The crowd at the temple had observed the amazing fact
that a lame beggar has been healed. It is not surprising that they are
astonished and wondering what kind of power is available to Peter and
John. The apostles are quick to deny that they have any inherent power;
instead they affirm that the miracle is connected to the glorification of
Jesus. They also make clear the purpose of the miracle – it was designed to
lead the onlookers to repentance. It is obvious that the miracle in itself did
not bring about a correct response to God. Until its significance was
explained, the observers obtained no benefit from the miracle. This
situation reminds us that it is essential that we have the correct framework
for assessing God’s actions and understanding what he is doing.
Peter mentions two aspects of knowledge that are
essential before there can be genuine repentance. The first is knowledge about
what God did through Jesus Christ and the second is an understanding of the
seriousness of rejecting the authority of Jesus Christ.
Observe the way that Peter describes God. He is
referred to as ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ I
suspect that inevitably the minds of the listeners would go to the previous
occasions when this name was used of God. These occasions were connected to the
exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt (Exod. 3:6, 15; 4:9). Surely, this
was a name of God that would have created expectation in the minds of the
listeners. This was the name of God that indicated that he had come to rescue
his people, not because they deserved it, but because he was faithful to his
promises.
The first detail in the framework for repentance is
that we are dealing with a God who is performing a rescue mission. We know that
the children of Israel at the time of the Exodus had to be rescued from slavery
in Egypt; they needed to be delivered from earthly, political oppression. The
rescue mission that Peter had in mind was not from physical slavery, but from
the bondage of sin. In Egypt, God had rescued Israel by his servant Moses. The
person he used for the greater rescue was Jesus Christ.
So Peter told his audience who Jesus Christ is. He is
the eternal Son of God who became a servant, lived a righteous life, died on
the cross although he was innocent, and was raised again from the dead by God
the Father. The Father has also glorified him, says Peter, which means that
Jesus is now exalted to the throne of God, and therefore it is possible for
miracles to take place by his apostles who trusted in him.
Peter also reminded them that they had sinned in their
attitudes towards Jesus Christ. They had denied him, prevented Pilate from
releasing him, and preferred a murderer instead of him. While they did not
physically kill Jesus, they were guilty of causing his death, and no doubt they
would have got involved if the authorities had allowed them.
Of course, these people were guilty of many other sins
in addition to the sin of rejecting Jesus. It is possible, of course, that
Peter mentioned these other sins, because Luke did not regard it as necessary
to record every word that Peter said on this occasion. What is important to
note is that their attitude towards Christ had to be repented of, even although
Peter admits that they had acted in ignorance. Ignorance is not an excuse for
wrong actions. Although they were ignorant of who Jesus was, their actions
towards him were not in line with truth (they bore false witness) and
love.
With regard to ourselves, we have to face up to these
same two aspects if we are to repent of our sins. We must have correct
information about Jesus Christ and we must reflect on our attitude towards him.
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