Acts 3:11-26

Greeting

Stand and Read

Pray

Introduction

ILLUS: Taekwondo Black Belt preparation…

Black belt test = 3 hour demonstration of everything that you have learned. It was the most physically grueling thing I’ve ever done in my life.

Preparation = “Intensives…”

Military drill sergeant…

He put the pressure on…

Though it might have appeared like this guy was my enemy, doing everything he could to wear me out, and in some ways humiliate me. He was actually my greatest ally. I can look back and say that I would not have succeeded had I not been physically and mentally prepared for what was coming.

His mission was to get me ready for what might have been understood as “judgement day.”

From a spiritual standpoint, we have a similar type situation here in Acts 3.

Peter, as we become accustomed to him doing, really goes at these guys.

From the perspective of the crowd, Peter might seem like he’s against them, and that he’s trying to humiliate them.

But actually he is their greatest ally. He is providing them the truth of who Jesus is, and what he has done. And in this way, he is seeking to get these people ready for judgement day.

SERMON TITLE: When the Kingdom Confronts You

Sermon

v. 11 reminds us of the context of where we’re at:

Acts 3:11 ESV

11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s.

Recap…

People are now wanting answers

So, Peter is going to give them some answers, but it’s not quite the answer they were expecting.

There are 4 parts to Peter’s answer that I would like us to see this morning:

1. The Press for Repentance

Acts 3:12 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?

So, Peter immediately puts to bed any thoughts from the people who might think that somehow Peter, in and of himself has the ability to heal this man.

Peter says, that he does not have the power or the piety to have healed him. He’s not qualified to perform the kind of action that they have just witnessed.

Acts 3:13–15 ESV

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.

This is great! Peter has still not answered their question.

If you’re in the audience, your thinking, Peter, we just want to know what in the world is going. We all know that this guy was born lame, and then you came up to him and spoke to him, and now he’s walking.

And now you’re accusing us of murder. That’s not what they were expecting to hear.

But Peter wants them to understand the source of this power. The source of power for this miracle ultimately goes back to the covenant God of Israel—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

This God, covenanted with Israel, to raise up a savior who would deliver them from their sins. This holy and righteous one, the perfect servant, could have been delivered by the people, but instead they chose to side with a murderer.

Now if we’re honest, that’s the kind of decision making that Israel has a pretty long track record of making…

God says, I will bless you. I will give you everything you need. I will protect you. I will guide you.

And Israel’s response is, “thanks but no thanks.” We’ll choose these gods of stone and wood over here, that are made by human hands. Geniuses!

So, if we’re honest, the decision of the Jews was pretty much par for the course.

They chose to deliver a guilty murderer, and kill the author of life.

But Peter wants them to know that through their evil decisions, as He always does, God works for good to bring it about that many people might be saved.

You cannot kill the one who is the author of life. The one who is perfectly righteous. And so God raised him from the dead.

Now Peter is about to lay it on thick.

Acts 3:16 ESV

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.

Yeah, the guy that you saw fit to murder, he’s the one who worked this powerful miracle in your midst.

And it’s by faith in him that this man has been healed.

Now Peter here is pressing them hard. He is engaging what might be referred to as a full-court press… I know we got some coaches in the room.

ILLUS: Basketball full court press

Through this full-court press, Peter is calling for them to repent. That’s what we’ll see down in v. 19.

But before he does that he wants them to feel the weight of their wickedness. He wants them to feel strained and guilty. He wants them to know that severe consequences await them if something drastic does not change.

Thus, he is pressing them to repent.

What is repentance?

Explain…

But Peter is not going to leave them there. Like every good Evangelist, Peter is now going to show them how a drastic change can occur in their lives.

So let’s look at the 2nd part of Peter’s answer:

2. The Promise of Restoration

Acts 3:17–18 ESV

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.

So this is Peter calling back the dogs just a little. He has been ferociously going at them. Accusing them of murder.

And now, in light of his knowledge of everything that has taken place, and in light of his knowledge of Scripture, he tells them “I know that you acted in ignorance.” “You didn’t know what you were doing. And in fact, the Prophets told us that this was going to happen…”

Again, I’ve noted this before, this is just a beautiful picture of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility working hand in hand…

The people are totally guilty…and yet everything that occured happened according to the sovereign plan of God.

So in light of this, look what Peter says:

Acts 3:19–21 ESV

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.

Peter has told them that they are guilty… but now he’s telling them that there is hope. They can be restored. And what a beautiful restoration that it can be.

There is three parts to this restoration:

a. Sin will be removed

“blotted out” - the Grk word can mean: “to smear out, obliterate, erase, pardon.”

It’s the same word used in Rev. 21:4 when it says of the Lord that, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

God is going to obliterate all of those things.

But listen, for God to wipe away all of those things, your sins must first be wiped away…

Which is why Paul says this in Col 2:13-14

Colossians 2:13–14 ESV

13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Can I tell you that in a sense the gospel message is a rather scandalous message.

Let me explain it with an illustration that I’ve heard:d

ILLUS: Roll’s Royce…

For those who have repented… and professed faith in Jesus… that’s exactly what has happened to them…

b. Rest will come from the Lord

“times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord”

Notice, once he blots away your sins, all of the sudden you can experience the very presence of the Lord.

And that comes from being indwelled by the HS.

The result of which is times of refreshing:

That word can have the idea of recovery of breath; or re-creation; or rest. It’s the restoration of life and freshness

ILLUS: Remodeling…

c. Christ will come for you

Not only is this promise of restoration for this physical life right now, but it is a promise for eternity.

Christ will come again, and he will, as we saw earlier, take all the bad things of this cursed world away.

And he will usher in a new creation. A permanent rest. A place of eternal refreshing…

Peter then moves to a 3rd part of his answer:

3. The Appeal to the Prophetic Text

Acts 3:22–23 ESV

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.’

So the prophetic voice that is speaking here is Moses. This comes directly from Deut. 18. I want to read just a little bit longer section, that provides a little more context:

Deuteronomy 18:15–19 ESV

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— 16 just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ 17 And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. 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.

By pointing the people back to Moses’ words here in Deuteronomy, Peter is wanting to give this crowd a warning.

There was a day where the people of Israel saw the glory of the LORD…, and they said, “we do not want to see or hear this again.” It was too much for them; they couldn’t take it. And the LORD agreed…

And so the LORD, in his grace, tells them that one day there is going to come a prophet from among you. He’s going to be like you. He’s going to be human. He’s going to be flesh and blood. He’s going to be a greater prophet than Moses. And this prophet will have the very voice of the LORD. He will speak to them all that the LORD would command them to do.

Peter is saying that this prophet has come. This prophet was Jesus, the one whom they refused to listen to at first, but who is now, through the HS, who has indwelled the apostles, speaking to them again, and is calling them to repent.

They must listen to his voice, or there will be no other hope for them.

If they reject the prophet, Jesus, then they are on their own. There is no one else whom they can turn to for help. They will face the judgment of God on their own accord. No one will mediate for them.

And so Peter continues:

Acts 3:23–24 ESV

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.

Peter is saying, “Listen y’all…” (I think Peter was from the southern portion of Israel).

If you do not listen to the prophet of the LORD, then you will be destroyed, and all of the OT is providing testimony that this is the case.

It’s as if Peter is saying, read your Bible…(OT), all of the prophets are providing witness testimony that this is true. They all spoke about Jesus.

Side note: that is once again informing us how we should be reading the OT…

And if you do not believe in Jesus, in who he was, what he claimed, and what he did, you will be destroyed.

The God of creation stands against you!

And so Peter then concludes with a fourth part of his answer:

4. The Plea to Receive God’s Blessing

Acts 3:25–26 ESV

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.”

Peter is pleading for them to remember who they are…

Israel was God’s plan to bring salvation into the world.

The problem was that Israel was no different than the world, and so they need salvation just as much as the world does.

But Israel has had the benefit of being in covenant with the LORD, and seeing his power, and receiving his word through the prophets.

Of all people, Israel should know these things!

But they have rejected the One who was prophesied to come from their midst, and so they stand condemned.

Paul echoes this sentiment in Rom 9:1-5

Romans 9:1–5 ESV

1 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

Paul here is pleading with his fellow Israelites for them to consider their advantages… he says that he’s willing to be cut off for their sake.

Paul is modeling what it means to truly be burdened for someone’s salvation and to plead with them to consider the things of Christ.

But by and large the Jews have not accepted that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.

Peter in Acts understands this, which is why he has turned up the pressure so high. The Jews need to feel the weight of what they have done, they need to feel the weight of their rebellious hearts. So that they can come to a realization of their need of Jesus.

Conclusion

Now as I draw this to a close, I would just want to review and summarize what Peter has done here:

He has pressed them for repentance…

He has shared with them the promises of restoration for those who repent and believe…

He has appealed to the prophetic word…

He has pleaded with them to receive God’s blessing

For unbelievers, I pray that Peter’s sermon here, has spoken to your heart…

Here in a minute…

For believers, what a model for evangelism…

Also, I would remind you to regularly dwell on those promises of restoration:

Your sins have been blotted out… past

You are now at rest through the presence of the HS in your life… present

One day Christ will come again… future

Let’s Pray…