11 Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed. 12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. 16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. 17 “Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. 22 For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ 24 Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. 25 You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ 26 To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”
Commentary
Vs. 11 “Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed.”
And so, the once lame man having experienced his own healing and expressed his immense gratitude towards God, he now clings (i.e. firmly holds onto) to Peter and John, the very men who brought the Gospel to him. By this time then word had fully spread at what had happened to him, and so people were running from every direction to them, where they were situated on Solomons porch “The raised outermost part of Herod’s temple with columns that went all the way around the outer court” [1]Having then come to were they were, the assembled people there were all greatly amazed at seeing the once crippled man now standing and holding on to Peter and John.
Vs. 12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
When Peter saw how the people were all looking at them awe struck, he knew he had to direct their focus away from them and onto the One who had done this healing. And so, he before he begins to preach Jesus to them, he first wants to make it abundantly clear to them that their faith should not be in him or John, by first saying to them, “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? Therefore, the Apostle Peter quickly refutes any notions or thoughts arising in the assembled crowd that either he or John by their own Godliness or power could make that man walk. For what is on display here is not the Apostle Peter’s or Johns power or godliness, but the Lord Jesus Christ’s! And so, having made it clear that neither he nor John have any power (in of themselves) to do such things, Peter will now preach Jesus to them.
Vs. 13-16 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. 16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
The Apostle Peter now begins his sermon, by telling them that it is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of their fathers who glorified His Servant Jesus by doing these things amongst them. Notice that Peter here calls Jesus God’s Servant, to indicate to them all, that Jesus came to do the will of God for us all! And so, the miraculous things that Jesus did, and now was doing through them, by His Holy Spirit, is itself a undeniable witness to them, for Jesus Himself did these things daily when He was amongst them, revealing Himself as the Son of God to them all. And yet as Peter notes they would not believe Him, nor receive Him as their Lord and King, but instead they delivered Him up to Pilate to be Crucified. And so, they denied the Holy One and Just, even when Pilate was determined to let Him go. And instead only asked a murderer for themselves. Therefore, they themselves are the ones who killed the Prince of life, (the Author of life), the Lord Jesus Christ, not Pilate, not the Romans, but they themselves bear the guilt of His bloodshed whom God raised from the dead. For God will not allow the rebellious and evil to prevail against Him. Instead as we will see He turns their inclinations into fulfilling His Will. Therefore, Peter now tells them that by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ’s Name (and thus faith in His Person), has made this once crippled man strong, whom they can all now see healed. “Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.” Vs. 16
Vs. 17 “Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers.”
The Apostle Peter then having declaring the truth about what they have done; to bring about the conviction of their sins; now addresses them as brethren, as his own people, who did these things in ignorance, as did their rulers. For though they were reared in the Scriptures, yet their own desires and bias would not allow them to see the Lord Jesus Christ as God’s Son and their Messiah because of the manner in which He came and fulfilled the Word of God amongst them. Therefore, they were ignorant of Him, because He would not conform Himself to their “image”, but rather was true to His Himself and His Word as God who came in the flesh to reveal the true nature of the Father to us all, before suffering and dying on the Cross, at the hands of sinful men, for our total redemption from sin and death.
Vs. 18 But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.
Therefore, all that came upon the Lord Jesus Christ was not unknown to God, but rather He long ago foretold by the mouth of all His prophets that the Christ would be rejected by them, and suffer the things they did to Him, and thus they in demanding His Crucifixion only fulfilled His Word!
Vs. 19 “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,”
Having rebuked what they did the Apostle Peter now tells them to repent and be converted; that is make a complete change in how they think about themselves, and what they believe about the Lord Jesus Christ; because unless one repents one’s sins cannot be blotted out (consider Luke 13:1-9’ 18:9-14). That said, with either their, or anyone’s else repentance, there is times of refreshing from the Lord, that always comes with the regeneration of one’s person and soul. Therefore, the Apostle Peter urges his countrymen to repent before God and to receive for themselves His Son the Lord Jesus Christ so that they collectively as nation may have those times of refreshing and restoration from the Lord.
Vs. 20-21 20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.
And so not until the nation of Israel repents will God now send His Son the Lord Jesus Christ to them, to not only restore them to God and the nation status that He always intended them to have, (as they wanted the first time Jesus came to them), but also to set up His Kingdom and Reign on the throne of David over them. Therefore, the Apostle Peter also foreseeing their delay in this, now says that heaven must receive the Lord Jesus Christ until the times of restoration of all things, which again God has spoken by the mouth of all of His holy prophets since the world began.
Vs. 22-23 22 For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’
The Apostle Peter now recall the prophetic Word of God spoken through Moses who Himself foresaw and foretold of Jesus’ coming to them (see Deut. 18:15, 18, 19), as the Prophet who God would raise up like He raised up Moses from amongst them, so He raised up the Lord Jesus Christ as the Prophet, whom God foretold and Moses foresaw would teach them all things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. Therefore, God Himself says: “Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.” The Word of God then is clear whoever will not hear the Lord Jesus Christ will never be apart of the Kingdom of God, but will be destroyed from among the people, whether they are a Jew or Gentile.
Vs. 24 “Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days.”
To leave no doubts in their minds that these days of refreshing are now here and available to everyone who repents and believes, the Apostle Peter now cites to them Samuel the first and great kingdom prophet, as well as all those who followed after him, who also foretold of these days!
Vs. 25 25 You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’
Having then revealed to them through the Scripture the fulfillment of them in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Apostle Peter now tells them that they are the sons of the prophets, and of the covenant that God made with their fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ The Seed here being the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ through whom all of God’s blessings flow to all individuals and all peoples and nations who receive Him and believe in Him!
Vs. 26 26 To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”
Therefore, God in wanting to bless His covenant people first, having raised up His Servant Jesus, He sent Him to them first to bless them, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.” The only thing then that is hindering God’s blessing coming to them is their repenting and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ for themselves.
Scripture Quotations
New King James (1982):Thomas Nelson.
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