Acts 3:12-4:4
Apr 7, 2019 // By:Dave // No Comment
(Peter’s sermon)
Not a “god shaped vacuum message”
Not a “come to god and he will make your life great and full of flowers” message
He sticks with what he saw Jesus do in fact … he’s doing this in a place where he likely saw Jesus teaching in the temple in the past
Solomons Porch (Acts 3:11)
For his judgment hall, the wise King Solomon had constructed a large chamber 50 cubits long and 30 cubits wide attached to the original temple (a cubit is the length of a forearm, 20 to 21 inches). The enormous portico in front was built of cedar “of the forest of Lebanon,” (I Kings 7) and was known as “the porch of judgment,” then in Jesus’s time as “Solomon’s porch.” The historian Josephus Flavius (War of the Jews, Book 5, Chapter 5) described it as an area of the original temple that survived the attack of the Babylonians in 586 B. C., four hundred years later, who left it standing because of its immense size and beauty.
common place for meeting, teaching, out of the sun (considered “in the temple”)
John 10:23 actually tells us that it was winter time and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon
Acts 4:1-4
- religious leaders are ticked off
- arrest them for their teaching
- put them in jail to deal with the next day since it was already evening (3 hrs have elapsed)
- about 5,000 more men more are saved.
12 is corrective attribution of power (including denial of mans’s power)
13-15 charges against defendants (who once played the roll of prosecutors in the trial against Jesus) and includes titles of Jesus
who was declared guilty in first court session because the court refused to look at the evidence.
That evidence, the power of Christ, is now re-presented in a second court hearing, and those who played the prosecutors, now find themselves in the roll of defendants (i.e you stand today accused of …)
16 summary of the evidence (power of Christ through faith and in His name)
17-18 the presiding judge knew all this flip flopping of sentencing and defendant receiving a death sentence would take place and was planned by the judge.
19 repent and ask forgiveness for your role as prosecutors and executioners.
In speaking of Jesus, Peter uses a number of primitive and archaic christological titles. Their concentration in these few verses has rightly been considered highly significant by many.
God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (convenant God)
God’s Servant (ho pais autou, vv.13, 26), which echoes the Servant theme of Isaiah 42-53—cf. “[he] has glorified his servant Jesus” (v.13) with “my servant … will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted” (Isa 52:13)—and the theme of Moses as prophet (Deut 18:15, 18-19; cf. the “raising up” motif of Acts 3:22, 26 with Deut 18:15, 18).
the Holy One (ho hagios, v.14)
the Righteous One (ho dikaios, v.14),
the author of life (ho archegos tes zoes, v.15) “killed the originator of life”
a prophet like me [Moses]“ (ho prophetes hos eme, vv.22-23). (Deut 18:15, 18)
Hebrews 1:1-2
God who spoke through … has spoken (perfect past tense, aorist indicative ) means once and for all, no more prophets
We should pause for a moment and consider all the indictments Peter makes against his audience:
• Verse 13: You handed over Jesus.
• Verse 13b: You’re worse than Pilate.
• Verse 14: You traded the Holy and Righteous One for a murderer.
• Verse 15: You killed the one who gave you life.
• Verse 17: You’re ignorant.
• Verses 18–25: You don’t understand the Bible.
• Verse 26: You denied your privilege.
• Verse 26b: You’re wicked.
Repent! (3:19–21). In light of these serious charges, we must ask whether there is any hope for such wicked people. The answer is yes! Look back at 3:19–21. In the center of this passage about the glory of Christ and the gravity of sin, Peter offers amazing gospel hope to everyone.
In verses 19–21 Peter mentions three benefits of genuine repentance: (1) total forgiveness, (2) spiritual refreshment, and (3) universal restoration.
- Regarding the first, he says that through repentance, “your sins may be wiped out” (v. 19). This is a beautiful word picture. Parchment was expensive, so sometimes scribes used acid-free ink as they wrote on it. [Acts, p. 54] The ink just lay on top of the parchment, so a person could take a wet sponge and wipe a message away, blotting it out.To put Peter’s point in modern terms, imagine having all your sins listed on a dry-erase board. Now, imagine sitting there pondering the weight of your sin record and the certainty of coming judgment without having any hope of changing your sad reality. But then, when you feel eaten by shame and fear, someone marches in and forever wipes that record of your wrongs off the board. He declares you innocent. Would that not make you soar in worship to the one wiping away your sin? It should! That’s what’s happened! Jesus Christ has wiped out our wrongs. We have no guilt. We are under no condemnation. And as sure as Jesus wipes our sin away the moment we ask him to do so, he will wipe our tears away later (Rev 21:4).
But there’s more. Through repentance you can enjoy
- spiritual refreshment (v. 20). The language Peter uses here speaks of respite, rest, refreshment, or relief. It’s a word about the messianic age, when the Spirit will be poured out. It’s a reminder that those who turn to Jesus find rest. What good news the gospel offers to people who have been trying to earn forgiveness of sins and to achieve eternal life: simply come to Jesus and find rest and refreshment for your weary soul. His actions on the cross set us free!
- Finally, Peter says, if you will repent, then you will enjoy the hope of Christ restoring all things (vv. 20–21). Paul spoke of the day in which our sufferings will give way to glory (Rom 8:18–37). Christ gives us hope to endure the difficulties of this life because he has given us the promise of glory to come. How terrible would it be to have hope only in this life? The gospel, however, offers an unshakable hope that our best days are yet to come.
Luke 4:18-21 (reading from Isaiah 61)
Luke 4:18 “aTHE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME,
BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR.
HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES,
AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND,
TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,
Luke 4:19 aTO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”
Luke 4:33 man with unclean spirit in the syngogue
Luke 4:43 But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, afor I was sent for this purpose.”
Luke 10:19
“Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. (sharing, entrusting of authority promised in Gen 3:15) at this point in time, they are promised “diplomatic immunity” from the world. (later they are warned about persecution, to sell a cloak and buy a sword, and we are promised persecution for His name sake, but that is part of the power of our testimony
2 Cor 5:14 Christ’s love compels us
Rev 12:11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death
John 16:33
I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!