Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Acts 3:12-20: Chapter 2 Depends on Chapter 1

When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.

“Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus - Acts 3:12-20

Here is my summary of what Peter said: People of Israel, you are watching Act 2 of this drama and you really shouldn't be surprised at what is going on. You must have been sleeping or come in late for Act 1, but that was where the action really was when Jesus, the author of life, was killed by you, the audience. This whole healing is just Act 2, the natural follow on to all the stuff that happened in Act 1. And if Act 1 and Act 2 aren't just a bad Hallmark drama, then you should really change your lives and start your new life as Act 3 of this story. What does that make me, reading this story? Probably Act 1,000, a spin-off, but still all based on what happened back in Act 1.

No comments:

Post a Comment