Bible Studies for Life
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Acts 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? 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. 14 But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; 15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
Peter saw the massive crowd that assembled in Solomon’s Colonnade because of the miracle and connected with them to get their attention and respect because he was just as much an Israelite as they were. The Jews should have recognized that something like this miracle was at least within the realm of possibility.
Peter and John weren’t the ones responsible for this miracle. Their hands didn’t have any miraculous power to heal nor was it a reward from God because they lived godly lives. Peter pointed to the true Source of the miracle’s power. This miracle was an act of God- the same God in whom the patriarchs of Israel believed whom Peter identified as “the God of our fathers,” again connecting with his audience.
For the first of several times in this passage, Peter pointed to the Jew’s guilt for the death of Jesus. Whereas God had glorified Jesus, the Jews had rejected Him and facilitated His death. In addition to having conspired to murder Christ, they asked for the release of a murderer, Barabbas, and demanded that Christ be crucified.
Acts 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. 17 And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. 18 But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. 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. 20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
Peter pointed to the source of the power that healed the man. The man was healed because he believed in Jesus. Mere faith does not heal alone; it is the one in whom the faith is placed that matters. The man’s faith was the “Name” of Jesus, and it was that Name that healed him. Jesus is still the ultimate source of the healing. The jews in Jerusalem did not understand the full weight of what they were doing. It is important to say the Jews “in Jerusalem” because they were the only Jews ever accused of the murder of Jesus.
It is significant that the Jews believed that sins committed in ignorance could be forgiven, as opposed to those that were deliberate or high-handed. The truth is that all the sins of one who repents and places their faith in Jesus are forgiven. From this point forward, ignorance was no excuse- the Jews knew what they had done.
The implication here is that the Jews had turned away from God by rejecting Jesus as the Messiah and were to turn back to Him. The Jews were to repent of their sins, particularly their rejection of God’s Messiah, Jesus. They were to turn back to God by believing in God’s Messiah (conversion). Then God would wipe out their sins.
There is no question that Jesus will return. Christ’s return does not depend on Israel’s repentance. He will return whether they repent or not. Jesus’s return can only be a good event for Israel, however, if they believe in God’s appointed Messiah.
Acts 3: 24 Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. 24 Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. 25 Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. 26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.
Throughout the Old Testament, there is a continual expectation of a final prophet for whom the Jews were to wait. Peter was saying that this prophet had now appeared. “These days” are the days when Christ was on earth. The Jews had inherited and now owned all the prophecies and the covenants that had been passed down to them- prophecies and covenants that promised the Messiah. They were to be obedient by following the command to repent and believe as Peter gave in verse 19. The idea of heirs also points to the responsibility to keep the covenant.
Peter repeated the original covenant promise given to Abraham. There is only one “seed,” namely Jesus Christ. He is the one who blesses all families of the earth- Jews and Gentiles alike- making a relationship with God possible. The gospel would eventually extend beyond the Jews, as hinted by Abraham’s offspring blessing. Later events in Acts make evident the extension of the gospel to the Gentiles.
Repentance establishes a relationship with God. Repentance is possible only through Christ.
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Authority
Matthew 21: 23 And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority? 24 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? 26 But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet. 27 And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.
The day after Jesus overturned the tables of the money changers in the temple, the religious leaders confronted Him. They demanded to know by what authority He did these things.
In the leaders’ minds, Jesus did not carry the proper credentials to be a teacher or leader. He had not gone through the training and ordination to be recognized as the rabbi. Jesus recognized that the leaders were setting a trap for Him. This was not the first time they had questioned His authority since they had accused him of blasphemy in the past and attributed His miracles to Satan. So, in response, He asked them a question: Was John the Baptist’s ministry from God or of human origin?
When they said that they didn’t know, Jesus refused to answer their question about His authority.
Matthew 21: 28 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. 29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. 30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. 31 Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.
To further indict the leaders, Jesus told a parable about a man and his two sons. Jesus was equating both sons to the Jewish people. So, this was a parable about the response to Jesus by the people of Israel, including the religious leaders. Both sons received the father’s instructions to work in the vineyard (which symbolized the nation of Israel). The men responded in different ways.
The first son refused at first before changing his mind and obeying. The second son agreed to go, but he never went. The religious leaders recognized that it was the first son who did his father’s will. Then, Jesus explained that they were more like the second son. They appeared to honor God’s words, but they rejected Him in their hearts.
Jesus noted that tax collectors and prostitutes- those who initially disobeyed God but repented- would enter the kingdom of God before (or “instead of”) the religious leaders. Their rejection of John-and Jesus- left them standing condemned by God and under His judgement.
Jesus holds all authority, and those who reject Him will be condemned.
We can expect some to oppose or reject Jesus’s authority.
We demonstrate our acceptance of Jesus’s authority by our obedience to Him.
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