18-21
We have just witnessed the first birthday of the Church Age and we will learn as we study the Book of Acts the function of the Church.
The Church is the tool of God to reach the lost and to hold back the evil of this world we live in!
1.) The church is to provide proper instruction:
Act 2:42 And they continued stedfastly "in the apostles' doctrine" and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
2.) There should be proper "fellowship":
Act 16:34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, "believing in God with all his house".
3.) There must be proper "Worship":
Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, "when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth": for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
4.) There must be proper "Service":
Act 5:42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, "they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ".
Act 8:4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad "went every where preaching the word".
The power to do all these things comes from the Power of the Holy Spirit!
Let's begin:
*****Act 3:1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
We can see that the Apostles and the Jewish converts to Christianity, continued in the regular practices of the Jewish religion.
It was common practice for the Jews to pray 3 times a day, at the third, the sixth, and the ninth hours.
We should clearly understand that the Church is the fulfillment of the Jewish religion "and not some new religion".
In fact Christianity is not a religion at all, "it is just the truth" of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ!
BUT, The Church is not and never will be a new Israel. These are two separate fulfillments of prophesy!
We have just seen in the Book of Ruth a "type" of Christ and His "Gentile Bride" which is the Church!
These are some of the things that were promised when the Messiah came and that Messiah is Jesus Christ! The word "Christ" is Greek for "Messiah" or "The Anointed One"!
The Bible tells us:
1Jn 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is "the Christ"? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
If Jesus the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Christ, cannot be accepted for what He is, "God in the flesh", then you are not a believer and therefore not saved!
This is the stumbling block of Christianity to the world!
Any man can be good some of the time but only God can be perfect!
Heb 5:9 And "being made perfect", he became the author of "eternal salvation" unto all them that obey him;
*****Act 3:2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
Act 3:3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
We have in this verse a man who has been lame from the day he was born and he was 40 years old at this time. We can see that he had someone who cared enough about him to bring him to a place where it was possible for him to get enough money to eat on.
At this time this was the welfare system of Israel.
Peter and John are often found together in Scripture:
They were in a fishing business together.
They prepared the last Passover before Jesus was crucified.
They ran to the tomb of Jesus together on that first Easter morning.
They were the first to minister to the Samaritans who were hated by the Jews.
They were now both filled with the Holy Spirit and working together to build God's Church!
That gate called Beautiful was probably the gate that led from the court of the Gentiles to the court of the women. A gate that Herod had added when he was rebuilding the Temple and had it hand made of Corinthian Brass.
An "alms" would be anything given for the poor. We now call it "Charity"!
*****Act 3:4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
Act 3:5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
Most of these beggars would not be focused on those going in and out of the Temple. They would hang their heads down because most of them were embarrassed for what they had to do to survive.
Being disabled is not satisfying at all!
Being disabled seems to take away from any purpose of life!
But this lamed one obeyed Peter when he was told to look at him and John. This man was expecting some money but he was about to get something much more valuable.
There should be no doubt that this beggar was not the only one at this gate of the Temple that day. It should be noticed that Holy Spirit led Peter to this particular beggar for a reason.
*****Act 3:6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
Miracles did not happen at random in the scriptures. Miracles occurred in three major periods:
In the days of Moses and Joshua.
In the days of Elijah and Elisha.
In the days of Jesus and His Apostles and there were very few outside this scope of time.
Miracles were always given to authenticate a message!
God enabled certain of His messengers to perform unusual miracles to substantiate a new message they were about to give!
When the Bible was completed in the form we have today, a completed work of God, then there is no need for miracles of this type.
I believe God still does miracles everyday but we have to to be paying attention to see them.
It's a miracle every time someone is saved.
It's a miracle every time someone is healed from a major sickness and there are still many that happen today but we have the entire message God has given to us and it does not need to be authenticated by miracles!
Jesus gave the Apostles and maybe a few more the gift of miracles but these ceased when the last Apostle, John died.
There is no truth to Apostolic powers in our day. All work is done by the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ.
God still does miracles but He does not still do them through a person.
AND, It can also be said that the church is so rich in "silver and gold" today that the church has forgotten about the Power of the Holy Ghost.
*****Act 3:7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
If we pay attention we can see a "type" of sinner being saved.
This man was born lame:
And everyone on this planet is unable to walk to please the Lord. When Adam "fell" he passed his lameness to all his descendants
Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
This man was very poor:
We as sinners are bankrupt before God. The wages of sin are only death!
Luk 7:41 There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.
Luk 7:42 And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?
Salvation was immediate for this once lame man:
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
The evidence of salvation was evident to those around him that knew him!
*****Act 3:8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
Now that this man could stand, he also took a stand on the Lord!
Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, "to stand".
*****Act 3:9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
Act 3:10 And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.
Act 3:11 And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering.
Now we see the purpose of the miracle!
This entire audience is made up of Jews. Jesus had said:
Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Jesus had told His disciples to begin in Jerusalem and God was gathering a large audience to hear His message to be preached by Peter.
Prophecy had said:
Isa 35:5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Isa 35:6 [Then shall the lame man leap as an hart], and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.
And Jesus said:
Mat 11:5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
Mat 11:6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
*****Act 3:12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, "Ye men of Israel", why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?
We know that at this time the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was presented only to Israel. Jesus had told the Apostles to begin in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem had rejected Jesus and after His Death, Burial, and Resurrection, they would now hear the Gospel to see if they would now believe.
The fact that the Gospel "will come to where we live" is proof of the Love of God!
Peter is very clear, that this miracle was not done by any power that he had.
The New Testament had not been written at this time and Peter was about to take the Old Testament and show them the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
*****Act 3:13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.
Peter was now not some dumb fisherman but he was mighty in the Word of God. Peter laid the groundwork for his sermon by associating Jesus with the God of Israel, the same God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Again Christianity is not some new religion but it is the fulfillment of Judaism. It was the same God who made a covenant with Israel who then also rejected the Son of God!
It was some of these very same Jews that had delivered Jesus to Pilate.
It was some of these very same Jews that had denied Jesus as their King.
Pilate had truly put some effort in trying to release Jesus!
Mat 27:24 When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.
Then all of Israel made this foolish statement:
Mat 27:25 Then answered all the people, and said, "His blood be on us, and on our children".
Israel has surely suffered because of this statement!
But God has not abandoned them as some think!
*****Act 3:14 But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;
Act 3:15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
It was some of these very same Jews that had received the guilty Barabbas in exchange for the sinless and guiltless Son of God named Jesus.
For the remainder of his days the Apostle Peter will never preach another sermon where he will not mention the "Resurrection of Jesus Christ"!
Peter here says he and John were witnesses to these things and there were some in this very audience who were also witnesses to these things.
*****Act 3:16 And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
In His Name:
It is the names of Our Savior that also describe Him to us!
His Son Jesus, The Holy One, The Just One, The Prince of Life, His Christ, The LORD, The Prophet, The WORD, The Light, The Lamb of God.
He is Shiloh!
He is the Rose of Sharon!
His name is Wonderful!
He is the Mighty Counselor!
He is the Mighty God!
He is the Everlasting Father!
He is the Prince of Peace!
And He is the King of Kings!
He is the Lord Jesus Christ the true Messiah!
And He is Our Precious Savior!
And He is the Fulfillment of "All" the Old Testament Prophecy about the Anointed One of God!
*****Act 3:17 And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.
Act 3:18 [But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled].
There are many things that we do through ignorance and do not totally understand the results that come from them.
Even Jesus said forgive them for they knew not what they were doing!
We will never understand all the plan of God, but we know God has a plan and he wants us to be involved in his plan and not have a plan of our own, which is a greater sin!
All the things that were fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ were told about in the same Old Testament that all these people had access to.
The apostle Paul put it this way:
1Ti 1:13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, [because I did it ignorantly in unbelief].
To be a unbeliever does not give anyone an excuse but an unbeliever cannot know the will of God!
An unbeliever relies on the laws of man and if the laws of man do not match up with the Word of God then they are ignorant of God's law.
It is our job to tell everyone "who cross our paths" the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
There is not one single book of the Old Testament that does not point to the Messiah!
It may be said that Israel's situation was something like that of the "man slayer" who killed his neighbor without prior malicious intent and fled to the nearest city of refuge.
*****Act 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, [when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord];
These Jews and the World of today need to realize that when they fight against Jesus they are fighting against the God of the Bible.
The resurrection of Christ Jesus was conclusive proof that He was approved of God!
The present power of Jesus was shown by His healing of this lame man.
The rejection of Jesus is an act of ignorance and God was ready, willing and waiting to forgive them of this sin.
To "repent" is a complete changing of the mind and is reflected in the heart!
To be "converted" is the physical act of turning from sin and Satan and then unto God!
It is this act that that will cause your sins to be blotted out in God's book of records!
Isa 44:22 I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; [for I have redeemed thee].
Salvation is only on an individual level but Peter was preaching for the national repentance of Israel.
Jesus Christ had suffered brutally and died on the cross but there will be a time in the future when He will return as King and King of Kings.
This will be the time of His refreshing And the time of His presence again in this world!
*****Act 3:20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
These are the things that God had shown by the mouth of all His prophets.
This is the message that God was giving to "whosoever" would listen and repent.
And Jesus will come again a Second Time!
Peter was saying this day that, "now is the time to turn and repent". Peter's message was that the Lord can return any day and the day of judgment was not the time that they could repent.
Psa 69:28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and "not be written with the righteous".
On the day of judgment or the day of death, every soul will be blotted out the book of the living "but it will be too late to be written in the book the righteous".
It will be too late!
Today then is surely the day to turn to the Lord!
This is the same message we need to hear today!
*****Act 3:21 Whom the heaven must receive [until the times of restitution of all things], which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
The last day of the Church Age all the Saints that are still alive will be taken up into Heaven.
All the souls that are in Heaven will be reunited in a "glorified body" along with those saints.
1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
There will then be a seven-year tribulation period proven by the Book of Daniel.
Dan 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
Dan 9:25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
Dan 9:26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
Dan 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
This period of seven years will be divided into parts of three and a half years apiece.
This last period is known as the Great Tribulation is also known as the time of Jacob's trouble:
Jer 30:7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: "it is even the time of Jacob's trouble"; [but he shall be saved out of it].
The Apostle Paul wrote:
Rom 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Rom 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Rom 11:27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
It is at the end of this time that God will restore all things for 1000 years:
Amo 9:11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:
This is the message of Peter to the Jews and this is the message to the Church today.
These things will not change!
The truth is the truth whether there are any believers!
Questions?
Let's Pray!
